Area of RG6 cable?

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slc410

Electrician
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Madison wi
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Electrician
Is there anywhere to look to find the dimensions of RG6 coax cable, more preferably the area of RG6. For conduit fill?
 
zbang said:
There are different cables all called "RG-6". For correct info, you'll have to look it up the cable you're using with the manufacturer. Google will also lead you to some useful info (generic RG-6 is 0.332" diameter).
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Different RG6 cables? I guess im talking about the RG6 cable that transmits television signals
 
slc410 said:
Different RG6 cables? I guess im talking about the RG6 cable that transmits television signals
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Yep. RG6 is a (very) generic type, and generically, it's 0.332" OD. After that, different jacket materials (pvc, teflon, etc) may have different outside diameters; direct-burial and inside wiring types will also be different. Belden makes RG-6 type cables with outside diameters from 0.235" to at least 0.405". I'm sure that CommScope has similar variations. You'll have to look up the specific cable you're using to get an exact number.

If you don't mind being a little over, you're probably safe assuming an OD of 0.35", but that's still just an assumption.
 
iwire said:
True, but you need to get the coax in without damage.
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very true. since most cables recommend no more than 25lb pull force, anything other than a sleeve will be lightly filled. iirc, you can get 1, maybe 2 CATV thru 1/2" ENT, 3-4 thru a 3/4".... this chart:

https://www.belden.com/resourcecent...uit-Capacity-Chart-Conduit_Capacity_Chart.pdf

seems pretty accurate. There is a bit of difference in OD between regular RG6 and quad shield, enough that if you spec the conduit for something like duobond, you may not be able to get QS thru it.

I know we could get 1 cat6 and 1 RG6 thru a 1/2" ENT, and 2 of each thru 3/4", or 3 RG6. Belden also has a chart for their cable OD:

https://www.belden.com/resourcecenter/tools/cablefinder/upload/06-3_15.pdf.

Except for the messengered cable, and a few oddballs, the largest RG-6 they list is .298" OD.
 
zbang said:
Yep. RG6 is a (very) generic type, and generically, it's 0.332" OD. After that, different jacket materials (pvc, teflon, etc) may have different outside diameters; direct-burial and inside wiring types will also be different. Belden makes RG-6 type cables with outside diameters from 0.235" to at least 0.405". I'm sure that CommScope has similar variations. You'll have to look up the specific cable you're using to get an exact number.

If you don't mind being a little over, you're probably safe assuming an OD of 0.35", but that's still just an assumption.
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If the diameters of RG6 varies then the av available RG6 type'F' connectors could not be used in general.'F' connectors either fit or don't fit a few lung the inside conductor insulator, around the shield and then a RT lung the outside jacket insulation.
 
templdl said:
If the diameters of RG6 varies then the av available RG6 type'F' connectors could not be used in general.'F' connectors either fit or don't fit a few lung the inside conductor insulator, around the shield and then a RT lung the outside jacket insulation.
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Correct but they sell connectors made for various diameters.
 
slc410 said:
Different RG6 cables? I guess im talking about the RG6 cable that transmits television signals
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As is being said, RG-6 will come in varying diameters largely depending upon the shielding. The skinniest will have a simple foil shield, but the better cable will have a, so-called, "quad shield" that adds substantially to the outer diameter.

Slc410, if you don't know, assume the fattest. Also, be very cautious about the forces used for pull. . . I don't believe you want to go much beyond 25 pounds. Check with the cable specs for the specific make and model number of the cable you actually pull.
 
JFletcher said:
very true. since most cables recommend no more than 25lb pull force,
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al hildenbrand said:
Also, be very cautious about the forces used for pull. . . I don't believe you want to go much beyond 25 pounds.
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I agree with the others, it is delicate cable and will not tolerate a lot of side wall pressure being dragged around 90s in a raceway. Do not undersize even though it is allowed.
 
You might want to try to calculate for the cable you will be using:

Circle Area = Pi * R(Squared)

The following is an example I used for figuring fill for 12/2 w/ground:

12/2 measured 3/8" or .375 in.

Circle Area = Pi * R(Squared)

CA = 3.14 * (.1875 * .1875)

CA = 3.14 * .0351562

CA = .1103904
 
iwire said:
Correct but they sell connectors made for various diameters.
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So, what you are saying is there is no single RG6 standard size then. That's good to know, thanks. When I ordered RG6 connectors they come in one size which means that I have been lucky to get an 'F' connecter to fit the RG6 cable that I have.
 
templdl said:
So, what you are saying is there is no single RG6 standard size then. That's good to know, thanks. When I ordered RG6 connectors they come in one size which means that I have been lucky to get an 'F' connecter to fit the RG6 cable that I have.
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Well, let me be honest, I have full box of 25 here I bought at Home Depot only to find out they did not fit the cable I ran in my own home. I had to go back and get another box of the right size. :dunce:
 
templdl said:
So, what you are saying is there is no single RG6 standard size then. That's good to know, thanks. When I ordered RG6 connectors they come in one size which means that I have been lucky to get an 'F' connecter to fit the RG6 cable that I have.
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Most good compression connectors will fit plenum coax (thinnest) to QS. The problem with the latter is many people do not fold the braids back correctly resulting in the F connector not going on right or at all. Screw-on type fittings are way more sensitive to OD than compression types, but they are garbage imo, as are crimp-on connectors. I use PPC F connectors or sometimes Ideal Snap n Seal. They fit all RG6.

I bought some cheap no-name compression fittings once, and they did not fit the coax I was using.

Quad Shield is unnecessary in most applications. Ive noticed BB store brand cable often has mfg imperfections which results in braid problems and out of round cable, making terminating it problematic.

RG6 cable doesnt have a set OD. I just played around with some Belden Duobond 9116, which has an OD of 6.858mm or .27". That PDF I linked earlier shows 1 cable thru a 1/2" pipe, or 3 thru a 3/4". You can get 4 thru tho if it's a longer pull or has 3-4 90s, better to stick to 3.

If you happen to be doing RG59 for CCTV, or reworking old CATV that uses it, they use smaller connectors (F or BNC) than RG6.
 
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Later

JFletcher said:
Most good compression connectors will fit plenum coax (thinnest) to QS. The problem with the latter is many people do not fold the braids back correctly resulting in the F connector not going on right or at all. Screw-on type fittings are way more sensitive to OD than compression types, but they are garbage imo, as are crimp-on connectors. I use PPC F connectors or sometimes Ideal Snap n Seal. They fit all RG6.

I bought some cheap no-name compression fittings once, and they did not fit the coax I was using.

Quad Shield is unnecessary in most applications. Ive noticed BB store brand cable often has mfg imperfections which results in braid problems and out of round cable, making terminating it problematic.

RG6 cable doesnt have a set OD. I just played around with some Belden Duobond 9116, which has an OD of 6.858mm or .27". That PDF I linked earlier shows 1 cable thru a 1/2" pipe, or 3 thru a 3/4". You can get 4 thru tho if it's a longer pull or has 3-4 90s, better to stick to 3.

If you happen to be doing RG59 for CCTV, or reworking old CATV that uses it, they use smaller connips the Indian insectors (F or BNC) than RG6.
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Thanks.
I'll have to pay closer attention to this. I have a stripper that works well marked for both RG6 in one position to cut the outside sheathing and RG59 in the other with another to strip the inner insulator which we works great. Then I install a compression weather proof F connector with special tool. Works great. I did some horse trading with the Uverse guy for them to add to my toy collection. .
 
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