Some of the radios were wired with double cotton covered wire that had colored stripes woven into the insulation. They held up pretty good.
Others were wired with dyed insulation. No matter what color it was, it faded into a light brown.
To figure out the original color of the dyed wire, use a Xacto knife or similar to shave away the insulation.
Then use your cell phone camera to take as close a picture as possible.
Sometimes the fade doesn't make it all the way and you can get a glimpse of the original color.
When trying this with multiple wires - say the 4 wires coming out of a transformer - I found it useful to
strip a bit off the end of the wires and bend them a little bit. Take a picture of the shaved insulation and the bent
end. This way, you have a clue as to which picture goes with which wire.
Page: /Wire_color/Wire_color.shtml
Last modified: Friday, 24 Apr 2026