Shielding Tape: The quest for a good price

rojo412 · #1 07-21-2010, 11:47 PM

I was quite annoyed at the price of copper shielding tape. I couldn't believe I had to spend $6 on a 1"x5' roll. LAME!

There HAD to be a better price, I thought, so I searched a bit and found 3M tape rolls, 1"x18 Yards (54 ft) and thought "This has to be a better deal." $50 for that roll, from what I could find...

Shopped a bit on Stewmac, Allparts, and guess what...

They have the better deal.

648 sq/in for $50 on the roll of tape

The same amount of tape is 4.5 - $8 (12"x12") sheets of tape at Allparts ($36)

And Stewmac is even better with the combo pack (plus, you get widths!)
540 sq/in for $20 is a LOT cheaper. Buy 2 of that pack and get 1080 for less than 1 roll of the 3M.
Or the 2" tape roll is 360 sq/in for $11.82, still a great deal.

Anyone know where you could find this any cheaper? Adhesive backed copper tape, with conductive adhesive, usable sizes (1" wide rolls of tape, sheets, etc)...

calebbarton · #2 07-21-2010, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rojo412

I was quite annoyed at the price of copper shielding tape. I couldn't believe I had to spend $6 on a 1"x5' roll. LAME!

There HAD to be a better price, I thought, so I searched a bit and found 3M tape rolls, 1"x18 Yards (54 ft) and thought "This has to be a better deal." $50 for that roll, from what I could find...

Shopped a bit on Stewmac, Allparts, and guess what...

They have the better deal.

648 sq/in for $50 on the roll of tape

The same amount of tape is 4.5 - $8 (12"x12") sheets of tape at Allparts ($36)

And Stewmac is even better with the combo pack (plus, you get widths!)
540 sq/in for $20 is a LOT cheaper. Buy 2 of that pack and get 1080 for less than 1 roll of the 3M.
Or the 2" tape roll is 360 sq/in for $11.82, still a great deal.

Anyone know where you could find this any cheaper? Adhesive backed copper tape, with conductive adhesive, usable sizes (1" wide rolls of tape, sheets, etc)...

I just bought 20something yards on ebay for 10 bucks. its about 2" wide. Free shipping from china in about a week or so.

Lowend65 · #3 07-21-2010, 11:54 PM

I'm bettin you could find it at Fry's for super cheap

FunkMetalBass · #4 07-22-2010, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Lowend65

I'm bettin you could find it at Fry's for super cheap

I could not find it at Fry's when I looked. I asked an employee if they had any copper tape, and he asked me what it was and for what it was used.

OP, your post was very hard to read. Maybe a layout change to make comparisons easier to see?

Johnny Mack · #5 07-22-2010, 06:41 PM

i just went looking locally. it was a no go at radioshack, home depot, lowes, and an electrical supply warehouse. luckily i didnt really need it in the end.

254 stringer · #6 07-22-2010, 06:45 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by calebbarton

I just bought 20something yards on ebay for 10 bucks. its about 2" wide. Free shipping from china in about a week or so.

dont eat it no telling what extra chemicals it will have in it coming from china

rojo412 · #7 07-22-2010, 11:10 PM

Cost per square inch:

3M 1181 Roll: $.077 per square inch
Allparts Sheet: $.055 per square inch
Stewmac combo pack rolls: $.037 per square inch

How's that?

cvogel · #8 07-22-2010, 11:40 PM

i have had good luck with the copper tape they sell in the garden department of most osh/lowes type stores. it is like 10 bucks, and i got enough tape for 2 or 3 basses. its used for repelling snails.

SurferJoe46 · #9 07-23-2010, 10:21 AM

So - is copper tape the ONLY option?

I wonder about any other soft metallic tapes. If it's a necessity for JUST copper, then OK - but somehow I think any metallic tape is good to use if it's contiguous and has no breaks in the chamber it creates for the electronics.

MK1 · #10 07-23-2010, 10:27 AM

I've used the aluminum tape they use to connect duct work. You can get it at any hardware store and I think it only cost about $6. It's working just fine for me.

Rick Auricchio · #11 07-23-2010, 10:41 AM

You can solder very easily to copper. Aluminum tape probably won't take solder, but you can use a small wood screw to attach a wire to it.

joeyl · #12 07-23-2010, 11:04 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by rojo412

Cost per square inch:

3M 1181 Roll: $.077 per square inch
Allparts Sheet: $.055 per square inch
Stewmac combo pack rolls: $.037 per square inch

How's that?

http://cgi.ebay.com/60mm-X-30M-COPPE...#ht_1433wt_656

if I did the calculation and conversion right:

it comes out as 0.01647 per square inch

Jazzdogg · #13 07-23-2010, 11:30 AM

Hmmmmm, there appears to be a dimension missing in these posts: thickness. If it's too thin, it's a PITA to work with.

chunger · #14 07-24-2010, 05:36 AM

I used the Stewmac stuff, and it worked great. . . but, there was measurably better continuity with soldered joints than with the conductive adhesive alone, so I ended up spot soldering all of the pieces together.

So, I switched to cheap Ebay stuff shipped directly from Hong Kong. It's thinner but the non-conductive adhesive sticks better and the foil solders a bit easier. I get many times more material for the price. Functionally, the thinner copper doesn't really make a difference as long as it does not effect your ability to install cleanly.

Wud · #15 07-25-2010, 08:34 AM

As previously mentioned you will likely find what you need in a garden centre.

Slug repellent copper tape -

http://www.wigglywigglers.co.uk/shop...roduct_id=1219

rojo412 · #16 07-25-2010, 10:25 AM

That's awesome! I'm gonna have to look for that.

Johnny Crab · #17 07-25-2010, 02:15 PM

Reference stuff.
Stew Mac article: http://www.stewmac.com/tradesecrets/...0052_shielding

A shielding job report on TB:
Shielded my SX today (pics!)

I've got a few that need this treatment also....

cassius987 · #18 07-25-2010, 02:39 PM

Why is Stew Mac saying you can cure 60 Hz hum with shielding? That's patently false. It fixes buzz but in no way does it fix hum, never in my life have I witnessed that.

SurferJoe46 · #19 07-25-2010, 03:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by cassius987

Why is Stew Mac saying you can cure 60 Hz hum with shielding? That's patently false. It fixes buzz but in no way does it fix hum, never in my life have I witnessed that.

Might just be a semantics issue here.

If the 60Hz is coming in as from a transformer from your toroid and getting injected into your bass by getting into the p'ups or controls in the bass - that MAY be cut severely or totally eliminated.

HOWEVER if the 60 Hz is on a line that has a floating ground or is getting into the amp via an unfiltered source, then it won't work at all to close the barn door if the fire is in the farmer's house.