RG6 Siamese Plenum Cable CMP - 18 AWG Bare Copper Video + 18/2 Power, 1000ft White

In an office, school, hospital, or store, the space above the drop ceiling is usually a return-air plenum, and any cable that runs through it without conduit has to be plenum rated. This is the camera cable for those buildings: RG6 coax with an 18 AWG solid bare copper center conductor and a 95% bare copper braid, joined to an 18/2 stranded bare copper power pair, all under a CMP plenum jacket. One pull carries HD-over-coax or analog video and 12 V DC or 24 V AC power to each camera, and it can go through the ceiling space that the CM and CMR versions can't.

The coax dielectric is foam FEP, the fluoropolymer that plenum coax uses because it doesn't feed a fire or give off dense smoke, and it holds its impedance across a wider temperature range than polyethylene. The cable is rated to 3 GHz and comes on a 1000 ft wooden spool.

Features

• CMP plenum rated. Listed for return-air plenums, drop ceilings, and raised floors under NEC Article 800, without conduit.
• Siamese, video and power in one pull. RG6 coax and an 18/2 power pair joined by a web, so each camera takes one pull instead of two.
• 18 AWG solid bare copper center conductor. About a quarter the resistance of copper-clad steel, for the lowest loss on long camera runs.
• 95% bare copper braid. The dense copper braid that analog and HD-TVI, HD-CVI, and AHD camera systems specify, with a solid path to ground for the video return.
• 18/2 stranded bare copper power pair. For 12 V DC or 24 V AC camera supplies; stranded so it flexes at the camera end without breaking.
• Foam FEP dielectric. Plenum-grade insulation with stable impedance from -20 °C to 75 °C, which covers the swings in a ceiling space next to HVAC equipment.
• 75 Ω, rated to 3 GHz. Also covers cable TV, satellite, and MoCA if the coax leg is used on its own.
• 1000 ft wooden spool, white. Enough for a floor of cameras, in the color that disappears against ceiling tile and wall; put it on a spool stand and it pays out cleanly.

Where It Fits

It suits security camera installs in offices, schools, hospitals, retail, and other commercial buildings where the ceiling space is a return-air plenum, HD-over-coax and analog CCTV systems with a central DVR and power supply, camera runs that cross a raised floor in a server room, and any plenum-space run where a camera needs video and power from the same head end.

Good to Know

The power pair is 18 AWG, which is fine for one camera per run but sets a distance limit: a 12 V DC camera drawing half an amp loses about a volt over 150 ft of this cable, and most 12 V cameras stop working reliably below 11 V, so keep 12 V DC runs under about 200 ft, or use a 24 V AC camera and supply, which tolerates the drop and reaches much further. The coax leg carries HD-TVI, CVI, and AHD video comfortably past 1,000 ft, so on a long run it's the power pair, not the video, that decides the length. Plenum cable is stiffer than PVC and the FEP dielectric doesn't like a tight bend, so give it a generous radius and pull from a spool on a stand rather than off the end of the reel. Plenum-rated cable is for the air-handling space, not for inside the ductwork itself, which the NEC doesn't allow for any communications cable. This jacket isn't UV stabilized, so the run from the ceiling to an outdoor camera should transition to an outdoor-rated cable at the wall. Terminate the coax with compression connectors sized for RG6 with a copper braid, ground the DVR end, and don't earth the braid at the camera end as well, or you'll get a ground loop and a hum bar in the picture. If the ceiling isn't a plenum, the CM-rated siamese does the same job for a lot less.

Specifications

Usually ships in 1 - 2 business days.