c/cable-installers

The difference between new build rough-ins and retrofits is getting wild

I did a new build last month where everything was stapled nice and routed through the studs, then today I had to fish coax through a 1970s split-level where the previous guy just stapled cables across the floor joists like it was Christmas lights. How do you guys handle retrofits where the old cabling is a total rats nest but the homeowner doesn't want it cut out?

Last Tuesday was the worst day I have had on the job in 2 years

Started with a customer who wanted their cable run through an attic that was barely 2 feet tall and hit 110 degrees by 10 AM. Then my crimper broke halfway through terminating a 48-port patch panel in a new office build downtown. Has anyone else had a day where everything just went wrong from the start?

Fusion vs ratchet crimpers for RG6 - what did you pick?

I had to make a call between getting a fusion crimper or sticking with a standard ratchet one for my RG6 connectors. I went with the ratchet tool last month because it was cheaper and I figured it would do the job fine. But now I'm having issues with some connectors not staying tight after a few weeks on a job in Austin. A buddy of mine swears by the fusion ones and says they grip better on the cable jacket. I'm wondering if I made the wrong choice just to save 40 bucks. Has anyone else had problems like this with ratchet crimpers on RG6?

Blew $200 on a cheap cable toner from Amazon last Thursday

That thing couldn't find a tone through drywall, let alone a live line. Anyone had luck with a budget toner that actually works, or am I stuck saving up for a Fluke?

Spent $400 on a Klein crimp tool last month - best money I've ever put down or a total waste?

I was fighting bad connections for 6 months before I bit the bullet on the premium tool, but my buddy swears his $40 special from Harbor Freight gets the same results so which side are you on?

Talked to a 30-year veteran installer today and he called my cable prep "sloppy"

He showed me his trick of stripping coax with a utility knife instead of my fancy tool and I finished my next 4 drops 10 minutes faster each. Anyone else pick up a weird habit from an old timer that actually worked better than the standard way?

That time my uncle swore by zip ties for everything

My uncle Bill used to install cable for 30 years and always told me to never use velcro straps on outdoor runs. He said zip ties are the only way to go because rodents love chewing through velcro. Last month I had to redo a whole job at a warehouse in Akron because some critter got into the bundle and gnawed through three lines. I guess the old man was right about that one. Has anyone else had animals mess with their outdoor cable work?

PSA: Stop wrapping tape around the cable before you strip it, I see it every week

Hit 1,000 termination points today and somehow my fingers still work

I counted up my terminations from the last 6 months for a job bid and realized I did exactly 1,003 without even keeping track, has anyone else lost count of a milestone like that and then tried to guess the number?

Last Tuesday was the worst day I've had on the job in 5 years

Warning: My worst week ever started with a weather forecast I ignored

Last Monday I had a crawl space job in a new subdivision outside Raleigh. Forecast said rain by 4 PM but I figured I'd be done by 2. By 1:30 I was knee deep in mud because the ground was already soggy from the night before. My helper slipped and tore his pants on a joist hanger, and we had to pull all the cable back because water got into the junction boxes. Took me 3 extra days to finish because the crew had to wait for everything to dry out. Has anyone else had a simple job turn into a nightmare because you didn't check the weather close enough?

Just realized I was stripping cable wrong for 3 years

A senior guy walked by my truck last Tuesday, watched me for like 10 seconds, and said 'you're gonna wreck your wrists doing it that way.' I was using the side cutters to strip the jacket, yanking toward myself. He just reached in, flipped my hand so I was pushing away from my body, and that one little change saved me so much strain. Now I can do a whole spool without my forearm cramping up. Anybody else get a simple tip that reeeeally changed how they work?

Coax compression connectors - thought they were overpriced junk until I hit 50 connections in one day

I used to swear by the old twist-on connectors. Bought a 100-pack for $12 at a supply house near downtown Raleigh. Then I had a job with 50 cable outlets in a new apartment complex. After the third service call for signal loss, I grabbed a compression tool and some high-end connectors for $40 total from my supplier. Not a single callback since. Anybody else make the switch and never look back?

Spent 2 years fighting with coax connectors before a coworker showed me the trick

I was always stripping too much jacket off and getting intermittent signal loss. A guy from the shop in St. Louis told me to use the compression fitting tool the same way every time and mark my strip length on the tool with a sharpie. Has anyone else had a simple habit change fix a ton of service calls for them?

Old timer told me to stop using gel on fiber connectors and he was right

I had a guy who's been doing this since the 90s watch me terminate some single mode in Austin last spring. He said I was using way too much gel and it was actually making my loss numbers worse. I thought he was just being old fashioned but I tested it both ways on 20 connectors and he was right every time. My return loss went from -35dB to -45dB after I switched to barely any gel. Anyone else have an old installer teach them something that went against what they learned in training?

Unpopular take: I think labeling every cable end with a handheld labeler is slower than just using colored electrical tape

After 8 years of doing installs in Portland I've watched guys waste 20 minutes per job fiddling with those label makers when 3 wraps of red tape on a coax end tells you everything you need to know and I can finish the run twice as fast, anyone else ditch the fancy labels for something simpler?

Hit 1000 jobs without a single callback - surprised me more than I expected

I passed 1000 installs last week and realized I haven't had a single callback for a bad job in all of them. Not sure if I'm just lucky or my method of testing every cable twice before I leave is paying off. I do a quick continuity check and then actually plug in a device to verify signal before I pack up. Anyone else keep a running count of your clean installs or am I just weird about tracking this stuff?

Overheard a guy at the supply house saying his truck camper shell costs more than my whole setup

I was grabbing some RG6 connectors yesterday at the Graybar in Tulsa and this dude in line was bragging about his $4000 camper shell. Meanwhile my van has a milk crate for a tool box and a tarp over the spools. It got me thinking about how we all spend money different. Does anyone else run a bare bones setup or am I the only one cheaping out?

Remember when we used to run coax without pre-mapping the attic crawl? Man, things have changed.

Remember when we used to run coax without pre-mapping the attic crawl? Man, things have changed. Back in 2015, I'd just crawl up there blind and hope the path was clear, you know? Now with these big mesh WiFi systems and smart home gadgets, I have to spend 20 minutes mapping out every potential interference point (like a microwave in the kitchen) before I even touch a cable. Has anyone else noticed customers getting way pickier about signal drops in weird spots like bathrooms?

Vent: Stop wrapping coax cables too tight around the corner

I keep seeing new guys cinch down RG6 like they're tying off a boat. If you pull it tight around a 90 degree corner, you're flattening the dielectric inside. Had a service call in Austin last week where the customer's internet kept dropping. Found a cable that looked fine on the outside but was pinched flat right where it wrapped around a stud. Checked it with a meter and the return loss was shot. You really want at least a 2 inch bend radius, anything tighter and you're asking for trouble. Has anyone else seen this cause weird intermittent issues that take forever to troubleshoot?

Found a better way to strip coax without fighting it

Used to just use my utility knife and a pair of cutters for coax stripping. Always nicked the braid or cut the dielectric too deep. Switched to a proper coax stripper about 3 months ago, the kind with the little rotating blade. Cut my prep time from around 2 minutes per end to maybe 30 seconds. First job I used it on was a 16-unit apartment in Fresno, didn't have to re-terminate a single fitting. Has anyone else found a tool that just kills old habits?

Saw a nightmare install at a new apartment complex in Raleigh yesterday

I was picking up my kid from a friend's apartment in that new building off Capital Boulevard and I couldn't help but notice the cable box setup in the hallway. Whoever ran the lines just left about 15 feet of extra coax coiled up and zip-tied to the wall with like 8 loose connectors dangling. It looked like a spider web and I couldn't stop staring at it. The kicker is this building is maybe 6 months old so that was supposed to be a professional install. I asked the maintenance guy about it and he said the original crew left it that way and they've had three service calls already because of signal issues. Has anyone else run into brand new buildings where the installers clearly didn't care about quality?

Got stuck on a messy attic run for 4 hours yesterday

I thought I could knock out this one cable run in like 30 minutes but the attic was totally trashed. Old blown insulation everywhere and no walking boards at all. Took me 4 hours to crawl across 60 feet and drop the line to the second floor. Has anyone else had a simple job turn into a whole day because of bad attic access?

Took advice from a guy in Denver about grounding blocks, saved my whole install

Last month on a big job in a new subdivision, I was installing cable runs for a 12 unit building. A veteran installer I met at the supply house told me to always use #6 copper wire for grounding blocks instead of the #8 I usually grab. I figured he was old school and blowing smoke, but I gave it a shot on unit 4. The signal quality was noticeably cleaner on that unit compared to the ones with #8 wire. Did anyone else have a similar win from listening to random advice on site?

That Klein crimper I bought for $80 saved my butt on a nasty job yesterday

Had to terminate a bunch of RG6 ends in a crawlspace that was barely 2 feet tall. Used my old beat up crimper and it kept slipping, ruining connectors. Dropped $80 on a Klein VDV226-110 at the supply house on my lunch break and flew through the rest of the work. Anyone else swear by a specific tool brand for crimping?