Coaxial cables are one of the most common types of cables and overall information transfer technologies you’re likely going to see with television and other video setups. In existence for well over a hundred years, coaxial cable technology has consistently developed over the years and is admired for its integral role in video linkage. Coax cables serve a number of purposes and can be used in a variety of ways, with different connections required in order to achieve different aims. Here we’ll look at some of the services that coax cables provide as well as instances in which you might need a female to female coax connection.
What Are Coax Cables?
Even if you’re not familiar with the term you’ve likely seen these cables linking your television set to other devices, such as your DVD player or your cable TV/internet source. They’ve also been extensively used for the purpose of providing Ethernet, although today you’re likely going to see them mainly for television and other multimedia purposes. Coax cables transmit different frequencies for television as well as radio, allowing the transmission of video and audio. The cables themselves are comprised of various layers, starting with the central copper wire which in turn is sheathed in a plastic insulator. The insulator has another layer of conductive copper surrounding it, with the whole setup surrounded in rubber/plastic to protect everything.
Coax Connectors
Connectors for coax cables do precisely what their name entails: connect. These connectors allow cables to be connected between transmission sources as well as to one another. There are a variety of cable and connector types, but you’re most commonly going to hear the terms “male” and “female” connector. The use of gender types is for the purpose of describing the way in which different connectors fit into one another. Male connectors will have a protruding wire that allows it to fit within female connectors and complete the transmission of frequencies.
Whereas male to female connectors are the norm, there are also male to male and female to female connectors. In terms of female to female connectors, these are primarily useful when you’re dealing with male coax cables. While you might be used to seeing the short cables that connect your television cable box to your television screen, coax cables can also be very long. Long cables are used to connect long-distance transmission sources, such as running a cable from your house to an exterior source or running cable TV cords throughout a building.
In order to connect one length of male cable to another, a female to female connector will be used that allows each male cable to attach to either side of the connector, lengthening the amount of distance the entire cable setup can reach. If you have multiple TVs throughout your home and need to have them connected to a cable TV source or connect them to one another for any particular purpose, then it may be facilitated through the use of female to female connectors.
Benefits and Downsides to Using Coax Cables
The greatest benefit to these cables is that they’re the most basic type of transmission cable in their class. This means that no matter the type of electronic device you have, a coax cable of some type is going to work. This makes it extremely easy to organize how you want to set up your multimedia in your home or in a commercial setting. Rather than have to buy a multitude of different cables and adapters, you have the benefit of using one default type for the whole thing. There are other cable types currently available on the market to serve the same purpose of coax cables, such as HDMI cables.
The main drawback of coax cables is that they can take up a lot of space and can be difficult to keep neat. This is what leads a lot of people to seek out wireless options, which certainly have their own benefits, but coax cables are fairly simplistic and will likely cost you less than a wireless setup. While having long, messy cables isn’t ideal for anyone, coax cables can be cut down, after which you can attach a connector. In fact, considering that pretty much all electronics are equipped for coax cables and the use of connectors like female to female coax connectors allow for cable expansion, the benefits far outweigh the minimal disadvantages.
