Found a $20 Werner at a yard sale in Tacoma last summer, looked barely used. Guy swore it was solid, but I ignored the cracked step rung because I wanted to save a buck. Third job up in a crawlspace, that rung gave out and I ate it hard onto a concrete floor. Sprained my wrist and had to take two weeks off. Anyone else learned this lesson the hard way with cheap gear?
Did a job at this big apartment complex in Austin last week and tried out the push-on connectors for about 10 units. Saved maybe 20 seconds per connection but had 4 callbacks in 2 days for signal drop. Switched to compression fittings on the rest and zero issues. Anyone else have bad luck with the push-on ones or was it just me?
I always thought I maxed out around 100 but a new coax crimper from Grainger made the difference. Anybody else ever track their numbers and realize they can push harder than they thought?
Last month I dropped $200 on one of those fancy toner and probe kits from a brand I never heard of. The probe kept losing signal every time I walked past a fluorescent light in this office building downtown. I spent like 3 hours chasing a dead circuit that turned out to be in the ceiling and the thing just couldn't pick it up. Anybody else get burned by a cheap tester that looked good online?
I've been doing installs for about 8 years now and never bothered tracking numbers until a job last week where I had to log every drop for a commercial building in Austin. Turns out I averaged 12 terminations a day just on that site alone, and it made me realize how much my speed has changed without me even noticing. Has anyone else ever actually counted their daily numbers and been surprised by it?
Last Tuesday in Phoenix, a guy pointed at my zip ties and said "you're just making it worse for the next guy." I started leaving service loops on every drop and it's saved me at least 2 callbacks since then. Anyone else get humbled by a homeowner who knew their stuff?
Been fighting with this one house all week, old fiberglass insulation everywhere. Tried the glow rods, tried a fish tape, took like 20 mins per drop. On a whim I taped a zip tie to the end of my fish tape so it would slide through the insulation instead of snagging. First try it went through in like 3 seconds. Has anyone else found a random hack like that that just works better than the proper tools?
Bought one of those $30 toner and probe kits off Amazon to save money. Worked okay for the first two days, then the probe just stopped picking up any signal at all. Ended up borrowing a Fluke from a buddy and it worked perfect. Anyone else get burned by those bargain toners?
I had a job last Tuesday in an old building with no drop ceiling and realized how much easier those magnetic push rods make it compared to the old days of taping fish tapes together. Has anyone else gone back to an old building and felt glad for modern tools?
I figured a $12 crimper from the hardware store would be fine for a quick coax job last Saturday. But it kept slipping and I mangled three ends before I got one that actually passed signal. The customer's modem kept dropping connection until I went back and redid all four connections. Lesson learned the hard way: spend the $40 on a proper hex crimper if you're doing more than one cable. Has anyone else gotten burned by saving a few bucks on tools?
Last Thursday I was out on a new build in Riverside, using a $12 compression tool I grabbed off Amazon. It slipped on the connector and I smashed my thumb pretty bad, then the fitting came loose inside the wall. Spent 3 hours pulling a new 100ft run of RG6 because of it. Has anyone else had a cheap tool cost them time like this?
Bought one of those high-end toner and probe kits from Greenlee about 6 months ago. Thought it would save me time on tracing lines in those messy apartment buildings. First week it started giving false beeps on dead pairs and I ended up cutting the wrong coax twice. Anyone else run into this or did I just get a lemon unit?
I had a job last month in a house near Portland where the owner had rigged up his own cable splitters with electrical tape and exposed copper. I showed him and said it was a fire risk. He got defensive and told me to just hook up his internet and leave. I fixed it anyway but it made me wonder if we have a duty to push back when we see unsafe stuff. On the flip side, some guys say just do the job and don't make waves especially if you want repeat business. What do you all do when you find janky wiring that could cause problems down the line?
Glow rods just don't flex the same way and they always get stuck on insulation, so has anyone else found a better alternative for pulling through blown-in stuff?
I used to just twist and tape coax connections by hand, figured it was fine. Switched to a $40 compression tool and now my signal readings actually hold steady - anyone else waste years on bad ends?
Was pulling new lines for a unit there last month and found the old cables just laying in mud with no conduit at all. It was only 2 months old and already corroded. Anyone else run into property managers who cheap out on the install specs?
Was on a job in a condo building near downtown Cleveland last Tuesday, checking a weak signal on a third floor unit. I took off the barrel connector and saw the center conductor was crushed flat on three different fittings. That's when it hit me that I'd been cranking them down with a wrench instead of just hand-tightening plus a quarter turn with a tool. Has anyone else had a similar realization about something simple you were doing wrong for years?
He always told me to leave a service loop at the top of every vertical run, but I figured it was just extra work. Then I had to pull a new line through a 3-story office building in Portland and the old runs were so tight I had to cut and splice every single one. Has anyone else found a trick for convincing new guys to follow the standard practices before they learn the hard way?
I've been noticing a huge before and after difference in signal strength since we started using RG11 on long runs in the old parts of town. Over the last 6 months, I'd say about 40% of my trouble calls have been from houses built before 1980 where the original cable just can't handle modern speeds. Has anyone else seen a big drop in rework tickets since making the switch?
Old guy who used to install for the phone company watched me fish a line through a drop ceiling for 20 minutes. He said why don't you just clip the toner on the far end and walk it out. I told him I only break that out for terminations or dead pairs. He just shook his head and said you're wasting half your day guessing. So I tried using it on a routine run last Tuesday and finished in 11 minutes flat. Now I clip the toner on every pull before I even start. Has anyone else had a senior installer point out a simple habit that cut their time way down?
The customer's modem kept dropping and I replaced two barrels and recrimped three ends before I finally got out the toner and found that crappy push-in connector on the back of the wall plate, has anyone else had those things fail like that?
Switched to using a single direct line with a tap in the box three years ago after too many noise complaints in the same neighborhood, and now I rarely even bring splitters on the truck anymore - anyone else ditch the old way after a bad call back?
Ngl, I spent 2 hours trying to fish a coax through a tight crawlspace that should have taken 20 minutes. Ended up drilling a new hole and patching the drywall. Anyone else just cut their losses or do you keep fighting the old path?
Back in 2012 I was still running copper in new builds around Austin and swore fiber was just overpriced hype for data centers. Told my boss he was crazy for buying that fusion splicer. Then we got a job for a school district that needed 10 gig runs and I ate my words after the first clean termination. Any of you old timers change your mind on something you were dead set against?
I bought a $15 fish tape from a discount hardware store to save money, and the thing broke inside a wall after only two uses. Had to cut a new access panel and spent 4 hours fishing the line by hand. Anyone have a brand of fish tape that can actually handle a tight bend?