RG-6

RG-6 coaxial cable for television signals
RG-6 coaxial cable

RG-6/U is a common type of coaxial cable used in a wide variety of residential and commercial applications. An RG-6/U coaxial cable has a characteristic impedance of 75 ohms. The term, RG-6, is generic and is applied to a wide variety of cable designs, which differ from one another in shielding characteristics, center conductor composition, dielectric type and jacket type. RG was originally a unit indicator [1] for bulk radio frequency (RF) cable in the U.S. military's Joint Electronics Type Designation System. The suffix /U means for general utility use. The number was assigned sequentially. The RG unit indicator is no longer part of the JETDS system (MIL-STD-196E) and cable sold today under the RG-6 label is unlikely to meet military specifications. In practice, the term RG-6 is generally used to refer to coaxial cables with an 18 AWG (1.024 mm) center conductor and 75 ohm characteristic impedance.

  1. ^ 'Mike Meyers' CompTIA Network+ Certification Passport', by Glen E. Clark, edited by Christopher A. Crayton, McGraw-Hill, 3rd Edition, 2009, page 32. "Specific coax types were developed for the Ethernet standard, but a number of radio cables have very similar characteristics, and these so-called radio-grade (RG) cables also became associated with Ethernet."