The Critical Nature of Quality Coax for Field Testing (Download)
The test and measurement (T&M) industry offers a bounty of equipment and cables often particularly suited either to laboratory or production test environments. Compared to field testing, benchtop test equipment and cables seem light-duty in nature.
Technicians attempting to perform tower testing with distance-to-fault measurements and site maintenance are faced with tight spaces for mating and unmating. This is further compounded by dynamic environments with inclement weather conditions, let alone moving vehicles and personnel that can expose equipment and cables to extensive UV exposure, high humidity, salt-laden atmospheres, and mechanical strains. Thus, field cables must meet both the high electrical performance requirements found in typical T&M applications with additional parameters that relate to cable ruggedness.