Metric / AWG wire or cable equivalents
- the equivalents between the American AWG wires and metric wires or cables
There are two main systems or measurements used for defining
the size of cables or wires used for electrical and electronic equipment. These
wires and cables are used in all areas of radio, electronics and electrical
work.
The table below gives a cross reference between the American
Wire Gauge (AWG) system and the metric system where wire and cable sizes are
measured by their cross sectional area in square millimetres. Where multiple
strands are used this can be expressed as the number of strands or a certain
wire. As an example seven strands of 0.032 mm wire would be expressed as 7 /
0.032.
For the wires and cables defined under the AWG system, the
gauge numbers applied to the wire are for the overall wire whether it is a
single strand of a bunch of strands with an equivalent size. This means that the
gauge size only determines its overall cross sectional area, and not its
physical construction.
The table with approximate equivalents for wires and cables
is given below:
Cross Sectional
area sq mm |
AWG |
Approximate resistance
ohms / km |
| 0.032 |
32 |
580 |
| 0.051 |
30 |
350 |
| 0.081 |
28 |
230 |
| 0.128 |
26 |
150 |
| 0.163 |
25 |
110 |
| 0.22 |
24 |
76 |
| 0.25 |
23 |
70 |
| 0.32 |
22 |
55 |
| 0.41 |
21 |
44 |
| 0.52 |
20 |
35 |
| 0.75 |
18 |
23 |
| 1.32 |
16 |
15 |
| 2.08 |
14 |
9 |
| 2.5 |
13 |
7 |
| 4.0 |
11 |
4.5 |
While every effort has been made to ensure the correctness of
the wire and cable data, no responsibility can be accepted for any errors or the
consequences of any errors
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