RG6 Satellite coax?

[SIMON11]

Is this the same low loss coax as you would use for radio antenna. It just seems cheap at that price.

http://www.cybermarket.co.uk/ishop/923/shopscr2706.html

 

[Tom-H]

Looks like plain old RG6 to me. Methinks you'd be just fine using this for an antenna install.

 

[LarrySC]

Convert price to US dollars and figure freight from UK. Then go buy some at Wal*Mart.

 

[den_1956]

Just out of curiousity, is there much difference between the RG-6 that you would find at Walmart and Radio Shacks RG-6 qs ??

 

[mgosdin]

No, not really.

Mark Gosdin

 

[K5MAR]

Convert price to US dollars and figure freight from UK. Then go buy some at Wal*Mart.

If I recall correctly, Simon is in the UK. Buying from WalMart might be a bit expensive! :lol:

Mark S.

 

[SIMON11]

Thanks for the comments.

Does anyone know the difference between this RG6 satellite coax and this RG6 CATV coax.
There is a big difference in price. The indoor coax seems more expensive than the outdoor.

http://www.jwhardy.co.uk/shop/pages/pl_cable_coax.html

 

[mgosdin]

The indoor RG6 appears to use a stranded core, thus making it more flexible. (First time I've seen RG6 done that way.)

It's the kind of cable that you would use to go from a wall outlet to the back of you TV or VCR. You would want more flexibility in that cable run as it is more likely to be moved, twisted, bent and otherwise abused.

For scanning purposes I wouldn't think that the additional cost would be worth it. I'm using Satellite RG6QS from our local Lowe's Home Improvement store. It's a little stiff to work with, but causes no real problems getting to my scanner.

Mark Gosdin

 

[SIMON11]

The indoor RG6 appears to use a stranded core, thus making it more flexible. (First time I've seen RG6 done that way.)

It's the kind of cable that you would use to go from a wall outlet to the back of you TV or VCR. You would want more flexibility in that cable run as it is more likely to be moved, twisted, bent and otherwise abused.

For scanning purposes I wouldn't think that the additional cost would be worth it. I'm using Satellite RG6QS from our local Lowe's Home Improvement store. It's a little stiff to work with, but causes no real problems getting to my scanner.

Mark Gosdin

Thanks for the info.

I went to my local store to try and get a bit of RG6 satelite coax but they only do H109F digital satellite coax. Would this be any good? I just want to use it to test self built antenna.

 

[MaizeBlueFlyover]

Thanks for the comments.

Does anyone know the difference between this RG6 satellite coax and this RG6 CATV coax.
There is a big difference in price. The indoor coax seems more expensive than the outdoor.

http://www.jwhardy.co.uk/shop/pages/pl_cable_coax.html

RG6 is RG6. Most cable companies and SATV installers are using quad shield RG6 now. You might be seeing a price difference because one has more shielding than the other. The quad shield is better.

If your using the 75 Ohm RG6 for radio purposes, make sure it is for receive only. 75ohm=Cable/Satelite TV, 50ohm=Radio.

 

[mgosdin]

Thanks for the info.

I went to my local store to try and get a bit of RG6 satelite coax but they only do H109F digital satellite coax. Would this be any good? I just want to use it to test self built antenna.

The H109F (?) appears to be something that is UK specific. I couldn't find a U.S. equivalent. Judging from what I could glean from specs found with a Google search it appears to be a higher quality, weather resistant version of RG6 cable.

If you can get it for a price that's acceptable to you I don't see why it wouldn't work just fine for testing your homebuilt.

Mark Gosdin

 

[bluesman905]

If your using the 75 Ohm RG6 for radio purposes, make sure it is for receive only. 75ohm=Cable/Satelite TV, 50ohm=Radio.

So as long as your not transmitting it's cool? My buddy used to install dishes and I had him run me some new RG6 coax to the roofline, I'm all ready to mount an antenna. Never took the 75 vs. 50ohm into consideration.

 

[Al42]

75 ohm is just fine for transmitting under a number of circumstances:

Dipoles are about 72 ohms. 75 ohm cable is a much better match than 50 ohm cable.

1/2 wavelength of cable repeats the impedance at the other end, so you can feed any antenna from any matching transmitter using 1/2 wavelength of any impedance cable.

Matching stubs can be made of almost any cable impedance - 72 ohms is fine if the correct length is used.

IOW, "don't use 75 ohm cable for transmitting" is urban legend. So is "quad shield is better". Better for what? Keeping stray signals out of a plastic box?

 

[SIMON11]

The H109F (?) appears to be something that is UK specific. I couldn't find a U.S. equivalent. Judging from what I could glean from specs found with a Google search it appears to be a higher quality, weather resistant version of RG6 cable.

If you can get it for a price that's acceptable to you I don't see why it wouldn't work just fine for testing your homebuilt.

Mark Gosdin

Thanks for the info. I can get a decent deal on 100m drum of this in my local store so I will go and get some

I just had a look with google. I had been trying with Copernic and didn't find much. I found this which backs up what you say.

http://www.satcure.co.uk/accs/page8.htm

 

[Hoofy]

Not all coax is created equal!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Belden cable company offers 21 different RG-6U cables, 11 different RG-8 cables, 49 different RG59U cables, etc.

This website gives a lots of specs.

http://www.belden.com/college/college.htm

Hoofy

 

[kb2vxa]

WOAH horsie! Why do you guys always insist in muddying the waters? The man asked a simple question and despite they they have different coax in the UK the fact remains RG-6U is RG-6U, period. Full stop in your case Simon. (;->) There is one annoying difference with quad shield, it requires a larger F connector than standard but worth it because of it's superior shielding when used in CATV applications. No, you don't want TV crap on your scanner so I used it for the TV and the scanner and have no leakage problems.

"Then go buy some at Wal*Mart." is exactly what I did and came home with a 500' spool for a great price.

"I can get a decent deal on 100m drum of this in my local store so I will go and get some"
Go for it Simon, you'll be glad you did, just get the proper connectors and crimping die like I mentioned above if you buy the quad.

 

[SIMON11]

Thanks for all this info.

I have bought the coax but find that it possibly has a velocity factor of 0.86 instead of the usual 0.66 Although the loss factor is very good. Apparently A velocity factor of 0.66 means that a wavelength of 3M going in the coax will come out at about 2m. How will this effect the signal with a velocity factor of 0.86 and will this be noticable?

 

[N_Jay]

Thanks for all this info.

I have bought the coax but find that it possibly has a velocity factor of 0.86 instead of the usual 0.66 Although the loss factor is very good. Apparently A velocity factor of 0.66 means that a wavelength of 3M going in the coax will come out at about 2m. How will this effect the signal with a velocity factor of 0.86 and will this be noticable?

Velocity factor is only important when making tuned length of cable. Most people never have to worry about this.

There are differences in the QUALITY of cable and the RG number DOES NOT assure any level of quality.

Shielding is not very important on a receive system like a scanner, unless you are running the cable in a high noise environment that does not exist in the area of the antenna. For most receive system this is NOT important.

 

[SIMON11]

Thanks for this info.
I did read something about tuned length but didn't really grasp the technicalities.

 

[astrodanco]

There are differences in the QUALITY of cable and the RG number DOES NOT assure any level of quality.

You can say that again! I recently upgraded to digital cable at home. About 30 of the digital channels had what appeared to be no signal. I checked everything and finally determined that a length of RG-6QS that I purchased from Radio Shack some years ago was the culprit. I replaced it with some new RG-6 from Frys Electronics. Problem solved. Not only that, but my analog channels now come in clearer as well.