Custom Search
Over 10,000 pages indexed!
Your Host
Click here to read about RF CafeKirt
Blattenberger
... single-handedly
redefining what an
engineering website should be.

View the YouTube RF Cafe Intro Video Carpe Diem!
(Seize the Day!)

5CCG (5th MOB):
My USAF radar shop

Hobby & Fun

Airplanes and Rockets:
My personal hobby website

Equine Kingdom:
My daughter Sally's horse riding business website - lots of info

Doggy Dynasty:
My son-in-law's dog training business
•−•  ••−•    −•−•  •−  ••−•  •
RF Cafe Morse Code >Hear It<

Job Board

About RF Cafe©

RF Cafe E-Mail

Coaxial Cable Equations
Most professional engineers and technicians will never have the need to calculate the capacitance, inductance, or impedance of a coaxial cable since they are usually designing systems using well-defined components that are manufactured to exacting specifications. Students, hobbyists (Ham radio operators), and research types are probably the ones most likely to actually plug numbers into a calculator. For those people, I present these equations.

Related Pages on RF Cafe
- Coaxial Cable Specifications
- Capacitor Dielectrics & Descriptions
- Dielectric Constant, Strength, & Loss Tangent
- Conductor Bulk Resistivity & Skin Depths
- Coaxial Cable Equations
- Coaxial Cable Specifications
- Coaxial Cable Vendors
- Skin Depth Calculator
 
Flexible braided coax coaxial cable drawing - RF Cafe Most often used braided flexible (shown at left) and solid tube semi-rigid (shown at right) types are listed here.

Click here for popular coax cable properties. 		Semi-rigid coax coaxial cable drawing - RF Cafe


Capacitance (C) = Coaxial cable capacitance equation - RF Cafe


Inductance (L) = Coaxial cable inductance equation - RF Cafe


Impedance (Z0) = Coaxial cable impedance equation - RF Cafe



Velocity = Speed of light in a vacuum equation - RF Cafe  %c (speed of light in a vacuum)


Cutoff Frequency =


(here is a calculator)

Reflection Coefficient = Coaxial cable reflection coefficient equation


VSWR = Coaxial cable VSWR equation

Peak Voltage = Coaxial cable peak voltage equation

 , where
d = outside diameter of inner conductor in inches
D = inside diameter of outer conductor in inches
S = maximum voltage gradient of cable insulation in volts/mil
ε (εr) = relative dielectric constant
K = safety factor
f = frequency in MHz
Cable attenuation is the sum of the conductor losses and the dielectric losses per the following equations.
Coaxial cable attenuation equation center conductor

Coaxial cable attenuation equation dielectric

ρr = 1 for copper, 10 for steel

Coaxial cable attenuation chart graph

 , where d = outside diameter of inner conductor in mm
D = inside diameter of outer conductor in mm
εr = relative dielectric constant
f = frequency in GHz
ρrd = inner conductor material resistivity relative to copper
ρrD = outer conductor material resistivity relative to copper
δ = loss tangent

A Disruptive Web Presence™

Custom Search
Over 10,000 pages indexed! (none duped or pirated)
Read About RF Cafe
Webmaster: Kirt Blattenberger
    KB3UON

RF Cafe Software

RF Cascade Workbook
 RF Cascade Workbook is a very extensive system cascaded component Excel workbook that includes the standard Gain, NF, IP2, IP3, Psat calculations, input & output VSWR, noise BW, min/max tolerance, DC power cauculations, graphing of all RF parameters, and has a graphical block diagram tool. An extensive User's Guide is also included. - Only $35.
RF system analysis including
frequency conversion & filters

RF & EE Symbols Word
RF Stencils for Visio
Product & Service Directory
Personally Selected Manufacturers
RF Cafe T-Shirts & Mugs

RF Cafe Software

Calculator Workbook
RF Workbench
Smith Chart™ for Visio
Smith Chart™ for Excel