Has anyone tried used RG-6 coax instead of RG-59 for CCTV cameras using the special BNC connectors designed for RG-6 made by ICM? (Obviously, the RG-6 has to have a solid-copper center conductor.)
I don't like using the "RG" numbers anymore because at this point they're practically meaningless in terms of actual quality. About all "RG-6" tells you is that it's 75 ohm, has a solid 18g center conductor, and is about .27" OD. Doesn't say anything about the overall quality (dielectric, shielding, jacket, etc) although it used to. You can use any 75 ohm coax for the NTSC video, some are easier to work with and some have lower loss, but good "RG-59" might work better than junk RG-6, at least over more than 50 feet. We've used Belden 8281 for high-end applications, it's similar to generic RG-6 but larger OD and generally better. Needs specific connectors and tooling.
Don't know about the ICM connectors, I usually use King or Amphenol.
Unless you have a lot of inventory cost, using the same cable for both isn't likely to save much. OTOH it will be harder to install. If the RG-6 you're using is really cheap, it might not produce a good picture at the far end; cable TV is more forgiving of loss than video.
Try this- take 1000' of each cable, put identical cameras at the end of each seeing the same scene, and look at the monitor. One will probably have more smearing and less detail. Could have some color shifts as well.
http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/rg6.htm has some interesting points
(z- who shouldn't post in the morning, but does anyway)