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Difference between RG174 and RG174AU coax?

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Nemo

Jan 1, 1970
0
I have been trying to figure this out, they seem pretty much identical
to me. From what I can gather, the RG-spec is now obsolete (dates back
to the 1940's) and thus a bit meaningless... can anyone tell me if the A
and U suffixes are significant?

Reason I ask is, I was trying to figure out if a connector described as
"RG174" fitted cable described as "RG174AU". It's a low frequency
application so RF characteristics aren't that important.
 
W

WangoTango

Jan 1, 1970
0
I have been trying to figure this out, they seem pretty much identical
to me. From what I can gather, the RG-spec is now obsolete (dates back
to the 1940's) and thus a bit meaningless... can anyone tell me if the A
and U suffixes are significant?

Reason I ask is, I was trying to figure out if a connector described as
"RG174" fitted cable described as "RG174AU". It's a low frequency
application so RF characteristics aren't that important.

A quick google of "coaxial cable number designations" came up with a ton
of hits, including :

http://www.firestik.com/Tech_Docs/rg-flaws.htm

The current cable designation numbers are at best severely flawed. How
are coaxial cables identified? Well technically, only cables that are
made to U.S. Government specifications can be marked with the "RG"
designation. But in reality, many manufacturers/importers pay little or
no attention to the requirements. In those situations, it is up to the
purchaser to demand that specific standards be fulfilled. However, as
sadly as it is, most of the energy goes into bickering over the cost
instead of the quality. And even if the cable carries the designated
number, there are often cost cutting activities going on right under
your nose. Following find the designated characters legend for cables.

R - Means =3F Radio Frequency

G - Means =3F Government

8 - The number in a government assigned approval number

/U - Means it is a universal application.

Letters that appear before the /U characters (I.e. A, B or C) means a
specification modification or revision. For instance, it is common in
the CB industry to see the designation RG-58A/U. The original RG-58/U
coaxial cable had a solid enter conduct. The "A" modification replaced
the solid center conductor with a more flexible stranded center
conductor (that is highly recommended for use in mobile installations).

So =3F where is the flaw in the numbering system? The numbering system
flaw is that there are no hard character designators that indicate the
type or quality of the extremely important shield. Typically, the
minimum shielding coverage on "RG" cables used for CB and amateur radio
is 78%. That is, 78% of the insulator that encapsulates the center
conductor is covered (or shielded) with the over-laid copper braid.
Firestik, by choice sets the shielding specification on all their cables
to 95%. In contrast, we have inspected cables that end users were using
on troubled set-ups that had coverage as low as 52% and their problems
were solved by simply upgrading the quality of the coaxial cable.
 
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WangoTango

Jan 1, 1970
0
What does "=3F" mean?

Thanks,
Rich
That is an extended character (Unicode)that got (mis)translated by one
of the news readers.
Happens a lot when cutting and pasting from a Unicode web page.
 
N

Nemo

Jan 1, 1970
0
Thanks WangoTango, that was a really informative answer. I did a lot of
checking up on coax specs and changed the stuff I was using.
 
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