Talk:RG-59

Please someone that knows this or give a range if it's not precise. Thank you — Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.188.241.150 (talk) 09:03, 14 April 2013 (UTC)Reply

to the author.... please be more specific about distances.

"a short distance" is like "a piece of string"

I don't think the discussion about the preference of UTP vs Fibre Optic as an alternative distribution medium belongs here. --Moor Fiend (talk) 12:48, 29 June 2009 (UTC)Reply

what is the dB per 100m loss ? at 100MHz ? etc etc because the minimum information required is Impedance (in Ohms) and Loss (dB per length at frequency). without this information (BOTH bits) everything else is waffle —Preceding unsigned comment added by 217.149.44.21 (talk) 14:09, 1 February 2010 (UTC)Reply

What is the difference between RG59/U and RG59 ? you mention both in your article. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Gcelec (talk • contribs) 17:33, 5 February 2010 (UTC)Reply

They have different impedance.--agr (talk) 18:06, 11 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

I don't know much about this stuff, but I do know that RG59 is slightly smaller than RG6. You say it refers to the page number of an obsolete book, well I think you may be wrong. I believe it actually refers to the size, I reason this by simple logic. If I am wrong, well then I am, but at least my logic is based on fact that can be checked out. Not on some obsolete book that no one can check. I guess I won't be looking to Wiki for answers anymore, I just can't trust the info. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.18.152.240 (talk) 15:30, 9 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

Wow, I am amazed. Thank you for the fast response, my faith in Wiki has been restored. I am glad to know that these are monitored and taken seriously. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.18.152.240 (talk) 15:59, 10 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

The numbers do not refer to size, they were assigned sequentially as new types were given military specification nomenclature. The term Radio Guide did not refer to a book, but rather items used to carry radio frequency energy, such as military coaxial cable^[1]. (talk) 18:17, 11 April 2010 (UTC)Reply

Video coaxial cables Video cabling introduction

Analog signals (audio or video) require adequate shielding to protect them from interference. They also require sufficiently low capacitance (relative to the impedance of the source and load) to avoid high-frequency losses. For carrying high frequency signals (video signals, digital audio, TV/radio antenna) you need a cable with right impedance matched for signal source and receiver impedances. All but the cheapest right type cable usually meets these requirements easily. For example any good-quality 75-ohm coaxial cable will work properly for either video or digital audio in a home system. Even in professional systems.

Generally the traditional cable for video installations has been RG-59 and RG-6. RG-59 is the default cable for many less demanding antenna wiring applications and for baseband video. For a good quality antenna cable wiring quad-shielded all-copper center conductor RG-6 cable is recommended. outlet with two such Copper-plated steel center conductors are also available, providing additional stiffness, but are unable to handle low-frequency currents used to power some devices.

Audio and video cabling systems are generally build using four different types of cables: 75 ohm coaxial cables for video signals (both baseband video signals and RF-modulated antenna/cable-TV signals) and digital audio, shielded single wire cables (coaxial like construction) for unbalanced analogue audio signals used in consumer audio systems, shielded twisted pair wiring for balanced analogue and digital audio signals used in professional audio systems, and thick insulated wire pair for speaker wiring.

Besides that some AV-system installations use unshielded twisted pair wiring for transporting some control signals between equipment. In professional TV broadcasting environment you can also see triax cables, which are are used in TV broadcast industry for TV camera interconnections. Triax Cable is designed as a 75 ohm coaxial cable with two isolated shields to provide multiple functions through one cable to your camera such as power. There are two versions of triax cable commonly used in TV industry: RG59 (3/8") and RG11 (1/2").

Those are the basic cable types used in audio/video systems wirings. The basic wiring systems consist of those wire types. In some applications the unshielded twisted pair (UTP) used in a structured cabling systems can be used as part of audio/video wiring system. When specifying whatever cable type for AV installation, look at the specifications on attenuation, temperature ratings, voltage and current capacity, and the type of outer jacket used.

In video equipment wiring the 75 ohm coaxial cable is the standard to carry video signals. Cable selection is important to achieving high quality design. Installers need to know when to use 75-ohm baseband or broadband coaxial cable, RG-59, RG-6 or RG-11 cable. The standard medium installed in video applications is 75-ohm baseband and broadband coaxial cable. Most manufacturers publish specification sheets listing cable property characteristics. In terms of attenuation, for example, RG-59 baseband cable can be run to 600 feet (200 meters), and RG-6 and RG-11 baseband cable are effective to 850 feet (270 meters) and 1200 feet (400 meters), respectively. For some applications where a small cable is needed to carry video signal RG-179/U is used quite commonly (there are also many small non-standard ccoaxial cables used mostly as part of larger cables with multiple coaxial conductors). Those smaller cables have much higher attenuation than the larger cables, so they are usable only for shorter distances.

Broadband cable distances, however, vary with channel frequencies. For very long runs, where baseband and broadband cable would experience attenuation problems, consider using fiber optic cable. For baseband applications, the cable typically used is 62.5/125- micron multimode fiber, while broadband normally uses single-mode fiber. Baseband video signals can also be transmitted over unshielded twisted pair cable (you need suitable adapters for this). At least Category 3 UTP is recommended to provide attenuation properties similar to coaxial cable. These properties are sufficient for using UTP in such applications as video to the desktop and CCTV camera signals.

For most baseband video application almost any well-made 75-ohm cable will be fine. The main requirements for video cable are adequate shield, and proper (75-ohm) impedance. A normal RG-59 cable (or better) is good to carry video signals (composite video, S-video, RGB, component video etc.) for long distances. For best baseband video performance avoid cheap TV aerial cable, use proper pro-grade video cable, which has much heavier shielding.

NOTE: For short (less than 1m) distances video connections (composite video), you can even dispense with the 75-ohm impedance. Many consumer BNC hook-up cables that come with VCRs, etc. are not 75-ohm. Because they are so short it doesn't really matter. For any longer distances the impedance matters.

To carry antenna signals TV aerial cable is best, because it has low attenuation qat high frequencies and good shielding on those RF frequencies (some properties some other video cables not always have). Same applies to cable TV systems. In cable TV systems at the central point, the 5-6 MHz baseband video signals are fed into individual broadband channel modulators. These units modulate the signals to cable television frequencies of 50 to 450 MHz and distribute them to the receivers. For fixed installations to carry antenna signals installing RG-6 coax cable is recommended. Also RG-11 broadband cable is suitable for this application.

For one reason or another, manufacturers started to make also specialty cables for video that are convenient to use, but exhibit poor performance. One example of such cable is S-video-cable, which is typically made of two strands of very small (and very lossy) 75-ohm coax terminated at either end with a connector that is anything but constant impedance. With cables that are very small and easy to bundle, we pay pay a price in signal strength for convenience.

Point-to-point wiring is most common for analog baseband video. Video surveillance, one such point-to-point application, is only one image per cable. Monitors in airports, and similar displays carry one image per cable. Classroom television is one image per cable.

Coaxial cables are also available in different RG types. RG stands for Radio Guide, or Radio Grade and is a term that is used when sending Radio Frequency (RF) signals down a coaxial cable. 75 ohm coaxial cable comes in several sizes with the most common types being RG-179[1], RG-59[2], and RG-11[3]. An RG-179 & RG-59 cables are the most commonly used coax because they are small in diameter and easy to work with. The RG-11 cable is the largest in diameter and harder to work with. The RG-6 and RG-7 sizes are between the RG59 and RG11. The difference between the RG types are not just size, but also the attenuation characteristics and therefore the transmission distance. Typically, the coax cable transmission limitations for CCTV will be as follows:

The RG-179 (minimax) has the highest attenuation of all. The 25 AWG cable can expect distances up to 500 ft. colored video.

The RG-59 has the highest attenuation of the three other types and you can expect to get a distance of about 750 - 1,000 ft.

Cable data

RG-59 data

Propably most common type of cable used to carry video signals is RG-59 B/U type 75 ohm coaxial cable. The general data for this cable is:

        RG-59 B/U

       Specification :   MIL - C - 17
       Impedance     :   75 � 3 Ohm
       Attenuation   :     1 MHz    1,5 dB / 100m
                         100 MHz   12,0 dB / 100m
       Capacitance   :   67 pF / m
       Frequency     :   3 GHz

Here is some more detailed data on the cable (data from Belden 8263 RG-59 B/U type cable, data can vary slightly from manufacturer to manufacturer:

 Impedance: 75 ohms
 Inductance: 0.115 microhenries/feet
 Capacitance: 20.5 pF/feet 
 Propagation velocity: 66%
 Delay: 1.54 ns/feet
 Conductor DC resistance: 49 ohms / 1000 feet
 Shield DC resistance: 2.6 ohms / 1000 feet
 Max. operating voltage: 150 VRMS (UL) / 1700 VRMS (non-UL)
 Temperature: -40 to +60 degrees Celsius
 Min. bendign radius: 2.5"
 Max. pulling tension: 78 LBS
 Nominal weight: 35 LBS / 1000 feet
 Conductor material: 23 AWG solid bare copper coated steel 0.023"
 Insulation material: Polyethylene
 Conductor insulation diameter: 0.146"
 Shield type: Bare copper braid with 95% coverage
 Jacket: Non-contaminating PVC (black color)
 Cable diameter: 0.242" 
 Use: Suitable for indoor and outdoor
 

Attenuation data for RG-59 B/U:

        MHz     dB/100 feet
       -----    -----------
          1         .6     
         10        1.1     
         50        2.4     
        100        3.4     
        200        4.9 
        400        7.0 
        700        9.7 
        900       11.1 
       1000       12.0 
 

Transfer impedance at 3 MHz 36 milliohms / m.

NOTE: The original RG-59 B/U MIL-C-17 uses Copper Plated Steel center conductor, In addition to this type many cable manufacturers manufacture also [4] versions with Bare Copper center conductor (less resistance, more flexible cable construction).

Cable comparison data:

General data on some other 75 ohm coaxial cables compared to RG-59:

Cable type RG-6 RG-59 B/U RG-11 RG-11 A/U RG-12 A/U TELLU 13 Tasker RGB-75 Impedance (ohms) 75 75 75 75 75 75 75 Impedance accuracy +-2 ohms +-3 ohms +-2 ohms +-3% Conductor material Bare Copper Bare Tinned Tinned Bare Bare

                     Copper      Planted     Copper      Copper       Copper     Copper        Copper
                                 Steel     

Conductor strands 1 1 1 7 7 1 10 Conductor strand(mm2) 0.95 0.58 1.63 0.40 0.40 1mm diameter 0.10mm diameter Resistance (ohm/km) 44 159 21 21 22 210 Insulation material Foam PE PE Foam PE PE PE Foam PE Insulation diameter 4.6 mm 3.7 mm 7.24 mm 7.25 mm 9.25 mm Outer conductor Aluminum Bare Aluminum Bare Base Copper Tinned

                     polyester   copper      polyester   copper       copper     foil under    copper
                     tape and    wire        tape and    wire         wire       bare copper
                     tin copper  braid       tin copper  braid        braid      braid 
                     braid                   braid

Coverage Foil 100% 95 % Foil 100% 95% 95% Foil ~95%

                     braid 61%               Braid 61%                           Braid 66%     

Resistance (ohm/km) 6.5 8.5 4 4 12 ~40 Outer sheath PVC PVC PVC PVC PE PVC (white) PVC Outside diameter 6.90 mm 6.15 mm 10.3 mm 10.3 mm 14.1 mm 7.0 mm 2.8 mm Capacitance per meter 67 pF 67 pF 57 pF 67 pF 67 pF 55 pF ~85 pF Capacitance per feet 18.6 20.5 16.9 20.6 20.6 pF Velocity 78% 66% 78% 66% 66% 80% 66% Screening factor 80 dB Typical voltage (max) 2000V 5000V 1500V Weight (g/m) 59 56 108 140 220 58 Attenuation db/100m 5 MHz 2.5 1.5 50 MHz 5.3 8 3.3 4.6 4.6 4.7 19.5 100 MHz 8.5 12 4.9 7 7 6.2 28.5 200 MHz 10 18 7.2 10 10 8.6 35.6 400 MHz 12.5 24 10.5 14 14 12.6 60.0 500 MHz 16.2 27.5 12.1 16 16 ~14 ~70 900 MHz 21 39.5 17.1 24 24 19.2 90.0 2150 MHz 31.6 3000 MHz 37.4

AreThree (talk) 21:21, 30 May 2024 (UTC) -- I edited some links in the above table to point to archive.org since I was having trouble loading them as they were. Also removed frivolous post from just after this note.Reply

I recently bought a large villa which has RG59/U cabling for the CCTV. The longest cable run is about 100 meters. I've just upgraded the CCTV system to 1080p HD and was surprised to see the specification for the DVR (Digital Video Recorder) was that it supports up to 4K resolution over RG59/U and up to to 1000 metres of RG59/U cable run.

I then looked at this Wikipedia article for more information and was shocked to see that it mentions only "short" cable runs and standard definition video.

This article is utterly out of date and needs updating. I'm not technical so can't help with the update unfortunately, but wanted to flag this issue. Savlonn (talk) 19:11, 21 September 2020 (UTC)Reply