RG6 cables are generally considered the best, but RG11 cables are suitable for outdoor settings and can carry a reliable signal better over longer lengths. Amazon Basics CL2-Rated Coaxial Cable is a leading brand that offers a thicker wire build and stronger antennas.
Coaxial cables consist of four parts: external jacket, protective conducting shield, insulating dielectric material layer, and internal metal conductor. Poor quality coaxial cable can impact TV reception, so it’s important to choose the best cable for the job. For domestic television, RG-6 coaxial should be 75 Ohm, with RG-6 being ideal. TrueCable offers tough 500ft and 1000-feet exterior coax cables with a CMX rating, all UV resistant and water-resistant. Bulk reels are available in dual shield and quad shield variations.
RG6 Outdoor Cable is one of the best coaxial cables for exterior outdoor use, offering high quality, flexibility, UV resistance, waterproof, and numerous benefits. The quad-shielded RG6 cable features additional foil for added protection. LMR®600 or “Half-Inch” is designed for outdoor use, making it more flexible than air-dielectric and hardline cables.
RG-58 is an ideal choice for outdoor use, rated for significantly more power. Outdoor-rated RG6 F-Type Coax is used for applications that require the cable to be outdoors or in direct sunlight. The CIMPLE CO 50′ Feet, White RG6 Coaxial Cable with Rubber booted is weatherproof indoor/outdoor-rated connectors, F81/RF, Digital Coax for CATV, Antenna, and more.
All RG-6 can be used outdoors, but black coax is recommended due to its higher proneness to sun damage. Webro WF100 is generally considered one of the best coax cables for outdoor use.
📹 RG6 vs. RG11 – How Your Coaxial Cable Impacts TV Reception
In this video I compare RG6 and RG11 coaxial cable. RG11 coax is thicker than RG6 coax. In theory it should perform better with …
Which type of cable is recommended for outdoor installation?
CMX cable jackets are essential for outdoor applications due to their high-quality construction from treated LLDPE. These jackets can resist temperature swings, remain operable in low temperatures without cracking, block moisture vapor, and protect against snow, ice, and UV light degradation. The choice of where to place the cable depends on the specific application. If used outdoors, a separate messenger wire is required, either velcro tied to a wire with messenger or velcro tied to a stainless steel wire securely fastened to the two structures.
What is the difference between RG11 and RG58?
The RG6 cable is a popular choice for home and commercial applications due to its flexibility, low signal loss, and performance. It excels in long-distance, high-frequency transmissions but can be difficult to install. RG59 is suitable for short-distance, low-frequency applications like CCTV, while RG58 is best for radio communications. The Best Contract Manufacturers in India offer top-quality, cost-effective production services, making them ideal partners for reliable manufacturing solutions. Each type of cable has its strengths, making it suitable for every requirement. The choice of cable depends on factors like distance, frequency, and application.
Which is better RG6 or RG11 coaxial cable?
The RG6 and RG11 designations are commonly used in coaxial cables for AV systems. The RG6 has greater attenuation, resulting in better signal quality at the end of the cable. However, longer RG11 cables can be used without noticeable signal loss. RG11 also has a higher frequency range, which the RG6 cannot.
The RG11 coax cable has a higher price per meter due to its thicker cable and conductor, which results in higher manufacturing costs. The conductor inside the RG6 is smaller in diameter, resulting in a thinner overall thickness.
RG11 cables lack flexibility due to their thickness, making them difficult to use in common home connections or backbone installations. They are not designed for bendable corners or sharp turns, making them ideal for in-home installations. The RG6 is better for connecting two points separated by a considerable distance, making it a preferred choice for in-home installations.
Does Comcast use RG6 or RG11?
It is imperative that all service or 11drop11 cable utilized in the pre-wiring construction process adhere to the specifications of a quad-shield, 75 ohm, RG-6 PVC jacketed cable.
When should you use RG11 cable?
RG11 is a coaxial cable designed for harsh outdoor conditions, ideal for direct burial or long runs. It is heavier, less flexible, and more difficult to install than RG6 and RG 11. However, it is suitable for long runs outdoors due to its low attenuation level. RG11 is 14 AWG in size and is more expensive than RG6 and RG 11.
RG59 is an old-fashioned cable used for radio antennas, similar to RG6, but with higher signal loss and less performance at high frequencies. It is marketed for security cameras and CCTV, but RG6 might be a better option for those applications. The gauge of RG59 is 22 AWG. Both RG11 and RG59 are suitable for various applications, but RG11 is more suitable for indoor applications due to its heavier weight and installation difficulty.
What is the difference between RG 174 and RG58?
The RG58 and RG174 cables are used in vehicle boosters, with the RG58 offering better low-loss quality with a cable length of up to 20 feet and the RG174 being preferred for larger vehicles like RVs or boats. Both cables are equipped with SMA connectors, small copper connectors used in modems, and are compatible with weBoost Drive Reach, weBoost Drive Sleek, and weBoost Drive X. Coaxial cables have both advantages and disadvantages.
Can RG6 cable be used outside?
It is possible to run the RG6 coax outside from the dish to the receiver; however, it is essential to ensure that the fittings at the end are watertight to prevent water from entering the connections and freezing in cold climates.
When should I use RG11?
RG11 is a coaxial cable designed for harsh outdoor conditions, ideal for direct burial or long runs. It is heavier, less flexible, and more difficult to install than RG6 and RG 11. However, it is suitable for long runs outdoors due to its low attenuation level. RG11 is 14 AWG in size and is more expensive than RG6 and RG 11.
RG59 is an old-fashioned cable used for radio antennas, similar to RG6, but with higher signal loss and less performance at high frequencies. It is marketed for security cameras and CCTV, but RG6 might be a better option for those applications. The gauge of RG59 is 22 AWG. Both RG11 and RG59 are suitable for various applications, but RG11 is more suitable for indoor applications due to its heavier weight and installation difficulty.
Is RG8 better than RG58?
RG8 is a 50 ohm cable with 12 AWG, providing a stronger signal than RG58. It is mainly used for amateur radio and has a thinner version called RG8X. RG59 is a 75 ohm alternative, measuring 20 AWG, used for cable television but has been replaced by newer coax cables. RG6 is the successor to RG59, measuring 18 AWG, better shielded, and carries HD signals for greater distances. It is currently the standard cable for cable television, satellite television, and cable internet modems.
Do RG6 and RG11 use the same connectors?
The RG6 and RG11 designations are used interchangeably in coaxial cables for AV systems. RG6 uses F-type connectors, while RG11 also uses F-type connectors. These cables differ in attenuation, applications, price, flexibility, and compatibility. Magi provides a comparison chart to help users understand the differences between the two cables and how they impact TV reception. The RG6 cable is more flexible and can be used for various applications, while the RG11 cable is more rigid and rigid.
📹 Best Coax Cable For Outdoor Antenna – Top 5 Product Of 2021
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just like an antenna, wire – general coax, rg6 or 11, cat 5 or, 6, flat 1 pair… any wire… the discussion is about distance… not about wire… which wire fits the distance you need a signal to move.. when you are comparing similar with for your distance needs, you mostly comparing gauge and connector quality. at the end of the day, you can pass a signal over barb wire if it’s short enough.
I install here in Southern Ontario. My rule of thumb. Is anywhere I can install RG11 I do. 50, 75 or 100 feet I will use it. It’s the better cable, I buy it by the 1000 foot rolls. Why cheap out the install is only done once. I want maximum single transferred. I will use RG6 in complicated runs mostly on antenna tripod roof mounts. Where I’m running along eavestroughs down walls, etc. As you know RG11 is to clumsy to run in tight corners. If it’s a tower install, RG11 for sure. Going down the tower to be grounded then right into the house. As for RG59 have got rid of all mine and no long use it.
Something else to keep in mind is use good quality connectors. Coaxial cable attenuation increases with frequency. The FCC repack removed the higher frequency TV websites that were most affected by cable losses. While I don’t have anything against quad shielded RG6 I think for most locations it is overkill.
In extreme situations where the antenna is 10 ore more wavelengths from the receiver, I have used LMR-400-75 or LMR-600-75 cable for the majority of the cable run. The LMR-600-75 is pricey, however, and requires special connectors, but it can be buried directly into the ground while lasting for decades. I try to avoid amplifiers when possible because all amps will add noise and distortion and are vulnerable to overload from strong signal sources such as cellular phone towers.
I was a cable guy for Cox Communications and I would not say just add an Amp before in wall wiring as I have been to homes with RG-59 in the home with only a few wires of outer braid and no shielding, so it was like an antenna for in air frequencies and put too much noise in the signal of the websites. I ran new RG-6!
From my experience both RG6 and RG11 coaxial cable did a better job (40 meters or 131 feet in my case) I have 20 Db amplifiers and both cables are tri shielded. I also combined the FM, TV, Satellite TV signal on one cable using diplexers and had no problem, everything is perfect. The RG11 is mostly used by cable companies due to less attenuation in long run, but for most people I would recommend RG6 tri shield because is cheaper and easier to install.
I had no idea how important this was until I saw this article.. I changed the RG6 from my Bolton Long Ranger hi-gain cellular antenna to booster (had from older installation ) to LMR400 and then went to LMR600 after I saw the improvement from the LMR400. I thought 75 feet would have no or little impact on the RG6….. SO SO WRONG! Thanks I am now rebuilding a higher mast for this antenna now I will now be connecting to a CEL FI X 100db booster in the next few days.. The run remains less than 75 feet and LMR600 is still my coax of choice. I went from barely completing calls in my rural area to completing article calls from a Verizon tower 3.1 miles away at least 75% of those article calls. With regular calls, 100% of all calls received or generated are completed. The cable was all of that improvement.
Tyler could you address the difference between using solid core copper and copper clad steel RG-6 cable? My understanding is if you are using a mast mounted amplifier then solid core is better because you will be running electricity up the cable to it Most readily available RG-6 is copper clad steel. Thanks!
Tylar, I used to have a bid ugly dish in the 1990’s. I changed you RG6 cable to RG11 mostly copper construction on both cables. The improved picture quality was night and day. The charts said the difference was only a few points. But on the screen with a Sony XBR monitor TV the picture was just so real. This brings back memories Tylar. 😀😀😀😀😀😀😀
One thing I didn’t hear you address was copper clad steel (CCS) vs. Solid copper core coax. It becomes very important when using a preamp as the center of the core carries power for the preamp. The outer edge of the core carries the signal. Unfortunately, a lot of companies won’t tell you it’s not solid copper. They will only have the “CCS” designation. And it’s becoming increasingly harder to find RG11 with a solid copper core.
RG11 from the antenna to the amplifier splitter is a must. If you can continue RG11 from the amp/splitter to the wall plate, and RG6 from the plate to the TV. Every connector is 1db loss add that to the signal loss in RG6 and it becomes significant. Remember 3db loss is 1/2 the signal, and amplifiers do not create signal, once its lost its lost! Splitter/amps are a must when wiring a house 🏠 with coax drops in several rooms.
I use Belden 1525A flooded RG11 for the main coming down from my antenna. Flooded cable has a grease in it to prevent water ingress. Coax cable deteriorates over time. A 20 year life is nominal. The materials matter. The outer jacket and inside dielectric materials in addition to the metals and size determine loss, longevity, and also flexibility. Quad shield has a little more loss. The quad is good for keeping interference out and keeping the wanted signal in. The latter doesn’t matter for most receiving applications. Signals are too low to interfere with anything. I’m a fair distance from the stations and want to also get reliable reception on low power stations. It’s split to 4 TVs, so low loss is important. Coax has significant loss at UHF. Minimizing loss is valuable in less than ideal reception conditions. RG6 can have loss of about 5dB for 100 at 500 MHz (near the bottom of the UHF TV band). If you had 100 feet for example, a 9dB gain antenna will result in 4dB on that gain remaining at the end. Loss increases with frequency. Outdoor connectors should be completely weatherproof.
I already knew for years that RG-59 was pretty much useless nowadays; everything I use now is RG-6, both cable & OTA. I pretty much guessed that RG-11 is overkill except in long OTA runs where you’re likely to need a preamp anyway. (Suspect I’ll need one unless I just move my antenna outdoors; haven’t seriously gone thru the report you ran for me yet.)
Sorry Tyler.. Typically your vids are good Often spot on.. However.. Given the frequency’s of ATSC websites ( UHF typically ) Signal loss indeed adds up Quickly.. Mind you though…one needs to be careful in ordering RG-11 coax to be sure one is actually getting Quality RG-11 ( for there are many garbage sold RG-11 sold) That said… Indeed 60 feet or longer..even 50 ft and longer has a Noticable improvement in signal performance. With RG-11 one may need install their own RG-11 Connectors ( and connectors make a big difference in the performance of ones coax run ) Pre-amps typically are Not the answer And if using a Pre-amp then one should use it up at the antenna..otherwise one increases bad signal along with good that thereby nulifies and or worsens the signal. The good news is RG-11 is easy enough to bend( generally ) Best signal is derived by a high gain antenna that best reaches the Tower(s) you need to reach… While Addressing the frequency’s you need ( that the stations use ) Typically if roof mounting an antenna(s) one will be somewhere from 50 to 125 feet of coax and as such is Best to use RG-11..with high grade connectors and sealent for the outside connector ( perhaps also using an antenna Pre-amp ) Then run to your tv(s) or tv amp/splitter Indoor antennas typically use much shorter coax runs to go from antenna to tv and so typically only need RG-6 coax ( forget about RG-59 if over 12 ft long coax is needed ) Remember.. You will be using the set up for years.. Not days .
This is not a tv thing. I installed a signal booster for phone reception. I had no bars very poor,spotty reception. At my hunting camp .i Could not watch article and sending pics via text so slow. The unite came with 50 ft rg6. I went from no bars to 1-2 most of the time. I bought 50 ft rg11. World of difference. 2-3 bars all the time download speeds went from none Lol to under 1 Meg with rg6 to 2-5 with rg11. I would suspect the same results for tv reception. I will try rg11 at hunting camp this fall 0:15
Thanks for all your helpful articles! A note in regards to your recommendation of “PHAT Satellite – Direct Burial Flooded RG11 Coaxial Cable with Weather Boot F-Connectors, 14AWG 75 Ohm, Enhanced Tri-Shield 77% Braid, Assembled in USA (100 feet, Orange)” ….the center conductor is not solid copper. The description on Amazon only says “14AWG Solid Core Conductor” …no mention of what material is “solid.” Talking to Phat International on their help line, they say a solid copper center conductor is essential and that if any description on Amazon for any brand of coaxial cable doesn’t specifically say solid copper, it isn’t. The center conductor some how broke on my coax after carefully connecting it to my TV several times. I first noticed the issue when I saw the center conductor had only a little under 1/8″ visible! Grabbing it with needle nose pliers it pulled out to proper length a little too easily. I’m sending it back per Phat’s recommendation and getting their solid copper RG6 that you also recommended. I have yet to find an RG11 that does have a solid copper center conductor. For me, pricing was close to the same so why not get the RG11 even capable of underground burial! Now I know why not!
I am lucky to be on a hill, which provides me with a good signal. All of the main locals are on the same mountain and although they are three or four miles apart, from my home I can split the difference by aiming the antenna (In Attic) between them. 60 feet of RG6 feeds a low gain amplifier/splitter with eight outputs. I know that many people are in less than ideal reception areas. Tyler is a big help with his advice. I will add that RG 6 is good for most TV/FM systems within a house, RG 6 Quad is really aimed at wide band cable tv and probably will not add much to the broadcast tv signal. It is really intended to keep the cable signal in and outside signals out, as cable uses frequencies that are use for other types of broadcasting.
Do an RG6 solid copper coax versus a copper coated steel RG6 coax. I had a website Master CM-7778 preamp and power inserter burn out in 6 Months because I was using RG6 Quad Shield copper coated steel or CCS coax. I’ve read that copper is better than steel when dealing with electricity as there’s a certain voltage going through the coax besides TV signals and electricity tends to travel through the core of the cable because of it’s lower frequency hence no ‘skin effect’ when dealing with voltage as opposed to TV signals.
Which would be best please for Comcast direct run from basement splitter to Comcast router about 75-80 feet away going to wallplate that currently has old rs59 and Comcast advised the line needs replaced. Any and all advice is helpful. Essentially – should I use tri or quad RG6 and does it matter that much, trying o future proof as I must replace the line anyway.
Surprisingly I got 65 websites with a not popular antenna I bought a year or 2 back. Only reason I tried it because it has vhf on it WFAA Is one of them. And uhf for the others. The antenna did have a amplifier which had short range/long range. I did short range first and it got me 65 websites and long range 62. So actually short range was better. I live in the dfw metroplex.
Back in the 70’s i always used twin lead wire for my UHF antennas because there was much less line loss for long runs. Yes coaxial is much better for preventing interference but 300 ohm twin lead is far superior otherwise. You have to use stand offs to run it against objects but it blows away coax and is much, much cheaper……….
Hey! Tyler, I have done probably 2 dozen antenna’s for friends and family. that’s how I found and subscribed when you fist got on YouTube. I have found that every install I have done has had reception degradation and website loss, some as soon as 2 or 3 months after install. I live in Phx AZ, hot and dry. I experimented with di-electric grease on the exterior connections and that didn’t help, maybe even hurt. any ideas? I used all rg6, ground wires, and usually cellphone filters and website master antenna’s.
Installed RG5 in my house in the 80’s. Had a tena rotor on my roof and signal amplifier to get websites from up to 90 miles away. About 20 years ago swirched over to Comcast. Moron installer told me 3 times that I used the wrong cable. Told him for the 4th time that was the best cable available back then. He had trouble getting the fartest TV on line but after putting that on his first splitter it worked. Sorry that I did not install 3/4″ conduit from basrment to second floor bedrooms to make it easy to replace cable. All exterior walls are filled solid with foam board celetex insulation.
Any reason as to why it seems all of the newer and higher quality cables are black? I noticed that when searching on Amazon that the cable that are either RG-11, gold plated, or have an easy screw-on are virtually all black. I’d love to find a white one because that way it will blend in with the white paint on my wall. Any suggestions?
Now that you mentioned a preamp again… this reminded me of a question I have had… I bought a pretty nice, used antenna and I just ran coax in the window to one TV for testing purposes… it also came with a preamp that works great… but when I get this antenna up on the house in its permanent spot, I want to hook into the existing cable tv box with the splitter so the whole house (4 TVs) can enjoy the antenna… I believe I need a distribution booster there… so with all that said… do I need to run a preamp up at the antenna and a distribution booster at the box? … and does the one power inserter power both?
This may be a rather odd question but, if you were to have a setup where the antenna was very far away (more than 100 feet) away from the television or televisions you wish to connect it to what would be one’s best course of action on how to make that work assuming there’s a preamp installed as well?
All right Mr. Tyler, I have a question that nobody can seem to answer. Now, I’m asking this question not being sarcastic or a smartass in any way, I really want to know the end result. My question is, “Will I get a better signal from my ota outdoor antenna if I were to use LMR 400 connected to it?” I know I know, that lmr 400 is used for wifi but is it possible to get better reception and results with it? I really do appreciate if or when you answer my question. Thank you so much in advance and hope to hear from you soon. Thanks