Coax Cable Comparison — RG59 / RG6 / RG11
The 75 Ω coax family side by side: construction, attenuation per 100 ft across the working spectrum, and where each cable belongs. Attenuation figures are manufacturer-typical for modern foam-dielectric cable — the values that matter are the trends, and the trends are physics.
Construction and attenuation
| Cable | Center | OD | 55 MHz dB/100 ft | 211 MHz dB/100 ft | 400 MHz dB/100 ft | 1000 MHz dB/100 ft | Typical use |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| RG59 | 20 AWG | 0.242″ | 1.88 | 3.59 | 4.88 | 8.09 | Analog/HD-over-coax CCTV, legacy video — keep short |
| RG6 | 18 AWG | 0.274″ | 1.50 | 2.87 | 4.00 | 6.54 | CATV, satellite, cable modem, HD-over-coax — the default drop |
| RG11 | 14 AWG | 0.412″ | 0.95 | 1.81 | 2.53 | 4.23 | Long trunks and risers past ~150 ft, MDU feeds |
Reading the loss numbers
Work in budget terms: a 100 ft RG6 run costs ~6.5 dB at 1 GHz, a 4-way splitter costs 7 dB more (see the splitter loss chart), and the receiving device wants its level inside a window. That arithmetic — not the cable alone — decides when RG11 or an amplifier enters the design. For camera work on coax, reach is resolution-dependent rather than frequency-budget math — the camera cabling chart covers it.
Common questions
What is the difference between RG59 and RG6?
Conductor size and loss. RG6's 18 AWG center loses about 20% less signal than RG59's 20 AWG at every frequency, and the gap widens where it matters — at 1 GHz (cable TV and modem territory) RG6 runs ~6.5 dB per 100 ft against RG59's 8+. RG59 survives in CCTV, where analog HD video lives at lower frequencies; for anything CATV/satellite/DOCSIS, RG6 is the floor.
When should you use RG11?
Runs past roughly 150 ft — the usual switch point where RG6's loss starts eating the signal budget. RG11's 14 AWG center cuts loss roughly 35–40% versus RG6, at the cost of a stiff 0.41" cable that needs its own connectors and doesn't like tight corners. Classic uses: MDU risers, drops to detached buildings, long trunk legs feeding a splitter tree.
Are all coax cables 75 ohm?
The video/CATV family is — RG59, RG6, RG11 all 75 Ω. But rg58 and lmr-400 are 50 ω cables for radio, wi-fi antennas, and das — never interchangeable with 75 ω video/catv cable. Mixing the families creates reflections at every fitting; check the print on the jacket.
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