F-81 Coax Keystone Insert, 3 GHz, Blue Ring, Nickel Plated, RG59/RG6, White or Ivory (KEYCAA)

Not every 3 GHz feed needs gold; it needs a coupler rated for the band and a way to tell it apart from the one that isn't. This nickel-plated F-81 coax keystone insert is rated to 3 GHz, and it carries a blue ring inside the coupler so an installer can see at the plate which barrels are the high-frequency ones. It's a female F to female F coupler in a snap-in keystone housing: the RG6 or RG59 from the dish, the cable entry, or the attic screws onto the back, the receiver's or the modem's cable screws onto the front, and the satellite IF or the cable plant passes through the plate with the headroom a standard coupler doesn't have. It fits any standard keystone wall plate and comes in white or ivory to match the plate and the room. For the same 3 GHz rating with gold contacts and RG11, the KEYCAB; for a standard-frequency nickel coupler, the KEYCAE.

Features

• 3 GHz. High-frequency F-81 coupler for HD video, satellite, and high-speed data over coax.
• Blue ring inside the coupler. Marks the 3 GHz insert at a glance, in the plate and in the bin.
• F-81 coupler, female to female. Threaded F connector on both sides; the cable behind the wall screws onto the back, the device cable onto the front.
• Nickel plated. Corrosion-resistant finish on the coupler.
• Standard keystone snap-in. Sturdy snap-in construction; fits any standard keystone wall plate opening.
• RG59 and RG6. Takes the F connectors on either cable.
• Two colors. White or ivory.

Where It Fits

It suits satellite installers landing the dish feed at a keystone plate behind the receiver, where the L-band IF runs above what a standard coupler is rated for, cable and DOCSIS installs that want the coax outlet next to the Ethernet jack with no coupler loss in the modem's path, home theater and AV installs bringing a cable or antenna feed to the wall behind the TV, MDU and commercial jobs that mix satellite and CATV drops on the same plates and need to tell the 3 GHz barrels from the rest, structured cabling jobs putting one coax port on the same plate as the Cat6 jacks in every room, anyone who has chased a weak satellite signal back to a cheap barrel in the wall, and a job that already has the keystone wall plates, the RG6 bulk coax, and the compression F connectors from the coax and wall plate collections. For gold contacts and RG11 at the same 3 GHz, the KEYCAB; for a standard-frequency nickel insert, the KEYCAE for RG59 and RG6 or the KEYCAD for RG11; for the Ethernet ports on the same plate, the COU6-90 and COU5E-90 keystone couplers or the KEY6-90 and KEY5E-90 jacks.

Good to Know

This is a coupler, not a termination: the cable behind the wall needs its own F connector on it, so the compression connector and the tool for RG6 or RG59 go on the order with the insert, and the plate is sold separately. The blue ring is an identification mark, not a different connector; the F threads are standard, and the ring is there so the 3 GHz inserts can be picked out of a plate full of couplers without unscrewing anything. The 3 GHz rating only helps if the rest of the path keeps up, so use 3 GHz-rated compression connectors and a cable rated for the band, and keep every F connector snug with a 7/16 in wrench, not pliers, since a loose F connector is the usual cause of a weak or noisy signal at any frequency; don't over-torque the back nut, which can turn the barrel in the housing. An F-81 is a 75 Ω coupler, which is what every cable, satellite, and antenna feed is. Leave a service loop behind the plate so the cable isn't pulling on the coupler, and keep the bend radius generous. The two colors are meant to match the keystone wall plate; order the insert and the plate in the same color. For a satellite feed that carries power to a dish or an LNB, the barrel passes it, but check the receiver's manual for its own requirements.

Specifications

Usually ships the same day.