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

Digital Electricity – What you need to know 

Digital Electricity is a new way to safely distribute high-voltage power over long distances by combining data and DC power into packets that are transmitted and received, similarly to how data packets travel over enterprise networks. It transfers high levels of power over non-power cable, and a complete system requires transmitters and receivers to function. These digital electricity cables are designed in conjunction with VoltServer, allowing them to support applications in various situations. Available in hybrid copper/fiber constructions to send power and data in a single cable run. Other additions to the digital electricity cable line include the hybrid cable versions for indoor and indoor/outdoor 2 mm breakout plenum cables. 

The transmitter takes in AC or DC power and sends it out on individual electrical circuits. From there, specialized digital electricity cables can be used to distribute the power. The receiver “receives” the electricity packets sent from a transmitter and converts the energy packets into the required form. 

PoE technology can carry up to 100W of power over a data cable for up to 100 m, digital electricity can carry up to 2,000W and travel up to 2km. Digital electricity is able to offer 20 times the power or 20 times the distance that’s currently available through PoE.  

Transmission distance comparison chart. 

5 things you need to know about digital electricity: 

1. It ensures safety

By including “smart circuits” that can monitor when electricity is escaping, it’s able to immediately stop the electricity flow and continuously manage the flow within the circuit to ensure that electricity is flowing to the right places safely. In the event of an issue, the electricity process will stop within 3 milliseconds, which is fast and secure enough to prevent injuries or danger. With its class 4 systems, it makes the digital electricity cables just as safe, if not safer than class 2 and class 3 systems. 

2. It allows for ample power 

Digital electricity cables can be run through existing cable trays to double or triple the amount of power brought to the equipment. These cables can deliver power across long distances and are known to be 20x more powerful or can go 20x more distance than PoE with 2000W across a reach of up to 2km. 

3. It provides a back-up 

In the event of an emergency, the transmitter can run critical power to wherever it is needed, including wireless systems so operations can still be run when power is no longer available. 

4. It simplifies cable installation 

Due to how energy is handled within these systems, installation of digital electricity cables doesn’t need to be installed by an electrician which makes the installation faster and more cost effective. These cables are easy to relocate and reuse without leaving stranded outlets or conduit behind, as current Class 4 certified cables include the DEDN and DEWN product families. The cables have a stranded copper pairs design which maintains flexibility and performance during instillation, thus also improving electrical performance. 

5. It enables new applications 

Digital electricity allows power to be run much longer distances with less voltage drops and without dealing with large copper wires, allowing opportunities for other applications to be created and used. These cables are ideal for distributed antenna systems, passive optical networks (PONs), security cameras and wireless access points; can be used for indoor (plenum and riser), outdoor and overhead-burial applications. 

Serial digital interface (SDI) video signals, the uncompressed, unencrypted digital signals that were developed by SMPTE (the Society of Motion Picture Television Engineers), an integral part of high-definition broadcast transmissions.

Although fiber is an option, most SDI signals use a 75 Ohm coax, an industry staple in broadcast for many years. Coax has a proven track record of reliability and is easy to terminate and install, with excellent electrical characteristics that offer very good performance.

As more and more coax cables for SDI signals hit the market, broadcasters need to determine how long they can run these cables and their camera systems. To give broadcasters the info they need, Belden have created a table based on signal loss recommendations for given formats as specified by SMPTE, an updated table that features the new formats, the new versions of cables, and their maximum recommended transmission distances.

It is however important to note the bit error rate (BER) can vary dramatically as the calculated distances are approached. BER is dependent on receiver design and the losses of the actual coax used. OEM specifications should be consulted to verify their maximum recommended transmission as performance can vary based on the type of active equipment specified. Some manufacturers aren’t designing all their 12 GHz receivers to reach the maximum loss level, which could result in distance reductions of up to 50%. This variance is recognized in the SMPTE 2082-1 Standard, however, receivers designed to work with greater or lesser signal attenuation are acceptable.

The table is based on attenuation or signal loss at one-half the signal frequency as defined by SMPTE and based on signal type. The distance values are for cables only; they don’t include connectors, bulkheads or other items used to connect cables and add loss.

Video Distance Chart – https://www.jaycor.co.za/wp-content/uploads/2022/05/digital-video-distance-chart-product-bulletin.pdf

As the industry continues to move towards 12 Gb/s single-link as part of SMPTE 2082-1, it’s now critical for designers to verify distance. To do this, check with your equipment manufacturers to confirm the type of cable needed to reach the distance you want to meet. To support 12G-SDI Belden created a new series of coax cables specifically for 12 GHz bandwidth. Belden’s 4K UHD Coax Cable for 12G-SDI supports 4K content without a change to fiber. It gives designers access to the best possible performance in a coax cable sweep tested to 12 GHz signal.

While some broadcasters have switched to fiber optic cabling to achieve greater distances (JAYCOR supports these cables too), coax cable isn’t dead. In fact, there are many applications where coax is still preferred.

Ensure your broadcast performance stands out for all the right reasons. Downtime, delays, and distortion have an immediate far-reaching impact. Reliable AV cabling solutions help you achieve absolute signal integrity and 100% uptime, no matter the conditions.

JAYCOR’s Belden AV cabling and connector solutions support fast, easy assembly and maintenance while ensuring long transmission distances in all weather conditions. Drag these cables below roads, above trees, around a stadium and off and on the stage every week—they’re ready for anything.

Belden’s SDI Cables – https://www.jaycor.co.za/products/?fwp_product_categories=12g-sdi-coax%2Chd-3g-sdi-4k-coax-audio-video-cable

Global IP traffic has been increasing rapidly in enterprise and consumer segments, driven by growing numbers of Internet users and connected devices, faster wireless and fixed broadband access, high-quality video streaming and social networking.

Data centers are being built to support the more robust computing, storage and content delivery services these users require.

Since 2016, 25G/50G server ports and 100G switch (ToR, leaf, spine and core) ports have become ubiquitous in most hyperscale data centers, replacing previous 10G servers and 40G switches. This speed migration has boosted overall system throughput by 2.5x with small incremental costs. According to Dell’Oro’s forecast, total 100G switch port shipments will outnumber 40G switch port shipments in 2017-2018.

According to our recent survey with Mission Critical magazine, many enterprise data centers have started planning for access network migration to 25G and aggregate/core network migration to 100G; some organizations have already started to consider 50G/200G/400G down the road.

When the survey asked, “Which structured cabling type will be deployed in your new data center facility?”, unsurprisingly, multimode fiber cabling was still the most popular data transmission media for structured cabling.

Brownfield and Greenfield Multimode Fiber Cabling in Data Centers

As data center speeds go up, layer 0 (the physical media for data transmission) becomes increasingly critical to ensure link quality.

Web 2.0 companies such as Google, Amazon, Microsoft and Facebook started migration to 100G in 2015. Many of their new deployments use singlemode fiber to best suit hyperscale data center architecture.

Read full article