Coaxial Cable - Standards

Standards

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Most coaxial cables have a characteristic impedance of either 50, 52, 75, or 93 Ω. The RF industry uses standard type-names for coaxial cables. Thanks to television, RG-6 is the most commonly used coaxial cable for home use, and the majority of connections outside Europe are by F connectors.

A series of standard types of coaxial cable were specified for military uses, in the form "RG-#" or "RG-#/U". They date from World War II and were listed in MIL-HDBK-216 published in 1962. These designations are now obsolete. The RG designation stands for Radio Guide; the U designation stands for Universal. The current military standard is MIL-SPEC MIL-C-17. MIL-C-17 numbers, such as "M17/75-RG214," are given for military cables and manufacturer's catalog numbers for civilian applications. However, the RG-series designations were so common for generations that they are still used, although critical users should be aware that since the handbook is withdrawn there is no standard to guarantee the electrical and physical characteristics of a cable described as "RG-# type". The RG designators are mostly used to identify compatible connectors that fit the inner conductor, dielectric, and jacket dimensions of the old RG-series cables.

Common Coaxial Cables
type impedance
ohms		 core Dielectric Type Dielectric VF Dielectric in Dielectric mm OD in OD mm shields comments max attenuation @ 750 MHz db/100 ft
RG-6/U 75 1.0 mm PF 0.75 0.185 4.7 0.270 6.86 double Low loss at high frequency for cable television, satellite television and cable modems 5.65
RG-6/UQ 75 PF 0.298 7.57 quad This is "quad shield RG-6". It has four layers of shielding; regular RG-6 has only one or two 5.65
RG-7 75 1.30 mm PF 0.225 5.72 0.320 8.13 double Low loss at high frequency for cable television, satellite television and cable modems 4.57
RG-8/U 50 2.17 mm PE 0.285 7.2 0.405 10.3 Amateur radio; Thicknet (10BASE5) is similar 5.967
RG-8X 50 1.0 mm PF 0.75 0.185 4.7 0.242 6.1 double A thinner version, with the electrical characteristics of RG-8U in a diameter similar to RG-6. 10.946
RG-9/U 51 PE 0.420 10.7
RG-11/U 75 1.63 mm PE 0.66 0.285 7.2 0.412 10.5 Triple/Quad Used for long drops and underground conduit 3.65
RG-56/U 48 1.4859 mm 0.535 13.589 Dual/Quad Cable TV installations
RG-58/U 50 0.81 mm PE 0.66 0.116 2.9 0.195 5.0 single Used for radiocommunication and amateur radio, thin Ethernet (10BASE2) and NIM electronics, Loss 1.056 dB/m @ 2.4 GHz. Common. 13.104
RG-59/U 75 0.81 mm PE 0.66 0.146 3.7 0.242 6.1 single Used to carry baseband video in closed-circuit television, previously used for cable television. In general, it has poor shielding but will carry an HQ HD signal or video over short distances. 9.708
3C-2V 75 0.50 mm PE 0.85 3.0 5.4 single Used to carry television, video observation systems, and other. PVC jacket.
5C-2V 75 0.80 mm PE 0.82 +/-2 0.181 4.6 0.256 6.5 double Used for interior lines for monitoring system, CCTV feeder lines, wiring between the camera and control unit and video signal transmission. PVC jacket.
RG-60/U 50 1.024 mm PE 0.425 10.8 single Used for high-definition cable TV and high-speed cable Internet.
RG-62/U 92 PF 0.84 0.242 6.1 single Used for ARCNET and automotive radio antennas.
RG-62A 93 ASP 0.242 6.1 single Used for NIM electronics
RG-142 50 4.95 double
RG-174/U 50 7x0.16 mm PE 0.66 0.059 1.5 0.100 2.55 single Common for wifi pigtails: more flexible but higher loss than RG58; used with LEMO 00 connectors in NIM electronics. 23.565
RG-178/U 50 7×0.1 mm
(Ag-plated Cu-clad Steel)		 PTFE 0.69 0.033 0.84 0.071 1.8 single Used for high-frequency signal transmission. 42.7 @ 900 MHz
RG-179/U 75 7×0.1 mm
(Ag-plated Cu)		 PTFE 0.67 0.063 1.6 0.098 2.5 single VGA RGBHV
RG-180B/U 95 0.0120 in
(Ag-plated Cu-clad steel)		 PTFE 0.102 2.59 0.145 3.68 single Ag covered Cu VGA RGBHV
RG-188A/U 50 7×0.16 mm
(Ag-plated Cu-clad Steel)		 PTFE 0.70 0.06 1.52 0.1 2.54 single 90 @ 900 MHz
RG-213/U 50 7×0.0296 in Cu PE 0.66 0.285 7.2 0.405 10.3 single For radiocommunication and amateur radio, EMC test antenna cables. Typically lower loss than RG58. Common. 5.967
RG-214/U 50 7×0.0296 in PE 0.66 0.285 7.2 0.425 10.8 double Used for high-frequency signal transmission. 6.702
RG-218 50 0.195 in Cu PE 0.66 0.660 (0.680?) 16.76 (17.27?) 0.870 22 single Large diameter, not very flexible, low loss (2.5dB/100' @ 400 MHz), 11kV dielectric withstand. 2.834
RG-223/U 50 0.88 mm PE 0.66 0.0815 2.07 0.212 5.4 double Silver-plated shields. Sample RG-223 Datasheet 11.461
RG-316/U 50 7x0.0067 in PTFE 0.695 0.060 1.5 0.098 2.6 single used with LEMO 00 connectors in NIM electronics; 22.452
RG-400/U 50 19x0.20mm PTFE 2.95 4.95 double 12.566
H155 50 19 x 0.28 mm 0.79 5.4 lower loss at high frequency for radiocommunication and amateur radio
H500 50 0.82 low loss at high frequency for radiocommunication and amateur radio
LMR-100 50 2.79 low loss communications, 1.36 dB/meter @ 2.4 GHz 20.725
LMR-195 50 4.95 low loss communications, 0.620 dB/meter @ 2.4 GHz 10.125
LMR-200
HDF-200
CFD-200		 50 1.12 mm Cu PF 0.83 0.116 2.95 0.195 4.95 low loss communications, 0.554 dB/meter @ 2.4 GHz 9.035
LMR-240 50 1.42 mm Cu PF 0.84 0.150 3.81 0.240 6.1 double Amateur radio, low loss replacement for RG-8X 6.877
LMR-400
HDF-400
CFD-400		 50 2.74 mm
(Cu-clad Al)		 PF 0.85 0.285 7.24 0.405 10.29 low loss communications, 0.223 dB/meter @ 2.4 GHz 3.544
LMR-600 50 4.47 mm
(Cu-clad Al)		 PF 0.87 0.455 11.56 0.590 14.99 low loss communications, 0.144 dB/meter @ 2.4 GHz 2.264
LMR-900 50 6.65 mm
(BC tube)		 PF 0.87 0.680 17.27 0.870 22.10 low loss communications, 0.098 dB/meter @ 2.4 GHz 1.537
LMR-1200 50 8.86 mm
(BC tube)		 PF 0.88 0.920 23.37 1.200 30.48 low loss communications, 0.075 dB/meter @ 2.4 GHz 1.143
LMR-1700 50 13.39 mm
(BC tube)		 PF 0.89 1.350 34.29 1.670 42.42 low loss communications, 0.056 dB/meter @ 2.4 GHz 0.844
QR-320 75 1.80 mm PF 0.395 10.03 single Low loss line, which replaced RG-11 in most applications 3.34
QR-540 75 3.15 mm PF 0.610 15.49 single Low loss hard line 1.85
QR-715 75 4.22 mm PF 0.785 19.94 single Low loss hard line 1.49
QR-860 75 5.16 mm PF 0.960 24.38 single Low loss hard line 1.24
QR-1125 75 6.68 mm PF 1.225 31.12 single Low loss hard line 1.01

Dielectric Material Codes

  • FPE is foamed polyethylene
  • PE is solid polyethylene
  • PF is polyethylene foam
  • PTFE is polytetrafluoroethylene;
  • ASP is air space polyethylene

VF is the Velocity Factor; it is determined by the effective and

  • VF for solid PE is about 0.66
  • VF for foam PE is about 0.79 to 0.88
  • VF for air is about 1.00
  • VF for solid PTFE is about 0.70
  • VF for foam PTFE is about 0.84

There are also other designation schemes for coaxial cables such as the URM, CT, BT, RA, PSF and WF series.

Read more about this topic:  Coaxial Cable

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