Coaxial Cables – What are they, and how are they used?

Written by Krista Thresh

What is a Coaxial Cable?

Coaxial cable is a type of cable that has an inner conductor surrounded by an insulating layer, surrounded by conductive shielding (outer conductor), and a protective outer jacket. Electrical signal flows on the center conductor.

 

How is a Coaxial Cable used?

Coaxial cable is commonly used by cable operators, telephone companies, and internet providers worldwide to convey data, video, and voice communications to customers. It has also been used extensively within homes.

Coaxial cable has been around for a long time as a technology (since the early 20th century) and has many singular advantages for reliable, accurate transmission.

It also has limitations that will cause it to be replaced in some cases by fiber optic cable, category cable or, sometimes, by wireless signals.

The key to coaxial cable’s success has been its shielded design, which allows the cable’s copper core to transmit data quickly, without succumbing to interference or damage from environmental factors.

 

What are the two most commonly used Coaxial Cables?

The two most commonly used coaxial cables are RG-6 and RG-11:

  • RG stands for “radio grade”, they are also known as RF cables, which stands for “radio frequency”
  • RG-6 cable is used for drops shorter than 45m
  • RG-11 cable is used for longer drops due to the increased performance over lengths more than 45m
  • Broadband cables used in homes have an impedance of 75 ohms

Coaxial drop cables are most commonly terminated using connectors that are designed to the F-type interface specified by SCTE. Over the years F-type interface has evolved significantly, resulting in several different termination technologies including crimp, screw on, and compression.

To make a connection, a male and female connector of the same type is necessary. Male connectors have a center conductor or pin sticking out, depending on the drop cable type, while female connectors have a receptacle for the center conductor or pin to interface with.

In cases of improper termination craft, damaged materials, or loose connections, it’s good to be aware that the result may be signal ingress or egress. This may cause tiling, fuzzy or snowy signals, or even complete signal loss.

 

The benefits of Coaxial Cables?
There are many benefits of using coaxial cables, but determining whether this cable option is viable for you, depends highly on what the cable can do.

  • Can be used for carrying video, audio, and other forms of data
  • Work better for shorter distances
  • Easy to install
  • Very durable
  • Best suited for home installations or medium-capacity data transfer networks
  • Cost effective

Need Approval? We’ve Got You Covered! – ERVITAL Fire Resistant Cables

ERVITAL JE-H(St)H…Bd FE180/PH120

Fire alarm systems sit quietly in the background of connected infrastructure as people go about their daily lives. Shopping centres, hotels, offices, airports, and other types of transportation terminals are all responsible for the safety of the people that pass through them. Therefore, sophisticated fire alarm and suppression systems are required to ensure real-time dangers are alerted and addressed immediately.

In the event of a fire these critical safety systems must continue to operate, and this is where fire resistant or ‘circuit integrity’ cables play an important role. Circuit integrity cables connect sensors, alarms and other components of the fire alarm and suppression systems and feed information back to control centres.

There are a wide variety of standard and approvals required depending on the country and region, the application and environment, and at times the also the end-customers design and preference. Ensuring system integrators and contractors both select and procure cables that meet the required standards and approvals and perform accordingly is key to protecting your investments. Low-grade cables manufactured to reduce costs and that are purchased from unknown sources may not perform as expected. To safeguard against this make sure to request a copy of the test certificates specific to the cable batch your purchase came from.

The ERVITAL JE-H(St)H…Bd FE180/PH120 fire alarm cable from Erse Kablo, is manufactured with safety and quality in mind, and meet both local and international flame test standards and approvals, IEC, VDE, EN, and BS EN standards.

 

ERVITAL Fire Resistant Cables

 

Construction:

Conductor IEC 60228; VDE 0295; EN 60228 Class 1
Electrolytic Copper
Insulation Cross-linked Ceramic Forming Polymer Compound
Colour Code VDE 0815
Stranding 2 pair star quad, more than 2 pairs groups in layers
Wrapping Pes Tape + Glass Fibre Tape
Screen Tinned Copper Drain Wire + Al-Pes Tape
Sheath EN 50290-2-27 HFFR Compound
Sheath Colour RAL 3000 Red or RAL 2003 Orange

 

Best places to use fire resistant cables:

  • Indoors where people are densely populated
  • In places where there is electromagnetic interference
  • Instrumentation and control engineering
  • Industrial electronics
  • For signal transmission
  • Indoor communication systems
  • In safety and fire alarm systems
  • In places where human life and valuable materials
    and equipment need to be protected

View the product here – https://www.jaycor.co.za/product/ervital-fe180-ph120-e30-cable-14/

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