Hi,

RG-59 is not just for patch cables, it's just an antiquated cable for CATV applications. It carries a higher dropoff rate for higher frequencies, and also has a larger tilt. You can expect to see about a 10DB difference over 500MHz, if not more.

If you're having a difficult time putting fittings on RG-59 and you have RG-59 fittings... take a look at the shield of the cable. How many layers of shielding are there? If there are more than two (ie. two layers of foil and two layers of braided shielding) then we're looking at RG59QS or general use cable type 59 quad shield.

For standard CATV without any digital services, RG-59 should be perfectly OK... digital services ran over RG-59 will work fine as well, although with shorter distance requirements... and higher input signals.