I was reading through an old training manual from 2019 and saw a chart that said every split adds about 3.5 dB of loss, which explained why the third floor of that split level I did last week gets nothing but snow, has anyone else run into this on jobs with more than two TVs?
I always thought running cable through the attic was the fastest way until I saw how they pre-drilled the top plates and used push rods from below. The foreman said they save about 45 minutes per drop doing it that way. Anybody tried this method and stuck with it?
I always stripped coax by scoring the jacket with my razor blade and pulling it off. Worked fine for years. Then last month a senior guy from Comcast watched me do it and goes "you're gonna nick the braid doing that." He showed me the right way with a proper cable stripper tool. First time I used one I was done in like 3 seconds flat with zero damage. Felt like an idiot. Anyone else learn they were doing something basic the hard way?
I was swapping out a drop on a house built in 1999 yesterday and found the original RG59 still running from the pole. No joke, the jacket was cracked and the copper was green. I looked up some old spec sheets and apparently that stuff was rated for 15 years tops. Every third house I hit feels like it's still running on that ancient wire. Anyone else pulling out old cabling that should've been replaced a decade ago?
I was doing a install in Oak Park last summer, this older woman maybe 80 something. She stood there the whole time I was running cable through her attic, didn't say a word until I was done. Then she handed me a glass of sweet tea and said "you're the first person who didn't try to rush through my house in 20 years." Still think about that sometimes when I'm tempted to cut corners on a tough job. Any of you guys have a customer moment that stuck with you?
I was running RG6 through an attic in Phoenix when it hit 112 outside. The attic was like an oven, probably 140 degrees easy. Then the homeowner's dog got loose and chewed through the cable I just finished terminating. I had to redo the whole run from scratch after chasing the dog around the neighborhood for 20 minutes. Has anyone else had a day where everything just went wrong like that?
Walked through 12 units yesterday. Every single one had conduit crushed at 90 degree bends. Pulling line through those is gonna be a nightmare. Someone's cutting corners on the install. Has anyone else seen this on the newer construction sites?
I bought a no-name toner kit off Amazon for my HP laserjet last month, saved about $120 compared to OEM. By the third refill it was leaving streaks all over every page and I had to toss the drum entirely. Ended up buying a whole new printer from Best Buy for $200. Any of you guys ever tried those generic kits and had them backfire?
Guy was an old ham radio operator and watched me crimp a connector. He said I was using the wrong die size and showed me his way with a proper hex crimp. Switched to the军用spec dies and havent had a single return on those connections in 6 months. Anyone else run into old timers with better methods?
I've been a cable guy for 6 years and always just used the toner to verify signal, never paid attention to the actual dB loss readings on the meter. Last Tuesday in Tulsa I had a job where the modem kept dropping and I finally noticed the return loss was way off on the meter. Any of you guys actually use those readings to find problems or just tone and go like I did?
Went to the main supply depot in Portland last Tuesday. Saw a guy hauling out a full 1000ft spool of RG6. Thought that looked efficient. Then my van got stuck in the mud trying to leave the site. Those things weigh a ton. I'll stick to 500ft boxes from now on. Anyone else have trouble with the big spools on job sites?
Bought a ratcheting crimper off Amazon last fall because the reviews were glowing. First job with it, the locking mechanism jammed after 30 connects and I had to finish the run with my old backup. Anyone else get burned by a tool that looked good online but flopped on site?
I was at a job in Arvada last month and another installer watched me strip a cable. He goes "hey man your tool is upside down." I had no idea the little lip on the die was supposed to face the connector. Felt like a total goof but hey, my crimps have been way cleaner since. Anyone else have a tool they used wrong for way too long?
Used to spend 20 minutes wrestling that thing through insulation in old houses around Akron, but I switched to a glow rod set about 8 months ago and it cut my attic work time in half. Anyone else find a specific trick for getting past fire stops without pulling your hair out?
Back in 2005 I was running RG6 in a new apartment complex in Phoenix. By 3 PM I hit 10,000 feet pulled and terminated. That number stuck with me because it was the most I ever did in a single day. My hands were tore up and my shoulders ached for two days after. These days with all the fiber and pre-terminated runs I barely break 3,000 feet in a shift. Anyone else remember hitting a crazy high number on a rough job?
I stopped by a big apartment build in Phoenix last week to check on the rough-in work, and I noticed they had the coax cables stapled right next to some high-voltage lines in the studs. The guy on site said they were just trying to save time, but it looked like a future signal nightmare to me. Have any of you run into builders who ignore proper separation rules, and how do you handle it?
I always used velcro straps for bundles, figured zip ties were for amateurs. Tried a pack of 100 reusable zip ties on a 14-story apartment job in Phoenix and cut my time by almost 40 minutes. Anybody else stubbornly avoided a simple tool and regretted it?
I switched to compression fittings back in 2014 when I started doing more high-end home theater stuff. Thought they were the future you know. But last month I was out on a job in a wet crawlspace near Cleveland and my compression tool kept slipping in the damp. Pulled out my old $30 crimper from the truck and it worked perfect every time. Anyone else ditch the fancy stuff when the weather gets rough?
I hit 150 feet on a job last Tuesday in a three-story house and everyone said I should have just rolled out a full 1000-foot spool. But I actually prefer using a 500-foot spool for residential jobs, even if it means swapping out mid-run. The smaller spool is lighter on my shoulder and way easier to handle in tight attics, no joke. Am I missing something here or do other installers feel the same about oversized spools?
Last week I spent 6 hours in a crawlspace in Houston because someone ran a staple through their own coax, and then the homeowner stood over me questioning every move. I get that bad days happen (they do), but I honestly think most people don't appreciate what goes into a clean install. Has anyone else had a job that made you wonder if the customer even wanted cable??
I got sick of fighting with those gel filled connectors last summer on a job down in Naples. The stuff gets everywhere and if you don't get the seal perfect, water still finds its way in after a year. So I tried using heat shrink with a built in adhesive layer on a couple of tricky underground runs instead. Three months later I went back to check and those connections were bone dry while the gel ones nearby had corrosion starting. I learned that the heat shrink costs more up front like an extra $2 per connection but saves you a return trip easy. Has anyone else swapped over or found a better trick for keeping moisture out of underground taps?
Ran into a dude named Frank at the Graybar in Columbus last Tuesday. He saw me grabbing a bag of compression connectors and just goes "you're making your life harder than it needs to be kid." Told me to switch to crimp on for outdoor stuff. I laughed it off but figured why not try it. First job with crimp connectors was a house that had direct burial cable running to a shed. Not a single service call back in 3 months. Now I'm converted. Anyone else have an old timer change their whole setup?
I spent 6 hours last Tuesday fishing RG6 through a 2 story house in Phoenix and hit a fire block I couldn't get past. Ended up drilling from the attic and patching three holes in the drywall. My boss swears by using flex bits but I broke two of them on studs that had metal plates. Next time I'm just running the line on the outside with white cable clips and calling it a day. Has anyone else just given up on hiding lines in tough spots?