[Heathkit] High Voltage Wires for New Wiring Harness

[L L bahr]

Maybe someone on here has a few ideas to solve my problem.

I am re-kitting a really rough Heathkit DX-100.  Presently,  I have it all torn down to parts and am having the chassis re-plated.  Then I plan to rebuild it like a new kit with new resistors, caps, hardware etc.  (I have almost all the new parts I need ready to be used).  I also have to make up a new wiring harness as the old one is now cut out short plus the plastic has hardened over the years from age and heat.  My plans called for making the harness up with colored Teflon wire I have in the shack.

However, that said, I have a BIG problem with a couple of the wires within the wiring harness.  There are a few RED and one YELLOW wires carrying high voltage.  With modulation the voltage could reach almost 1500 volts on peak  (750 volts static).  Heathkit used the same gauge wire on these lines but the insulation is much thicker on them.  I'm guessing the wire gauge on all the wires is around a number 18 or 20 gauge wire.  I'd guess the insulation on the existing higher voltage wires brings the outside wire diameter with insulation to around 1/8th inch.

Here is the question, where can I obtain some RED and some Yellow 18 or 20 gauge wire with insulation good for 1500 volts I can buy in small quantities? I'm guessing I need around 12 foot of Red and maybe 3 foot of Yellow.  I'd have to really check to see if my lengths are correct, but as you can see,  I need very little wire.  If this doesn't work, where could I buy the needed wire in any other color including clear?  

I thought of the center conductor of RG-58A/U coax cable but when I looked up the Beldon spec I was shocked to see it is only rated at around 300 volts.  I got the idea knowing Drake used the center conductor of RG-8U for their high voltage leads in the L4 and L-7 amps.  (RG-8/U center conductor would just be too large in diameter for my needs.

Anyone on here with ideas I could use for my project?  (I know it would be cheaper to buy another transmitter in better shape, but that is not the direction or path I am taking.) 

Thanks,

Lee Bahr, w0vt
Kingwood, Texas
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