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?
Was doing a drop in downtown Portland and the fitting just spun off in my hand after I tightened it. Anyone else have a go-to brand of compression fittings that don't strip as easy?
I was doing a job in a house in Spokane and ran about 50 feet of coax through the HVAC return to hide it. Customer called me back saying the cable box kept losing channels. Checked the signal and it dropped 12 dB compared to my test in the basement. Learned the hard way that metal ducts kill signal strength. Anyone else run into this or other weird signal killers on jobs?
Last Tuesday I had a job in Bakersfield where the customer kept losing internet every time it rained. I checked every fitting in the house, swapped splitters, even ran a new drop from the ground block. After 90 minutes of head scratching I finally climbed the pole and found the connector at the tap was barely hand tight. Anyone else ever waste that much time on something so simple?
I swapped from using the cheap cleaver to a proper Fujikura and suddenly clean cuts just happened, has anyone else seen that big a difference from just upgrading one tool?
I've been installing cable for a living since 2020 and always used diagonal cutters to strip the outer jacket. It worked fine most of the time but I kept nicking the braid on tight bends. Last Tuesday I saw a new guy on my crew use a proper coax stripper tool. He finished the prep in half the time and had zero braid damage. I asked to borrow it and tried it on the next job. The difference was night and day. I ordered one that night and it showed up yesterday. Anyone else have a tool they resisted using for way too long?
Was running 500 feet of RG6 through a farmhouse attic last month. Customer didn't want to pay for the premium fittings I usually swear by. Grabbed some no-name bag ones from the truck just to get it done. Figured they'd fail in a month. Six weeks later and signal is still clean. Made me rethink if I'm wasting money on the name brand stuff.
I was on a job in Des Moines and this old timer watched me prep a connector. He just shook his head and showed me I was leaving too much center conductor exposed. Cut it down to 1/8 inch like he said and suddenly my signal levels jumped from -15 dB to -8 dB. I felt pretty dumb standing there holding my stripper. Anyone else learn a basic thing way later than they should have?
After 6 months of callbacks on one apartment complex in Phoenix, I finally convinced my boss to switch us to compression fittings and we haven't had a single signal loss since - has anyone else dealt with a stubborn coworker who refuses to update their methods?
Bought a generic 50-footer off Amazon and it broke halfway through a conduit run at a new apartment complex in Phoenix. Had to borrow a buddy's fiberglass one to finish the job. Anyone else learned this the hard way or am I the only one who cheaped out?
I was grabbing some fittings at the Graybar in Nashville last Tuesday and this older installer started talking to me while we were waiting on tickets. He said he had been doing cable work since the 80s and asked me if I ever checked my ground blocks with a multimeter before I left a job. I told him nah, I just make sure they're tight and move on. He laughed and said he just spent a whole Saturday chasing a noise issue that turned out to be a ground block with a hairline crack you couldn't even see. That hit different because I realized I've been trusting hardware way too much without actually testing it. Now I keep a cheap multimeter in my bag and I check every block after I install it. Has anyone else found weird ground issues that looked fine but caused problems later?
Was running a line through a warehouse ceiling in Cleveland last spring and this old security guard named Dave came over. He told me to stop fighting with fish sticks and just tape a magnet to the end when going through insulated ceilings. Totally saved me 45 minutes on that run. Anybody else got random tips from people who aren't even in the trade?
I was running coax through a finished basement last Tuesday and kept snagging on insulation, took me 45 minutes for one drop. Then I taped a small rare earth magnet to the end of my fish tape and used another magnet on the outside to guide it through. Anyone else use magnets like this or have a better method for tight spaces?
Picked up a fancy digital toner and probe kit from a tool truck last spring. Thought it would save me hours tracing lines in new construction builds. First three jobs it worked okay, then it just started giving false readings on any bundle over six cables. Spent a full Friday chasing a line that turned out to be in a completely different room. Should have stuck with my old $60 analog unit. Anyone else have bad luck with high end cable testing gear?
Last week I walked into a house where some hack had used 3 way splitters all through the attic and I spent my whole Sunday redoing it, anyone else run into this garbage work?
I used the same steel fish tape for like 15 years. My buddy kept telling me to try a fiberglass one with the glow in the dark coating. I told him it was a gimmick and a waste of $40. Then last month I had a 150 foot run through some nasty crawlspace in an old house in Pittsburgh. My steel tape kept kinking and I was practically crawling back and forth. I finally borrowed his fiberglass one and man I was wrong. It slid right through the insulation and the glow tip made it way easier to see in the dark. I bought my own the next day. Has anyone else been surprised by a tool they thought was overhyped?
My aunt Darla has a 30 year old house in Phoenix and I put in a new cable drop without a ground rod because I was in a hurry. She asked why I skipped it and when I said it was fine she said "your grandpa would roll over in his grave." Has anyone else had a homeowner call them out on something you thought they wouldn't notice?
I figured $150 was too good to be true for a fusion splicer. Last month it actually fused a 12-count ribbon clean on the first try in a wet pedestal in Ohio. Anybody else gamble on budget gear and get lucky?
Used Klein for like 6 years cause that's what the old guys all used. Last week I grabbed a pair of the Ideal 30-425s on a whim at a supply house in Denver. Night and day difference on RG6 compression fittings. The Kleins would slip sometimes or not seat the connector all the way. Did 30 ends with the Ideals and not one bad crimp. Way less hand fatigue too cause the handle shape is better. Anyone else made the swap and notice it?
I was fishing a new coax through a drop ceiling and my fish tape hit something that sparked. Turns out someone ran romex loose across the ceiling tiles without any conduit. Has anyone else ran into sketchy electrical like this on a job and how do you handle it?
I was running a job in Albany last fall, pulling lines through a 4 story building. The electrician had zip tied my coax tight against a live 220 line and it arced, caught the insulation on fire. We got it out with a extinguisher but the whole first floor hallway was black. Now I check every single cable route myself before I pull anything. Has anyone else had close calls with power lines near your drops?
I keep hearing guys on here swear by fiberglass rods for everything. Three years ago I was working a job in Phoenix, had to pull 200 feet of Cat6 through some old 2-inch conduit that was full of rocks and dirt. The rods kept binding up. Switched to a basic steel tape, took me 2 tries to get it through. Last month saw a new guy spend 45 minutes struggling with a rod set on a simple 50 foot run. Am I missing something or do people just like the fancy tools?
I was running coax to a new bedroom in this older house out in Brighton. The homeowner was this older guy who kept apologizing for the tight crawl space under his house. After I got the line run and terminated, he handed me a handwritten card with a $20 gift card to a local diner tucked inside. Said his grandkids can finally have their own room with TV and he appreciated me not making a mess. Has anyone else gotten a surprise thank you like that on a job?