Hand-formable Coaxial RF Cable
compare to Conformable®, Flexiform®, or Semi-Flex®
Hand-formable is a lower cost Tin-dipped Copper braid cable that is a great choice for prototypes. Although not as durable as a properly designed bent semi-rigid RF cable assembly, this versatile cable can be easily bent by hand without tools and will maintain its basic shape. It is important to note that Tin-dipped Copper braid RF cable will relax over time and with handling. Despite popular misconception within the community of RF cable assembly users, it is also important to understand that RG401, RG402, and RG405 are NOT synonymous with .250", .141", and .086" dia, respectively, Tin-dipped Copper braid RF cables. Specifically RG401, RG402, and RG405 are specific Mil-DTL-17 versions of Bare, harder alloy Copper semi-rigid RF cables often used in Military and Aerospace applications. Additionally, being notoriously difficult to achieve a full and proper coating on the Outer conductor due to poor wetting, hand-formable cable is known for quality issues that result in VSWR spikes at higher frequencies. Consequently, hand-formable RF cable is NOT a good choice for higher frequency applications >18 GHz. A good substitute for Tin-dipped Copper braid cable is Tin-plated Aluminum Semi-rigid. This cable is also hand-formable without tools and offers superior performance for high frequency applications.
