Flexible Laboratory Cable Assemblies

Air-Spaced Teflon

These FEP and/or Nomex-jacketed cables are tougher than other general purpose products for more severe environments. Nomex is a military-qualified material required on EW cables to protect them from abrasion.

General purpose cable assemblies offer excellent performance: low insertion loss and low VSWR over a broad frequency range. Our proprietary double- and triple-shielded constructions offers high shielding effectiveness without a significant increase in cost or weight. All this in a flexible cable that will provide reliable performance, even after 100,000 flexures.

These assemblies provide the same high quality of workmanship, materials, and performance as our high performance cable assemblies but are designed for less-demanding environments.

An added benefit is that one of our durable, flexible cable assemblies can replace the need for hundreds of unique semi-rigid designs, saving design and production time as well as inventory cost.

Solid Teflon Dielectic

Frontgrade offers a wide range of solid teflon dielectic cables to meet your design needs. Featuring utmost durability and performance, they provide a field-proven and reliable solution for your designs.

Antenna Systems and Phase Stable Test Cable Assemblies

18 to 26.5 GHz

These durable test cables have the flexibility and reliability required for testing applications, as well as excellent electrical characteristics. Customer-replaceable interfaces allow a single cable to interconnect a variety of male and female interfaces without degrading the low loss and VSWR of the cable assembly.

The outermost layer of these cables may be extruded FEP (for FC type cables) or extruded polyurethane (FE type). For more severe environments, we cover the extruded FEP layer with overlapping layers of adhesive-backed polyimide tape (used as a vapor barrier) and then weave Nomex (saturated in polyimide to prevent fraying). The FN–G-type cable jacketed with green-tinted Nomex will survive very severe abrasive conditions–similar to those required by MIL-T-81490. An alternative way to ruggedize these popular cables is to cover the FEP layer with stainless steel armor. Armored FN–GA-type cables provide even greater crush and abrasion resistance.

26.5 GHz

These automatic network analyzer phase stable instrument test cables give you the stability you need in all three critical areas: phase, amplitude, and VSWR. A significant advance over standard test cable, this new, dependable test cable maintains stability in all three parameters at frequencies up to 26.5 GHz even after 150,000 flexures. Interchangeable connector heads allow a single cable to use interchangeably male and female heads of a given interface without degradation in phase amplitude or VSWR; in other words, a 3.5-mm male head has the same electrical length as the 3.5-mm female head. This feature is important as it allows the change from male to female heads without disturbing a previously performed VNA calibration. Instrument test cables are stocked in various lengths for quick delivery. Please consult the factory for information on custom lengths. There are two types of 26.5 GHz phase stable cables for your ANA needs. They differ in size and flexibility. Don’t shortchange yourself on this vital link with your precision automatic network analyzer.

to 50 GHz

This ultra-flexible, phase stable cable assembly provides the necessary phase, amplitude, and VSWR stability you need to perform precision automatic network analyzer tests to 50 GHz with complete confidence. A by-product of our extensive EW experience, this remarkable cable met specifications after being flexed the equivalent of several years of normal laboratory use!

These cable assemblies are packed in a special wooden storage case that prevents harm to its contents when not in use or during transportation.