Old timer told me to always strip back 3 inches of jacket and I ignored him for 2 years

This veteran installer named Mike warned me on my first day to strip way more coax jacket than the textbook says. I thought he was just being old school and kept doing the standard 1 inch strip. After fighting with bad connections on a 12 unit apartment building in Portland, I finally tried his method. Stripping 3 inches lets you really feel the braid and dielectric before you crimp. I havent had a single callback on my last 50 terminations since I switched. Has anyone else gotten advice from a greybeard that seemed wrong but saved your butt?

2 comments

2 Comments

dylan2659d ago

Three inches of jacket sounds excessive until you realize old Mike was just tired of fighting with bad crimps and probably has a drawer full of callbacks in his past. I guess sometimes the old guys know what they're talking about even if it looks ridiculous.

jamieburns9d agoMost Upvoted

Dylan265, I'm taking notes over here because my last crimp job looked like a toddler got hold of the strippers. I swear I've got a box full of "learning experiences" that could double as modern art.