Hi forumers, I have an upconverter module rated 60W with gain of ~40dBm. I am currently connecting the 30dB 150W attenuator directly to the output port (N-type). I am planning to put the attenuator inside a testbox, so I will be using a test cable to connect the DUT. Is it safe to do so? Thanks for your thoughts on this. regards ;-)
The power handling of coax is limited by two mechanisms:
* Dielectric breakdown, and
* Losses (which are usually dominated by the dielectric).
At 60W you'll be a long way away from the several-kV breakdown voltages of common dielectrics, so you're OK on that front.
You didn't mention the frequency of operation, but even bog-standard RG58 (see, for example: datasheet.octopart.com/7806A-010500-Belden-datasheet-16156.pdf) will be fine in your application up to 5GHz+. If you use a thicker, better grade of coax then you've certainly got nothing to worry about
Don't forget to account for the interconnecting cable loss if you're measuring the output power of the DUT!
Thanks thylacine1975 for the useful info! yes i have already accounted the losses on both input and output interconnects. Freq is C-band and other units @ 80W. regards