Picked the cheap coax crimper over the $300 one, now I'm redoing 14 harnesses

Honestly, I went with the 40 dollar crimper from the local supply shop instead of the proper military spec one my lead recommended. We had a C-130 avionics bay refit due last Friday and I figured the cheaper tool would be fine for the smaller gauge wiring. Nope. After bench testing 14 harnesses, 6 of them failed continuity from bad crimps that looked perfect to the eye. The pin retention was garbage and I had to cut and re-terminate every one of those ends. That cost me a whole extra day and a lot of butt-chewing from the shift supervisor. Has anyone else had a bad run with a budget crimper on D-sub pins, or am I just unlucky with this brand?

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the_andrew26d ago

Read the same story on a Facebook avionics group last week. Cheap tools bite back.