Shielded Twisted Pair cable replacement?

[cacofonix]

Hey

Making great progress on my build - till I got to stripping and soldering the shielded twisted pair in my kit.
A combination of not knowing the gauge and my strippers not being precision enough = i've mangled too much of it and need to get more

Some questions
1. What gauge cable is used for the shielded twisted pair? Can I just buy some easily online? Any ideas on what to get?

2. I think I need better precision wire strippers - mine top out at 20-22 awg and theyre not helping me here. Any recommendations on what to get?

Thanks

[Thermioniclife]

The STP for the tube heaters is 22 awg. It would be best to contact replacement parts at Bottlehead as the minimum you can but online is 50 feet.
In the meantime you can practice on the stuff you have left.

[Paul Birkeland]

Definitely get us to send you some more.  Most of what you'll find that's similar is stranded, and using it can brick your build pretty quickly if you're not incredibly careful.

[cacofonix]

Thanks for the help

Ordered a klein precision stripper from amzn
should help my next attempt and I can practice on the bits and bobs I have left

Sent an email to the replacement alias for 4 inches of wire - was struggling to find the exact kind online

@Paul - any educational pointers on why putting in stranded wire could brick the build pretty easily - I'm new but I'd like to learn

[Paul Birkeland]

The strands like to move when you go to place the wire, and that can lead to unexpected shorts.  Stranded wire also doesn't stay where you put it, so you either have to expend extra effort to anchor it down or accept a less tidy layout.

[Adrian]

Last year the CAT 5 cable supplied with my Stereomour kit did not have the foil nor the drain wire.
Fortunately, I had a roll of solid core "backbone" CAT 5 that had the foil and drain wire.

If you need to get the right STP (CAT 5) cable be sure to look for "backbone" cable.  This will be solid core wire vice stranded and is used where the wire will not be subject to flexing, such as installed in walls.  Stranded wire is used where the user will be moving the wire, plugging/unplugging, etc. and can holdup to more frequent flexing.  Solid core wire is more easily broken under these circumstances.

Doing soldering work with stranded wire is always a pain in the rear.

[Paul Birkeland]

Occasionally some of the speaker CAT5 will get mixed in with the shielded CAT5 and we'll have to send replacement wire.  I'm glad you had some shielded CAT5 on hand.

[cacofonix]

Cool! Thanks for the tip re: "backbone" cable

Fingers crossed I don't need more replacements by the time I get to that step
(ego bruised but still enjoying the heck out of this kit)

[Adrian]

Cool! Thanks for the tip re: "backbone" cable

Fingers crossed I don't need more replacements by the time I get to that step
(ego bruised but still enjoying the heck out of this kit)

If you have to get this and you want shielded cable, make sure it is STP (shielded twisted pair) CAT 5 and solid core (backbone).