Making a power cable at DVinfo.net

Roy Sallows · April 16th, 2012, 10:30 PM

After a long hiatus due to health issues, I am back to trying to get my JVC GY-500 into operation. (The plus side of the long layoff is that I now have three scripts and a collaboration concept that knocks me out.) The last piece of my particular puzzle is the link between my camera and my battery... or batteries, thanks to Syrotech in Winnnipeg. I just need to know the wire gauge for the cable. The camera draws 18W in use, and the batteries provide 12V. The cable is going to be 6' coil cord. I'm sort of leaning to AWG 18, but I don't know if that will be appropriate. Anyway, belated thanks to everybody that offered help and encouragement in the past, and, hopefully, I'll be able to post good news... once my JVC gets reliably juiced.

Chris Soucy · April 16th, 2012, 11:20 PM

Hi, Roy.................

Glad to have you back.

18 Awg should be more than adequate over 6' with a 18W load at 12 Volts.

CS

Paul R Johnson · April 17th, 2012, 06:00 AM

18 gauge (when I looked it up) equates to our .75mm2 cable, which seems a bit light. I don't really mean in current terms, because that's fine, just a bit more fragile. The cable that JVC supplied between the PSU and the camera was even smaller, and I chopped it by trapping it a couple of times. The curly cable I use has 1.5mm2 conductors - which is much bigger - your 16 gauge - which is much stronger, mechanically.

Roy Sallows · April 17th, 2012, 07:35 AM

Thanks, Chris and Paul. I hadn't actually considered the physical strength of the cable at all. Being somewhat of a klutz, I think I will go with the heavier cable. But I feel a sense of personal triumph after literally hours of work, googling and calculating, in coming up with the AWG 18 wire!
This 'technical' stuff is fun.

Warren Kawamoto · April 17th, 2012, 08:45 AM

In high school electronics class, I still remember the formula:
Watts= volts x amps. So in your case, 18=12/x, 1.5 amps is flowing through your wire. Wires are usually rated in how much current or amps it can handle. 18 gauge wire is rated around 10 amps, so you're well under it's capacity.

April 16th, 2012, 10:30 PM	#1
Roy Sallows Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Winnipeg, Canada Posts: 57	Making a power cable After a long hiatus due to health issues, I am back to trying to get my JVC GY-500 into operation. (The plus side of the long layoff is that I now have three scripts and a collaboration concept that knocks me out.) The last piece of my particular puzzle is the link between my camera and my battery... or batteries, thanks to Syrotech in Winnnipeg. I just need to know the wire gauge for the cable. The camera draws 18W in use, and the batteries provide 12V. The cable is going to be 6' coil cord. I'm sort of leaning to AWG 18, but I don't know if that will be appropriate. Anyway, belated thanks to everybody that offered help and encouragement in the past, and, hopefully, I'll be able to post good news... once my JVC gets reliably juiced.

April 16th, 2012, 11:20 PM	#2
Chris Soucy Inner Circle Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Fairfield, Dunedin, New Zealand Posts: 3,682 Images: 18	Re: Making a power cable Hi, Roy................. Glad to have you back. 18 Awg should be more than adequate over 6' with a 18W load at 12 Volts. CS

April 17th, 2012, 06:00 AM	#3
Paul R Johnson Inner Circle Join Date: Nov 2005 Location: Lowestoft - UK Posts: 4,016	Re: Making a power cable 18 gauge (when I looked it up) equates to our .75mm2 cable, which seems a bit light. I don't really mean in current terms, because that's fine, just a bit more fragile. The cable that JVC supplied between the PSU and the camera was even smaller, and I chopped it by trapping it a couple of times. The curly cable I use has 1.5mm2 conductors - which is much bigger - your 16 gauge - which is much stronger, mechanically.

April 17th, 2012, 07:35 AM	#4
Roy Sallows Regular Crew Join Date: Sep 2005 Location: Winnipeg, Canada Posts: 57	Re: Making a power cable Thanks, Chris and Paul. I hadn't actually considered the physical strength of the cable at all. Being somewhat of a klutz, I think I will go with the heavier cable. But I feel a sense of personal triumph after literally hours of work, googling and calculating, in coming up with the AWG 18 wire! This 'technical' stuff is fun.

April 17th, 2012, 08:45 AM	#5
Warren Kawamoto Trustee Join Date: Nov 2006 Location: Honolulu, HI Posts: 1,435	Re: Making a power cable In high school electronics class, I still remember the formula: Watts= volts x amps. So in your case, 18=12/x, 1.5 amps is flowing through your wire. Wires are usually rated in how much current or amps it can handle. 18 gauge wire is rated around 10 amps, so you're well under it's capacity.