Bus Cable for RS-485

Bus line
Construction 2 cores, twisted, with common shield
Conductor cross section > 0.22 mm² (24 AWG)
Twisting rate > 10 per meter (symmetrically twisted)
Core insulation Polyethylene (PE)
Resistance per core < 100 Ω/km
Characteristic impedance ca. 120 Ω (100…150 Ω)
Capacitance between the cores < 55 nF/km (if higher, the max. bus length must be reduced)
Terminating resistors 120 Ω ¼ W at both line ends
Remarks Commonly used telephone cables with PE insulation and a core diameter of  > 0.8 mm are usually sufficient.
Cables with PVC core insulation and core diameter of 0.8 mm can be used up to a length of approx. 250 m. In this case, the bus terminating resistor is approx. 100 Ω.