Thicker Gauge Wires - Not Needed???

[modicullus]

I've always used thicker gauge wires on the power and ground connections when I install a Magic or Messiah chip, but I've installed a few switches on about 5 Magic3 chips in which I've used 32 gauge wire to run 'out of the machine' and connect to the switch. Now these wires were probably about 7 inches long and obviously carry the 5v and gnd all the way to the switch and back. *note - I used 26 gauge wire to connect from the mobo to the chip.

So my question is - are the thicker gauge wires really neccesary? All of the machines I've installed switches into are working just fine. It's just that working with the 26 gauge wire is kind of a pain in the a$$. I think I've read of people just running two 32 gauge wires from the same connection instead of using the thicker wire.

Any comments?

[thenapalm]

*Shrug*

I also had trouble working with 26 and 22 gauge wires so I twisted four strands of 30 gauge wire for +V and GND on my Messiah2. Been working great, plays for hours with no problems at all.

[modicullus]

Yeah,... that's what I had figured. I wonder if just a single 32 gauge wire would work for those connections? That's pretty much all I'm using on the machines I put a switch into. I just didn't want to run 26 gauge wire outside of the machine (I didn't want to start drilling holes in the PS2).

Everyone thought that the problem with the Magic3 was that it needed thicker gauge wires, but as we found out afterwards, the Magic3 actually had coding problems (correct me if I'm wrong). Maybe the thicker wires aren't needed after all...

[charlie_ps2]

I am quite certain that electrically you need the right wire to carry the current. There are published tables (search the web) that tell you what length of wire carrying what current should be what gauge.

Magic 2 peaked at ½ amp, ran generally at ¼ amp according to an ad-hoc measurement we took. For the 6 or 7 cms GND wire 22 or 24 awg wire was essential to carry the current.

Newer chips are less current hungry - but those chips with memory attached need more current than those without. So 26 awg should suffice for most chips.

Whilst there are many people who will say that 30 awg or even 32 awg has been used with Power/GND without ill effect, there are many others who have said that switching to thicker wire has cured the problems.

All I can say there is that the reports have not included all the info (like length) that would pinpoint the issues down to the combination of current and distance.

I can add with a degree of certainty that thicker wire cannot be the cause of problems in a properly functioning modchip. I would suspect that a proper contact with the electrical point had not been made.

[loy]

well for magic three u should double up wires or just a bigger gauge for power and ground

[modicullus]

Excellent reply charlie! I guess I'll continue to use the thicker gauge wire then Can't hurt to play it safe...

*note - I actually realized that it is 22awg wire I'm using - not 26.

Cheers!

[itZme]

Hi,
When you install the switch between the MCLR and +5v you aren't directing ALL of the +5v through the switch and it's wires. The chip still feeds directly through your +5v and GND wires that come off the motherboard ( 22ga ) but the switch is only feeding the 5v ( or GND) to the MCLR pin on the Magic chip to change it's operation.
If you were running all the voltage through your switch then you would need those heavier wires out to the switch but in this case you are only routing the signal that would go through the trace you cut on the Magic chip.

Later,
itZme

[modicullus]

Actually,... I think you're right itZme. I didn't realize that I wasn't cutting power to the entire chip. I guess I should have took a closer look at the chip/diagram before I posted. (oops!)

But thanks for the input anyways guys! It's definitley good to know!