Beware counterfeit phone chargers and cables!
8/6/21Â Â Everyone wants a bargain but buying by lowest price continues to be a bad idea. Merchants on Instagram are selling counterfeit Apple phone chargers, lightning cable, and USB power adapters at a steep discount. Only these products tend to explode, causing overheating, fires, and injury such as burns and shocks. A USA Today study checked […]
Mother Nature flexed avalanche muscles, and subsea cable systems went down
7/7/21Â By the time hurricanes strike, they have official names and landing date so people have a name to a tag all the damage, which will be well chronicled by video. Last year, however, there was a memorable natural disaster, only this one did not have a name, an official starting time or much of […]
The determined efforts of these cable workers did not go unnoticed
7/7/21  Sad to report, but it was beavers – determined, hard-working creatures – that were the cause of a temporary Internet outage for 900 residents in Tumbler Ridge in northeastern British Columbia. When a Telus repair crew traced the problem, they found red marking tape on top of a beaver’s den in a local creek. The […]
Are you being worked to death?
June 3, 2021 – Are you being worked to death? If you feel at times as if you are being worked to death … you might be right! To be clear, this news in no way implies that the wire and cable industry is not good for one’s health … but it does raise a concern to […]
Atomic silver microwire created by accident
June 3, 2021 – Penicillin, the microwave oven, Viagra, and chocolate chip cookies were all successful accidental accomplishments. Joining these is one-dimensional (1D) atomic silver wire. Eluding scientists for two decades, this milestone in nanotechnology was achieved by an international team of researchers who were trying to do something else.  Researchers from Fudan University in Shanghai, […]
A word of advice for a potential wire hazard that should not get a quick brush off
5/10/2021:Â Summer is approaching, and for many people that means that it is will be peak time to fire up the grill. There have been many stories about the danger of cleaning your grill with a wire brush, as sharp particles and splinters can break off of stainless steel- and brass-wire brushes. If that happens, those […]
Raw material shortage hits wire and cable supplies
5/7/2021:Â Steel and copper wire makers are facing shortages of raw materials that have already resulted in higher prices and manufacturing slowdowns. Covid-19 shutdowns, growing demand, lack of investment, lack of discovery of new deposits, truck driver shortage, strikes, delays at U.S. ports of entry, and supply chain disruptions have all contributed to the problem. Shortages […]
Wire and cable industries should benefit from Biden’s infrastructure plan
5/7/2021:  Whatever your political affiliation, President Biden’s American Jobs Plan infrastructure investment plan should be welcome news for many wire and cable companies. The American Jobs Plan infrastructure investment plan promises big expansion in broadband internet and clean energy. The plan calls for $100 billion to bring more affordable and reliable high-speed broadband internet, or wireless […]
What is thoriated tungsten wire and why is the Navy asking for industry help to replace it?
4/9/2021:Â The U.S. Navy uses thoriated tungsten wire (W-Th) in their radar equipment. A small piece of W-Th is used inside high power microwave vacuum tubes to amplify radar signals. While W-Th has a good source of electrons and can operate at high temperatures, over time it can decay. One drawback is that making the wire […]
Copper and silver price increases bode well for economic recovery
4/9/2021: Wire buyers, manufacturers and investors who are planning for the upcoming year should see price spikes in wire and cable, specifically copper and silver, which is a healthy sign for the U.S. economy. After the Covid-19 manufacturing slump, companies continue to ramp up. The pent-up demand for wire and cable reflects what should be […]
