how do the bettercables silver serpents compare to the version that they replaced? (1 Viewer)

[Paul_B]

how do the bettercables silver serpent component cables compare to the version that they replaced?

I'm thinking about buying the silver serpents to go between my Pioneer Elite DV-09 and 610HD, thus replacing the previous version of the better cablescomponent video. if I do this, I will be moving the previous bettercables to the new bedroom system between a Panasonic RP82 progessive scan and a 47" Panasonic PT47WX51.

are the old bettercables capable of passing a high definition signal?

the other (less expensive) option is to leave the older bettercables component cables on the Pioneer Elite system and get the AR Master series for the Panny system.

cable lenght in question is 3 meters, though I could get away with a 2 meter AR Master Series on the Panny system.

any comments/feeedback appreciated.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

My understanding is that the older BetterCables product was Canare coax with Canare RCA plugs - very well thought of for HD signals. The current Silver line is really - silver. (The center coax has a coating of silver.) People with 80-100" projection system really like them. They would be a great choice for your Pioneer system.

 

[Chu Gai]

well for starters the grace period has changed and I believe it's down to 30 days now. BetterCables, IMHO, in order to differentiate themselves from the many cottage industries that sprouted up offering broadcast quality cables (it's important to note here that RCA's are the limiting factor, all else being equal) has gone to what's commonly referred to as microwave based cables that are silver coated. A simple web search will indicate there is no shortage of companies offering such cables so OEM'ing them without identifying markings is trivial. This coating has as its purpose the ability to handle enormous amounts of power, far far greater than one could possibly have at home. The signals in broadband travel largely down the center of the center conductor and the silver plays a neglible role. At long distances, it becomes advantageous to go with thicker gauge cable to minimize signal losses however we're talking about hundreds of feet. You can, if you wish get further information regarding video cable by contacting some of the actual manufacturers of cable such as Belden.
So I don't know if this is information was helpful but it's accurate.

 

[Bob McElfresh]

The signals in broadband travel largely down the center of the center conductor

Huh??? What about the Skin Effect?

They found that taking a solid pipe of metal and sending a signal down one end then using a probe on the cut end that no signal could be detected in the center of the conductor.

At the Boston Museum of Science they have two large Van DeGraf generators that produce artifical lightning. As a demonstration, the operator sits in a wire frame "birdcage" that gets raised so that the two generators are hitting it with lightning bolts. The operator then touches the cage with no harm. He then explains he is very careful to only touch the INSIDE of the cage because all the power flows only on the OUTER SURFACE of the cage.

Now I know that what happens with high-current is different than what happens with low-voltage signals, but I was under the impression that the higher frequency signals (video) actually rode closer to the outer surface of a conductor than lower frequency signals.

Because of this, a silver-coated coax cable performs very nearly like a cable with a solid-silver center.

Or do I have this backwards? (It's possible. It's been many years since my last physics class).

 

[Chu Gai]

one too many centers on my part...down the center conductor that is...
Allow me to explain...the skin depth is given by the following equation:

[1] SD=1/(sqrt(pi * f * mu * sigma)

sigma = conductivity for copper = 5.8 x 10^7 mho/m
mu = permeability of free space = 4 x pi 10^-7 H/m

this simplifies to

SD= 0.0661/(sqrt (f)) which gives the answer in meters.

For a 4.2 mHz signal we get 0.032 mm

If they're coating (plating) the silver according to MIL-C-17, then the thickness will be 40 microinches minimum. In other words, 40 millionth's of an inch.

To convert to mm:

(40 x 10-6) * 25.4 = 0.001 mm

Hence if we neglect for the exponetial decay (not really fair), a little more than 3% of the signal rides the outside.

[1] Hayt, William, H. Jr.: "Engineering Electromagnetics", 4th Ed., p400

 

[Bob McElfresh]

But you calculated the Skin Depth using the sigma for copper. Whats the value for Silver?
(Cool use of the equations Chu )

 

[Chu Gai]

groan!!! you get the point, yes? so make it 5% then, lol