c/cable-installers

Guy at the supply house swore by electrical tape for coax connectors... what a mess

I was running line last Tuesday for a new apartment complex out past Oakwood. This old timer at the supply house told me to wrap a strip of electrical tape around my compression connectors to keep moisture out. First rain came three days later and half the units lost signal completely. The tape just slipped right off or trapped water inside. Has anyone else had a bad experience with random advice from supply house guys?

Found out my 20 year old van gets better mileage than our new fleet trucks

Hit 3,000 cable terminations today and I think my crimpers are ruined

I counted up my terminations from the last 5 years and realized I've done over 3,000 coax and ethernet ends without ever replacing my crimper dies. Has anyone else had their compression tool wear out silently like that?

Found out RG6 quad shield has way more signal loss than I thought

I was reading through some old commscope spec sheets last week and saw that quad shield actually loses about 30% more signal per 100 feet compared to standard RG6. Been using it for years on long runs thinking it was better, but now I'm wondering if that's why some of my distant customers have pixelation issues. Anybody else check the specs and change what they run?

Question about using dielectric grease on coax connectors

An old timer from Comcast told me last summer to always put a thin coat of dielectric grease on my outdoor coax connections before tightening them. Said it would stop corrosion and make them easier to take apart later. I tried it on about 15 drops around town over the last 6 months and now I'm second guessing. Two of those connections had signal loss issues that were fixed by cleaning the grease off and re-terminating. Could be coincidence, could be I used too much. You guys put grease on your outdoor F connectors or do you keep them dry? Specifically for RG6 in wet climates.

Swapped from fish tape to a glow rod for attic runs and man what a difference

I used to fight with fish tape in attics for years, getting it stuck on insulation or snagging on every rafter. About 6 months ago I finally grabbed a 50 foot glow rod set from the supply house, figured why not. Now I can push through blown-in insulation and around corners in like half the time, no more wrestling with a steel tape that wants to kink up. The rigid sections just lock together and I can guide it straight to the drop point without a second trip. Only downside is they take up more space in the truck, but the time saved is worth it. Anyone else made the switch and found better results in tight spaces?

Just realized that $300 drill snake I bought last month was totally worth it...

After fighting a 50 foot conduit clog for three hours with a hand crank, that Milwaukee powered snake cleared it in ten minutes flat, has anyone else found a tool they were skeptical about that actually paid off fast?

Am I the only one who thinks pushable fiber rods are overrated?

I switched back to traditional fish tape after 8 months with those rods, and my pull time dropped by 40 percent in tight conduit. Anyone else find the rods bind up worse in wet conditions or is it just my luck with them?

Forgot to ground a drop in a rainstorm and learned my lesson quick

I was up on a roof in Austin last Tuesday, running a new line for a customer. Storm rolled in faster than I expected, and I got lazy and skipped putting my ground block on before the rain hit. Ended up with a bad ground loop that killed the signal on three rooms. Had to go back Thursday and redo the whole run with a proper ground bond. It cost me 2 extra hours and I felt dumb the whole time. Has anyone else gotten burned by skipping a ground in bad weather?

Greenfield vs. retrofit: which one actually saves you more headache in the long run?

I've been doing this for about 8 years now and I'm still going back and forth on this. Did a new build last month in a suburb outside Portland where everything was open walls and easy access. Took me maybe 4 hours to run 12 drops. Then this week I had to fish cable through an old office building from the 70s with fire blocks and metal studs. Took 3 times as long for half the drops. Is the extra time on retrofits worth it for the higher pay, or would you rather take the easier greenfield jobs for less stress? Who's picking what side?

Compared running RG6 with a $20 crimper vs a $80 compression tool last week

I had to finish 12 drops in a new apartment building near downtown and my cheapo crimper kept giving me loose fittings. The compression tool made perfect ends in half the time, no signal loss at all. Has anyone else noticed a big jump in quality switching to compression fittings for residential work?

Found a trick for fishing wire through insulated walls that saved me 2 hours yesterday

I was out in Glendale yesterday on a new build and hit a wall full of that spray foam insulation. Usually I end up drilling a dozen holes and fighting the damn fish tape for an hour. But I tried something different this time. I taped a piece of polypropylene rope to the end of my glow rod and fed it through while the foam was still a little soft. The rope slid right through without snagging on the insulation. I got two runs done in 20 minutes each when it normally takes me over an hour. Has anyone else tried this or found a better way to deal with spray foam in residential work?

Why does nobody talk about how terrible attics in Florida are for running cable

Was up in a house near Tampa last week and nearly passed out from the heat before I even got the first line fished through because the insulation was packed so tight you couldn't see the trusses.

Switched to compression fittings after a flooded basement in Scranton

I used to think twist-on connectors were fine until a homeowner showed me the water damage from a loose connection behind their wall last Tuesday, has anyone else had better luck with compression over crimp for outdoor runs?

I finally figured out why my coax connectors keep failing in wet weather

After three years of doing installs in the Pacific Northwest, I had a customer in Beaverton call me back four times over six months because their signal kept dropping whenever it rained. I kept replacing the connectors with the same brand I always used, and they still failed. Then one of the older guys at the shop showed me his trick he learned back in the 90s. He puts a thin layer of dielectric grease inside the connector before crimping it, not just on the threads. I tried it two months ago on a job near the coast where it rains constantly, and that connection has been solid ever since. Has anyone else tried this or do you just rely on weatherproof boots?

Tried using a stud finder to locate a gas line in an old building in Pittsburgh

So I had this job last Tuesday, running coax through a 1920s building near the Strip District. I figured I'd be smart and use my Franklin stud finder to check for pipes before drilling. Well, it beeped like crazy on one spot, so I put a small pilot hole in... and immediately smelled gas. Turns out the old metal lath in the plaster was setting it off, not anything behind it. Landlord was not happy, had to call the gas company and everything. Anyone else ever have a stud finder trick you like that?

Went to check a new apartment complex in Phoenix yesterday - their conduit runs are a nightmare waiting to happen

My crimper died mid-job yesterday and I had to use a rusty backup

I was running Cat6 in a basement remodel in Akron when my Klein crimper just snapped at the hinge. First time that's happened in 12 years of doing this. Had to drive 20 minutes back to the truck to grab my old Ideal from the junk drawer. It worked but the crimps looked like garbage and I had to redo three ends. Anyone else have a main tool fail on them right in the middle of a tight deadline?

The day I realized I'd been stripping coax with my teeth for 8 months

I was showing a new guy how quick I could prep an end and my foreman walked by and goes "you know they make tools for that right" and I just stood there holding the chewed up jacket in my hand feeling like an absolute idiot, has anyone else ever skipped the basics like that?

Rant: Nearly fried a customer's router when I didn't check the power surge from an old house in St. Louis

I was installing a new line in a 1920s home last Thursday, hooked everything up without testing the outlet first, and the whole system started smoking before I yanked the plug - anyone else run into sketchy wiring that almost took out their gear?

The old way of stripping coax vs. the new way... which is actually faster?

I used to strip coax with a knife and my teeth for years. It got the job done but I always had some nicks or jacket damage. Then about 2 years ago a buddy in Phoenix told me to try the Klein coaxial cable stripper. It cut my prep time from around 45 seconds per end down to like 10 seconds. But I still wonder if the manual method gives you better feel for the cable condition. Has anyone else had trouble with the stripper blades getting dull after 50 or so ends?

Big house fire in Austin last month made me rethink how I run coax near gas lines

My crew and I always ran cables along the same path as the gas meter on new builds, but after watching that place go up when a spark hit a tiny leak during a storm, I'm debating if we should start keeping a 3-foot gap or just use all metal conduit near utility entries - what do you guys do on your jobsites?

Rant: that fiber reel cart gave me a bruised shin and a bad attitude

Spent my whole morning hauling a 1000-foot roll of single-mode off the truck because the cart kept wobbling on gravel. Thing tipped right into my leg and now I'm limping through the rest of my splices. Anyone found a decent way to move reels over dirt without losing a kneecap?

Tuesday was the worst day I've had in 10 years of running cable...

I was fishing a line through an attic in 105 degree heat in Fresno when my fish tape snapped in half and then the homeowner's dog got loose and chewed through the drop I'd just finished outside, and I still had three more runs to do before 5pm.

I finally saw what a difference 3 years of neglect does to a pole mount

Honestly, I went back to a job site in Tulsa last week where I installed a line back in 2021. The before was this clean, tight setup with all the drips looped proper and no sag. The after was a nightmare, the owner never trimmed the tree branches near the drop and squirrels had chewed through the outer jacket in like 5 spots. The whole thing looked like a tangled mess of spaghetti hanging off the pole. Has anyone else dealt with homeowners who just let vegetation grow right over their lines?