Coax cable is the most common type of cable seen connecting receivers and televisions, and also is seen between the receiver and dish. There are varying types of coax cable, such as RG-59, RG-6, and RG-11. The main way to tell the differing types is to examine the cable itself - typing on the outside of the cable will generally contain "RG-59", "RG-6", etc. in the description. Another way is to compare the thickness of the cable with a known cable (ex. a labeled piece of RG-59).

The cable's center is a thin wire, generally made of solid copper or copper-clad steel, which carries the signal. A layer of insulation encircles the center conductor, around that is a thin layer of metallic foil, braided wire, or both. This foil or wire shield serves to carry voltage to the dish or keep signal inside the cable and interference outside in indoor applications. Lastly, there is the plastic outer covering, which protects the inside of the cable from the environment (ex. rain).

This designation of cable is inexpensive, often used with cable television operators, and the prevalent cable used in pre-wiring a customer's home. For DISH installations, there are two ports to which RG-59 cables could be properly connected: the "TV Antenna / Cable In" port - to connect an off-air antenna, cable box, etc. - and the "TV Set Out" port (with the exception of the 6000, which has neither normally, and TV Antenna / Cable In on a separate 8VSB adapter). From TV Set Out, the cable can output both audio and video from satellite programming or whatever is connected to TV Antenna / Cable In, to another device (generally a VCR or a TV). Please note that if you are using TV Antenna / Cable In, that programming can only be viewed through a coax cable connected to TV Set Out.

When connecting RG-59 to the television to view satellite programming, it must be on either channel 3 or 4 - whichever is not being used by a broadcast station in the area (i.e. whichever can't be received with an off-air antenna). Your receiver will also need to be on the same channel, which can be set in the menus or by a small channel selector switch on the back of the receiver. If using this cable to connect the VCR, it must also be selected to channel 3 or 4 via a selector switch, if present. In addition, leave the VCR off when using coax to allow audio and video to pass through; however, to record programming from the receiver, the VCR must be on, and its internal tuner (accessible through the VCR remote or the VCR's front panel) must also be on channel 3 or 4.

If properly installed RG-59 begins to fail, common symptoms can be: lines going through the screen, blurry screens, ghosting, up to complete loss of audio and video - snowy screen, black screen, blue screen, etc.

RG-59 cables are almost always rated to 1000 MHz. Since Legacy DISH Network installs use frequencies up to 1450 MHz, and DishPro up to 2150 MHz, these cables are unsuitable for installation between the receiver and the dish. If RG-59 is used as such, symptoms can include loss of all even transponders or loss of all transponders, from all satellite locations that cable is carrying. Please note that cable color does not correspond to cable type. Just because a cable is white, black, or gray does not mean it's RG-59 or RG-6.