[TowerTalk] RG6

[Jim Brown]

On Tue, 11 Sep 2007 16:26:15 -0400, Jim Jarvis wrote:

>I'm wondering if anyone has worked with RG6 for power
>transmission, or might know the limitations.

There are many different variations on RG6, just as there are many 
different variations on RG59, RG6, RG8X, and RG11.These variations 
affect power handling and loss. An RG6 designed for CATV/MATV use is 
likely to have pretty low loss, but may handle only several hundred 
watts. Power handling is also strongly affected by VSWR -- voltage 
peaks can cause dielectric breakdown, and current peaks can cause 
excessive heating due to I squared R losses. Power handling is also 
a function of frequency. 

In other words, there's no short or simple answer. :)  W8JI has said 
that he often feeds high dipoles with RG6, and for more than a year, 
I ran a high dipole on 160, 80, and 40 with a Belden RG59B with the 
full output of my Titan in contests (that is, high duty cycles). 
I've since replaced the RG59B with RG11 to reduce the loss a bit. 

Jim K9YC