Mechanical & Electrical Specification Tables
Flexible transmission line is commonly referred to as coaxial cable. It comes in many sizes with many different electrical characteristics. Advantages of coaxial cable include its ease of use and lower cost in relation to the other types. The loss and electrical performance characteristics of coaxial cable, while very acceptable in many circumstances, are not generally as good as conformable, corrugated or semi-rigid lines.
Compared to flexible coaxial cable, conformable cable provides improved RF shielding, greater power handling capacity and better loss characteristics. Additionally, conformable cable maintains the ability to be easily bent in a field installation and is, in general, more expensive than flexible coax.
Corrugated transmission lines, often referred to by the Andrew® trade names of Heliax® and Superflex® are a hybrid blend of many of the flexibility and ease of use characteristics of coaxial cable together with the loss characteristics of conformable. The most common use for this type of transmission line is from tower top to equipment where rugged, high performance connections are desired.
Semi-rigid transmission line provides the best in coaxial transmission line performance. It is recommended for extremely high frequencies, most often internally within components, where both loss and power handling is critical. Semi-rigid cable is more expensive than either coax or conformable cable and is much more demanding to work with. Semi-rigid transmission line can be permanently shaped provided the proper tooling is employed.
Links to Cable and Connector Component Manufacturers