What is AWG |
The size of a wire in the pair is measured in AWG units. AWG stands for American Wire Gauge. The AWG system describes the wire diameter and roughly indicates the number of steps required in drawing process during wire manufacture. Larger wires require less drawing steps, so the AWG number for those wires is smaller. Smaller wires require more drawing steps, so the AWG number for those wires is larger. Remember: smaller AWG sizes mean larger wire diameters, larger AWG sizes mean smaller wire diameters. The common wire size used in twisted pairs is 24 AWG, which translates to 0.5 millimeters. Other common AWG sizes and their diameters are shown below: 19 AWG = 0.9 mm (0.0359 in) 22 AWG = 0.64 mm (0.0253 in) 24 AWG = 0.5 mm (0.0201 in) 26 AWG = 0.4 mm (0.0159 in) |
Back to Designer's Tips |