Cables Coaxial Cable Types for Video Applications RG59/U, RG6/U and
RG11/U Coaxial Cable
Coaxial cable conducts electrical signal using an inner conductor
(usually a solid copper, stranded copper or copper plated steel
wire) surrounded by an insulating layer and all enclosed by a
shield, typically one to four layers of woven metallic braid and
metallic tape.
The cable is protected by an outer insulating jacket. Normally, the
outside of the shield is kept at ground potential and a signal
carrying voltage is applied to the center conductor.
The advantage of coaxial design is that with differential mode,
equal push-pull currents on the inner conductor, and inside of the
outer conductor, the signal's electric and magnetic fields are
restricted to the dielectric, with little leakage outside the shield.
Further, electric and magnetic fields outside the cable are largely
kept from interfering with signals inside the cable, if unequal
currents are filtered out at the receiving end of the line.
This property makes coaxial cable a good choice both for carrying
weak signals, that cannot tolerate interference from the
environment, and for stronger electrical signals, that must not be
allowed to radiate or couple into adjacent structures or circuits.
Larger diameter cables and cables with multiple shields have less
leakage.
Common applications of coaxial cable include video and CATV distribution,
RF and microwave transmission, and computer and instrumentation
data connections
Uses of RG6 vs RG59
As aforementioned, RG6 and RG59 are used for different purposes.
Let’s take a look:
- RG6: Satellite DSS applications, CATV,
- RG59: Plasma TV, component video, video projectors, and other baseband
video applications,
- CCTV. These cables cannot be used in cables or satellite feeds
because they do not have foil shields.
