lily89•1mo ago

I was crimping coax connectors wrong for years and a new guy caught it

I was helping a new installer on a job in Springfield last month, running some RG6 for a new drop. I watched him prep the cable and he did something I hadn't seen before. After stripping the jacket, he carefully trimmed the braid flush with a sharp knife instead of folding it back over the jacket like I always did. I asked him why, and he said his old boss taught him that folding the braid creates a tiny bump under the connector that can lead to a bad seal and moisture ingress over time. I argued with him for a minute, sure my way was right. But later that week, I had a service call for a pixellating signal on a line I'd installed two years prior. When I pulled the connector, sure enough, there was corrosion starting right where that folded braid was. I've been doing it his way ever since. How many of you were taught the fold-over method, and have you seen problems with it down the road?

2 comments

2 Comments

beth_patel41mo ago

The fold-over method is a shortcut that gets you out the door faster. It seems fine until you get that callback for a bad line a year later. Trimming flush takes an extra ten seconds but saves a ton of trouble.

victor_lane601mo ago

Yeah that callback line is so true. I've seen that exact thing happen on a job and it's a nightmare to fix later.