Stupid Question #21 (for those of you keeping track)

[jimswinder]

Okay...I openly admit I know practically NOTHING about electronics and am amazed that I was able to solder some LOR kits together and have them actually WORK!!

But to the question at hand...due to something I want to do in my display, I find the need (if it is feasible) for some 24 conductor cable...but was thinking flat ribbon cable would even work better for my situation (SPT-2 might be too heavy and bulky)

I would be using it on 50ct M6 LED's. Sorry, don't know any of the pertinent info you would need to figure out the wire size...was hoping to look at the strings tonight and see if that info is on one of the labels.

But I would only have 1 string of LED's on each set of wires (12 strings per cable) for a length of about 20'.

All together I would need about 500' of 24 conductor, 200' of 12 conductor and 200' of 8 conductor cables.

Is Flat Ribbon Cable more or less (cost wise) than regular cable with the same amount of conductors? Or would it even be able to handle LED's?

EDIT:

Of course the second I hit the "SEND" button, I realized they probably don't even make Ribbon Cable for outdoor use...do they?

[JBullard]

In addition to the current rating of the cable/conductor, what is the voltage rating of the insulation on the cable?

Almost all the 120 volt SPT wire we normally use in our displays, the insulation has a voltage rating of at least 300 volts.

So, I wouldn't even think about using a wire that is rated for "low voltage", with a 120 volt application.

I know some people have, just me, I won't!

[jimswinder]

JBullard wrote:

So, I wouldn't even think about using a wire that is rated for "low voltage", with a 120 volt application.

So I take it there is no "High Voltage" flat ribbon cable?

[JBullard]

jimswinder wrote:

So I take it there is no "High Voltage" flat ribbon cable?

I don't know, there may be. Just, in my opinion, I would check the voltage rating of the insulation for use in my display.

[jimswinder]

Thanks John...wasn't planning on using something that was not rated properly...that's why I asked!!

[ErnieHorning]

That grey stuff that you see everywhere, believe it or not, is rated at 300 volts.