RG59 vs RG6? (1 Viewer)

[Tim Kline]

What's the difference? I needed a new cable wire for my cable box (to reach the othder side of the room) and Best Buy had both RG59 and RG6 .. I got RG6 cuz it was $2 more and figured the better one was more expensive.. I'm just using this for generic cable TV, nothing special.. so would there have been a difference at all?
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Tim Kline
HT Newbie Extraordinaire!
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[Shawn Solar]

Yeah there is quite a difference. RG59 used to be the standard cable for tv and such. But it just doesn't cut it any more. the RG6 on the other hand is of way better quality. it has a lower loss than the RG59. Mostly due to the aluminium shield and larger size. Satellite won't really work without RG6 in most cases. And I found from personnal experience that at least 85% shield is needed for rptv. actually the only thing I use RG59 for is security cameras.

 

[Tim Kline]

thanks for the info guess I got the right one
But I doubt it helps that the cable wires in the walls are 20 years old and prolly RG59 .. planning to switch to RCN soon cuz I'm sick of Comcast, so I might see what they'll charge to rewire the whole house
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Tim Kline
HT Newbie Extraordinaire!
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[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Tim,
RG-59 is fine for carrying signals from broadcast antennas, like over-the-air television and FM radio.
RG-6 is required for cable TV and satellite because it operates at a higher frequency range than broadcast signals. It has nothing to do with the shielding, because RG-59 is shielded, too. The difference is the larger center conductor coupled with a thicker dielectric (the white plastic insulator around the center conductor), which gives increased distance between the shield and the center conductor compared to RG-59.
As a note, RG-6 will also work fine for broadcast, but RG-59 does not work well with cable and satellite.
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
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[Shawn Solar]

I guess everyone can learn something new. I thought it had a lower loss due to its larger size. I also thought that the aluminium shield did something to reject interference. At least I was half right.

 

[Wayne A. Pflughaupt]

Don’t sweat it, Shawn. No one is born an expert at anything! I’ve been dabbling in audio for well over 20 years and there’s still tons of stuff I don’t know.
For instance, I know that RG-6 is better suited for CATV and satellite because of the size of the center conductor and its greater distance between it and the shield. But I have no idea [why that matters! Apparently the higher operating frequency of cable and satellite require it, but I have no idea why. Maybe we can post a new thread and find out.
Regards,
Wayne A. Pflughaupt
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[Edited last by Wayne A. Pflughaupt on August 05, 2001 at 03:01 PM]