c/cable-installers

13

mitchell.wade•3d ago

Shoutout to the Klein 8-in-1 screwdriver I bought at Home Depot

I dropped $25 on that Klein 8-in-1 screwdriver last week and it's already saved me on three jobs. The bit storage in the handle is solid and doesn't fall out when you're up on a ladder. Anyone else have good luck with Klein stuff or is there a better option out there for around the same price?

18

lucas63•5d ago

Shoutout to the old crimpers that still outwork the new ones

I swapped back to my beat up Klein crimpers from 2007 last month after struggling with a new brand for 6 months. The difference in compression on RG6 connectors was night and day, no more loose fittings causing signal loss. I'm talking about the old orange handles, not the ones with the blue grips they sell now. Anyone else notice newer tools just don't bite the same?

17

nancyd85•6d ago

Why does nobody mention that cheap coax crimpers will wreck your connectors every time?

I used a $12 crimper from Amazon on a 30-unit apartment job last week and every single connector slipped right off, had to redo the whole building and lost a full day.

2

rileynguyen•6d ago

Overheard a guy at the supply house say something about coax prep that flipped my whole approach

I was grabbing some RG6 yesterday and this older installer told a new guy 'you strip too much jacket off, leave a quarter inch max'. Been doing it my way for like 5 years. Always left about half an inch. Tried his method on a job this morning. Connection held way tighter, no signal bleed. Anyone else get told something so simple that fixed a dumb habit?

1

the_reese•8d ago

TIL conduit bends can hide bad splices you'll find years later

I was out on a job in a shopping center off Route 9 yesterday, running new drops for a burger joint that wanted wifi. They had old RG-6 from like 2008 still in the ceiling, and I found a splice buried inside a 45 degree bend that someone had just taped up with black electrical tape. The signal was garbage, but nobody could figure out why for probably 5 years because it was hidden inside the conduit. I had to cut the whole run and repull it just to fix one lazy connection. Makes me wonder how many other installers are out there hiding their mess in bends instead of taking the extra 10 minutes to run a clean line. Has anyone else run into a buried splice that drove you crazy to find?

27

laura_knight54•9d ago

Ran 2,000 feet of coax in a mansion last Tuesday and it was my smoothest day all year

I had this huge house out in the suburbs, four stories with a full basement. The homeowner had the whole place pre-wired with conduit and pull strings already in place. I got there at 8am and was done by 2pm, even with a 45 minute lunch break. Every run was labeled and the attic had plywood walkways already laid down. Made me wish every job was that prepared. Any of you guys ever get a house that was just set up perfect from the start?

11

emeryr38•9d ago

Heat shrink trick that saved me 20 minutes on a bulk run

I started pre-cutting all my heat shrink to length before leaving the truck instead of doing it on the ladder and it cut my install time for a 12 unit apartment from 4 hours to 3 hours 40 minutes. Anyone else batch prep stuff like that or am I overthinking it?

2

grant_gibson•9d ago

TIL the hard way that RG6 and RG11 aren't interchangeable on long runs

I was running a 300 foot line to a barn last week outside of Columbus. Grabbed RG6 like I always do. Signal was garbage at the other end. Buddy told me to try RG11 instead. Night and day difference. Lost a whole afternoon re-pulling it. Any of you guys keep RG11 on the truck for these long hauls or just me?

0

lisa671•10d ago

Stuck between a Klein and a Milwaukee fish tape on a hot attic job in Phoenix

Picked the Klein cause it was $10 cheaper but the Milwaukee's trigger grip would have saved me 20 minutes wrestling that stubborn 14/2 through blown in insulation, anyone else regret a tool choice that cost them time like that?

0

stella279•10d ago

I was dead wrong about cheap coax cable

For years I only bought the expensive branded coax, swore the cheap stuff would give you signal loss. Then last month my supplier was out of stock, so I grabbed a 500ft spool of the generic from a local shop in Phoenix. Ran it on three jobs, tested with my meter, same readings as the pricey stuff. Has anyone else found a budget cable that actually holds up?

2

mia_anderson•11d ago

Had a homeowner tell me my cable ties were too tight and causing signal issues, so I switched to velcro straps

After he showed me the kinked coax from a previous install I did 6 months ago, I tested his theory and found the zip ties were crushing the RG6 just enough to drop 15 MHz of signal, and now I use velcro on every interior run.

10

shane_moore87•11d ago

Old timer told me I was wasting time with compression fittings and he was completely right

I was doing a new build in Arlington last month, running coax through a crawl space. An old installer who was pulling fiber on the same site stopped and asked why I wasn't using crimp connectors. I told him compression was faster, and he just laughed and said 'come back in 5 years and tell me how many service calls you rack up.' I blew him off at first, but then I had to redo three fittings that failed signal tests the same afternoon. Has anyone else had a seasoned guy change your whole method after one conversation?

10

harris.vera•12d ago

Van ladder rack gave out on me Tuesday

I was up on my van loading a 100-foot coax reel around 9am when the crossbar on my cheap aluminum ladder rack just snapped. Dropped the reel right onto my rear bumper and put a big dent in it. Luckily I was only a few feet up, could have been worse if I was standing under it. Had to cancel my first two jobs and spend the morning finding a welder who could patch it temporary. Anyone else had a rack fail on them mid-job or am I just unlucky?

7

james_ross•13d ago

Just realized I'd been stripping coax wrong for 10 years

A veteran contractor in Des Moines pointed out my braid was fraying because I was using the wrong blade angle on my coring tool. Anyone else get set in their ways on something basic and have a random guy on site set you straight?

14

beth559•13d ago

Spent 4 hours trying to fish a line through a finished wall in Austin

I had this job last Tuesday in a real fancy house off Lake Austin Boulevard where the customer wanted a new coax run to their office. Everyone always says to use a glow rod or a magnetic kit, but the wall had fire blocks and some weird insulation I've never seen before. It took me until 4 PM to finally get it through, and I'm still not sure if my method was any faster than just cutting a new access panel. Has anyone else run into those dense foam panels that just chew up your fish tape?

16

thea_knight•14d ago

Had a chat with an old timer that made me rethink my whole approach

I was swapping stories with a guy who's been doing cable installs since the 80s, and he told me he never uses a toner anymore. He said he can trace lines just by feeling the cable jacket and listening to the hum in a wall. At first I thought he was full of it, but then he showed me on a job we were working in Akron last week. He found a bad splice in about 30 seconds by hand, which would've taken me 10 minutes with my gear. Now I'm wondering if I lean too hard on my tools and not enough on basic know-how. Has anyone else had an old-school installer drop some weird trick that actually worked?

24

diana_park•14d ago

Just tried to splice a fiber line on a pole in the rain last Tuesday near Baton Rouge

I was up there trying to get the cleaver to work with wet fingers and the wind kept blowing my jacket up, and after dropping two connectors into a puddle I just taped a trash bag over the splice tray and finished it blind, has anyone else had to rig something dumb like that on a rainy day?

29

anthony_wells•15d ago

Drove past a new subdivision in Phoenix and the coax installs were a train wreck

I was out near Chandler last Tuesday running a service call and took a detour through this new build neighborhood off Pecos Road. Every single drop line was just dangling loose from the side of the houses, no clips, no weatherproofing, nothing. They zip tied the cables to the gas meter on one house, which has to be against code, right? Has anyone else seen builders get this sloppy with new construction, or am I just unlucky with the areas I roll through?

19

faith_price7•19d ago

Shoutout to the $30 Klein crimper that saved my bacon on a 24-pair job yesterday

always used the cheap $10 crimpers from Home Depot. figured a crimp is a crimp right? yesterday I had to terminate 24 pairs in a tight crawlspace at an apartment complex in Austin. my old crimper kept messing up the connectors, wasted like 8 rj45s before I got mad. ran to the supply house and grabbed a Klein VDV226-110 for $30. first crimp was perfect every time after that. finished the whole panel in 45 mins. anyone else have a cheap tool they stuck with too long?

0

the_jennifer•19d ago

Hot take: fiber fusion splicing is getting worse, not better, since the 2010s in my area

I've been doing cable installs since 2008, mostly residential and small business stuff in Ohio. Back then, a fusion splice was practically bulletproof. You'd hit it, test it, and it would hold for years. Now I'm seeing splices from jobs done just 3 or 4 years ago start to go bad. Inconsistent loss readings, some outright failing. My boss swears it's the cheap Chinese splicers everyone's using now instead of the old Fujikuras. I don't know if it's the machines, the cleavers, or just rushed work, but I've had to redo a dozen splices this year alone that were supposed to be 'lifetime'. Anyone else noticing this in their markets, or is it just the gear we're stuck with?

11

raymartin•21d ago

Straight crimp vs. staggered pinout on Cat6 keystones - which is faster really?

I been doing cable installs for about 6 years now and always used the straight crimp method on keystones, lining up all the wires flat before punching them down. Last week on a big office job in Denver I had to do 40 keystones in a day and tried the staggered method where you trim each wire at a different length. Figured it'd be quicker but honestly I spent more time untwisting pairs and making sure the colors lined up right. My success rate was about the same both ways but the straight method felt more consistent to me. What do you all find works best for tight deadlines? Anyone else test both side by side?

13

victor_butler50•21d ago

Unpopular opinion: Cat 6 termination is way easier without those pushdown tools

I was on a job last month in a warehouse near Columbus, and my pushdown tool snapped halfway through a 48-port patch panel. I had 30 cables left to terminate and no backup tool. So I just stripped, untwist, and seat them by hand with a cheap punchdown tool I found in my van. Honestly, it went faster than using that fancy clicker tool. The contacts seated fine, and I tested every port with my Fluke meter. Zero failures. Everyone I know swears by those auto-punch tools, but I think they cause more trouble than they solve. Has anyone else found a simpler method that actually works better?

15

angela191•22d ago

Old timer told me to always strip back 3 inches of jacket and I ignored him for 2 years

This veteran installer named Mike warned me on my first day to strip way more coax jacket than the textbook says. I thought he was just being old school and kept doing the standard 1 inch strip. After fighting with bad connections on a 12 unit apartment building in Portland, I finally tried his method. Stripping 3 inches lets you really feel the braid and dielectric before you crimp. I havent had a single callback on my last 50 terminations since I switched. Has anyone else gotten advice from a greybeard that seemed wrong but saved your butt?

5

kevin_adams•22d ago

Why does nobody talk about hitting 500 attics in a career?

I just crossed 500 attics crawled into since I started installing cable in 2018. That number surprised me because I never kept count until my van logged it by accident last month. Half of those attics were in houses built before 1970 around St. Louis where the insulation is that old fluffy stuff that gets everywhere. The other half were new builds with those stupid truss systems that leave zero room to move. I feel like hitting a milestone like that matters because it shows how much wear and tear we put up with that customers never see. But here's the debate - does a big number like 500 attics mean you are experienced or just reckless with your body? Some guys brag about speed and volume while others say taking it slow saves your knees and back in the long run. Which side do you lean on when you hit a surprising milestone like this one?

27

corad84•22d ago

Just realized my coax compression tool was way off after 1500 fittings

Found out my cheap Klein tool was under-crimping by 0.5mm after I noticed three signal loss complaints in a row on new builds. Anyone else check their tool's calibration with a gauge every few months?