i have RG59 cable installed in an office. I want to use it for Cable TV. What connectors do I need to terminate the cables?

I bought some F type connectors but the cable seems too large for the connectors.

rg-8

u want to use rg6 quad shield

so what is RG59 for? won't it work?

RG59 is used only for patch cables in CATV applications. You have more signal drop over length in RG59 than in RG6. In other words, if you terminate the RG6 where it comes through the wall, for instance, you could use RG59 from the wall to the TV. If the distance from the wall to the TV is more than 25 feet, I'd use RG6 as a patch cable, also. I'm not sure what the spec is on the distance for RG59 in this instance, though. We use RG59 over long distances (600' +) for security cameras and monitors. You could probably get by without quad-shield RG6 for most CATV applications (usually specify quad-shield for satellite applications), but I'd probably go ahead and use it just to eliminate interference.

Just my two cents.
The RG59 may have been for an old arc-net network.

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.

old arc-net stuff was 50ohm is i recall. rg58/59/6=75 ohm

RG-59 could be used for thinnet ethernet.
Aren't BNC connectors so much fun!

Kerry

RG-58 is for computer networks (50 ohms)
RG-59 is for TV (75 ohms)

All the questions you had about Coax but were afaid to ask

Not to be a jackass RG-58 is very common in CATV (community accesss television)

We use it in our headends to provide reliable connections between video equipment, considering that it inherently uses BNC connectors... which are a little bit more consistant.

You'll find the following cables used in CATV:

RG58,59,59QS,6,6QS,7 (uncommon),and finally 11.

There are few other types that we use for microwave and antenna applications, but mostly we use P type or "hardline" cable for that, which is also what we use for distribution.

Currently, there are a bunch of different hardline varities, mostly we use .500 .540 .560 .750 1" and there are a few others.

The problem with that is that each requires a different type of fitting, and also a different type of coring tool to prepare for use.

All of these cables come in three types:

Filled (which uses a gel silica compound to prevent water from corroding the braided shielding)
House (standard cable used for jumpers, outlets, etc.)
Aerial (filled, and also bound with a steel messenger that's used to support the weight of the cable in an aerial drop situation)

Most CATV companies now use RG-6 exclusively, although RG-6QS is used at times too, especially in high interference areas.

Thomas and Betts has released a snap and seal fitting that does both quadshield and standard RG-6, which is a great bonus for the installer.

Compression fittings, like the Thomas And Betts variety are pretty much the standard these days. Crimp fittings are OK, however, they damage the circular nature to the cable, which can cause bad terminations and faulty reflections.

"Screw on" fittings that you'd find at the hardware store are to be avoided... they produce terrible reflections, and don't pass the shield's connection over to the hardware very well.

The key to a good termination is having the cable stripped to 1/4" of copper exposed, and 1/4" of shield and dielectric exposed. Then, taking the shield and folding it back over the sheath like a bannana, and then slipping the PROPER fitting into place until the dielectric is flush with the back of the fitting's inside. The center conductor should not exceed 3/16" past the end of the fitting.

Hope this helps!

Not to be a jackass RG-58 is very common in CATV (community accesss television)
We use it in our headends to provide reliable connections between video equipment, considering that it inherently uses BNC connectors... which are a little bit more consistant.

Not to be a jackass either but I would have a hard time believing that a 50 ohm cable such as RG-58 would be used for video that is 75 ohms and normally uses RG-59, a 75 ohm cable. But then again it WAS the cable company.

There are BNC connectors for many types of coax, RG-59 included.

By the way, CATV stands for Community Antenna Television.

-Hal

One way to tell if it's RG58 vs RG59 is that the shield on RG58 is normally copper whereas RG59 is aluminum (usually). I would venture a bet that this was RG58 for a thin-net connection of years gone by. Thank GOD for progress in technology & speed !!!

Hey, BigRobT! Welcome to the club!

You will need to check the original post dates of ones to which you respond because in this case, it dates back to 2004 with the most recent correspondence being nearly a year ago!

No harm done; I have done it myself on more than one occasion. Again, welcome and please fasten your seatbelt. This will be a very entertaining ride!

Try using the RG-6 connector its made forlarger insulator

Hey, Merritt:

This is a VERY old topic started nearly two years ago. A new person just stumbled upon it and made a recent post.

On another note: RG6 cable has a much larger dielectric insulator than RG59. Even larger again than RG58, in fact I think that RG58's entire cable can just about pass through the hole in an RG6 connector. I don't think going with an RG6 connector on RG59 would have been an option without a shoe horn!

He needed F59 connectors, but that's all over now. F56 connectors would have been fine for most RG6 cable and who knows what to use for the RG58 mentioned in this thread? That stuff is terminated with just about any kind of connector!

oooooppppppps glad you could join the club

Oh yeah.. an old topic..

IIRC, Arc-net used rg-62 @ 93ohms..
thin-net/ethernet/10base2 used rg-58 or a enhanced rg58 @ 50 ohms.

tv antennas and CCTV use rg59/rg6/rg11 @ 75 ohms
catv/satellite uses rg6/rg11 @ 75 ohms..

59 generally has greater loss, and more importantly, less shielding than rg6 or rg11. this is important, as catv uses frequencies that are also used for other services, and if allowed to leak, can interfere with radio communications or other broadcast services.

a quick chart of some common coax types, from greater --> less loss.

50 ohm: rg174, rg58, rg8/rg213/rg214
75 ohm: rg178, rg59, rg6, rg11
93 ohm: rg180, rg62

Not to be a bigger JackA$$ either but it is now called Series 6 or Series 59. Since is not normal used for radios anymore. RG=Radio Grade.

Just my 2 1/2 cents.

Actually RG, which might have stood for Radio Guide, was a military standard which dates back to before WWII.

RG spec cables are still manufactured however technology has allowed us to produce better and more efficient cables that are better suited for the uses we have today.

These cables designs naturally won't comply with any of the old RG specs which haven't been updated since probably the 50's. About the only similarity to the old RG designs is the physical size and many manufacturers will use it as a reference when manufacturing and categorizing their cables.

Thus cables today are described as RG-* size, type, style or series unless it's an one of the original RG spec designs.

-Hal