Camera 5.5mm Power Pigtail/Plug Wire Gauge Thickness

[bmw1999m3 0]

Hello. If the standard power wire size for security cameras is 18 AWG, then why do all the power "pigtail splitter" adapters I see on the market have a crappy little 20 or 22 gauge wire in them? It seems to me like this would be a 'bottleneck' in the power distribution. You'd think even 18 gauge would be too small when you've got multiple cameras being powered on that wire. Nevertheless, I tried it anyway and the cameras worked fine and wire didn't get hot. Is it because wire thickness only matters when considering great distances/runs where volt drop becomes a problem?

[jeromephone 6]

you have it correct. the smaller wire is only going to cause a slight voltage drop if it is short.  There are charts that show how much drop over for wire size and distane. Your camera also tolerates some voltage differences