Where is a good source for coil wire?

[pito]

Beautiful, now connect Tx coil to machine.
Compare signal frequency of new coil and original coil.

[Sean_Goddard]

There is an old joke about how copper wire was invented. Two Scots men fighting over a penny. Simply find two Scotsmen and have at it ;-)

[ivconic]

[ZOUjiarui]

I used 0.75mm² multi-strand cable as a pulse coil, and the effect was poor. The resistance may be 0.4Ω, 420uh,, but the actual test is 1Ω, and the multimeter test pen has a resistance of 0.6Ω.

[ZOUjiarui]

The wire may be too thick, about 1mm in diameter. I wonder if it is the problem that affects the depth? Thanks a lot

[sinclairuser]

ivconic's first post on this thread is the cheapest and best option for self building coils, pick up up a couple of old bigger crt tvs and remove the bundle of wires around the front of the screen its dead easy when you take the case off there is a coil around the front b
of the tube, remove the sticky foamy insulation and gently wind the wire on to some sort of reel this wire is great for winding your own coils.
you can recover more wire from the back of the tube but i had less luck getting useable wire of that, some have i didn't, the best bit of this is you dont need
a working tv retro gamers are paying daft money for working ones, so a knackered one still yields useable wire for our needs.

[MartinB]

Unfortunately, I noticed that the new copper wire coming from the east is not pure copper but has iron/steel in the alloy.
Which drastically changes everything about making coils. Such wire is bad for making coils. What is the solution?
"Degauss" coil from a CRT TV, the older the better. The highest quality copper wire can be found there.
Old transformers too. The older the better.
Because back then, in those times, no compromises were made, everything was done with high quality.
Either that... or buy copper wire from a reputable manufacturer that guarantees the alloy composition.
How to know? Well, the price is mostly the first indicator.
I didn't think much about the resistance and the effect on the quality of the coil.
But I have noticed in practice that coils made with "eastern" wire do not work well.
While I was making SMW,TGSL series and coil series for them; I clearly noticed the difference.
The former for winding is the same, the number of windings is the same, everything is the same, the balance is the same on the instruments... and the differences in operation are drastic.
I think that the magnetic property of the conductor plays a role there. Copper has weaker magnetic properties than iron and steel.
Obviously for the coil to work very well; the material/wire should have weaker magnetic properties.
There is a process of "suction" or even "diversion" of the electro-magnetic field if it is a conductor with better magnetic properties.
Of course, this is how I explain it in layman's terms. A deeper analysis would give a more correct answer.

Yes .I have found that some Eastern wire is in fact copper clad steel. You can solder it once, but a second time the copper clad burns off leaving just the steel.

[alisonaugusto]

How about Litz wire? I've been reading about harvesting it from old TVs, induction heaters, stereo transformers and oscilloscopes; any suggestions what is the best source, considering availability, yield, and cost vs effort?

[ZOUjiarui]

Multi-conductor cable is cheaper than enameled copper wire and only requires an inductance meter. Litz is likely to cost more, and I don't know where else to get Litz wire except for radio antennas, so it's not a wise choice.

[Carl-NC]

You can buy small quantities of litz on eBay. Stranded wire isn't quite as good as litz but way better than magnet wire.

[Nightryder]

I've been dealing with BNTECHGO https://bntechgo.com/ It's definitely not the cheapest but it's an excellent quality. You can order directly from their official website or from their Amazon store. Keep in mind there is a little price difference sometimes between the two stores.

Good Luck

[Nightryder]

What TX circuit are you using where too-low resistance is a problem?
I've used magnet wire from Remington, never had a problem. Also MWS, Essex, and Rea, and probably some discount Chinese wire. Never seen anything that wouldn't work.

Hello Carl, I ordered a 22 AWG litz wire from Remington for making pulse induction coils. I have my doubts though about their litz wires because they are not insulated with the white cotton-like material, which I would think it helps to space between the windings so they do not press against each others after I put a spiral wrap.

Do you think it's big of a deal?

Here are the specs:

• Wire Type: Single Build, Unserved Litz Wire
• Stranding: 40 strands of 38 AWG (40/38 )
• Twists Per Foot: 12 ± 1 TPF
• Twist Direction: Left Hand Lay
• Overall Diameter: 0.033"
• Insulation Material: Solderable Polyurethane with Polyamide Overcoat
• Insulation Color: Red
• NEMA Grade: MW 80-C
• Temperature Rating: 155°C (311°F)
• Ideal Operating Frequency: Approx. 100 kHz
• Max. DCR at 20°C (68°F): 0.01792 Ω/ft
• UL Recognized Component (OBMW2 File E190291)
• RoHS Compliant

Thanks

[Nightryder]

Small update. I took a section of wire from Remington brand and stripped off the insulation so its just bare copper. Tossed it in some Ferric Chloride and left it for a few hours. So far only a little bit fell off but the rest has no color change.
Even burning the wire barely shows any green.

If the wire had zinc in it then it would turn black from the FeCl but color didn't really change at all and was resistant to the FeCL which to me suggests it has tin in it so it's not copper wire as they said and marked but a bronze alloy.

Will probably order some spools from McMaster as they will take the wire back if its not working. They also don't sell Remington brand wire.

My guess is the company off shores their manufacturing and is selling crap.

Very disappointing.

Sulfuric acid (98%) is the way to go for dealing with very thin enameled wires. Just dip the portion of the wire you need to strip for about 10 minutes and the insulation will float away.

There are other methods such as using aspirin pills and an iron which I never tried but some say the resulting smoke is toxic. You'll have to check with Mr. Google first.

Please be extra cautious with the acid and wipe it from the wire with an old piece of cloth before you rinse it off with water. DO NOT return the used acid to a closed bottle because it will explode!! It's best if you use a small amount and then properly waste it.

[ivconic]

The use of Aspirin tablets or even better Acetisal tablets
(recently they are more difficult to find in pharmacies? Another conspiracy theory?
Another question;
why has Quinine disappeared from pharmacies in the last 30 years?
The strongest possible medicine for most diseases! Quinine instantly cures covid, proven...
Acetisal was also a very cheap and powerful drug, acetisalicylic acid is the best thing you can give to your health)...
...again I got pulled by emotions and I'm digressing!
So... I've always used Acetisal or Aspirin to remove varnish from thin wire.
The process of removing the varnish from the wire is instantaneous and the easiest possible.
You lean the wire on the surface of the tablet and press it with the hot tip of the soldering iron... and watch the miracle in action!
Before that, tin the tip of the soldering iron well, so that the tin will transfer to the wire...

[ivconic]

As a child I grew up on "Schweppes, Tonic Water - Canadian Dry" refreshing drink.
I drank so much it was unbelievable!
But suddenly... sometime in the late 80's... something changed in the recipe!?
It wasn't the same drink anymore.
Many years later I did some research and learned the terrible, devastating truth!
The first and original "Tonic Water" contained huge amounts of ... what? Quinine!
Drinking that drink; at the same time, you are doing the best thing possible for your immune system.
That's why I had an immune system of steel back then!
And then "someone" decided to replace quinine with some "additives" that have nothing to do with health.
So today our children and grandchildren drink pure poison full of additives and automatically enter various types and levels of diabetes.
Enough digression... you have to get me, this was a moment of inspiration.
In 20 minutes I would forget to write all this. And this is worth knowing!