American Wire Gauge Conductor Size Table

American wire gauge (AWG) is a standardized wire gauge system for the diameters of round, solid, nonferrous, electrically conducting wire. The larger the AWG number or wire guage, the smaller the physical size of the wire. The smallest AWG size is 40 and the largest is 0000 (4/0). AWG general rules of thumb – for every 6 gauge decrease, the wire diameter doubles and for every 3 gauge decrease, the cross sectional area doubles. Note – W&M Wire Gauge, US Steel Wire Gauge and Music Wire Gauge are different systems.

American Wire Gauge (AWG) Sizes and Properties Chart / Table

Table 1 lists the AWG sizes for electrical cables / conductors. In addition to wire size, the table provides values load (current) carrying capacity, resistance and skin effects. The resistances and skin depth noted are for copper conductors. A detailed description of each conductor property is described below Table 1.

AWG	Diameter [inches]	Diameter [mm]	Area [mm2]	Resistance [Ohms / 1000 ft]	Resistance [Ohms / km]	Max Current [Amperes]	Max Frequency for 100% skin depth
0000 (4/0)	0.46	11.684	107	0.049	0.16072	302	125 Hz
000 (3/0)	0.4096	10.40384	85	0.0618	0.202704	239	160 Hz
00 (2/0)	0.3648	9.26592	67.4	0.0779	0.255512	190	200 Hz
0 (1/0)	0.3249	8.25246	53.5	0.0983	0.322424	150	250 Hz
1	0.2893	7.34822	42.4	0.1239	0.406392	119	325 Hz
2	0.2576	6.54304	33.6	0.1563	0.512664	94	410 Hz
3	0.2294	5.82676	26.7	0.197	0.64616	75	500 Hz
4	0.2043	5.18922	21.2	0.2485	0.81508	60	650 Hz
5	0.1819	4.62026	16.8	0.3133	1.027624	47	810 Hz
6	0.162	4.1148	13.3	0.3951	1.295928	37	1100 Hz
7	0.1443	3.66522	10.5	0.4982	1.634096	30	1300 Hz
8	0.1285	3.2639	8.37	0.6282	2.060496	24	1650 Hz
9	0.1144	2.90576	6.63	0.7921	2.598088	19	2050 Hz
10	0.1019	2.58826	5.26	0.9989	3.276392	15	2600 Hz
11	0.0907	2.30378	4.17	1.26	4.1328	12	3200 Hz
12	0.0808	2.05232	3.31	1.588	5.20864	9.3	4150 Hz
13	0.072	1.8288	2.62	2.003	6.56984	7.4	5300 Hz
14	0.0641	1.62814	2.08	2.525	8.282	5.9	6700 Hz
15	0.0571	1.45034	1.65	3.184	10.44352	4.7	8250 Hz
16	0.0508	1.29032	1.31	4.016	13.17248	3.7	11 k Hz
17	0.0453	1.15062	1.04	5.064	16.60992	2.9	13 k Hz
18	0.0403	1.02362	0.823	6.385	20.9428	2.3	17 kHz
19	0.0359	0.91186	0.653	8.051	26.40728	1.8	21 kHz
20	0.032	0.8128	0.518	10.15	33.292	1.5	27 kHz
21	0.0285	0.7239	0.41	12.8	41.984	1.2	33 kHz
22	0.0254	0.64516	0.326	16.14	52.9392	0.92	42 kHz
23	0.0226	0.57404	0.258	20.36	66.7808	0.729	53 kHz
24	0.0201	0.51054	0.205	25.67	84.1976	0.577	68 kHz
25	0.0179	0.45466	0.162	32.37	106.1736	0.457	85 kHz
26	0.0159	0.40386	0.129	40.81	133.8568	0.361	107 kHz
27	0.0142	0.36068	0.102	51.47	168.8216	0.288	130 kHz
28	0.0126	0.32004	0.081	64.9	212.872	0.226	170 kHz
29	0.0113	0.28702	0.0642	81.83	268.4024	0.182	210 kHz
30	0.01	0.254	0.0509	103.2	338.496	0.142	270 kHz
31	0.0089	0.22606	0.0404	130.1	426.728	0.113	340 kHz
32	0.008	0.2032	0.032	164.1	538.248	0.091	430 kHz
33	0.0071	0.18034	0.0254	206.9	678.632	0.072	540 kHz
34	0.0063	0.16002	0.0201	260.9	855.752	0.056	690 kHz
35	0.0056	0.14224	0.016	329	1079.12	0.044	870 kHz
36	0.005	0.127	0.0127	414.8	1360	0.035	1100 kHz
37	0.0045	0.1143	0.01	523.1	1715	0.0289	1350 kHz
38	0.004	0.1016	0.00797	659.6	2163	0.0228	1750 kHz
39	0.0035	0.0889	0.00632	831.8	2728	0.0175	2250 kHz
40	0.0031	0.07874	0.00501	1049	3440	0.0137	2900 kHz

 

At high frequencies, a loudspeaker radiates sound directly forward in half space. At low frequencies, the sound is not direectional and radiates into full space. This results in a gradual shift in the frequency response of -6dB from the highs to the lows. This loss of bass can be modeled and compensated for. For more technical information on the subject see these great pages, Loudspeaker Diffraction Loss and Compensation by John L. Murphy and Baffle Step Compensation by Rod Elliott. The calulator below can be used to calculate a passive baffle step compensation circuit.

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Speaker Baffle Step Compensation Cicuit Calculator

A Baffle Step Correction Circuit (also referred to as Baffle Step Compensation or Baffle Difraction Loss), can be used to solve the baffle step response problem of loudspeakers in free space. A schematic of the Baffle Step Correction Circuit is shown below. The Baffle Step Correction Circuit is placed between the amplifier and the speaker. For information and theory and examples of a passive baffle step compensation circuit, see Martin J. King’s article Simple Sizing of the Components in a Baffle Step Correction Circuit.

Where:

• R_e is the DC resistance of the driver voice coil [ohms],
• W_b is the width of the baffle [inches],
• dB is the amount of attenuation required [decibels],
• f₃ is the frequency midpoint of the transition from 4π space to 2π space,
• L_bsc is the calculated baffle step correction circuit Inductor [mH] and
• R_bsc is the calculated baffle step correction circuit Resistor [ohms].

You can use this online calculator to determine the value of the required baffle step correction circuit Inductor (L_bsc) and Resistor (R_bsc). To use the online calculator, simply enter R_e, W_b and dB (the amount of attenuation required) into the boxes below and click the CALCULATE button. Use the CLEAR button to reset all the values.

NOTE: This online calculator requires that JavaScript be enabled on your browser.

Re [ohms]

Wb [inches]

dB [decibels]

f3 [Hz]

Lbsc [mH]

Rbsc [ohms]

 

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An Impedance Equalization Circuit, also know as a Zobel circuit, can be used to counteract the rising impedance of a voice coil caused by inductive reactance. The cause of this impedance rise is due to the speaker’s voice coil inductance (L_e). A schematic of a impedance equalization circuit (zobel) is shown below. The impedance equalization circuit is usually placed after the crossover circuitry.

Where:

• R_e is the DC Resistance of the driver [ohms]
• L_e is the Voice coil Inductance of the driver [H]
• R_z is the calculated Zobel resistor [ohms] and
• C_z is the calculated Zobel capacitor [F].

Use this online calculator to determine the required Zobel resistor and capacitor. Simply enter R_e and L_e into the boxes below and click the CALCULATE button. Use the CLEAR button to reset all the values.

NOTE: This online calculator requires that JavaScript be enabled on your browser.

Re [ohms]

Le [mH]

Cz [µF]

Rz [ohms]

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