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T1 wire gauge and length?

 

I¡¯ve just made a couple of attempts to wind T1 for 40m using the supplied wire and I¡¯ve come to the conclusion that it needs to be wound in the ¡®messy¡¯ style as described for 60m and 80m to be able to get it all on. Even with very tight windings, it really just didn¡¯t quite fit.

I ended up cutting the supplied wire into pieces in frustration to get it off.

I have two gauges of ECW here, 27SWG (0.4mm) and 32SWG (0.28mm). The former feels a bit thick and the latter a bit thin.

Obviously I¡¯ve got more chance of getting the windings in using the 32SWG wire.

Is this going to be OK to use? I¡¯ve seen Hans say that the gauge isn¡¯t that critical for L1 thru L4 but what about T1? I¡¯d much rather use 32SWG.

Also, because I no longer have a single length of wire to check, what¡¯s the rough initial length of this? I¡¯d hate to find I¡¯m 6¡± too short and of course, a very long length is tricky to work with.

Oh the innuendo :-)

73 Keith G6NHU
 

Is this going to be OK to use? I¡¯ve seen Hans say that the gauge isn¡¯t that critical for L1 thru L4 but what about T1? I¡¯d much rather use 32SWG.
Keith

Fundamentally the thicker wire may be easier to handle but the actual gauge will have no discernable difference.
Also, because I no longer have a single length of wire to check, what¡¯s the rough initial length of this? I¡¯d hate to find I¡¯m 6¡± too short and of course, a very long length is tricky to work with.
is a calculator, useful for all coils. Just use a little more although really that's overcautious most times.

73 Alan G4ZFQ
 

Hi Keith,?

I've just measured the piece of wire from my kit (I'm a few transistors away from winding the toroids) and it is 208cm long. As this is enough for L4 as well it should be plenty for T1.

73 Simon
G0FCU.

On 10 January 2018 at 14:38, Alan G4ZFQ <alan4alan@...> wrote:

Is this going to be OK to use?? I¡¯ve seen Hans say that the gauge isn¡¯t that critical for L1 thru L4 but what about T1?? I¡¯d much rather use 32SWG.

 Keith

Fundamentally the thicker wire may be easier to handle but the actual gauge will have no discernable difference.
Also, because I no longer have a single length of wire to check, what¡¯s the rough initial length of this?? I¡¯d hate to find I¡¯m 6¡± too short and of course, a very long length is tricky to work with.

 is a calculator, useful for all coils. Just use a little more although really that's overcautious most times.

73 Alan G4ZFQ
 

I built a 40m QCX and my notes from the build were you'll be winding 53 turns essentially and that calculates to 2.56 feet or ~30 inches. I allowed 7 inches for each loop (3.5" out and 3.5" in) and 2 inches for each tail of the wind. So, 30 + 21 +? 4? = 55". With the 30 gauge wire supplied with the kit I had 27" excess wire left over. There was no need to overwind it, and it came out looking pretty good.

I'd say you're better off with longer tails, more like 4" each. I'm pretty sure I used the same program Alan, G4ZFQ, recommended for calculating the length.

I test wound it with some 30ga. wire I had on hand to get a feel for working with the twists. I suggest not twisting the loops too much because it makes them harder to straighten out when you go to install them. Don't be too concerned trying to get the toroid down flush with the board. If you have to adjust the number of turns later, during optimizing C1, you'll need a little room to work with.

Good luck!

--Al
WD4AH
 

Oops, that should read 28 gauge and not 30 gauge wire supplied in the QRP Labs kits. Sorry!
Jess Gypin
 

When I wound T1 for my 40 meter kit, I did it the way the manual suggests. Wrap it all in one piece with loops created for each of the 5 wrap secondaries. Wrapped the primary, pulled out about an inch of wire and then made a loose twist and then 5 wrap loop, 5 wrap loop, 5 wrap loop. And mine all did fit but tight.

Jess AE0CW

Sent from my iPhone

On Jan 10, 2018, at 7:28 AM, Keith, G6NHU <nentecular@...> wrote:

I¡¯ve just made a couple of attempts to wind T1 for 40m using the supplied wire and I¡¯ve come to the conclusion that it needs to be wound in the ¡®messy¡¯ style as described for 60m no and 80m to be able to get it all on. Even with very tight windings, it really just didn¡¯t quite fit.

I ended up cutting the supplied wire into pieces in frustration to get it off.

I have two gauges of ECW here, 27SWG (0.4mm) and 32SWG (0.28mm). The former feels a bit thick and the latter a bit thin.

Obviously I¡¯ve got more chance of getting the windings in using the 32SWG wire.

Is this going to be OK to use? I¡¯ve seen Hans say that the gauge isn¡¯t that critical for L1 thru L4 but what about T1? I¡¯d much rather use 32SWG.

Also, because I no longer have a single length of wire to check, what¡¯s the rough initial length of this? I¡¯d hate to find I¡¯m 6¡± too short and of course, a very long length is tricky to work with.

Oh the innuendo :-)

73 Keith G6NHU

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