Was doing a new build in Fresno last month and kept having signal issues on a 6-unit job. Old timer on site said try compression fittings instead of crimping. First I thought nah that's just more money and time. But after 3 callbacks on a Friday I drove to the supply house and grabbed a compression kit. Been 4 weeks now and zero issues. Has anyone else made the switch and seen a difference in attenuation?
Was on a job last Tuesday at an old folks home in Akron and kept getting intermittent signal loss on one line. Checked my compression fitting 3 times, looked fine. Spent 45 minutes chasing it down the wall. Finally just cut it off and re-terminated. Problem solved. Sometimes the connector LOOKS good but is garbage inside. Ever had one of those?
Picked up a 10 dollar stripper from a gas station in Des Moines last week cause I forgot mine, and it didn't snag a single cable all day. Had to eat my words when my 40 dollar Klein kept messing up on the same RG6. Has anyone else had a budget tool surprise them like that?
Was out on a job last Tuesday at this old house in Oak Park and the customer had his own cable gear. He watched me strip a line and goes "uh you're cutting the braid man." I had been using the punch down method where you just slice around the jacket and pull. He showed me the compression strip tool with the rotating head and I swear it took 30 seconds off each termination after that. Any of you guys use the Klein version or just the cheap ones?
I used to think those fancy digital toners were a waste compared to my $20 one from the hardware store. Last week on a job in an old office building downtown, I was tracing a line through 40 year old conduit and nothing worked. Broke down and borrowed a friend's Fluke toner with the smart tracing feature. Found the cable in like 2 minutes flat where I'd been guessing for an hour. Anyone else have a tool they thought was overhyped until you actually tried it?
I was grabbing some RG6 connectors this morning and this guy in his 60s was telling a newbie that impacts just crush the compression fittings. He said he's been doing this for 25 years and always uses a hand tool to tighten things... never had a call back. I thought about it and realized he's probably right. I've had a few fittings crack on me after a year or so and I bet that's why. Has anyone else switched to hand tightening and seen fewer issues down the road?
I was running six lines for a new office build and figured I could save time by not drying out the inside first. The tape kept binding up and I ended up snapping it on a tight bend after fighting it for 45 minutes. Anyone else had a conduit turn into a nightmare because of moisture?.
I started installing cable back in 2012 for a small company in Portland. We used to strip everything by hand with those cheap yellow coax strippers that would dull after a dozen cuts. Half the time you'd nick the dielectric and have to redo the whole F connector. It was such a pain when you were on a ladder and the rain made the jacket all slippery. Now I use a ratcheting crimper with a built in strip gauge and it takes like 20 seconds per end. The compression fittings are way more consistent too, I've had zero signal issues since I switched about 3 years ago. Has anyone else noticed the newer pre-molded cables are actually faster to terminate than doing it from bulk spool?
Used to swear by fish tape. Ran everything with it for 4 years straight. Then last spring I had a 40 foot run under a house in Austin. Fish tape kept snagging on insulation and debris. Took me almost 2 hours just to get the first line. Next day my buddy let me borrow his glow rods. Ran that same job in 25 minutes flat. Now I keep a set in my truck for tight spaces. Anybody else make the switch or still using the old way?
I've been doing this 12 years and somehow never kept track before, but last month I tallied 512 installs. Seeing that number made me realize how much the job has changed since I started with those old analog boxes in the early 2010s. Anyone else stop to count their monthly volume and get surprised?
I had this interaction with a homeowner over in Rockford last month that still bugs me. I finished running their new cat6 line from the basement to the living room, leaving about a 2 foot service loop near the wall plate like I always do. The guy saw it and said I should cut it flush because loops look "unfinished" and collect dust. I tried to explain that the loop gives room to re-terminate if the connector gets damaged, but he wasn't having it. He said he's paid installers before and none of them left loops. So now I'm wondering, is the loop an old school habit that's unnecessary for residential work, or is that homeowner just wrong? Has anyone else ran into a customer who pushed back on standard practices like this?
I was working a job in Phoenix last month and kept getting my tape caught on that fluffy insulation in every bay (you know the stuff). After 3 tries on one run I tried wrapping the tip with a little electrical tape to smooth it out and it glided right through. Has anyone else tried something like this or got a better method for those tricky insulated walls?
I was swapping out a splitter for a buddy last week and saw his neighbor's box mounted with the F connectors pointing up. Rainwater pools right in the threads that way, I've seen it corrode connections in under a year. He said his cable company did it that way, which explains some of his signal issues. Has anyone else had to fix installs where the box orientation was just ignored?
Was doing a walkthrough on a site in Phoenix last Tuesday and counted 3 different houses where the cable was stapled within a foot of the main electrical feed. That's just asking for interference or worse if that insulation ever wears down. How do you guys handle telling the GC their guys are cutting corners without making enemies on site? Any tricks to get them to fix it without it turning into a fight?
For years I was dead set on doing all my fiber terminations with mechanical connectors and a cheap cleaver. Figured the $3000 fusion splicer was just for the big guys who wanted to show off. Then last month I had a job in Phoenix where I had to do 48 terminations in a crawl space. After 12 bad mechanical splices and a lot of cussing, my buddy loaned me his old Sumitomo. First try, 0.03db loss, took me 45 seconds. I literally just sat there staring at the thing. Now I'm looking at used ones on eBay for around $1500 and kicking myself for wasting so much time on cheap gear. Any of you guys run a budget splicer that actually holds up?
He cinched them tight around the messenger strand and I had to stop and show him how a proper lasher works, cable sag within 6 months guaranteed. Anyone else run into installers skipping the proper hardware just to shave 10 minutes off a job?
Guy been doing this since the 80s. Said in a pinch a wet metal fish tape works just like a ground rod. I thought he was messing with me. Tried it on a sketchy attic run after my actual rod broke. Thing worked. Got the signal clean. Has anyone else tried something that sounds stupid but actually worked?
Instead of hauling them back to the shop, I started cutting them down to use as temporary cable holders on big jobs. Saves me from tripping over loose coils and I can stack three in a truck bed. Anybody else repurpose spools or just toss em?
I was pulling a new line through a drop ceiling in an old house off Colfax and the whole bundle of cables was chewed through... must have been 50 feet of damaged coax. Homeowner said they heard scratching but figured it was just the pipes. How do you guys handle explaining these biohazard conditions without spooking the customer?
I bought a high end toner kit thinking it would save me time on big apartment runs, but the signal keeps dropping when I'm near a power panel. Lost a whole Saturday chasing a dead line that the toner just wouldn't lock onto. Anybody else find the cheap tone generators actually hold up better in crowded boxes?
Last week I ran a 150 foot run through an old office building downtown and used a fiberglass rod the whole way. Three years ago I would have fought with a steel fish tape for an hour on that same route. Month before that I tried one of those magnetic push rods and it saved me a trip back to the truck. I still keep a fish tape in the van for straight attic pulls but everything else gets rods or glow sticks now. Anybody else barely use fish tape anymore or is it just me getting old?
I was driving through a tight residential block in Elmwood and the reel shifted forward and slammed into the tailgate, so now I always ratchet strap it down even for short trips between jobs, has anyone else had a load slide on them without warning?
Went to a new data center in Austin last month and saw they had every cable tied straight into vertical managers with no bars at all. Looked cleaner than any rack I've seen with those horizontal bars hogging space and getting in the way. Am I missing something or are we all just following a trend that doesn't help?
I was in a crawlspace last Tuesday in Portland and my old 6-foot fiberglass ladder kept sliding on the wet concrete. Has anyone else found a better way to secure a ladder on slippery surfaces without carrying extra gear?
I picked up the Klein VDV226-110 crimper from Home Depot a couple weeks ago thinking it would save me time on coax terminations. It stripped the connector threads on a drop at the Miller Apartments complex yesterday. Anyone else have trouble with these newer Klein tools?