young.michael•2d agoProlific Poster

I finally looked up the actual tensile strength of that old RG6 we all find in attics

Found a spec sheet from the 90s saying it was rated for 150 pounds of pull force, which explains why so many of those old wall fish jobs end up with a broken center conductor.

4 comments

4 Comments

fionafoster2d ago

But what about the heat damage?

matthewmiller2d ago

That 150 pound rating is a lot lower than I thought. I always blamed the age too, but the spec sheet proves it was just weak to begin with.

gracethomas2d ago

Oh wow, I always figured that stuff was just brittle from age. That spec sheet totally makes sense now.

angelam802d ago

Hold on, that spec sheet is from the 90s! You can't just trust a piece of paper over real world experience. That cable gets brittle as heck after baking in an attic for 30 years, the rating means nothing now. @gracethomas had it right the first time, it IS the age. I've pulled miles of that stuff and it snaps way easier now than any 150 pound rating suggests. The plastic just turns to dust and the copper gets weak. Blaming the original spec ignores what actually happens to materials over time.