RG stands for "radio guide" and dates back to a set of standards in the mid twentieth century. The numbers following the RG identified cables of certain characteristics although specifically, they covered dimensions more than electrical charactersistics.
The RG standards have been obsolete for many years but because they were universally used they are still common references within video and data industries.
In northAmerica all coaxial connections made to a television are made with 75 Ohm coax. Typical sizes will be RG-59, RG-6 or maybe RG-11 (less common).
RG-6 coaxial cable. Used for connections to TV, has single copper wire center
Look for cables with the most shielding. The shielding in coaxial cable can be from a little to almost 100 percent. The better cables will have the most shielding.
You should use an RG-6 cable RG-6 A type of coaxial cable with an impedance of 75 ohms and that contains an 18 AWG core conductor. RG-6 is used for television, satellite, and broadband cable connections. Source = Network+ Guide to Networks (Fifth Edition) by Tamara Dean
That is a description of an ordinary "coaxial cable". There are designators for various specific coaxial cables such as RG-58 and RG-59. See the link for more. Sounds like shielded RG-58 or RG-59 used respectively as listed above for cable TV or RG-59 for satellite TV. If the cable is as large as a human average finger it could be shielded 2-way radio cable which usually is run from the base station to the outside antenna.
Coaxial cable RG-6 is used for satellite TV wiring. If you have a HDTV, you would want to use a HDMI cord from your Dish Network receiver to your television. This will give you a great picture!
A coaxial cable has great uses in television antenna connections. TV satellite connections also use coaxial cables to connect decoders to the TV set.
RG-6RG-6 (radio grade-6) cable is the most frequently used and distributed coaxial cable around. It is also known as home cable, since it is used in connecting a television set to a cable television (CATV) signal distributor. This cable has a single copper conductor surrounded by a copper braided dielectric insulator contained within an outer protective covering. With a standard impedance of 75 ohms, RG-6 is a successor to RG-59 cable, which was used in applications like audio and video transmission.RG-8RG-8 cable, also called 10Base5 Thicknet cable, has a very rugged design, carrying several layers of dielectric material and shielding over its core conductor. RG-8 cables are available with a standard characteristic impedance of 50 to 52 ohms. The central copper conductor has a core diameter of 2.17 mm and frequency response range as high as 500 MHz, making it suitable for radio applications. Compared with RG-6 and RG-59 coaxes, RG-8 cables are not ideal for carrying audio and video signals. RG-8 coaxial cables were succeeded by RG-58 or 10Base2 Thin-net cables, which served as a standard medium in local area networks for a long time.TwinaxialThis type of coaxial cable has two copper or aluminum braids parted by an insulating material. In addition to that, a twinaxial cable has a pair of plastic-coated solid conducting wires at the core, which carry two differential electric voltages in order to fulfill maximum transmission and reception requirements. Different manufacturers have their own standardized twinaxial cables for their particular devices. Twinaxial cables are commonly used in computer networking environments.TriaxialTriaxial or triax is a form of coaxial cable which has three protecting shields for a single copper conductor contained at the core. These shields include two copper or aluminum layered meshes, parted from each other through a dielectric insulator. This set of coverings increases the cable's efficiency and effectively decreases the amount of signal leakage and external noise interference. Triaxial cables come in different varieties with respect to impedance and gauges, which makes them highly suitable for electronic applications requiring minimum electromagnetic interference in transmission.Semi-RigidAs their name indicates, semi-rigid coaxial cables are inflexible cables with solid conductor covering over the insulator-packed internal conductor. This solid covering provides an additional benefit at higher frequencies, especially on microwave frequencies where skin effect takes place. Skin effect is the quality of electrical signal to flow at the outer levels of a conductor on high frequencies. Semi-rigid coaxial cables are widely used in applications like long-haul data links, which require collection of microwave signals on a physical medium.
The purpose of using a coaxial splitter is so that one can connect more than one device to a single coaxial line. For instance connecting two TV's to one coaxial line for cable television.
RG-59/U and RG-60/U
RG-59 or RG-6. RG is an old military term that stands for Radio Grade. They are both 75 ohm cables which is what is required for video.
If the aerial ends in a coaxial cable, connect an f-type end on the cable and screw it to the back of the tv.