Interconnect research (1 Viewer)

[John*DII]

Does anyone know of any articles that talks about interconnect cables. I am looking for information about what is the best type of inner cable, best shielding and outer jacket. I appreciate all responses to my question.

Thanks

John

 

[Bob McElfresh]

The Belden web site has some good information in the "Cable College". www.belden.com

Some things to remember:

- All Video cables are made with 75 ohm coax. Audio cables can be made with any of the popular impedences: 50, 75, 110, 300.

- All coaxial-digital cables are ... 75 ohm coax.

- Shielding does 2 things: Keeps the signals in the center, and prevents external signals from getting to the center conductor.

- The Shield is connected to the signal ground on your electronics. So in some ways, having a 'better' shield means having a better 'antenna' feeding noise into your electronics. Dont fall for "techno-babble" on the shield to justify the $200 price.

- The best outer jacket is stiff/ugly/bulletproof. It's job is to resist bending/crushing of the shield. Many people reject the professional-quality cables because they are not "glove soft" rubber like they expect store-bought interconnects to feel like. Dont be fooled by this. Soft, easy to bend cables are less likely to maintain uniform impedence.

- The best inner conductor is pure copper. Not copper/aluminum mix.

- The best shields are 90% or better braded, and have a separate foil shield.

- Remember: Audio frequencies are different from RF, and video is different, and HD video a bit more different. Like roads, coax is designed for some range of signals. What's important for good HD Video cables is not usually an issue for audio cables or CATV coax. Always keep the application in mind.

Hope this helps.

 

[Paul_C]

I am not a cable expert but Jon seems to know what he is talking about.

This is his website.

http://www.geocities.com/jonrisch/index2.htm

Paul.