I was pulling coax through a customer's attic in Denver and this guy who's been doing it since the 80s stopped me and said I was wasting time using the glow rods the way I do. He showed me his trick with a vacuum and a bag to suck the string through and I swear it cut 20 minutes off each run. Has anyone else tried that method or am I just late to the party?
I bought a cheap no-name crimper for $15 to save a few bucks on a big residential job last month in Columbus. First 20 connections looked fine, but on the 21st one the die slipped and crushed the coax jacket without seating the connector right. Had to go back and reterminate 8 of them the next day, which ate up 2 hours of my afternoon. Anyone else had a cheap tool ruin a whole day's work?
I had a nightmare run last Tuesday in a 1970s apartment building near downtown Austin. Every single fire stop was packed with that old rockwool and it just ate my glow rods. Finally tried a 1/2 inch fiberglass fish tape with a bullet tip and some dish soap and it slid through like butter. Anyone else deal with those crusty old fire stops and find something that works better?
Guy watched me terminate a 66 block and said I should use a scissor punch instead of the impact tool for cleaner cuts - tried it on the next job and my legs came out way straighter. Has anyone else had a customer actually give decent technical advice?
Had a gig last Tuesday over in Oakwood where the homeowner wanted Cat6 run through a pool house that was still just studs and a concrete slab. Figured it would be a quick in-and-out, maybe 2 hours tops. But the framers hadn't boxed in the soffit yet, so I ended up having to snake cables through exposed joists while dodging loose nails and a dude running a saw. Took me 4 hours total and I was covered in dust by noon. Anyone else ever show up to a site that was way less finished than the customer described?
Had to choose between running a fresh RG6 drop or pulling fiber to a new build in Covington back in April. I went with fiber since the customer wanted gig speeds, but the termination kit cost me $300 more than I budgeted. Turned out fine but the old coax would've been half the headache on the ladder. Any other installers prefer sticking with copper for residential jobs?
I used to spend 20 minutes fishing coax through attics with just a glow rod and some tape. Always got tangled up in insulation and hit every nail plate in sight. Then about three years ago a buddy showed me using a magnet push stick with a guide head on it. Cuts my time down to maybe 5 or 6 minutes per run and I barely touch the insulation now. Has anyone else switched to that magnet method or still using the old rod and tape?
Three years ago I was working a big install job out in Arlington and I kept smashing RG6 connectors with my hammer because that's how the old guys taught me. Turns out I was causing micro-cracks in the dielectric that showed up as intermittent signal drops weeks later. I finally switched to a compression tool and haven't had a callback since. Any of you guys still seeing guys hammering connectors on in the field?
I was out at the new apartment complex near Round Rock yesterday doing a site walk for a bid, and I noticed something sketchy. The builder's guys already ran their low voltage lines through the same holes as the 120v stuff in like 4 different units. No separation at all, maybe 2 inches apart in some spots. If you get a call out there for installs, be ready for interference issues or plan to re-pull lines entirely. Has anyone else dealt with builders cutting corners like this on new builds recently?
Had to decide between my steel fish tape and one of those air propulsion push rods for a run through an office ceiling. Went with the air rod since it was a 60 foot drop ceiling with tight turns. Took about 20 minutes total, way faster than fighting the tape. Anyone else use these things or stick with the old way?
Had a job back in 2019 at this little house in Lakewood, Ohio. The lady watched me run the line and said "you know, I can always tell who respects the wall." Stuck with me ever since. Anyone else have a customer say something that just stuck around?
Back when I first started installing back in 2010, a guy named Pete who had been doing it since the 80s told me to never wrap cable around my elbow when running lines. He said it creates micro-bends that cause signal loss down the road. I thought he was just being old fashioned. Fast forward to last year, I had a customer complaint about intermittent signal issues in a house I wired about 3 years ago. Spent 2 hours troubleshooting before I remembered that run. Sure enough, I found a tight bend at one spot where I had coiled it over my elbow. Replaced that section and the problem went away. Anyone else learned the hard way that the old guys were right about something?
I was running coax under a new build outside Minneapolis last Wednesday and my old T25 stapler finally gave out after 8 years. Picked up a DeWalt cordless stapler off a clearance rack for 60 bucks marked down from 100 and it punched through the Tyvek like butter. Anyone else find good tool deals on random clearance at supply houses or am I just getting lucky?
Last month I dropped a 10mm socket inside a wall cavity on a job in Denver and the magnet saved me an hour of cutting drywall, has anyone else found a random tool that bailed them out like that?
I got bit by something on my elbow halfway through and spent the rest of the week at urgent care getting rabies shots, has anyone else dealt with nasty critters on a job?
I was reading a trade report from 2023 and saw a regional provider in Ohio lost over half a million dollars just from people stealing copper ground wire off their nodes. Made me think about how we should be locking up our spools better on job sites. Any of your crews had issues with theft?
Last month a guy in Medford pointed out that my weatherproofing was peeling after just 2 years on his house. He said it looked like I used silicone instead of a proper UV-rated sealant. He was right, I was just grabbing whatever tube was cheapest at the supply house. Have you guys switched to a specific brand for exterior connectors?
Had a 6 hour job last Tuesday over in Maplewood, running coax through two attics and a crawl space. Been doing this for about 3 years now, and this was the first time I didn't have to go back for a loose fitting or a bad termination. Made sure to double check every connector with my continuity tester before I packed up. Anybody else have that one job that just made you feel like you finally know what you're doing?
I used Klein for 8 years because that's what my old boss handed me. Last month I tried a Milwaukee demo kit at a supply house in Phoenix. After 40 drops off a 12 foot ladder, the Klein handle cracked but the Milwaukee's still fine. Has anyone else had a brand switch save them money in the long run?
I've been doing installs for about 8 years now and lately I'm running into a ton of jobs where the previous installer left the braid all frayed inside the connector. Last month alone I had to re-terminate 4 different cables at one house because of bad signal from loose braid touching the center conductor. Anyone else finding this is getting worse with the newer guys coming in?
I had to run a line from the demark to the far end of a 3 story house in Austin last week. Tried using flat ribbon cable first cause I had it on the truck. What a nightmare. Kept snagging on insulation and joists. Switched to regular RG6 coax and it slid right through. Is there a trick to running ribbon in tight spaces or do you guys just avoid it?
Was doing a retro fit in a 1950s house in Portland last week. Crawlspace was maybe 2 feet high and full of mouse droppings. Tried taping a glow stick to my fish tape to see where it was going between joists. Worked way better than expected. Could see exactly where the tape was without sticking my face in the dirt. Anybody else use weird visual aids on dark runs?
Was running coax through some nasty conduit in a building from the 60s. Thought the fiberglass would be easier to handle. Got about 60 feet in, hit a tight 90 degree turn, and SNAP. Lost the whole run. Had to pull everything back out and start over with steel. Learned that fiberglass is fine for short straight runs but DO NOT trust it for anything with more than two bends or any old pipe. Anyone else had a fish tape fail on them at the worst possible moment?
I ordered a 10-pack of pulling socks from some random seller for $25 to save a few bucks... huge mistake. First big run, the sock split halfway through a 200ft pull and I had to fish the whole mess out of the conduit. Lost about 3 hours and had to buy new cable because the jacket got scraped up. Anybody else had bad luck with those off-brand pulling grips?
I went with the mechanical splices to save cash and ended up redoing half of them after four hours cause the light loss was too high, anyone else sworn off those things for good?