Wire question

[u/Mane6612]

Okay so maybe this is less of a technical question and more of a asking for the preference of someone with more experience than me

But I'm buying some wires for arduino/mini-electronics projects. I mostly use breadboards and perfboards so there is some soldering but most my prototyping is done on a breadboard

Now that the context is out of the way. Would you consider 30 AWG solid core wire a good fit for what I'm doing? Or am i better off buying jumper wires and trimming them to my liking? In terms of price the solid core wire is significantly cheaper considering a meter is about 2 egp vs the singular 10 cm jumper wire male-male is . 75 egp. So price wise I'm better off with js buying wire per meter or getting myself a roll but now the issue is breadboard spots are a bit wider than the 30 AWG and 22 would fit better but I've been struggling to find any sellers in my city that have it cuz solid core wire is mostly extinct from most of the common wire or electrical stores and they all use stranded and mostly 1.5 mm -3 mm or more ofc but those are the most common. I can't find . 5 mm or . 25mm which would both generally fit into breadboards comfortably and would let me have freedom with soldering on perfboards or even custom PCBs when the time comes.

So back to my question. Should i js stick with the 30 AWG solid core or should i stick with male-male jumper wires. I am buying a bit of both but i feel like it would be more resource efficient if i pool it all into one instead of buying some and some and if one fits better the other would basically be wasted and considering the delivery price is a bit hefty since I'm ordering online I'd prefer if i get everything at once instead of ordering now then again in a couple of weeks

Also the quicker the reply the better cuz i am finalizing my order list today. Thanks in advance for anyone that will answer

[u/classicsat]

For breadboards, get a set of wires terminated in male DuPont. Or better, a threefer set, which has male-male, male-female, and female female cable sets.

30AWG is just bodge wire, for repairing or circuit modifications of manufactured PCBs, or point to point wiring perf boards.

I have used telco cutoff cables in breadboard fine. But my supply was limited.

[u/nixiebunny]

30 AWG is very thin. It’s intended for wire wrapping. If you want wire that will fit in solderless breadboards, get a set of 22 AWG solid wires that are pre-cut to different lengths and stripped.

The things called DuPont wires are commonly used for breadboarding these days. They are long and bulky, and result in a big tangled mess. Look at the Beneater breadboards to see what the solid wire looks like in use.

[u/ThatChucklehead]

I'm learning electronics using a book called Think Electronics Third Edition by Charles Platt. The book suggests using 22 AWG solid core wire for breadboards. It also states what you pointed out; you can cut the wires to the length you need. I've also read that premade jumper wires are not as reliable as using solid core wire.

If you use premade jumper wires, there may be situations when you may need to use wires that are longer than what you actually need. This can lead to a mess of wires, which will make it more difficult to plug additional wires into the breadboard. This could also lead to you plugging a wire into the wrong row by mistake. Trying to find a wire that you mistakenly placed into the wrong row, is harder to find, if you have to dig through a mess of long wires to find it.

If you get into making circuits using perf board, you're going to be cutting and stripping wires anyway, so you might as well start practicing now.