How to Strip a Coax Cable

  The first part of terminating a coax cable is to strip the end. Here’s a step by step procedure on how to do it with two different types of tools.

  A coaxial cable consists of several layers:

  Centre conductorDielectricShieldSheath

  The cable must be stripped back to reveal about 10mm of the centre conductor and 10mm of the shield as per this image below:

  Tools

  There a number of different tool that be used to strip your cable. While it’s entirely possible to strip a cable with side cutters, it is much better to use a specialist tool for the purpose.

  Rectangular Stripper

  This tool has two slots for each type of cable, RG6 and RG59. The outermost slow makes the cut to the full depth of the centre conductor and the second slot makes the cut to remove the sheath only.

  Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to find any suppliers for this type recently. I bought mine about 10 years ago. They’re definitely a useful type of stripper to have if you can find one.

  Rotary Stripper

  Rotary strippers have jaws that go around the cable, then the tool is rotated with your finger in a circular movement around the cable several times. Rotary strippers are available in 2 and 3 blade models. The 3 blade models cut two levels of strip in the shield of the cable, which makes it easier to fit connectors onto RG6 quad shield cable.

  I would recommend a 3 blade rotary model.

  With both types of tool adjustment may be required after you first purchase your tool to get it set to the correct cutting depth for the type of cable you’re using.

  You can buy these kinds of strippers at some electrical suppliers or on eBay by searching “rotary rg6 rg59 stripper” or “rotary rg6 rg59 stripper 3 blade” for the slightly more expensive but better 3 blade strippers.

  Procedure

  With a Rectangular ToolFind the slots for the type of cable you’re using: RG6 or RG59.Release the clamp on the tool to open it.Place your cut coax cable in the slot, up against the plastic depth guide.Close the jaws of the tool firmly with your thumb.Grasping the cable in one hand and the tool in the other, twist the tool around the cable until no resistance is felt.Without releasing the jaws, pull the tool off the end of the cable.You should now have 10mm of bare centre conductor visible.Remove the waste sheath and dieletric from the tool.Place the coax cable in the second slot from the outside for your cable type. The sheath and dieletric should be up against the depth guide, with the centre conductor sitting on top of the depth guide.Close the jaws of the tool firmly with your thumb.Grasping the cable in one hand and the tool in the other, twist the tool around the cable until little resistance is felt.Without releasing the jaws, pull the tool off the end of the cable.You should now have 10mm of bare shield and 10mm of bare centre conductor.You are now ready to terminate the cable.

  See the video above for a demonstration of how to this.

  With a Rotary ToolUsing your thumb press the lever to open the rotary tool’s jaws.Place the coax cable through the jaws of the tool, with about 3mm sticking out the opposite side.Allow the jaws of the tool to close.Place your finger in the ring at the end of the tool, then rotate the tool around the cable several times in both directions, until little resistance is felt.Using your thumb on the lever, open the jaws and remove the cable.Using your thumb and fingers, pull the cut material off the end of the cable. You may need to use a fingernail for this.You should now have 10mm of bare shield and 10mm of bare centre conductor.You are now ready to terminate the cable.

  See the video above for a demonstration of how to this.

  With Side Cutters

  The above video shows how you can strip a coax cable without any special tools, using just a pair of side cutters.

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