Been using the cheap ones from the hardware store for years. Picked up a pair of Klein crimpers at a supply house in Tampa last week. First RG6 connector I put on felt solid. No crushed jackets or loose fits. Anyone else find a tool they were skeptical about that turned out worth it?
Honestly, I was getting signal loss on about 1 in 10 installs for months and couldn't figure out why. Then a senior guy at a job site in Phoenix pointed out I wasn't stripping the dielectric back far enough before attaching the connector. He showed me his trick of using a $10 Klein tool to get exactly 3/8 inch exposed every time. Has anyone else had a simple prep change fix their intermittent signal problems?
I was in upstate New York last December fixing a line that kept losing signal after every freeze. Swapped out the compression connector for a heat-shrink weatherproof type and the problem vanished completely. The compression ones just can't handle the ice expansion inside the connector body. Anyone else had better luck with shrink-fit on exposed lines?
I used to swear by compression fittings on outdoor runs, but after a -20 degree morning left me with three cracked connectors, I swapped to push-on ends with heat shrink. Has anyone else had compression fittings fail in extreme cold?
Pulled one of those $8 fish tapes from Harbor Freight on a job in Phoenix last Tuesday and it snapped clean in the middle of a 150ft run. Had to cut open the conduit to get the cable out, wasted 3 hours of my day. Has anyone else had a budget tool fail at the worst possible time?
I used to hate doing attic work, thought it was the worst part of the job. Last Tuesday we had a deluge in Toledo and I got stuck working in a tight attic for 6 hours straight. Customer had a finished basement so all lines had to go up top, 4 drops total. By hour 3 I had worked out a system with my telescoping rod and a headlamp that cut my time per drop down to 45 minutes. That day I actually started enjoying the quiet up there with the rain on the roof, no boss breathing down my neck. Has anyone else found a weird trick that made a job you hated suddenly bearable?
I was hooking up a new drop for a customer in Austin and the ratchet mechanism just gave out mid-crimp. Had to shimmy back down, grab my backup from the truck, and reclimb the whole dang thing. Anyone else had a tool fail at the absolute worst moment?
Had to put a 3/4 inch hole through a poured concrete foundation wall last week. Grabbed my 18v hammer drill because i figured it would be fine for one hole. 45 minutes later and i barely got 2 inches deep. Borrowed a buddy's rotary hammer and finished the whole thing in under 2 minutes. Never cheaping out on the right tool again for a concrete job. Anyone else make that mistake before?
Had a job last month in a 1920s house in St. Paul where the homeowner just sat in a lawn chair watching me pull coax through a nasty crawlspace. He told me his dad did the same job for 40 years and never complained once. Made me think about how this trade really is just passing down the same headaches from one generation to the next - anyone else get weird comments like that from customers?
I was stuck for 45 minutes with a bundle that wouldn't budge until a roofer walked by and told me to use dish soap instead of the expensive stuff, and it slid right through, has anyone else found a weird trick that worked better than the standard gear?
I had a Klein coax compression fitting blow apart on me last Thursday while I was finishing a job up in Oak Brook. The connector just split right at the crimp point, and I had to re-terminate the whole line while balancing on a ladder in the rain. I've been using them for years, but the last batch from Home Depot feels like thinner metal or something. Has anyone else noticed these failing way more often than they used to?
I was grabbing a sandwich at a deli in Austin and this old electrician next to me said he tapes his fish tape head to the cable instead of hooking it. Tried it on a 60 foot run through conduit with three 90 degree bends and it pulled through way smoother without snagging. Anyone else do this or is it just a weird old timer thing?
Whoever ran the wire went totally overboard with the staple gun, must have used 50 staples on a 12 foot run. Has anyone else run into a house where the electrician went crazy with staples or am I just unlucky?
I was just cleaning out my truck and found my log book from last month, counted up 1,200 terminations. Back when I started in '08, 300 in a month was a big deal and my hands would ache for days. Anyone else surprised when they look back at their numbers and see how much the pace has changed?
I was digging a run for a new fiber drop near Hawthorne Bridge and hit a gas line that wasn't marked. Had to call it in, wait 2 hours for the utility crew, and patch the whole trench by hand. Anyone else ever deal with unmarked lines that slow down a simple install?
Last week my crew had a debate on a job in Portland about whether to drill up or down through top plates for new coax runs. The older guys swear drilling from the attic down is faster, but I say going from below up keeps the hole cleaner and avoids hitting wires. What side do you take on this?
Been doing cable installs for about 4 years and always just hand tightened the coax connectors. Last month a customer said they wiggle loose after a week and I blew it off. Now I carry a little 7mm wrench and torque every connector down tight and my callbacks dropped to zero. Anyone else have a small change like that fix a big problem?
House out in Anoka, customer said the living room smelled weird for a week. Pulled the plate off a coax outlet and a dried up mouse fell out. Had to vacuum the whole thing and spray it down. Anyone else run into animals in the walls on a regular basis?
I replaced about 200 feet of copper clad steel on a run in Austin last week and the signal loss dropped by almost 8 dB. The old stuff had been up for maybe 5 years and was corroded near the connectors. Has anyone else seen that big of a jump just from changing the wire type?
The cheap jaws kept slipping and leaving bad connections, which the customer spotted right away. Anyone have a crimper that's lasted more than a year without issues?
One side says it's just a cheap tool, but I think maybe the fitting was out of spec. Ever have a simple job turn into a parts run because of something like that?
Honestly, I was about to use a 1/2 inch bit on this old plaster job in a 1920s house. He said the smaller bit would make less mess and give the coax more room to move. Ngl, I was skeptical, but it went through like butter and the customer's wall looks perfect. Anyone else have a go-to bit size for tricky old walls?
Was on a rewire in an old apartment building in Tacoma, tracing a signal loss that was driving me nuts. The building's internal wiring was a mess of splitters and ancient cable. The tester pinpointed a corroded barrel connector behind a wall plate in unit 3B that my signal meter alone would have had me chasing for hours. What's your go-to piece of gear that seemed pricey but you'd never go without now?