Bending The Cable

Ethernet coaxial cables must not be bent at sharp angles. When bending the cable around fixed objects or around corners, a minimum bend radius must be maintained, according to the manufacturer's specification. If this specification is not available, the general rule is to maintain a minimum bend radius that is equal to 20 times the cable external diameter.

Example:  Belden thin coaxial cables (#9907 PVC or #89907 FEP) have an external diameter of 4.62 mm (0.18 in.); therefore, the minimum bend radius for these cables is 20 x 4.62 mm, or 9.24 cm (3.7 in.).

Bending the Ethernet cable to a radius smaller than the minimum specified radius may increase the cable impedance and degrade the network performance.