Understanding Coaxial Cable Attenuation
Coaxial cable attenuation increases with both frequency and length. Higher frequencies experience more loss due to skin effect and dielectric losses. The loss approximately follows a square-root relationship with frequency.
Cable Loss (dB) = Loss_per_100ft x (Length_ft / 100) x sqrt(Freq / Freq_ref)
Using lower-loss cable or shorter runs reduces attenuation, which is critical for maintaining signal quality in RF systems.