Coaxial cable: Encyclopedia II - Coaxial cable - Standard cable types

Coaxial cable - Standard cable types

Most coaxial cables have a characteristic impedance of either 50, 52, 75, or 93 ohms. The RF industry uses standard type-names for coaxial cables.

A series of standard types of coaxial cable were specified for military uses, in the form "RG-#" or "RG-#/U" (RG from Radio Guide, /U indicates multiple uses). They go back to World War II and were listed in MIL-HDBK-216 published in 1962. These desigations are now obsolete. The current military standard is MIL-SPEC MIL-C-17. MIL-C-17 numbers, such as M17/75-RG214.are given for military cables and manufacturer's catalog numbers for civilian applications. However, the RG-series designations were so common for generations that they are still used, although critical users should be aware that since the handbook is withdrawn there is no standard to guarantee the electrical and physical characteristics of a cable described as "RG=# type". The RG designators are mostly used to identify compatible connectors that fit the inner conductor, dielectric, and jacket dimensions of the old RG-series cables. For example:

References for this section

• Withdrawal Notice for MIL-HDBK-216 2001

• H. P. Westman et al, (ed), Reference Data for Radio Engineers, Fifth Edition, 1968, Howard W. Sams and Co., no ISBN, Library of Congress Card No. 43-14665

Adapted from the Wikipedia article "Standard cable types", under the G.N U Free Docmentation License. Please also see http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki