A customer in Denver asked me why I always check the coax fittings twice

I was finishing up a job last week and the homeowner, a retired engineer, pointed at my work and asked that question. He said he used to work on radar systems and a loose connection there could mean a plane disappears. It made me think about how a bad fitting here can mean a whole street loses signal. So now I tell new guys that story when I train them. Anyone else have a simple story that helps explain why we do the small things right?

3 comments

3 Comments

max9632mo ago

Okay but come on, is a lost TV signal for a few houses really the same as a plane vanishing from radar? That feels like a huge stretch. Most people would just reboot their box and call it a day. Maybe double-checking is just a good habit, but comparing it to life-or-death systems seems a bit much, doesn't it?

ellis.nina26d ago

You know, I used to think the same way as your old boss the_taylor. I remember this one time in Austin I skipped a second check on a connector and had to go back the next day because the signal was dropping out. That engineer's radar story really made me see that even if it's not life or death, cutting corners can ripple out faster than you'd think.

the_taylor2mo ago

My old boss in Phoenix used to call it pointless double-checking. That engineer's story about radar systems really flipped a switch for me.