If you deal with the subject of cables, sooner or later you will come across the terms wire and stranded wire. But what exactly is the difference and what are the advantages and disadvantages? This article takes a closer look at the main features of wires and strands and highlights the different areas of application and their advantages.
What it’s all about: Wire and strand usually describe the inner conductor of a cable through which electrical signals are transmitted. In order to protect the signal transmission and minimise loss over distances, this inner conductor is protected with a sheath and other components. Further information on the structure of a cable, e.g. a coaxial cable, can be found at koax24.de | Structure.
arnoflex 0.6-2 Koaxialkabel
A single inner conductor wire:
A wire consists of just a single conductor, often made of copper or steel. For very thin cables, a steel wire is often used to ensure stability, which is often silver-plated or copper-plated. A copper wire, sometimes tinned or silver-plated, is often used for thicker cables and offers greater flexibility compared to a steel wire.
As a rule, wires are therefore solid and therefore only slightly bendable, making them best suited for fixed installation. The advantages of a solid wire are generally a lower attenuation value and a higher electrical load capacity, which can increase signal transmission and signal quality.
RG 59 Flex Koaxialkabel
Several individual wires, twisted together – stranded wire:
A stranded wire is an inner conductor with many very thin individual wires. Some of these are only a fraction of a millimetre in diameter and are braided together to form a single inner conductor. This ensures a particularly high degree of flexibility, which increases with the number of interwoven individual wires. Stranded wires are often used in moving applications where the cable is repeatedly bent.
Another advantage of stranded conductors over wires is the reduced risk of conductor breakage. The cable can still be used even if a certain number of the individual wires are broken.
Summary: The correct choice of inner conductor is heavily dependent on the intended application of the cable. However, this should not be the only decisive factor in choosing the right cable. Other factors such as the material of the outer sheath, the insulation and other components of the cable play an important role.
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In addition to a payment term of 30 days net, also for new customers, we offer a special discount of 5% on our entire range of cable assemblies. The pre-assembled coaxial cables from koax24 and the stranded cables from litze24 impress with their high quality workmanship and only the best materials. Even deliveries at short notice can be reliably realized thanks to our numerous express options.
In addition to this discount, we offer special conditions for larger orders of 100 units or more and for tenders. Contact us for more information or for a customized offer.
You can’t find the right type of connector for the type of cable that is essential for your application. Who hasn’t encountered this problem? You can easily overcome this challenge with our matching adapters. These help you to combine a wide variety of connector types so that you always have the right solution to hand.
Despite our high standards to provide all suitable connector types for every coaxial cable, it is unfortunately still possible that the availability of your desired connector on the market is limited. This is where our high-quality adapters from various manufacturers such as Telegärtner or Rosenberger come into play. They create a transition between the connector you are looking for and any other connector, which we assemble to your desired cable instead.
If you are unable to find the right connector in our online cable configurator, our experts will of course be happy to provide you with support and help you to realize your requirements. Get in touch with us!
The LCF14-50J Cellflex® is a corrugated sheathed cable with LowLoss property of the category 1/4 inch / 50 Ohm also known as 1/4″ CELLFLEX® Superflexible Foam-Dielectric Coaxial Cable.
The LCF14-50J has a corrugated shield made of solid copper, a dielectric made of foam PE and an inner conductor made of copper-plated aluminum. The outer sheath, also made of PE, makes it ideal for outdoor applications.
Applications: Antennas, high stability connections to base stations, military equipment.
LCF14-50J: sheath made of PE, sheath color black, 50 Ohm, RoHS compliant, UV resistant and suitable for outdoor use, temperature range -50°C to +85°C
The LCF12-50J Cellflex® is a corrugated sheathed cable with LowLoss property of the category 1/2 inch / 50 Ohm also known as 1/2″ CELLFLEX® Superflexible Foam-Dielectric Coaxial Cable.
The LCF12-50J has a corrugated shield made of solid copper, a dielectric made of foamed PE and an inner conductor made of copper-plated aluminum. The outer sheath, also made of PE, makes it ideal for outdoor applications.
Applications: Antennas, high stability connections to base stations, military equipment.
LCF12-50J: sheath made of PE, sheath color black, 50 Ohm, RoHS compliant, UV resistant and suitable for outdoor use, temperature range -50°C to +85°C
Corrugated cables with low loss properties, such as the Cellflex® variants, are usually also referred to as semi-flexible cables. In addition to a strong electrical performance, they also have an extremely robust design, which makes them ideal for applications in radio systems. Due to their PE jacket, they can also be used outdoors, where they are used for mobile phone base stations, HD TV and mobile internet, among other things.
A side effect of the special design with corrugated shielding is that this type of cable is only suitable for fixed installation. An application with frequent movement frequency is not compatible with the high bending radius. However, the cables offer excellent technical values, low losses and a high shielding effect.
The new arrival at koax24: Cellflex® corrugated cable
Seit kurzer Zeit führen wir zwei unterschiedliche Cellflex® Wellmantelkabel in unserem Sortiment: das LCF12-50J sowie das LCF14-50J. Beide Kabel sind ab sofort als Meterware erhältlich. Benötigen Sie die Leitungen bereits mit den passenden Steckverbindern konfektioniert? Dann werfen Sie jetzt einen Blick in unseren Online-Kabelkonfigurator. Neben den Wellmantelkabeln finden Sie hier eine große Auswahl an Koaxialleitungen in 50 und 75 Ohm. We have recently added two different Cellflex® corrugated cables to our range: the LCF12-50J and the LCF14-50J. Both cables are now available by the meter. Do you need the cables already assembled with the appropriate connectors? Then take a look at our online cable configurator. In addition to the corrugated cables, you will also find a large selection of coaxial cables in 50 and 75 Ohm.
If you have any additional requirements that go beyond our range, please do not hesitate to contact us.
