how to tell if my coax is rg6

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alpha_2000

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Jul 17, 2016
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okay i live in a garage turned apartment i plan on getting internet where im currently at see someone is letting me use theres so long as i pay them 10 dollars a month but i want to get my own

but the only provider in my area comcast only works with coax so i was calling around to see if some electricians could rewire the current coax if possible because im wondering if its older but one thing i saw the inside of the coax is blue does blue mean its rg6? if its rg6 i wont need to get an electrician as rg6 is the newest

im also wanting to get an ethernet jack installed and i dont know the possibility of that working if they rewire the current coax
 
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As mentioned there is no way to really tell for sure without expensive testing equipment. I suspect the most realistic thing to do is to try it and see if it works for what you need. If not then you will need to replace it. Your only other real option is to just blindly replace it with rg6 cable it just depends on how costly that is if you do it now or your wait and see.
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AlphaClient

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May 24, 2017
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A few ways of identifying rg6:
Usually the cable gauge is printed every 3 feet on the cable itself but can become hard to see if the coax has been painted or is sun faded. If you see any printed text on the cable it would help us discover what it is, but there are other ways too ;)
Rg-59 is the old standard and is thinner than rg-6. In about 2012 the new standard became rg6 and it is far more common in newer homes/additions. Especially white rg-6. Not much rg-59 was white in residential installs.
If the person who installed the the coax is available, ask them. One way to get this going fast is ask a cable guy the next time you see one in the neighborhood or ask them to give you a one foot sample of each from thier van with connectors. You will notice rg-59 is small and can take the samples back to your place for comparison.
If not then look at the connection fittings. If they have any color to them, what color is the plastic on the fittings? New rg6 connectors are either all metal, blue or black. Sometimes they will have some red plastic at one end if they are compression fittings. If the company who installed the stuff weren't using really cheap F connectors, the size will be printed on the fittings themselves​. Twist on connectors from RadioShack will even show on there most of the time. A quick scale of measurements is rg-59 is about half an inch thick, rg6 is about three quarters of an inch thick. Not much of a difference but it is easy to spot when you are holding each in your hands. You could go as far as doing a resistance test on 25 feet of cable but who has time for that? Also you can generate a service call by simply disconnecting the cable from the box outside and waiting for the company to show up and making a new friend.
 
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bill001g

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Aug 9, 2012
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As mentioned there is no way to really tell for sure without expensive testing equipment. I suspect the most realistic thing to do is to try it and see if it works for what you need. If not then you will need to replace it. Your only other real option is to just blindly replace it with rg6 cable it just depends on how costly that is if you do it now or your wait and see.
 
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