Hello all. I was wondering why you see bare bus wire in radios around the RF sections instead of just normal jacketed stranded wire. Is stranded wire OK? What's the thinking behind this practice. Just curious!

Would think that in the RF section, this is the most sensitive " Tuned " part of the radio. Hard bus wire is part of that tuned circuit. Not to be bent, and stay in place once the radio is aligned.

:Would think that in the RF section, this is the most sensitive " Tuned " part of the radio. Hard bus wire is part of that tuned circuit. Not to be bent, and stay in place once the radio is aligned.
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I agree with Warren. Plus, the higher the frequency, the more critical the position. What I mean is that when you get into the FM or shortwave frequencies the placement of parts, coils and wires is absolute. That's because the wire itself becomes both a conductor and an inductor. At these frequencies you'll see coils that are just a couple of turns of wire, sometimes held in place with heat glue.
I'm working on a nice Silvertone AM/FM. When it arrived the AM worked fine except for some power supply hum, but the FM wasn't very sensitive. However, it DID work. After replacing some caps, the FM stopped working. Now it's gonna take me forever to figure out what little change I made.
Oh well, that's what makes this hobby fun
So- be careful moving any bare wires.
Terry

I believe that thick solid wire also does a better job of transferring current at RF frequencies. Litz wire works well at lower RF frequencies, due to each strand being insulated from the next, thereby eliminating shorts between the strands that would set up mini inductor coils throughout the wire. However, thick solid wire seems to be the choice for higher frequencies, due to skin effect.

....Not sure about your particular application, though. All of the above reasons are, however, good reasons to use thick solid wire in the critical parts of the RF circuitry.

T.

You can just take a piece of 12 or 14 gauge house wiring, say a foot long, pull off the insulation, and voila, plenty of bus wire. Plus you can use the insulation as "spaghetti" for components. R.F. does travel on the outside of the wire, and that's why Litz wire with many strands is good, but physical support is needed as it sags.

In A.F. circuits, I prefer Star Grounding, and it really works out well. Plenty of information available about this elsewhere.

I believe that thick solid wire also does a better job of transferring current at RF frequencies. Litz wire works well at lower RF frequencies, due to each strand being insulated from the next, thereby eliminating shorts between the strands that would set up mini inductor coils throughout the wire. However, thick solid wire seems to be the choice for higher frequencies, due to skin effect.
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:....Not sure about your particular application, though. All of the above reasons are, however, good reasons to use thick solid wire in the critical parts of the RF circuitry.
:
:T.
:

:I believe that thick solid wire also does a better job of transferring current at RF frequencies. Litz wire works well at lower RF frequencies, due to each strand being insulated from the next, thereby eliminating shorts between the strands that would set up mini inductor coils throughout the wire. However, thick solid wire seems to be the choice for higher frequencies, due to skin effect.
:
:....Not sure about your particular application, though. All of the above reasons are, however, good reasons to use thick solid wire in the critical parts of the RF circuitry.
:
:T.
:
Thanks everyone. The type of wire I am refering to is about 20 gauge bare usded in the Delco (united motors) r1179 console. There are bare wires hooking the coils (osc, ant, etc.) to the band switch. No large current at all. The wire is not large diameter, just normal hookup wire but non insulated. If stranded wire were used but secured to not move after installation, that this would work just as well. Any thoughts? Dean

::I believe that thick solid wire also does a better job of transferring current at RF frequencies. Litz wire works well at lower RF frequencies, due to each strand being insulated from the next, thereby eliminating shorts between the strands that would set up mini inductor coils throughout the wire. However, thick solid wire seems to be the choice for higher frequencies, due to skin effect.
::
::....Not sure about your particular application, though. All of the above reasons are, however, good reasons to use thick solid wire in the critical parts of the RF circuitry.
::
::T.
::
:Thanks everyone. The type of wire I am refering to is about 20 gauge bare usded in the Delco (united motors) r1179 console. There are bare wires hooking the coils (osc, ant, etc.) to the band switch. No large current at all. The wire is not large diameter, just normal hookup wire but non insulated. If stranded wire were used but secured to not move after installation, that this would work just as well. Any thoughts? Dean
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It sounds to me, without seeing it, that these wires are also being used to physically hold the coils in place. If so then it might a be structural thing too. I still think that the type of wire, position, etc, might be critical, and that moving or replacing it with stranded wire will cause problems. I'm interested in why you feel the need to replace it.
Terry