This document has been composed to provide a industry reference for the major coaxial cable groups and their nominal specifications. Cable grouping is important to ensure compatibility across different manufacturers. Rather than introduce a brand new cable type with unique dimensions, RF cable manufacturers typically produce their cable to align with a well known cable group. This ensures connectors from one company can be used on another company's cable.
This can sound confusing, so to help illustrate the point consider the following example. Powertec produce coaxial cables such as our PTL-240, which sits alongside others including CommScope CNT-240, Telegärtner G30, Times Microwave LMR-240, and many others, who all manufacture an "L-240" group cable.
Cable Groups by Attenuation (dB/m)
Cable Groups by Max. Frequency
Explore RF Cable Groups
Illustration | Group | Flexibility | Cable Diameter | Max. Freq. | Atten. @ 1 GHz |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
|
RG-142 |
Flexible | 4.95 mm | 12.4 GHz | 0.42 dB/m |
|
RG-174 |
Flexible | 2.79 mm | 2 GHz | 0.97 dB/m |
|
RG-178 |
Flexible | 1.83 mm | 3 GHz | 1.49 dB/m |
|
RG-213 |
Flexible | 10.30 mm | 2 GHz | 0.23 dB/m |
|
RG-214 |
Flexible | 10.80 mm | 11 GHz | 0.24 dB/m |
|
RG-223 |
Flexible | 5.30 mm | 12.4 GHz | 0.44 dB/m |
|
RG-316 |
Flexible | 2.50 mm | 3 GHz | 0.85 dB/m |
|
RG-393 |
Flexible | 9.91 mm | 11 GHz | 0.24 dB/m |
|
RG-400 |
Flexible | 4.95 mm | 12.4 GHz | 0.48 dB/m |
|
RG-401 |
Semi-Rigid | 6.35 mm | 19 GHz | 0.22 dB/m |
|
RG-402 |
Semi-Rigid | 3.58 mm | 34 GHz | 0.37 dB/m |
|
RG-405 |
Semi-Rigid | 2.20 mm | 61 GHz | 0.64 dB/m |