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Comments on How do you test the quality of a coax cable?

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How do you test the quality of a coax cable? Question

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My internet is provided via a coax cable. The speeds are much less than advertised, and the ISP's technician said it's because my coax cables are low quality and degrade the signal.

The cables are long, go throughout the house, and basically I don't want to go to all that trouble without a way to verify that the existing cable is bad, and also measure the quality of the new one so I can actually see if it's any better.

How can I measure the quality of a coax cable, and see whether the cable is degrading the signal?

home-improvement coax-cable
posted about 1 year ago
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matthewsnyder‭
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2 comment threads

Scope overlap (3 comments)
LCR meters (3 comments)
Scope overlap
Lundin‭ wrote about 1 year ago
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Just wanted to point out that these kind of "verify cables" questions would be on-topic at https://electrical.codidact.com/ as well, you might get a more advanced answer there. At the EE site you will also be assumed to have access to common tools like a multi-meter and a solder iron.

matthewsnyder‭ wrote about 1 year ago
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I was wondering about that! I'm a bit confused because unlike the Stack version, it's about electrical engineering questions, not electronics. Previously I think I saw people asking whether questions about electronics would belong there, and it appeared that the consensus was "no".

I also don't know that much about the exact nature of the signal carried on coax cables. I assume it's a low voltage digital signal... But I don't really know.

I did see online some people apparently use oscilloscopes for it, although I didn't get what exactly they were doing (I know how to use an oscilloscope and can get one). And yes, I have a multi meter and solder, I think it's fair to invoke them even here, they sell pretty good ones for $15 now :)

Lundin‭ wrote about 1 year ago
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Oscilloscopes are for viewing/trouble-shooting the signals passing through the cable. They can't be used to verify the quality of the cable itself.