IEC 61196-1-119:2020

Coaxial communication cables - Part 1-119: Electrical test methods - RF average power rating

IEC 61196-1-119:2020 defines the requirements to determine the average power handling capability of a coaxial cable at specified frequencies at ambient temperatures. This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition, published in 2012. This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous edition:
- title was changed from: RF power rating to: RF average power rating;
- a test method to determine sufficient duration is included as annex
- the equations used for calculating cable coefficients and RF average power rating are corrected;
- the clauses and subclauses are rearranged.

General Information

• Status: Published
• Publication Date: 11-May-2020
• ICS: 01 - GENERALITIES. TERMINOLOGY. STANDARDIZATION. DOCUMENTATION
• ICS: 33.120.10 - Coaxial cables. Waveguides
• Technical Committee: SC 46A - Coaxial cables
• Drafting Committee: WG 3 - TC 46/SC 46A/WG 3
• Current Stage: DELPUB - Deleted Publication
• Start Date: 12-Jul-2021
• Completion Date: 27-Jul-2023

Relations

• Revised: IEC 61196-1-119:2023 - Coaxial communication cables - Part 1-119: Electrical test methods - RF power for coaxial cables and cable assemblies
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023
• Revises: IEC 61196-1-119:2012 - Coaxial communication cables - Part 1-119: Electrical test methods - RF power rating
• Effective Date: 05-Sep-2023

Standards Content (Sample)

IEC 61196-1-119 ®
Edition 2.0 2020-05
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
Coaxial communication cables –
Part 1-119: Electrical test methods – RF average power rating
All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form
or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from
either IEC or IEC's member National Committee in the country of the requester. If you have any questions about IEC
copyright or have an enquiry about obtaining additional rights to this publication, please contact the address below or
your local IEC member National Committee for further information.

IEC Central Office Tel.: [phone]
3, rue de Varembé [e-mail]
CH-1211 Geneva 20 www.iec.ch
Switzerland
About the IEC
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes
International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.

About IEC publications
The technical content of IEC publications is kept under constant review by the IEC. Please make sure that you have the
latest edition, a corrigendum or an amendment might have been published.

IEC publications search - webstore.iec.ch/advsearchform Electropedia - www.electropedia.org
The advanced search enables to find IEC publications by a The world's leading online dictionary on electrotechnology,
variety of criteria (reference number, text, technical containing more than 22 000 terminological entries in English
committee,…). It also gives information on projects, replaced and French, with equivalent terms in 16 additional languages.
and withdrawn publications. Also known as the International Electrotechnical Vocabulary

(IEV) online.
IEC Just Published - webstore.iec.ch/justpublished
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details all new publications released. Available online and 67 000 electrotechnical terminology entries in English and
once a month by email. French extracted from the Terms and Definitions clause of
IEC publications issued since 2002. Some entries have been
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If you wish to give us your feedback on this publication or CISPR.

need further assistance, please contact the Customer Service

Centre: [e-mail].
IEC 61196-1-119 ®
Edition 2.0 2020-05
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
Coaxial communication cables –

Part 1-119: Electrical test methods – RF average power rating

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 33.120.10 ISBN 978-2-8322-8067-6

– 2 – IEC 61196-1-119:2020 © IEC 2020
CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3
1 Scope . 5
2 Normative references . 5
3 Terms and definitions . 5
4 Symbols . 5
5 Methodology . 7
5.1 Method A . 7
5.2 Method B . 7
6 Test general considerations . 7
6.1 Sample preparation . 7
6.2 Surrounding condition . 7
6.3 Temperature test . 7
6.4 Test equipment . 7
7 Procedure . 8
7.1 RF test – Method A . 8
7.2 Low frequency power AC test – Method B . 9
7.3 Adjustment to other frequencies . 10
8 Test report . 11
9 Requirements . 11
Annex A (informative) Determination method of thermal time constant . 12
A.1 General . 12
A.2 Determination method . 12
Bibliography . 14

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION
____________
COAXIAL COMMUNICATION CABLES –

Part 1-119: Electrical test methods – RF average power rating

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC
Publication(s)”). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
services carried out by independent certification bodies.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.
International Standard IEC 61196-1-119 has been prepared by subcommittee 46A: Coaxial
cables, of IEC technical committee 46: Cables, wires, waveguides, RF connectors, RF and
microwave passive components and accessories.
This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition, published in 2012. This edition
constitutes a technical revision.
This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous
edition:
a) title was changed from: RF power rating to: RF average power rating;
b) a test method to determine sufficient duration is included as Annex A;
c) the equations used for calculating cable coefficients and RF average power rating are
corrected;
d) the clauses and subclauses are rearranged.

– 4 – IEC 61196-1-119:2020 © IEC 2020
The text of this International Standard is based on the following documents:
FDIS Report on voting
46A/1401/FDIS 46A/1408/RVD
Full information on the voting for the approval of this International Standard can be found in
the report on voting indicated in the above table.
This document has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
A list of all the parts in the IEC 61196 series published under the general title Coaxial
communication cables can be found on the IEC website.
The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
stability date indicated on the IEC website under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data related to
the specific document. At this date, the document will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
COAXIAL COMMUNICATION CABLES –

Part 1-119: Electrical test methods – RF average power rating

1 Scope
This part of IEC 61196 defines the requirements to determine the average power handling
capability of a coaxial cable at specified frequencies at ambient temperatures.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their
content constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition
cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including
any amendments) applies.
IEC 61196-1, Coaxial communication cables – Part 1: Generic specification – General,
definitions and requirements
IEC 61196-1-113, Coaxial communication cables – Part 1-113: Electrical test methods – Test
for attenuation constant
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in IEC 61196-1 and the
following apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following
addresses:
• IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
• ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp
3.1
RF average power rating
maximum average input power that a cable can continuously handle when terminated in its
characteristic impedance at a reference ambient temperature (usually 40 °C) and RF
frequency
Note 1 to entry: RF average power rating is determined by the power level at which the temperature at any
location in the cable does not exceed the allowable maximum temperature rating of the materials used in the
cable’s construction.
Note 2 to entry: Typically, the inner conductor temperature determines the maximum operating temperature.
Note 3 to entry: The test RF signal is a pure sinusoidal, without any modulation.
4 Symbols
For the purposes of this document, the following symbols apply.
K thermal constant of the insulation (W/(°C·m))
i
K thermal constant of outer sheath (W/(°C·m))
o
– 6 – IEC 61196-1-119:2020 © IEC 2020
 dB 
 
attenuation constant associated with the conductors
A
 
m⋅ MHz
 
 dB 
 
attenuation constant of inner conductor
A
 
i
m⋅ MHz
 
 dB 
 
attenuation constant of outer conductor
A
 
o
m⋅ MHz
 
 dB 
attenuation constant for the dielectric material  
B
m⋅MHz
 
a mean outer diameter of inner conductor (mm)
Sine shape corrugated: Mean = (peak + root)/2
Other shape corrugated: Mean shall be specified by the manufacturer.
Smooth wall = outer diameter
Wire = outer diameter
b mean inner diameter of outer conductor (mm)
Sine shape corrugated: Mean = (peak + root)/2
Other shape corrugated: Mean shall be specified by the manufacturer.
Smooth wall = inner diameter
C corrugation factor of inner conductor:
i
Ratio of the distance that compares the non-corrugated (conversion of corrugated

length to an equivalent smooth wall length) to the cable corrugated length.
C > 1 for corrugated cable
i
C = 1 for smooth wall or wire
i
C corrugation factor of outer conductor
o
Ratio of the distance that compares the non-corrugated (conversion of corrugated

length to an equivalent smooth wall length) to the cable corrugated length.
C > 1 for corrugated cable
o
C = 1 for smooth wall
o
P RF input powe
...

IEC 61196-1-119 ®
Edition 2.0 2020-05
REDLINE VERSION
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
colour
inside
Coaxial communication cables –
Part 1-119: Electrical test methods – RF average power rating

All rights reserved. Unless otherwise specified, no part of this publication may be reproduced or utilized in any form

or by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying and microfilm, without permission in writing from

either IEC or IEC's member National Committee in the country of the requester. If you have any questions about IEC
copyright or have an enquiry about obtaining additional rights to this publication, please contact the address below or

your local IEC member National Committee for further information.

IEC Central Office Tel.: [phone]
3, rue de Varembé [e-mail]
CH-1211 Geneva 20 www.iec.ch
Switzerland
About the IEC
The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is the leading global organization that prepares and publishes
International Standards for all electrical, electronic and related technologies.

About IEC publications
The technical content of IEC publications is kept under constant review by the IEC. Please make sure that you have the
latest edition, a corrigendum or an amendment might have been published.

IEC publications search - webstore.iec.ch/advsearchform Electropedia - www.electropedia.org
The advanced search enables to find IEC publications by a The world's leading online dictionary on electrotechnology,
variety of criteria (reference number, text, technical containing more than 22 000 terminological entries in English
committee,…). It also gives information on projects, replaced and French, with equivalent terms in 16 additional languages.
and withdrawn publications. Also known as the International Electrotechnical Vocabulary

(IEV) online.
IEC Just Published - webstore.iec.ch/justpublished

Stay up to date on all new IEC publications. Just Published IEC Glossary - std.iec.ch/glossary
details all new publications released. Available online and 67 000 electrotechnical terminology entries in English and
once a month by email. French extracted from the Terms and Definitions clause of
IEC publications issued since 2002. Some entries have been
IEC Customer Service Centre - webstore.iec.ch/csc collected from earlier publications of IEC TC 37, 77, 86 and
If you wish to give us your feedback on this publication or CISPR.

need further assistance, please contact the Customer Service

Centre: [e-mail].
IEC 61196-1-119 ®
Edition 2.0 2020-05
REDLINE VERSION
INTERNATIONAL
STANDARD
colour
inside
Coaxial communication cables –

Part 1-119: Electrical test methods – RF average power rating

INTERNATIONAL
ELECTROTECHNICAL
COMMISSION
ICS 33.120.10 ISBN 978-2-8322-8356-1

– 2 – IEC 61196-1-119:2020 RLV © IEC 2020

CONTENTS
FOREWORD . 3

1 Scope . 5

2 Normative references . 5

3 Terms and definitions . 5

4 Symbols . 5

5 Methodology . 7

5.1 Method A . 7
5.2 Method B . 7
6 Procedure: Test general considerations . 7
6.1 Sample preparation . 7
6.2 Surrounding condition . 7
6.3 Temperature test . 7
6.4 Test equipment . 7
7 Procedure . 8
7.1 RF test – Method A . 8
7.2 Low frequency power AC test – Method B . 9
7.3 Adjustment to other frequencies . 11
7 Attenuation test .
7.1 Conduct attenuation test .
7.2 Calculate A and B coefficients – Method B .
7.3 Calculate the A and A coefficients – Method B.
i o
8 Power calculation .
8.1 Determined from AC test – Method B .
8.2 Determined from RF test – Method A .
8.3 Adjustment to other frequencies .
8 Test report . 11
9 Requirements . 11
Annex A (informative) Determination method of thermal time constant . 12
A.1 General . 12
A.2 Determination method . 12
Bibliography . 14

INTERNATIONAL ELECTROTECHNICAL COMMISSION

____________
COAXIAL COMMUNICATION CABLES –

Part 1-119: Electrical test methods – RF average power rating

FOREWORD
1) The International Electrotechnical Commission (IEC) is a worldwide organization for standardization comprising
all national electrotechnical committees (IEC National Committees). The object of IEC is to promote
international co-operation on all questions concerning standardization in the electrical and electronic fields. To
this end and in addition to other activities, IEC publishes International Standards, Technical Specifications,
Technical Reports, Publicly Available Specifications (PAS) and Guides (hereafter referred to as “IEC
Publication(s)”). Their preparation is entrusted to technical committees; any IEC National Committee interested
in the subject dealt with may participate in this preparatory work. International, governmental and non-
governmental organizations liaising with the IEC also participate in this preparation. IEC collaborates closely
with the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in accordance with conditions determined by
agreement between the two organizations.
2) The formal decisions or agreements of IEC on technical matters express, as nearly as possible, an international
consensus of opinion on the relevant subjects since each technical committee has representation from all
interested IEC National Committees.
3) IEC Publications have the form of recommendations for international use and are accepted by IEC National
Committees in that sense. While all reasonable efforts are made to ensure that the technical content of IEC
Publications is accurate, IEC cannot be held responsible for the way in which they are used or for any
misinterpretation by any end user.
4) In order to promote international uniformity, IEC National Committees undertake to apply IEC Publications
transparently to the maximum extent possible in their national and regional publications. Any divergence
between any IEC Publication and the corresponding national or regional publication shall be clearly indicated in
the latter.
5) IEC itself does not provide any attestation of conformity. Independent certification bodies provide conformity
assessment services and, in some areas, access to IEC marks of conformity. IEC is not responsible for any
services carried out by independent certification bodies.
6) All users should ensure that they have the latest edition of this publication.
7) No liability shall attach to IEC or its directors, employees, servants or agents including individual experts and
members of its technical committees and IEC National Committees for any personal injury, property damage or
other damage of any nature whatsoever, whether direct or indirect, or for costs (including legal fees) and
expenses arising out of the publication, use of, or reliance upon, this IEC Publication or any other IEC
Publications.
8) Attention is drawn to the Normative references cited in this publication. Use of the referenced publications is
indispensable for the correct application of this publication.
9) Attention is drawn to the possibility that some of the elements of this IEC Publication may be the subject of
patent rights. IEC shall not be held responsible for identifying any or all such patent rights.

This redline version of the official IEC Standard allows the user to identify the changes
made to the previous edition. A vertical bar appears in the margin wherever a change
has been made. Additions are in green text, deletions are in strikethrough red text.

– 4 – IEC 61196-1-119:2020 RLV © IEC 2020

International Standard IEC 61196-1-119 has been prepared by subcommittee 46A: Coaxial
cables, of IEC technical committee 46: Cables, wires, waveguides, RF connectors, RF and

microwave passive components and accessories.

This second edition cancels and replaces the first edition, published in 2012. This edition

constitutes a technical revision.

This edition includes the following significant technical changes with respect to the previous

edition:
a) title was changed from: RF power rating to: RF average power rating;

b) a test method to determine sufficient duration is included as Annex A;
c) the equations used for calculating cable coefficients and RF average power rating are
corrected;
d) the clauses and subclauses are rearranged.
The text of this International Standard is based on the following documents:
FDIS Report on voting
46A/1401/FDIS 46A/1408/RVD
Full information on the voting for the approval of this International Standard can be found in
the report on voting indicated in the above table.
This document has been drafted in accordance with the ISO/IEC Directives, Part 2.
A list of all the parts in the IEC 61196 series published under the general title Coaxial
communication cables can be found on the IEC website.
The committee has decided that the contents of this document will remain unchanged until the
stability date indicated on the IEC website under "http://webstore.iec.ch" in the data related to
the specific document. At this date, the document will be
• reconfirmed,
• withdrawn,
• replaced by a revised edition, or
• amended.
IMPORTANT – The 'colour inside' logo on the cover page of this publication indicates
that it contains colours which are considered to be useful for the correct
understanding of its contents. Users should therefore print this document using a
colour printer.
COAXIAL COMMUNICATION CABLES –

Part 1-119: Electrical test methods – RF average power rating

1 Scope
This part of IEC 61196 defines the requirements to determine the average power handling

capability of a coaxial cable at specified frequencies at ambient temperatures.
2 Normative references
The following documents are referred to in the text in such a way that some or all of their
content constitutes requirements of this document. For dated references, only the edition
cited applies. For undated references, the latest edition of the referenced document (including
any amendments) applies.
IEC 61196-1, Coaxial communication cables – Part 1: Generic specification – General,
definitions and requirements
IEC 61196-1-113, Coaxial communication cables – Part 1-113: Electrical test methods – Test
for attenuation constant
3 Terms and definitions
For the purposes of this document, the terms and definitions given in IEC 61196-1 and the
following apply.
ISO and IEC maintain terminological databases for use in standardization at the following
addresses:
• IEC Electropedia: available at http://www.electropedia.org/
• ISO Online browsing platform: available at http://www.iso.org/obp
3.1
RF average power rating
maximum average input power that a cable can continuously handle when terminated in its

characteristic impedance at a reference ambient temperature (usually 40 °C) and RF
frequency
Note 1 to entry: RF average power rating is determined by the power level at which the temperature at any
location in the cable does not exceed the allowable maximum temperature rating of the materials used in the
cable’s construction.
Note 2 to entry
...