Coax Cable
We offer a variety of coaxial cable for your signal booster or antenna installation needs.
Connectors Note: matching connectors is a little different than matching nuts and bolts. Gender (male, female) can be different and reverse polarity (RP) connectors are different still.
More information about cable connectors below.
We stock antenna coax cable for your cellular antenna or amplifier system project. We offer a variety of cellular antenna cable extensions including Wilson400, RG-6, RG-8 and RG-58.
Adding cable length and additional connectors/adapters to an antenna will reduce the signal strength to your phone, mobile broadband device or amplifier. However, it may be worth adding extra length if it means you can move your antenna to a location with a significantly better signal. For example, with RG-58 cable you can estimate about .16db loss per foot and .1db loss per connector. For longer lengths choose Wilson400 coax cable (about .03/.04db loss per foot).
RG-6 Quad Shield cable should be used only with 75ohm amplifiers such as the Wilson SignalBoost Desktop, or the Wilson SignalBoost DB Pro amplifier systems.
For coax cable used in cellular antennas and booster systems, coax connector gender is many times different than nuts & bolts. Since coax cable has 2 strings of wire (the shield and the core), gender is determined by the middle (core) wire. If you look at a connector and it has a pin in the middle, it's a male. If the connector has a hole in the middle, it's a female. Well, except for Reverse Polarity (see below).
The coax connector on the left is an SMA Male connector. Note the pin in the middle.
To confuse things further, Reverse Polarity (RP) connectors are typically used for Wireless LAN (WiFi 2.4/5 GHZ) antennas & systems. The middle pin is the "reverse" of the connectors used in cellular systems. They will have the treading (inside or outside) the same however the pin / hole will be reversed. For example, a regular SMA Male Connector with have a pin in the middle and threads on the inside. A Reverse Polarity (RP) SMA Male will have the same threads on the inside but will have a hole in the middle. See pictures below.
Here is a link to pictures of common coax connectors.
For signal booster systems and antennas, we typically use the following cable. You can use this as a sort of guide for your system setup, replacement parts and enhancements.
Due to its size (3/32”), RG-174 works very well in vehicle installations where more cable versatility is required. It's thinner size allows it to be run through a vehicles weather stripping easier. The antennas that come with most weBoost, Wilson Electronics and most other brand vehicle boosters, use RG-174 cable. Impedance is 50 Ohm.
This cable, measuring 3/16", will commonly be used in conjunction with our Trucker Antenna series and NMO (Non-Magnetic Option) antenna mounts. It's also commonly used as an extension cable. Impedance is 50 Ohm.
RG-8x measures almost 1/4" (.240) inches in diameter. It has lower loss than RG-58. It works well as an extension cable. Impedance is 50 Ohm.
This type of cable is ideal for use in home and smaller building signal booster system installations. RG-6 cable is commonly used for cable TV and audio/video installations. weBoost Home & Connect Small to Midsized Area Signal Booster Kits include RG-6. This type of cable is identical to standard TV coax cable. Impedance is 75 Ohm.
Wilson 400 is an ultra low-loss coaxial cable. It's a thicker coax cable (measuring 13/32”) and is typically used in larger area or industrial installations. We highly recommend it for longer cable runs. It is designed to bring greater range to your cell phone amplifier system. All of weBoost Large Home/Large Area booster kits include Wilson 400. Impedance is 50 Ohm.