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What kind of cable is this?

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Question, I have gotten 8 rolls of a combined cable, and they are not exactly the same as the RG59 cable I usually work with. On the pic, top, cable I have received with coaxial and 2 power; bottom, cable I use daily, with RG59 and 2 power.

 

p1160806th-1.jpg

 

According to Wikipedia, RG59 has overall diameter of 6.1mm, dielectric 3.7mm and core 0.81mm. That is correct with the bottom cable on the picture, RG59 I usually have, which with my own measurements it gives me 6.2mm, 3.8mm and 0.9mm (no, I did not make the measurements with the ruler in the picture... ).

 

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Coaxial_cable

 

According to Wikipedia, RG58 would be 5.0mm, 2.9mm and 0.9mm; but the cable on the picture (top) gives me about 4.7mm, 3.1mm and 0.5mm. The core is what bugs me, it is way smaller than what a RG58 should be, and my measurements are not THAT way off.

 

Now the question; what kind of cable do you guys think this is? I have 800m I would like to do something with, but I am not sure it is a good idea. The crimp connectors I have are no good for this cable, but I have solder connectors I could use. I am not even sure if this is RG58 since the core seems way smaller than what it should be, so I do not know if I could find RG58 crimp connectors... And even then, I do not know if I should even TRY using this cable with CCTV. I would rather just throw it all away, than waste worktime laying the cable down, just to find out it is not good enough and that it needs to be replaced.

 

Any suggestions?

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Why not just test it on the bench? 800m on a single spool? Put a connector on each end and put a camera on it, see how it looks on the other end

 

Hard to tell from the picture, but does it have foil shield? Does it look like the core is solid copper? There are no end of stories here of problems with aluminum or foil/wrapped shields and copper-clad steel cores - if it has any of that, you probably do just want to toss it (or better yet, take it to a metal recycler and get a few bucks for it!).

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Why not just test it on the bench? 800m on a single spool? Put a connector on each end and put a camera on it, see how it looks on the other end

 

8 x 100m, guess I am being lazy and that I should just take 100m and try it.

 

Here is a close up picture. My tech english is not so good, but I would say that yes, it does have foil shield, and it looks like the core is solid copper.

 

p1160810th-1.jpg

 

If it does have foil/aluminum shield, it is not a good idea to use this kind of cable?? I would have thought that a cable with foil would be better than without it...

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Braided copper shield is the best for CCTV. I've had nothing but trouble with foil-shielded wire. Most here will agree.

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Braided copper shield is the best for CCTV. I've had nothing but trouble with foil-shielded wire. Most here will agree.

 

I am not sue I know what "braided copper shield" is, but I do understand the "nothing but trouble with foil-shielded wire" part. But doesn't this cable have "braided copper shield" and "foil shield"? Last picture, top this cable, bottom RG59 cable.

 

p1160812th-1.jpg

 

Guess that for now I won't be using this cable until I have some time to just test a 100m run and see how it works out.

 

Thanks!

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If you are still looking for a connector to fit your cable, check out the CaP System from Telecom & Security in Italy. Their connector will fit any size coaxial cable from miniature thru RG6 quad shield. www.telecomsecurity.it

 

The connectors were sold in Austraila under the name CaP-Blue.

 

I am assisting the Italians through a new company in the United States

www.CaP-America.US

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Old post but ive used that cable before, cheap cable being sold as RG59 which it obviously was not .. plastic is a PITA. It was a few years since ive seen it though. RG59 BNCs never fit on snug, had to wrap extra braid around the jacket for them to hold.

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I always find there are no real bargains in CCTV unless you pay extra for the best stuff. Better quality is a better buy.

I now pay 3 times what I used to pay for crimp-on BNCs for RG59. The new ones NEVER FAIL like the cheap

chinese equivalents off flee-bay. I buy Tyco connectors or Greenpar and not only do they crimp easier and fit tighter, they don't pull off or corrode. (a bit of electro-lube helps)

 

The coax is taking your signal to your DVR so after your camera and recording equipment, it is really the next

most important component of the setup I wouldn't risk cheap cable until I was entirely satisfied. The copper braid on your

cable looks very poor and I would guess it's actually, copper coated steel wire and I am willing to bet that the center

conductor is not solid copper either. (is it really soft to cut?) Take a craft knife and scrape the center conductor a bit then try that with the braid ( the outer woven part.)

 

The reason I suspect that, is that it has a vapor barrier tape in it and that is because of the extra risk of corrosion with steel wire.

 

I could be wrong though!

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If you are still looking for a connector to fit your cable, check out the CaP System from Telecom & Security in Italy. Their connector will fit any size coaxial cable from miniature thru RG6 quad shield. http://www.telecomsecurity.it

 

The connectors were sold in Austraila under the name CaP-Blue.

 

I am assisting the Italians through a new company in the United States

http://www.CaP-America.US

 

I bought a couple of kits of these connectors at ISC West this year, and they seem to work quite well. Not having to have different BNC's for standard and plenum is nice, and they also have couplers, RCA's and both gender ends for BNC's.

 

They are quick to install as well. I have always been a three piece crimp guy, but I'm going to let our installers use these for a while, and see how they do...BNC's are dying fast for us, though, almost everything we do now is IP on CAT5/6.

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