Hi again,

I have several Q's I'm afraid.

I'm a wiring newbie X 20! First off, I'm in the UK... attempting a wuxga with MST controller and an e-ballast that I found very sim to LL's. LCD is a sharp from the good ol US of A.

Because most topics/guides are geared to the american peeps...I'm getting myself in a stress about how to go about all this.

1. Voltage. I would assume there would be a little switch on my power mod for mst controller to change to 240v but I dont see one. Any ideas?

2. Will my lcd just handle it's news current? I know its capable coz of the specs. Will it auto switch?

2. What gauge of wire should I use? I know it has something to do with adding all my amps up... but when a ballast fires up won't it have a higher current running through it then when it is running? Is it safer to just go with a bigger wire. Does this have an adverse effect on performance? Do I need to use different gauges for different parts of the circ?

I'm so sorry it is a lot of Q's but I'm going to drive myself mad pretty soon. When I first found this site... I knew it would consume some of my life... but my employer/university and girlfriend are all on the verge of firing me - so I have to have something to show for it

Many thanks,
Sean

Not familiar with that particular controller so you'll have to verify that independently.


Your controller will provide what the LCD requires provided the controller is properly fed.


12 gauge wire will be more than sufficient to supply all the components of your build. That's everything taken as a whole. Each individual component will have its own particular needs in terms of supply wiring. That is to say you don't want to run 12 gauge wire to a cooling fan but you do want to run a heavy gauge wire to your ballast.

The simplest thing to do is to observe what everything was provided with by the manufacturer. You'll see something like 14 or 16 gauge wire on the power cord to an eballast or similar "leads" to a coil and core ballast. Fans will have like 22 or 24 gauge (approximately - total guess). Just don't use anything smaller than what is on the component and you'll be safe.

But remember, the main power cord for your build should be heavy enough to supply ALL parts of the build taken as a whole.

We don't mind questions so keep asking.

Thanks Durachko, that really helps. But The wires do not have numbers...so should I just wonder the around the wire shop until I find a thickness that matches?

One other thing that doesn't make sense to me. You say 12 gauge will be more than suff to supply all components as a whole - but each individual component will have its own needs in terms of supply wiring...so what do you mean by the first bit i feel very dumb!

Well, my build has one power cord supplying the whole thing. Kind of like this:

Click to view attachment

I then plug other stuff into it internally (I have this power bus buried in my projector case).

I made sure this thing - pictured above - was of sufficient capacity (wire gauge) to supply all components in my build (HTPC, ballast, fans, etc.)

As for determining what gauge any given piece of wire is one can find little jingies like this:

Click to view attachment