Home Electrical Wiring

Wiring Up Your Spark Plugs

2009-05-28T23:25:00.000-07:00

Your car’s spark plug is one of the indispensable parts of your whole car. However, you are not exactly sure what it is?

A spark plug is actually an electrical device. It is found mounted into the cylinder head of an internal combustion engine. What it does is it actually ignites compressed aerosol gasoline through an electric spark. Thus, spark plugs actually are considered to be the start of a car’s combustion. In simpler terms, your car would be able to start as long as it has spark plugs as part of its system.

Now, the electric spark that starts off from the spark plug actually is transferred to the rest of the other systems in your car with the assistance of spark plug wires. However, through time and wear, these wires could actually get brittle or could get quite rugged and old. And when this happens, your car may not run well or may not even start up even if you try to do so. Remember, automobile experts suggest that your spark plug wires should at least be changed every 30,000 miles. You can have your trusted technician do the job or you can do it yourself.

Changing spark plug wires by yourself can be quite easy. First, you should of course have new spark plug wires available. You can purchase these at auto parts stores. And when you have them ready, you should start locating the old spark plug wires that are still installed. When you have found them, pull off the wires that would be replaced. You can do this by grasping the base of the wire. You can employ a spark plug wire puller to assist you in doing the task or you can do it with just your fingers.

After you have removed the wire, check the length of the old one with the new ones you just purchased. Make sure that the new ones that you would be installing are the same length the ones that you will be replacing. And when you are sure, you can attach the new one to the spark plug. Remember that one end of the wire goes to the end of the spark plug while the other end goes to the distributor cap. You will know that it has been attached well for you will hear some sort of click or pop.

Carefully selected auto parts such as Jaguar Lambo door kits and Daewoo wheels are one of the products that Auto Parts Discount has to offer.

Remodel With Structured Wiring

2009-04-25T00:56:00.000-07:00

If you are planning a major remodel or building a new home you should give a great deal of consideration to implementing structured wiring for your low voltage requirements; television, telephone, audio and security.

Structured wiring provides a central point of termination for all low voltage wire runs. This is a relatively new method of wiring. Previously, all low voltage wiring ran in a loop, running from the first termination point to the second point, from the second to the third and so on. In structured wiring all wires run from a central location to its planned termination (outlet) point.

The advantages to a structured wiring methodology are:

1. If a wire becomes damaged you only loose signal to that point of termination. In the loop method you loose all terminations from the damaged section onward.

2. In a loop configuration you cannot make changes to what signal is fed to a termination point, because it is a loop, the last termination point must have the same signal as the first termination point. In a structured system, you have the flexibility to change the signal content of each and every wire going to each and every termination point.

Many manufacturers are now producing special panels and termination strips for structured wiring systems. These panels include options of amplifiers, switched termination strips, low voltage power and multiplexers. The systems are designed to grow with the occupant and can be easily expanded and reconfigured depending on your needs now and in the future.

Although there is increased initial cost, the amount of wire used and added time in running all wires back to a central point, the expense is well worth it. It may be noted that structured wiring systems have been a strong selling feature in resale homes and are a definitely a differentiator for the buyer.

For additional information on structured wiring for your home or other renovation projects, visit Renovation Headquarters.

Do It Yourself Wiring - What You Need To Know Before You Purchase New Light Fixtures

2009-02-14T03:58:00.000-08:00

Lighting is one of those home improvement projects that everyone loves to do. Change that old chandelier to a fancy new one, or that small lighting fixture to a larger one that adds more light in the room. And one of the most popular ones, change that small light to a nice new ceiling fan. These are all great improvements to your home and relativity easy to do yourself, but whether you decide to do it yourself or hire an electrical contractor to do the work there are some things you need to consider before you go out and buy those new lighting fixtures.

The first thing you need to consider is the power requirements of the new fixture. If you are changing an old fixture with only one light bulb to one with two light bulbs, this will most likely not be a problem. But if it is a larger fixture or a chandelier you will need to take this into account.

You can go about this by finding out what is on the existing circuit that you intend to change the fixture on. Go to your main electrical panel and turn off the breakers until you find out which circuit the fixture is on. Next you will need to find out what is on that circuit, so with only that breaker off check and see what other fixtures or devices do not work. Next you will need to add up the current draw on the existing circuit, as per code you are only allowed to draw 80% of the current provided for by the circuit breaker protecting the circuit. For example if it is a 15 amp circuit breaker you are only permitted to draw 1200 watts, which is a total of twenty 60 watt light bulbs. At first glace this may seem like a lot but I have seen people have 20 60 watt light bulbs on a single chandelier. Checking to make sure that you don’t overload the circuit is very important; you will also need to make sure that the switch or dimmer is rated for the proper current draw of the fixture.

The next thing you need to look at is the weight of the new fixture, the box you are attaching it to has to be rated for the weight of the new fixture. Different electrical boxes have different ratings as far as the weight that can hang from them. This will only come into play with larger fixtures or ceiling fans. A ceiling fan must be hung from a box that is rated for a ceiling fan. If you are installing a heavy fixture or a ceiling fan you will most likely need to change the box also.

The National Electrical Code allows you to hang up to 50 lbs. from any electrical box that is threaded to accept No. 8-32 machine screws. Make sure your electrical box is securely fastened before you hang a new light fixture from it. If your light fixture weighs more than 50 lbs or is a ceiling fan, you will need to install a fan brace box. Check the label to make sure the box is designed to support the weight of your fixture.

Considering these aspects in advance will help you be better prepared for the project before you purchase the fixture. It will also keep you safe and compliant with the National Electrical Code.

John has been in the electrical industry for over 20 years and is currently running wireityourself.com an online do it yourself home wiring site.

Get Your Home Wired For Voice, Data And Video With A Structured Wiring System

2009-02-10T23:00:00.000-08:00

Being a communication cable contractor for both business and residential I get calls from people all the time about installing cable to support a telephone, computer or a plasma screen TV. The location of anyone of this devises May well be in a room that is inaccessible without a tremendous expense for the home or business owner. Some times it's impossible to install cables in some buildings after the walls are completed. It’s so much cheaper to cable a building when the walls are open and the studs are showing.

The time to have your cable installed is not when walls are painted and pictures are hung. Take this tip from me if you are in the process of building that dream home don’t forget to have your building contractor include a structured wiring system.

A Structured Wiring System is the cable and connecting hardware (wall jacks, patch panels etc.) in a building that connects telephones, computers, and video/sound devices. Structured cabling system meets standards that make allowance for equipment to be added or change without having to modify the cabling that is in the walls. Structured cabling system by design takes in to account your future needs so cable is ran to every room location that data voice video may be needed. As technology advance and new equipment for faster Internet, better surround sound system, or TV Screens are developed you can be sure your structured cable system will be able to handle it for years to come.

Mike Stephens is president of Net Services Inc a structured cabling company in St. Louis Mo. To find out more about cabling for voice data and video see netservices1.com

Lighting Your Dolls House Using The Copper Tape Wiring Method

2009-02-07T00:42:00.000-08:00

Lighting your dolls house can be one of the most rewarding aspects of building and owning a dolls house. The use of working lights, fires and even televisions can really add life to your house and make it a centre piece of the room in which it is housed.

The use of copper tape to light your dolls house is just one of the methods that can be used (others will be discussed in future articles).This method uses thin strips of self adhesive copper tape to conduct electricity around your house.

The first stage is to decide on the location of your dolls house lights. The socket should be removed from the end of each light and a small hole drilled to allow the wire to pass through (in this case to the back of the house). For ceiling light the hole should be drilled through the ceiling into the room upstairs and then out of the back of this room. This way wires can be covered over with carpeting etc. For wall lights that are not on the back wall these too can be trailed up the wall and then out to the back from the room above (small groves can be made in the walls to hide the wire and keep a smooth surface for decorating).

Next we need to decide on the position of the copper tape. For a front opening dolls house this would be the back of the house. The copper tape is laid down in two strips that run parallel to each other (they must not touch or they will short circuit). Where the copper tape overlaps use masking tape between the two tapes to insulate. Tape should be positioned so that the lighting wires can be easily connected and so that the wire creates a circuit.

Once the light has been installed the wire on the outside should be cut to the appropriate length to allow connection to the copper tape without lots of excess wire. To connect the wire to the copper tape separate the wire into two strands, strip the plastic coating off and solder one to either side of the copper tape circuit taking care that the copper cores do not touch.

Plug in the transformer and check that each light is working as you go – don’t wait till the end to try a figure out which light isn’t working!

While creating lighting circuit for your dolls house is relatively straight forward it should be remembered that we are working with an electrical circuit and must follow safe practices. Remember to always use the correct transformer for the job and NEVER connect straight to the mains.

Information provided by Scaledtofit for guideline purposes only. Scaledtofit supplies quality dolls house furniture, accessories and lighting to suit many periods, styles and budgets. http://www.scaledotfit.co.uk

The Top 5 Home Theater Wiring Installation Tips

2009-01-31T04:20:00.000-08:00

So now you have your brand new home theater system components sitting in their boxes in front of you and it's go time. You have to somehow connect all of these foreign objects together and make it all work. For many people this is a really intimidating scenario, but actually if you follow a few simple guidelines it doesn't have to be all that difficult. So here are the top 5 tips for home theater wiring installation.

1. This may sound corny but read the manual. I know that there are lots of you folks that prefer to just pick up a screwdriver and dive in, but you cannot believe how much you can mess up by not taking the time here to read the installation instructions through and get a good feel for what you need to do in advance. In fact, you may somehow get the system to work without doing that, but odds are that it will never perform as well as it should simply because a few steps were left out while it was being installed. So save your self the extra grief and just read the wiring installation instruction manual before you get started.

2. Use the correct gauge wire for your installation. Remember that when you have to run wire for longer distances it requires a heavier gauge to be able to successfully transmit the signal. Here is a simple general guideline that you can use: for lengths under 100 feet 16 gauge wire should be adequate, up to 200 feet 14 gauge wire will work and over that you will probably need 12 gauge wire to make sure things work properly.

3. Whenever you are making any kind of home theater wiring installation whether it be from one component to another or from a component to the speakers, make sure that both components are powered off when you connect them. Many is the heartache caused by someone turning on components before making the connections and experiencing high sudden power loads that damage their brand new equipment. Avoid that by always keeping the components powered off as you make wiring connections.

4. Gather your cables and wires together in advance and make sure that they will stretch far enough from each installed component before you begin installation. It's really frustrating to find out that one of your wires or cables isn't long enough after you already have everything else set up.

5. A common mistake that many people make when installing their own home theater setup is stacking the components like the receiver, dvd player, cable box and so on, so closely together that they have no room to breathe. Often they will even put them inside a closed cabinet too, which only compounds the problem. So before laying out your system try to think of a way to provide plenty of air flow between each component which will allow it to run more efficiently, last longer, and perform better.

If you plan ahead to set aside plenty of time for your home theater wiring installation, you should be able to get it done with little problem and frustration if you use the tips provided above.

Thad Pickering writes on many consumer related topics including audio and video. You can find out more about surround sound setup and surround sound installation by visiting our Home Theater website.

Car Stereo Wiring 101 - A Must Read!

2009-01-27T02:02:00.000-08:00

I have come across a lot of car stereo systems over the past 10 years or so. There are so many "techniques" to installing head units. Everyone has their own opinion of what is right and wrong when wiring up a system, but just because it works doesn't make it right.

I asked Majestic Modifications what their opinion was on the subject. How do they install so many units and always get it right?

First, if applicable, always use the harnesses. The aftermarket wiring harness will usually take the guesswork out of the installation. These harnesses attach to the vehicle's factory wiring harness and gives you a color coded installation. You just attach red to red, yellow to yellow, etc. But is that all an installer should know?

Starting with your digital multimeter, find the power sources in the harness. One source will be continuous 12 volts, the other will be the ACC (ignition) 12 volts. These two will go with the yellow and red wires from the aftermarket head unit's harness. They are labeled accordingly. It is usually a good idea to attach the ground wire to the frame of the dash. A lot of head units come with a connector for this already attached to the ground wire. Secure these in place with some solder and shrink tubing. Slip the shrink tubing over one of the wires to be connected and move it out of the way. Connect the wires and dab a little solder on the wires. Let cool and then slide the heat shrink tubing over the connection. Heat with a heat gun/hair dryer to shrink the tubing to fit.

You can try to look on the internet for the wiring colors, but good luck. They will tell you the "typical" wire colors, but chances are it will be different. You can try two techniques to find the right wires. Clip the rest of the wires from the factory harness. You can test the speakers with a good 9 volt battery to see which speakers are which. Two wires connected to the same speaker will make it pop. Note which speaker makes the pop and attach it to that speakers wiring from the head unit. I like to turn the unit on and make sure the wires are the right polarity. A reverse wired speaker will not have as good a sound as a properly wired one. Continue the technique until all the speakers are connected.

The other way you can trace the speakers down is to turn on the head unit, but be VERY careful to not cross any wires. Start with a pair of wires, and attach them one at a time until you get sound. Note which speaker it is and attach it to that speaker's wires from the wiring harness, taking not of polarity. Continue until all the wires are in place. Zip tie the wire together and neatly tuck them behind the head unit.

Be sure you have a good ground wire connection. Be sure that RCAs or signal wires are running away from any power wires or sources, and are not run parallel to them.

If you want a neat trick, you can attach the 12 volt acc to the illumination wire, and you will be able to turn the unit on with your parking light switch. Take note, that anytime the unit is on, the dash panel lights will be on too, but you won't notice them in the daytime. The illumination wire is used to turn the factory radio lights on at night.

Not having the wiring harness for your vehicle is not a do or die situation. If you can get the harnesses, save the hassle and time and use it. If you find yourself in a bind, then follow the steps above and get it installed correctly.

Majestic Modifications is the complete car customization concept, specializing in car accessories, cold air intakes and performance upgrades, body kits and exterior accessories, glow gauges and interior accessories, wheels and tires, mobile video, car audio and electronics.

Using Virtual Wiring In An Age Of Instant Solutions

2009-01-14T22:45:00.000-08:00

The subject of this article is virtual wiring or wires. So what do I mean by virtual? Usually if one wants to connect a digital signal to a relay then one has a circuit which drives the coil, this pulls in the relay contacts and this creates an isolated switch which may be used to provide power to a light or other suitably rated appliance. If the distance between the initiating signal and the appliance is great then one has a choice of either extending the digital signal with a long piece of wire or extending the switch side with long wiring. This seems to be a simple solution but in many cases, extending the wiring may not be the answer if the extension is complex, not aesthetically pleasing or many wires are involved.

The solution is virtual wiring and this can be implemented in a number of different ways.

1) If some wiring already exists then by virtue of multiplexing (combining many signals into one compound signal) and demultiplexing (taking one compound signal and expanding it again into many) electronics on either side, existing wiring can be used if an increase in the number of switches is required without laying extra cable.

2) The mux/demux solution can also be implemented with the use of fiber optics, where the compound signal is transported by means of modulated light.

3) Another transport medium is rf (radio frequency) In this age of Zigbee and other wireless standards, the compound signal can be transmitted through the air without any visible means. The simplest implementation would be a switch (or eight or more) on the near side being closed, detected by the monitoring electronics, assembled into some kind of protocol, transmitted wirelessly, received by the far unit, disassembled and the relevant relay or other switch mechanism would then be toggled. This would allow lights, appliances and other devices to be controlled without the addition of any control wiring.

The natural extension of this type of virtual wiring is to extend analogue signals as well. An example of this could be an appliance/device that needs to be set at a particular value. This value could be read (using a A/D converter) at the near side, assembled and transmitted as described previously and then output to the device in question as an analogue signal (using a D/A converter).

The one drawback of this type of signal extension method is that there will invariably be a delay between switch pushed/signal read and the corresponding action on the far side. Usually however a small delay is acceptable and other high speed methods exist for signals that require a higher bandwidth.

Marc Jarchow
47 year old entrepeneur providing MODular ElecTRONics solutions for the Professional (custom instruments for your business), Educator (can be used as a training aid), Entrepeneur (can be packaged with your logo) and Hobbyist (make your own home based products) using low cost modules to create whatever application you have in mind. This is all done via modetron.com

PSP + Airtunes + Coverbuddy = Dance Party Hi-Fi Wiring

2008-10-29T23:37:00.000-07:00

Now that I have my Mac Mini set up to deliver my whole iTunes library to my listening room through Airtunes with Sony PSP remote control, I needed to rewire my hi-fi components. The goal: deliver the digital Airtunes signal through the best DAC in the path and passing the analog signal cleanly through to my loudspeakers. I have no budget, so I must only use components I already own.

I also wanted to test how much I could combat the compressed audio feed’s nasties in the analog realm. My weapons: Taddeo Digital Antidote II and Rogue Audio Magnum 99 Preamp. One of these components won the battle and the other almost lost the whole war.

Airport Express DAC: Stereophile has taught us that the Airport Express’s internal DAC is to be avoided in a hi-fi set up. To successfully use an Airport Express in your signal path you must use its digital optical output feeding an external DAC. The Airport Express outputs a digital signal through the same mini jack port as analog. I just needed this mini-jack to optical adapter from Parts Express.

Digital Optical cable: My optical cable collection is the most neglected cable category in my home theater set up. I’ve read many articles and books (like Audio/Video Cable Installer’s Pocket Guide) lauding the optical cable. Digital coax is universally considered a superior connection—jitter reduction (or least amount of addition), and more stable connectors. So the best optical cable I have is not from a !33t boutique manufacturer but from Best Buy’s favorite: Monster Cable. I’m sure its price surpassed its quality.

With the mini jack adapter clicked in place I insert it into the Airport Express and then snake it across to my Onkyo’s Digital Optical Input 3 (formerly home to Dish HD STB audio output, soon to be sent back to Dish/AT&T for personal budget cuts).

Onkyo DAC and analog passthrough/output: It took me a couple tries to figure out the analog output from my Onkyo AV receiver the Airport Express feeds. My initial attempts pass the digital signal out through an analog out failed. I had to reference the manual to find out that you could not pass a digital only signal to either the analog record out or to Zone 2. I split the Onkyo’s preamp out to deliver the Onkyo DAC signal to my Rogue preamp. One pair of interconnects plugged into the Tape Input while the other remained in the AUX input (with the Rogue’s home theater bypass the AUX input is wired to bypass (duh) the Rogue’s tube gain and output stages). (I hope the Monster Turbine Y Adapters I use to split the preamp out are as transparent as advertised, a small bit of metal and teflon shouldn’t make too much difference, right?)

Problems with Taddeo Digital Antidote 2: I love my TDA 2 for CD playback. I thought for sure they could make compressed digital audio just as sweet as CD. I was wrong. Airtunes through the TDA 2 sounded compressed, congested, boomy, splashy, muted and just super awful. Since this was the way I first wired the rig I was quick to blame the Airport Express and compressed audio delivery. I almost gave up. Always suspicious that I’m doing something idiotic that I think is genius I took the TDA 2 out of the path. Someone just removed the thick veil covering the music.

Gain and Volume Control: When you attenuate digital signals you lose bits along with decibels. I wanted the cleanest signal out of the Onkyo while using the Rogue’s normal volume range. To achieve this I raised the Onkyo’s volume to its reference, 0 db. I kept the Rogue’s gain at the middle setting. This combo gave me manageable volume control on the Rogue with a minimal loss of bit resolution.

With all my wiring (and non-wiring) in place I was finally ready to sit in my listening chair and enjoy any song in my iTunes catalog.

Next: Listening tests and family dance parties.

Father, Husband and Geek. My geeky interests have not changed since I was a kid. I still love comic books, anime, role-playing games, console video games, indie rock, imported toys and mecha models, bad American and great British sitcoms, and all the tech that let’s me experience these hobbies to their fullest. Now that I’m married with children, I’ve had to strike a balance between supporting and pleasing my family and feeding my geekery hunger. Lucky for me, my wife is very accomodating and even geeks out with me on occasion (the ladies love Joss Whedon’s "Firefly"). My two year old likes anything that moves on the front projection screen and makes noise, so far she is easy to please. Geekwithfamily.com exists to enrich the lives of fellow geeks and the friends and family who put up with them.

Aluminum Wiring Hazards When Buying a Home

2008-10-20T23:18:00.000-07:00

If aluminum general circuit single strand wiring exists keep in mind it has been linked to an increased risk of house fires. The house fires are caused by overheating at connection points.

Further inspection and evaluation by an electrical contractor familiar with aluminum wiring must be conducted prior to expiration of your inspection contingency to determine what upgrades are necessary or desirable. All connections must be checked for signs of damage or overheating. Expect it to be diffcult job that few electrical contractors around "want to do".

The connection points can experience overheating or become loose due to the properties of aluminum wiring. Upon fitting the wiring with special connectors and outlets, the wiring is considered to be safer. Contact the home owners insurance company you intend to use to determine if coverage will be impacted. Please point your browser to http://www.cpsc.gov/CPSCPUB/PUBS/516.pdf for more detailed information!

Even if you as a buyer do not care about the aluminum wiring you can rest assured that the person who buys the home from you when you sell it may very well ask you to pay to cure the hazard.

Aluminum single strand wiring is all Romex type (non-metalic) I have never heard or seen any single BX type wiring.

Michael Del Greco is President of Accurate Inspections, Inc. A New Jersey home inspection firm. He has performed thousands of home inspections in New Jersey since 1993. He has taught the New Jersey Home Inspector Licensing classes and New Jersey Home Inspector CEU classes as well as participated in developing questions for the National Home Inspector Exam. Michael's home inspector resume may be viewed at http://www.accurateinspections.com/michael2.htm.

Visit http://home-inspector.NewJerseyHomeInspection.com for a list of home inspectors in New Jersey.

This article may be freely reproduced if it is not altered and the above two lines are reproduced with active hot links.

VW Wiring (1998 And Later Models

2008-10-14T00:37:00.000-07:00

The radios in VW cars (1998 model and onwards) use an amplified aerial for improved radio reception. This amplifier is built into the base of the aerial and is powered by a feed from the stereo. This power feed is sent down the center of the aerial cable.

Therefore, if the factory-fitted stereo is replaced with an aftermarket unit, the aerial will no longer get this power feed and the amplifier in the aerial will not be turned on. This will result in poor radio reception.

To solve this problem you will need a VW aerial adapter. This takes the electric aerial output of an aftermarket stereo and combines it with the aerial socket to supply power to the amplifier in the aerial.

The other difference that post 1998 Volkwagen car radios have is their power connection. . .

Stereos require 2 power feeds. One is a constant feed that is always live whether you have the key in the ignition or not (this keeps the memory settings, clock etc). The other is a switched live which gets a feed when the ignition key is turned.

Although VW car radios use an ISO connection block for their stereo wiring (the same as all aftermarket stereos) you cannot simply plug it straight in. On later Volkswagen car radios, the pin configuration of these two power wires is reversed. If you plug it straight in, the stereo will work fine. However, it will lose all of it's memory settings once you switch it off.

To solve this problem, you will need a VW wiring adaptor. This will plug into your VW wiring harness at one end and the aftermarket stereo at the other end. In between these two points, the adaptor swaps over the location of the two power wires. This takes care of the problem.

This store specializes in car audio. I give them thumbs up -- I work with them daily (so I know their business philosophy -- customer satisfaction) . However, if your country is not served by them, you can still get other recommendations at car-audio-products-and-accessories.com

Chimezirim Odimba writes for CarAudioPlus.

Wiring Up Your Spark Plugs

2008-07-23T01:55:00.000-07:00

Your car’s spark plug is one of the indispensable parts of your whole car. However, you are not exactly sure what it is?

Carefully selected auto parts such as Jaguar Lambo door kits and Daewoo wheels are one of the products that Auto Parts Discount has to offer.

Remodel With Structured Wiring

2008-07-05T02:28:00.000-07:00

The advantages to a structured wiring methodology are:

1. If a wire becomes damaged you only loose signal to that point of termination. In the loop method you loose all terminations from the damaged section onward.

For additional information on structured wiring for your home or other renovation projects, visit Renovation Headquarters.

How Electrical Wiring is Classified

2008-06-30T23:22:00.000-07:00

If you plan on doing some electrical wiring, the size of the wire to use is going to become an issue. Here is a quick guide on how the wire is classified.

The American Wire Gauge (AWG), also known as the “Brown and Sharpe” wire gauge system is a standard used in the United States and other countries to denote the diameter of nonferrous electrically conducting wire. There are 40 different wire sizes in the AWG system.

As the number of the gauge size increases, the diameter of the wire decreases. This tends to cause confusion when the system is not understood. The reason for the backwards method of denoting the size is that it is based on the number of times the wire must be drawn through drawing dies to produce the smaller size. Thus a 22 gauge wire needs to be drawn through the die more times than a 0 gauge wire. Steel wire uses a completely different measuring system and should not be confused with electrically conducting wire gauges using AWG.

The larger size gauges are denoting by the use of zeros. 0000 wire is normally denoted as 4/0 wire. 4/0 wire has a diameter of 0.58 inches. The smallest size is 40 gauge which has a diameter of 0.0032 inches. It takes six size increases to double the diameter of the wire. Although the ratio is not exact, it is close. The 40 gauge diameter of 0.0032 inches increases to 0.0063 inches in 36 gauge wire.

Each AWG gauge size can be rated for a maximum number of amps of load that it can safely carry. This is called the ampicity of the wire. It is depended on several variable factors such as the type of insulation, ambient conditions where the wire is being used, and the length of the wire run. Proper wire sizing is of utmost importance. An overload of the wire’s ampicity would cause the generation of heat. Although copper or aluminum wire would take a large amount of heat before melting, the wire insulation would melt much quicker. This would increase the possibility of arching and a subsequent wire hazard.

In other parts of the world, the metric system is used and the AWG gauge system is not used. The metric wire measuring system uses the cross sectional area expressed in square millimeters. The cross sectional area is used rather than diameter because it is a better reflection of the load carrying capacity of the wire. The metric system and the AWG system do not match up exactly. This difference is more pronounced in certain size ranges and leads to problems when the wiring is a mix of AWG and metric sized wires.

Find an electrician at ElectricianCompanies.com.

Structured Wiring Hits Home

2008-06-24T23:24:00.000-07:00

Right up there with all the buzz about green homes is structured wiring, now entering the main stream must-have for technology based homebuyers. Structured wiring has long been a part of outfitting commerical building projects with intergrated systems for data, security, and entertainment. Now, with design advances and lower costs homeowners can add heating, cooling, and lighting controls to these intergrated systems. No longer Jetson-cute, these systems are energy and time-savers for homeowners.

Driving the early demand were needs by homeowners to network computer and media equipment. Structured wiring is easy to picture. Coaxial TV cable (RG-6), Category 5E voice and data lines, distributed radio, remote camera security are wired through out a home into multi-outlet boxes called in the trade, home network centers. The beauty of the system allows one point of origin for connecting all the computers in a home to DSL.

With the addition of a control panel, you can pre-set furnace and air-conditioning, lighting to auto-off/on, deliver audio rooom-by-room, and raise and lower window shades, all by programming your control center. Some systems also allow you to call your home telephone and enter prompts to do it remote.

Structured wiring can be added to an existing home or specified to a new one. The system costs roughly $1,500 in new construction and double in a retro fit. It is placed like traditional electrical wiring, but special technicians should be used to lay out blueprints and plan for future upgrades. Energy costs saved can help offset intial structured wiring costs. But, in my view, one filled with multiple modems, cables, phone lines, thermostats, and surge protectors, I'm way past ready for structured wiring.

Mark Nash is the author of "Fundamentals of Marketing for the Real Estate Professional", "Starting & Succeeding in Real Estate", "Reaching Out: The Financial Power of Niche Marketing", and "1001 Tips for Buying and Selling a Home". Mark is a contributing writer for: Realtor (R) Magazine Online, Broker Agent News, Real Estate Executive Magazine, Principal Broker, and Realty Times. His tried and true real estate tips has been featured on Business Week, CBS The Early Show, CNN, HGTVpro.com, The New York Times, and USA Today. Purchase his books at http://www.1001RealEstateTips.com.

Low Voltage System Wiring

2008-06-19T00:35:00.000-07:00

Low voltage systems include but are not limited to: access control, security, CCTV, burglary, fire, PA, intercom, nurse call, network, phone, data, and other local and remote notification systems. While progress has been made in wireless technologies, the primary, and most secure, and reliable installations, if not the most economical, are hard wired systems.

For commercial and industrial low voltage installations, the field wiring, device mounting, and panel installations are a major portion of the installation. While these tasks are required to be completed in accordance with customer specifications, local building, fire, electrical, and other codes, they are typically pretty standard and require little technical knowledge of the specific system terminations, power, testing and operation.

Most commercial and industrial low voltage system dealers, vendors and integrators have invested substantially in training their technicians on the technical aspects of installing, maintaining and operating the systems they promote. Depending on the work schedule, including service calls and maintenance contracts, using technicians for the basic wiring tasks may not be the best scheduling, financial and customer relations option. Unless business is in a slow period, and technicians need to be gainfully employed rather than not working, keep them scheduled on tasks that require their technical abilities and challenges their abilities.

The options for completing the routine wire and field device installation and mounting include hiring skilled but non-technical employees, using electrical contractors, hiring from a temp agency or finding a sub-contractor that knows and understands low voltage systems that can be trusted to install the systems when and the way you want them installed.

As low voltage system technician, project manager, project engineer and finally area manager, I know the importance of the installation of the basics and how it can and will have an impact on the system operation. While hiring general skilled labor for the basic is a good option because it affords the opportunity to control the entire installation, this option drives up the overall cost of labor that can’t be recovered when business is slow and these employees have limited project tasks.

Temporary agencies can provide the help required when business is brisk, but this is a crap shoot. You can provide the required abilities you are looking for, but what you get may or may not be able or willing to provide the services you need to accomplish the installation.

Electrical contractors have the knowledge, experience; know the codes, and wiring methods. They can provide the services you need but they may or may not be reasonably priced, provide their best people for your projects, or be able to meet your schedule.

The last and best alternative is to sub-contract with a company that has experience with low voltage systems, knows the requirements of customer satisfaction, building codes, installation methods, understands the relationship you have with your customers and the only cost is for actual services performed and has no additional costs when business is slow. This solution provides the best options of the electrical contractor, temporary agency, and non-technical employees.

While these companies are hard to find, very few exist, one that should be looked at for measuring your local companies is CCW Services. This company provides low voltage services in and around Ohio, and can be reached at:

http://ccwservices.com

20 years experience with low voltage system design, integration, installation and subcontracting prior to starting a new wire and cable venture.

Structured Wiring-Technology Backbone

2008-06-09T05:19:00.000-07:00

Today's new homes are much more technologically advanced than in the past. One of the biggest advances lately is the use of "structured wiring" in homes. Structured wiring consists of installing a bundled wire package that typically contains two RG6 and two Cat5e or Cat6 cables. The cables are bundled together into one larger plastic sheath to make it much easier to install as one unit. Some of the new structured wire bundles even include fiber optic cables as well.

Each room of the house will have a home run structure wire group run to a central location (basement, utility room, closet, etc.) The beauty of this system is you can run almost any technology over this system. The new wiring becomes the backbone of your electronic components. Some homeowners may not use all of the wires in the beginning, however as new products and technology develop the structured wiring will allow simple upgrades in the future.

In my new house we are currently using the structured wiring in the following way. Each room has a outlet with 4 ports, two RG6, one telephone and one Cat5e. In this configuration we run two telephone lines to each room, one cable TV line and one Cat5e line that has Internet and network signals. The second RG6 cable is inactive for the time being. In the utility room in the basement the Internet service is over the cable service. A cable modem is installed next to the structured wiring panel and then it is connected to a simple network router. The network router is then connected back to the structured wiring panel and distributed to each room.

The structured wiring method will allow us to add many features in the future as we need them. We could add video cameras, who house audio, play DVDs in one room and watch them in another or create a simple home network. The possibilities are endless and as more electronic components are created with IP addresses and ports it will become much easier to integrate all of our favorite electronics into a smart home feature.

If you're interested in this new technology ask your electrician for more information. If you're interested in installing it yourself, read How Do I Install Structured Wiring http://www.hometech.com/acrobat/structured.pdf

Todd Fratzel, P.E. is a building superintendent for a construction firm in New Hampshire. In addition to supervising the construction of new homes Todd is a registered professional engineer in the New Hampshire and Massachusetts and has an extensive back ground in building structures. For additional articles like this one see his blog at http://homeconstructionimprovement.blogspot.com

Tips On Wiring A Doll's House

2008-05-30T23:10:00.000-07:00

Lighting warms a doll’s house and adds atmosphere. It's not hard to do but requires some planning. Here are a few tips to help you on your way.

There are different ways you can wire a dolls house. I opted for the standard round wire system as it seemed the easiest and cheapest.

You need a socket strip with at least 12 sockets, a fuse and an on off switch and a transformer. Each individual light is then plugged into the strip either directly or via an extension cable.

Assemble the shell of house then think about where your lights and wiring are going to go...it's NOT something you can do at the end. For a ceiling light paint or paper the roof of the room then drill a small hole in the centre and feed the wire through to the room above. My floors /ceilings are MDF so it was quite easy to then make a groove with a wood chisel from the hole to the back of the house...the wire runs along the groove and when covered with carpet can't be seen. Finally make a small hole, near the floor, in the back wall for the wire to go through and plug into socket strip.

You need to plan the lighting and cut your grooves before decorating.

Wall lights are most easily fitted to rear walls. Decorate the wall then drill a hole for the wire to pass through.

It’s really not difficult and brings the house to life.

Joolz has recently built a doll's house from kit form. If you found this article helpful you can pick up more tips on lighting and decor at http://www.mydollshouse.info

Electrical Wiring – An Introduction

2008-05-28T03:59:00.000-07:00

Electrical systems vary widely given their different uses. That being said, the basics of wiring something are not that hard to understand.

Wiring is the insulated conductor that carries electricity. The wire that is used in a building such as a home or a factory is called building wire. The wire inside a piece of machinery is usually called equipment wire. Wire is measured by its diameter. This measurement is known as the wire gauge. Wire gauge runs in reverse numerical order. In other words, the higher the gauge number, the smaller the wire diameter.

Electrical wiring is governed by strict codes. Electrical codes began in the 1880’s at the same time the first extensive wiring was being done. In 1897, the National Fire Protection Association established the National Electric Code (NEC). The National Fire Protection Association was a group of Insurance companies that were concerned about the potential danger inherent in faulty electrical wiring. They had cause for concern. Early wire was bare or covered with cloth. There was little understanding of the need for insulation.

The NEC is used in conjunction with local, country, and State codes that strictly control electrical wiring. The codes are concerned with proper size of wire and with insulation. Factors that are considered are the expected load, the frequency of modifications, and the nature of the environment where the wire is used. Homes have small loads, infrequent modifications and a very non-corrosive environment. Commercial establishments are usually in the middle. The load demands are sometimes higher, and modifications are not infrequent. The factory or industrial site has a very high demand. Modifications are frequent, and the environment is often highly unstable.

Materials used in wire have varied over the years. Copper has always been the first choice because it is such a good conductor and is very flexible. In the 1960 to 1970’s, aluminum wire became popular due to the rising cost of copper. Insulation was usually rubber although rubber tended to corrode due to exposure to moisture and air. PVC compounds are now used most commonly as wire insulation. Insulation is made in different colors to identify wiring circuits in a system.

Electrical wiring has given rise to various connectors. The place where a wire is joined to another wire or attaches to a device is the point where there is the most danger of a spark. It is important that connections are secure. Insulated plastic wire nuts are used to attach two wires. There are also special tools used by electricians to deal with the installation of wiring. An example is the combination wire cutter and stripper. The stripper is used to remove the insulation from the end of the wire so that the bare wire might be attached.

Find an electrician at ElectricianCompanies.com.

Car Audio Wiring

2008-05-26T00:12:00.000-07:00

A significant part of your entire car audio system consists of just wires. There are all kinds of cables and wires involved in installing a car audio system. You have power wires, speaker wires, amplifier cables, power capacitors, and what not. It is always better to be equipped with at least the basics before you go in for car audio installation.

The power wire is an important part of the amplifier installation. Select the proper gauge and fusing. A proper gauge prevents the amplifier from being choked off by the size limitations of the wire. Choose power wires with lots of strands, so that they are easier to install and don't break while passing through the numerous corners of the car. The jacket of the wire should be of a material, which can resist chemicals like oil and battery acids, which can wreak havoc on substandard wires.

You can go for wires with large number of strands for the car audio speaker wires. The jacket is not that important in this case, because the speaker is not placed in regions where it could encounter chemicals, as in the case of power wires. Oxygen free copper wiring is always recommended for car audio speaker wires. The size of the speaker wiring depends on the power going in to your speakers and the total length between the amplifier and the speakers.

Signal cables are otherwise known as RCA cables and assume importance for their noise rejection properties. Try and go in for a quality RCA cable, which would ensure trouble free performance in the long run. It is recommended that you go in for "twisted pair" cables. They are better at noise reduction. Needless to say, the quality of wires connecting car audio power capacitors and batteries should also be good.

One can find extensive information on car audio wiring by visiting online resources on the subject. Perhaps car audio professionals are best placed to offer you great advice on car audio wiring.

Car Audio provides detailed information on Car Audio, Discount Car Audio, Wholesale Car Audio, Car Audio Systems and more. Car Audio is affiliated with Car Stereo Installations.

Ceiling Fan Wiring

2008-05-26T00:11:00.000-07:00

Wiring a ceiling fan is surprisingly simple. Often times it is no more complicated than the wiring of a light fixture. As with any electrical wiring, make sure all wire connections are made securely with the proper size wire nuts, that they are not loose and that no copper strands are showing. Most "house wiring" should be 14 or 12 gauge solid copper wire attached to a 15 or 20 amp 120vAC circuit respectively. Consult a professional if you encounter something varying from this and are not aware of how to safely handle it.

Most commonly ceiling fans will have 4 wires, or 3 wires plus a ground. Black, white, green, and an additional color (usually red, blue, or black/white striped). The black wire is the hot lead for the fan motor. The red/blue/striped wire is the hot lead for the optional light kit. The white wire is the neutral lead for both the fan motor and light kit. The green wire is ground for the entire assembly.

In all cases the neutral (white) wire from the fan assembly should be attached to the neutral (usually white) lead from the house wiring. Note that if you encounter a white wire with a marking piece of colored tape attached, this could be used to signifiy it is being used as something other than a neutral.

The ground (green) wire or wires from the fan assembly should be attached to the ground (usually bare, sometimes green) lead from the house wiring. Some older houses may not have a separate ground lead and use the metal conduit and electrical boxes as ground. In this case you would attach the ground wire from the fan to the electrical box (and/or mounting plate) with the appropriate screw or clip.

The two remaining leads are the hot wires for the fan and it's light kit. If you have a fan with no light kit, connect the black wire to the hot lead (usually black) from your power supply. For a fan with a light kit you would connect both wires to the hot power supply lead, unless your house is wired to switch the fan and light independantly.

For more scenarios, and more detailed information and wiring instructions, see: http://www.ceiling-fans-n-more.com

This article created by Dan "Spiffy" Neuman. Read more of his great works at http://www.ceiling-fans-n-more.com

Network Wiring Standards

2008-05-23T05:57:00.000-07:00

There are two wiring standards for network cabling. T568A and T568B are the two standards for the RJ-45 or 8-position modular connector, permitted under the TIA/EIA-568-A wiring standards document. The only difference between T568A and T568B (also known as Weco, AT&T 258A) is that the orange and green wire pairs (pairs two and three) are interchanged. How to decide which wiring pattern to use:

1. Does the job specification call out a wiring pattern?

2. Does the customer/end user have a preference for T568A or T568B?

3. Have patch panels already been purchased for the job? If so, they will probably be either T568A or T568B. The jacks should be wired to the same pattern as the panels.

4. Are you adding on to an existing wiring plant? If so, your new wiring should match the existing wiring.

If none of the factors above apply, either T568A or T568B may be used. It is important to ensure that the workstation connectors and the patch panels are wired to the same pattern. T568B is commonly used in commercial installations, while T568A is prevalent in residential installations. For these reasons, we almost always use T568B for unspecified installations.

One bonus is that most networking equipment presently on the market have wiring diagrams for either T568A or T568B. Since the difference is only the switching of two pairs of wires, it is easy enough for manufacturers to print both standards on their hardware. For example, a patch panel that is labeled for T568A/T568B will usually have the color-coded wiring diagrams above and below the actual punchdown. One will typically be labeled T568A and the other T568B. This type of hardware is preferred by installers due to its flexibility.

Dean Novosat is computer expert and network engineer. He is the author of including How to Wire Networks for Profit. He has several websites including http://www.YourOwnNetwork.com and http://www.sageadviceltd.com.