Hello,

I am just trying to get an updated list of the top brands of RG-6 quad
shield coax cable. I have seen posts from a few years back mentioning
Belden, Carol, and Commscope, but I just wanted to get an updated
list. I have seen Carol and Zenith brands at local stores recently,
are these any good? Mainly going to use this cable for running feeds
from HDTV & analog TV antennas in the walls of a house.

Thank you very much for all feedback,
--
Chris

szilagyic wrote:
I am just trying to get an updated list of the top brands of RG-6 quad
shield coax cable. I have seen posts from a few years back mentioning
Belden, Carol, and Commscope, but I just wanted to get an updated
list. I have seen Carol and Zenith brands at local stores recently,
are these any good? Mainly going to use this cable for running feeds
from HDTV & analog TV antennas in the walls of a house.

My experience with a few Carol Cable products (including coax) has been
good. I would consider that the Zenith brand name appears to be rented
out to the best bidder these days (peruse a.h.r for recent stories about
Heath/Zenith products) and expect that the manufacturer spent most of the
cost of making that coax on the marketing of that coax.

--
Music hath charms to soothe the savage breast.
That's why stereo has two channels.

clifto wrote:
szilagyic wrote:

I am just trying to get an updated list of the top brands of RG-6 quad
shield coax cable.

Belden 1694A is a nice cable, as is Canare L-5CFB.

I built a component cable set for my front projector out of the Canare
V3-5CFB, which is basically similar to the L-5CFB but has three cables
wrapped together in a single jacket. Works very well.

Chris

On Thu, 05 Apr 2007 17:43:47 -0500, clifto wrote:

szilagyic wrote:
I am just trying to get an updated list of the top brands of RG-6 quad
shield coax cable. I have seen posts from a few years back mentioning
Belden, Carol, and Commscope, but I just wanted to get an updated
list. I have seen Carol and Zenith brands at local stores recently,
are these any good? Mainly going to use this cable for running feeds
from HDTV & analog TV antennas in the walls of a house.

My experience with a few Carol Cable products (including coax) has been
good. I would consider that the Zenith brand name appears to be rented
out to the best bidder these days (peruse a.h.r for recent stories about
Heath/Zenith products) and expect that the manufacturer spent most of the
cost of making that coax on the marketing of that coax.

Belden, Alpha and Carol are all good. As important as the cable are
the connectors. The compression type are the way to go, IMO. Invest
in a good QS stripper and a compression tool. Don't bother with crimp
tools and don't even think about twist-on.

HTH,

Paul

"Paul Franklin" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 05 Apr 2007 17:43:47 -0500, clifto wrote:

szilagyic wrote:
I am just trying to get an updated list of the top brands of RG-6 quad
shield coax cable. I have seen posts from a few years back mentioning
Belden, Carol, and Commscope, but I just wanted to get an updated
list. I have seen Carol and Zenith brands at local stores recently,
are these any good? Mainly going to use this cable for running feeds
from HDTV & analog TV antennas in the walls of a house.

My experience with a few Carol Cable products (including coax) has been
good. I would consider that the Zenith brand name appears to be rented
out to the best bidder these days (peruse a.h.r for recent stories about
Heath/Zenith products) and expect that the manufacturer spent most of the
cost of making that coax on the marketing of that coax.

Belden, Alpha and Carol are all good. As important as the cable are
the connectors. The compression type are the way to go, IMO. Invest
in a good QS stripper and a compression tool. Don't bother with crimp
tools and don't even think about twist-on.

HTH,

Paul


Hi Paul

What is the problem with "twist-ons"? I dont question your judgement,
but I have found them to be good for my 2 meter application.

Now I am considering doing some work at 2 GHz. This is a good time for me
to learn about cable and F connectors.

Thanks
Jerry

On Fri, 06 Apr 2007 03:27:04 GMT, "Jerry Martes"
wrote:
snip
Belden, Alpha and Carol are all good. As important as the cable are
the connectors. The compression type are the way to go, IMO. Invest
in a good QS stripper and a compression tool. Don't bother with crimp
tools and don't even think about twist-on.

HTH,

Paul


Hi Paul

What is the problem with "twist-ons"? I dont question your judgement,
but I have found them to be good for my 2 meter application.

Now I am considering doing some work at 2 GHz. This is a good time for me
to learn about cable and F connectors.

Thanks
Jerry

Two reasons I don't like twist-ons. First, I don't find them to make
that great of a mechanical connection and can therefore be pulled off
the cable fairly easily.

Second, and I admit I don't have network analyzer plots to back this
up or anything, I've always found them to make a mess of the shields
when you twist them. That could lead to more of an impedance bump at
the connector than with other types. Probably not an issue at 2
meters, but more important as the frequency goes up.

Paul

In message , Paul Franklin
writes
On Fri, 06 Apr 2007 03:27:04 GMT, "Jerry Martes"
wrote:
snip
Belden, Alpha and Carol are all good. As important as the cable are
the connectors. The compression type are the way to go, IMO. Invest
in a good QS stripper and a compression tool. Don't bother with crimp
tools and don't even think about twist-on.

HTH,

Paul


Hi Paul

What is the problem with "twist-ons"? I dont question your judgement,
but I have found them to be good for my 2 meter application.

Now I am considering doing some work at 2 GHz. This is a good time for me
to learn about cable and F connectors.

Thanks
Jerry

Two reasons I don't like twist-ons. First, I don't find them to make
that great of a mechanical connection and can therefore be pulled off
the cable fairly easily.


If you can pull them off, you are probably not putting them on
correctly.
(Tip: Ignore instructions, and use cunning.)

Second, and I admit I don't have network analyzer plots to back this
up or anything, I've always found them to make a mess of the shields
when you twist them. That could lead to more of an impedance bump at
the connector than with other types. Probably not an issue at 2
meters, but more important as the frequency goes up.

While the connector thread will crush the outer somewhat (causing a very
short piece of low Zo), it's unlikely to be a problem in most
applications, even at 2GHz.

Ian.
--

In article ,
Paul Franklin wrote:
On Fri, 06 Apr 2007 03:27:04 GMT, "Jerry Martes"
wrote:
snip
Belden, Alpha and Carol are all good. As important as the cable are
the connectors. The compression type are the way to go, IMO. Invest
in a good QS stripper and a compression tool. Don't bother with crimp
tools and don't even think about twist-on.



What's the diff between a compression tool and a crimp tool?


OT: I inherited break/fix responsibility (billable by the hour) on a
business thinwire lan that was installed by a TV cable guy. He used
twist-ons and no crimp rings. That site paid my rent for a couple
years, until I eventually replaced all the connectors with proper
ends.

For that reason, I've always looked fondly on twist-ons, in a bizzare
way.

--
a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m
Don't blame me. I voted for Gore. A Proud signature since 2001

Twist-in connectors do not provide the shielding that a CATV system needs.
They are a HUGE source of ingress/egress, and the return loss is rather low
(the higher the better. Hex-crimp fittings have ~18dB, and compression are
30dB). Plus, It actually takes more time to put on a twist-on connector
that it does to put on a real connector.

Compression fittings may cost a little more for the connector and the
installation tools, but cost less in labor (time) to install. Not to
mention the materials/time spent in replacing the twist-on connectors with
real ones when they don't work properly.

--

CIAO!

Ed N.


"Jerry Martes" wrote in message
news:c6jRh.4844$_43.4338@trnddc02...

"Paul Franklin" wrote in message
...
On Thu, 05 Apr 2007 17:43:47 -0500, clifto wrote:

szilagyic wrote:
I am just trying to get an updated list of the top brands of RG-6 quad
shield coax cable. I have seen posts from a few years back mentioning
Belden, Carol, and Commscope, but I just wanted to get an updated
list. I have seen Carol and Zenith brands at local stores recently,
are these any good? Mainly going to use this cable for running feeds
from HDTV & analog TV antennas in the walls of a house.

My experience with a few Carol Cable products (including coax) has been
good. I would consider that the Zenith brand name appears to be rented
out to the best bidder these days (peruse a.h.r for recent stories about
Heath/Zenith products) and expect that the manufacturer spent most of the
cost of making that coax on the marketing of that coax.

Belden, Alpha and Carol are all good. As important as the cable are
the connectors. The compression type are the way to go, IMO. Invest
in a good QS stripper and a compression tool. Don't bother with crimp
tools and don't even think about twist-on.

HTH,

Paul


Hi Paul

What is the problem with "twist-ons"? I dont question your judgement,
but I have found them to be good for my 2 meter application.

Now I am considering doing some work at 2 GHz. This is a good time for
me to learn about cable and F connectors.

Thanks
Jerry

On Fri, 6 Apr 2007 08:21:15 -0600, "Ed Nielsen"
wrote:

Twist-in connectors do not provide the shielding that a CATV system needs.
They are a HUGE source of ingress/egress, and the return loss is rather low
(the higher the better. Hex-crimp fittings have ~18dB, and compression are
30dB). Plus, It actually takes more time to put on a twist-on connector
that it does to put on a real connector.

Compression fittings may cost a little more for the connector and the
installation tools, but cost less in labor (time) to install. Not to
mention the materials/time spent in replacing the twist-on connectors with
real ones when they don't work properly.

A couple of years ago the house took a lightning strike that I deduced
damaged cabling provided by the cable system(Time-Warner). I removed
my additions and placed a service call. When the truck arrived I
showed them where I had dropped my stuff off the system and restored
their original configuration. After they fixed the connector arc-overs
they ran there signal leakage test. Then they requested I restore my
alterations and one by one they chased down ALL of the twist-on and
crimp connections that I had made and replaced them with their own
compression fittings. The results were better picture quality, zero RF
influence from the Ham Xmtr, and higher speed Internet.

I think I better invest in the connectors and tool to keep things
tidy.

John Ferrell W8CCW
"Life is easier if you learn to
plow around the stumps"

On Apr 5, 9:50 pm, Paul Franklin
wrote:
On Thu, 05 Apr 2007 17:43:47 -0500, clifto wrote:
szilagyic wrote:
I am just trying to get an updated list of the top brands of RG-6 quad
shield coax cable. I have seen posts from a few years back mentioning
Belden, Carol, and Commscope, but I just wanted to get an updated
list. I have seen Carol and Zenith brands at local stores recently,
are these any good? Mainly going to use this cable for running feeds
from HDTV & analog TV antennas in the walls of a house.

My experience with a few Carol Cable products (including coax) has been
good. I would consider that the Zenith brand name appears to be rented
out to the best bidder these days (peruse a.h.r for recent stories about
Heath/Zenith products) and expect that the manufacturer spent most of the
cost of making that coax on the marketing of that coax.

Belden, Alpha and Carol are all good. As important as the cable are
the connectors. The compression type are the way to go, IMO. Invest
in a good QS stripper and a compression tool. Don't bother with crimp
tools and don't even think about twist-on.

HTH,

Paul

What are the common issues with the crimp-on connectors? I've been
using them here and there mainly because they are cheap. So far I
haven't really noticed any problems, but maybe it's because I haven't
used anything else to see an improvement. Thanks!!

--
Chris

wrote in message
oups.com...

What are the common issues with the crimp-on connectors? I've been
using them here and there mainly because they are cheap. So far I
haven't really noticed any problems, but maybe it's because I haven't
used anything else to see an improvement. Thanks!!

it not that they are so bad it just that the compression fittings are the
way to go.

Hex-crimp fittings have 6 points where the connector is pinched into the
cable creating small impedance mismatches. Impedance mismatch creates
reflection. If the reflection(s) is(are) severe enough, whatever is at
that(those) frequency (frequencies) may not work. Plus, their return loss
is a fair amount lower than that of compression connectors (~18dB as
compared to 30dB).

I've replaced hex-crimp fittings on DirecTV systems because of hex-crimp
fittings which were causing some channels to not work.

Go to http://www.cencom94.com/Download.html and check out DBS Tutorial.
Pages 12 & 13 illustrates why you don't want to use hex-crimp fittings.

--

CIAO!

Ed N.


wrote in message
oups.com...
On Apr 5, 9:50 pm, Paul Franklin
wrote:
On Thu, 05 Apr 2007 17:43:47 -0500, clifto wrote:
szilagyic wrote:
I am just trying to get an updated list of the top brands of RG-6 quad
shield coax cable. I have seen posts from a few years back mentioning
Belden, Carol, and Commscope, but I just wanted to get an updated
list. I have seen Carol and Zenith brands at local stores recently,
are these any good? Mainly going to use this cable for running feeds
from HDTV & analog TV antennas in the walls of a house.

My experience with a few Carol Cable products (including coax) has been
good. I would consider that the Zenith brand name appears to be rented
out to the best bidder these days (peruse a.h.r for recent stories about
Heath/Zenith products) and expect that the manufacturer spent most of
the
cost of making that coax on the marketing of that coax.

Belden, Alpha and Carol are all good. As important as the cable are
the connectors. The compression type are the way to go, IMO. Invest
in a good QS stripper and a compression tool. Don't bother with crimp
tools and don't even think about twist-on.

HTH,

Paul

What are the common issues with the crimp-on connectors? I've been
using them here and there mainly because they are cheap. So far I
haven't really noticed any problems, but maybe it's because I haven't
used anything else to see an improvement. Thanks!!

--
Chris

"Ed Nielsen" wrote in message
. ..
Hex-crimp fittings have 6 points where the connector is pinched into the
cable creating small impedance mismatches. Impedance mismatch creates
reflection. If the reflection(s) is(are) severe enough, whatever is at
that(those) frequency (frequencies) may not work. Plus, their return loss
is a fair amount lower than that of compression connectors (~18dB as
compared to 30dB).

I've replaced hex-crimp fittings on DirecTV systems because of hex-crimp
fittings which were causing some channels to not work.



Funny how it works where a bad connector will blank out just a couple of
cable chanels. First time this hapened to me about 20 years ago the cable
guy came out and said it was a bad connection. Almost laughed at him,but he
replaced the connector at the outside of the house and it cleared right up.

Belden and Commscope are the top names in CATV/Satellite cables and
compression connectors are now the standard for all satellite installs.
T&B Snap-N Seal is considered the best of the compression connectors.
The two big satellite companies not only spec compression connectors but
also solid copper center conductor RG-6 due to the lower DC resistance
for powering equipment down the cable. If you use say, Belden 7915A
cable and T&B SNS1P6U connectors, nobody can ever say you skimped.
Bob


szilagyic wrote:
Hello,

I am just trying to get an updated list of the top brands of RG-6 quad
shield coax cable. I have seen posts from a few years back mentioning
Belden, Carol, and Commscope, but I just wanted to get an updated
list. I have seen Carol and Zenith brands at local stores recently,
are these any good? Mainly going to use this cable for running feeds
from HDTV & analog TV antennas in the walls of a house.

Thank you very much for all feedback,
--
Chris

Don't forget Times Fiber at the top right there with CommScope and Belden.
As far as compression fittings, Snap-N-Seal definitely is in the top group,
right along with PCT, Digicon, Gilbert, & PPC. The whole shebang started
with PPC.

--

CIAO!

Ed N.


"Bob" wrote in message
news
Belden and Commscope are the top names in CATV/Satellite cables and
compression connectors are now the standard for all satellite installs.
T&B Snap-N Seal is considered the best of the compression connectors. The
two big satellite companies not only spec compression connectors but also
solid copper center conductor RG-6 due to the lower DC resistance for
powering equipment down the cable. If you use say, Belden 7915A cable and
T&B SNS1P6U connectors, nobody can ever say you skimped.
Bob


szilagyic wrote:
Hello,

I am just trying to get an updated list of the top brands of RG-6 quad
shield coax cable. I have seen posts from a few years back mentioning
Belden, Carol, and Commscope, but I just wanted to get an updated
list. I have seen Carol and Zenith brands at local stores recently,
are these any good? Mainly going to use this cable for running feeds
from HDTV & analog TV antennas in the walls of a house.

Thank you very much for all feedback,
--
Chris

Times make great cable but I don’t see any used in CATV or direct to
home satellite installs in my area. If you get the Ripley CAT Universal
tool for the RG-6 compression connectors it will fit all the brands you
mention.
Bob


Ed Nielsen wrote:
Don't forget Times Fiber at the top right there with CommScope and
Belden. As far as compression fittings, Snap-N-Seal definitely is in the
top group, right along with PCT, Digicon, Gilbert, & PPC. The whole
shebang started with PPC.

I started using Times when I started in cable in '85. Have used the other 2
aforementioned brands, but still spec Times for our systems.

That tool, as well as three of the ones listed here
http://www.cencom94.com/gpage.html2.html (CT-FBR, PCT-DRS-CT, &
PCT-DRS-CT-AS), Cable Pro's LCCT-1, and many others fit those fittings.
Only sort of exception in that group of fittings is PPC. They originally
started out with the EX Series, which is about 19mm in length. Then others
started making compression connectors that were 21mm in length, which is
what the majority of them are. A few years ago, AT&T Broadband pushed PPC
into making a 21mm fitting, which they labeled EXXL. PCT also has a
Universal connector (TRS Series) which is a different length.
--

CIAO!

Ed N.


"Bob" wrote in message
t...
Times make great cable but I don’t see any used in CATV or direct to home
satellite installs in my area. If you get the Ripley CAT Universal tool
for the RG-6 compression connectors it will fit all the brands you
mention.
Bob


Ed Nielsen wrote:
Don't forget Times Fiber at the top right there with CommScope and
Belden. As far as compression fittings, Snap-N-Seal definitely is in the
top group, right along with PCT, Digicon, Gilbert, & PPC. The whole
shebang started with PPC.

On Apr 7, 11:14 am, "Ed Nielsen" wrote:
I started using Times when I started in cable in '85. Have used the other 2
aforementioned brands, but still spec Times for our systems.

That tool, as well as three of the ones listed herehttp://www.cencom94.com/gpage.html2.html(CT-FBR, PCT-DRS-CT, &
PCT-DRS-CT-AS), Cable Pro's LCCT-1, and many others fit those fittings.
Only sort of exception in that group of fittings is PPC. They originally
started out with the EX Series, which is about 19mm in length. Then others
started making compression connectors that were 21mm in length, which is
what the majority of them are. A few years ago, AT&T Broadband pushed PPC
into making a 21mm fitting, which they labeled EXXL. PCT also has a
Universal connector (TRS Series) which is a different length.


There are many compression tols out here. The one that I started with
is the Ideal tool. It can be gotten in any Home Depot, but it cost far
more than it's worth. I think it is still about $58, and will only
crimp one size of compression connector. The other tool I bought is
designed like the one you reference above. It has orange handles, and
can crimp RCA, BNC, and all compression connectors. I paid in the mid
$30's for mine, but I've seen them priced as high as the Ideal tool as
well.
Someone at work gave me an old compression tool that was left at there
house by a cable tech many years ago. It is very old and similar to
the Ideal tool, but not as heavy. The tool I have can crimp the short
compression connectors, as well as the long ones My tool is made by
Stern, and says Perma-Seal-II on it. It has a cutter on it, and the
extra dies to make it work with BNC, and RCA are secured to the inside
of the handle by being screwed into the inside edge. It is a great
design.

On Apr 5, 12:53 pm, "szilagyic" wrote:
Hello,

I am just trying to get an updated list of the top brands of RG-6 quad
shield coax cable. I have seen posts from a few years back mentioning
Belden, Carol, and Commscope, but I just wanted to get an updated
list. I have seen Carol and Zenith brands at local stores recently,
are these any good? Mainly going to use this cable for running feeds
from HDTV & analog TV antennas in the walls of a house.

Thank you very much for all feedback,
--
Chris

I'm almost certain that I'm out of my league (having read some of the
previous replies), but for some reason feel bound to input my 2 cents
worth (unsure of equivalent value in the mother country United
Kingdom).

1). periodicity, as I understand it, is more likely to "suck out" ONE
particular channel frequency, not several. On the surface, it sounds
more like ingress, or some kind of beat.

2). say what you will about crimp and screw on connectors, but the
fact is that I make a living as a "noise / leakage" technician, and
replace a LOT of them having tracked them down with a spectrum
analyzer. Lot's of home builders and home owners use them because
they're less expensive, but not installed correctly. Perhaps a trained
and experienced installer can put them on properly, but those are few
and far between ........ screw on connectors especially SUCK in my
humble opinion.

3). I'm wondering about perhaps a "store bought" / inferior brand of
splitter that might also have been replaced along with the connectors,
or perhaps a cross-threaded, corroded (or otherwise inferior)
connection, that might be creating the problem. Though unlikely, might
be bad cable (even if it IS new "brand name" wire .... stranger things
have happened).

Subtle problem, more info is needed. Ideally, a good tech with the
proper equipment could look at it and track down the problem. In here,
it's all speculation and educated guesses.

I only have 30 + yrs experience in the cable industry, so I'm
apparently the FNG in this thread.

Good luck.