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gregherrin25
join:2009-07-16

gregherrin25

Member

Comcast cabling question

I was just curious what type of cable does comcast use with it's installs?

RG6?
RG56?
RG59?

Thanks
SpHeRe31459
Premium Member
join:2002-10-09
Sacramento, CA

SpHeRe31459

Premium Member

RG6. RG59 isn't used any more. RG56 isn't even an appropriate cable standard for 75 ohm video, so I dunno where you got that from.
gregherrin25
join:2009-07-16

gregherrin25

Member

Ok just curious how long ago did they stop using rg59?

WK2
Premium Member
join:2006-12-28
united state

WK2

Premium Member

10-12 years ago rg59 was phased out

RG6 is an industry standard now a days

CableTool
Poorly Representing MYSELF.
Premium Member
join:2004-11-12

CableTool to gregherrin25

Premium Member

to gregherrin25
said by gregherrin25:

Ok just curious how long ago did they stop using rg59?

RG59 has a higher attenuation at higher freqs then RG6. Its fine for short runs but isnt used anymore. Back when most systems barely went past 450mhz it was fine. But now most are at 750 and 860.

So after 100' of cable your signal loss is greater at the other end of RG59 then it is at the end of an RG6 run.

Hope that makes sense.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

telcodad to gregherrin25

MVM

to gregherrin25
Also, besides RG-59's issue with greater attenuation at high frequencies than what Comcast uses now and RG-6, it isn't shielded as well as those, so that it can cause more signal and noise ingress and egress issues in your system.

To minimize that even further, most people now use "quad-shielded" RG-6QS for their inside wiring.

See this thread for a discussion about RG-59: »Why does RG-59 need to be fixed?

andyross
MVM
join:2003-05-04
Aurora, IL

andyross to gregherrin25

MVM

to gregherrin25
You may also want to look into Belden 7915A. It's 'regular' RG6, but it offers the same or better shielding than RG6QS, without some of the issues of QS (thicker, cannot bend as tight.) There was another thread about that, too.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

telcodad

MVM

Maybe it was this thread in the Comcast HSI forum you were thinking of: »What coaxail?

egnlsn
Premium Member
join:2003-09-26
Salt Lake City, UT

1 edit

egnlsn to telcodad

Premium Member

to telcodad
said by telcodad:

Also, besides RG-59's issue with greater attenuation at high frequencies than what Comcast uses now and RG-6, it isn't shielded as well as those, so that it can cause more signal and noise ingress and egress issues in your system.

To minimize that even further, most people now use "quad-shielded" RG-6QS for their inside wiring.

See this thread for a discussion about RG-59: »Why does RG-59 need to be fixed?

Series 59 cable made by the major manufacturers had/has the same construction as series 6 cable made by most manufacturers today. It was common to find 59 made by other manufacturers that had a foil shield that was not bonded to the dielectric, or just had copper-braid shielding. If the (59) cable in question was made by a major CATV manufacturer and there were ingress issues, the problem was with the fitting. The only two specs in which 59 does not fare as well as 6 is attenuation and DC resistance.

Quad-shield cable is the norm only in areas where there is a ton of RFI/EMI, such as large, metropolitan areas, houses that are pretty close to broadcast towers or airports, and houses that are close to power substations. Some electrical contractors use it so they can say "It's quad" and charge more. Other than that, standard dual-shield cable is typical. Some systems use tri-shield cable as their preferred cable.

telcodad
MVM
join:2011-09-16
Lincroft, NJ

telcodad

MVM

Yes, it is probably best not to generalize, as there are always variations in the quality how things like that are made by different manufacturers.

I do remember many years ago when working with RG-59 how some cables I saw were very poorly shielded, while others seemed much better constructed. When buying cable, I always looked to see on it if it was made by Belden.

And like you said, the quality of the connectors also has a big effect on signal ingress and egress, as well as proper signal transfer and termination.