The moment I realized I'd been crimping coax wrong for 4 years

So I'm out on a job last Tuesday, doing a standard RG6 run for a new build in Phoenix. Old timer from the next truck over walks by while I'm terminating and just stops. He asks why I'm using the compression tool like a hammer. I didn't even know what he meant at first. Turns out I'd been leaving about an inch too much jacket on every single connector for like 4 years. That little gap was causing signal loss on maybe 1 out of every 10 jobs and I never connected the dots. Anyone else have a senior installer catch a bad habit you never noticed?

3 comments

3 Comments

hannahcraig5h agoRising Star

Sounds like a minor issue if it only hit maybe 1 in 10 jobs. I've seen guys leave a half inch of jacket and still get a passable signal, especially on short runs. Could be that old timer was just flexing his experience on you more than anything. Pretty sure the connector spec sheets say you've only got a tiny window of exposed center conductor that actually matters. Your mileage may vary, but I wouldn't lose sleep over it.

ruby6591h agoTop Commenter

Not to take the other side, but that trim length might matter more on digital systems than analog ones. Older setups could forgive a loose connector where newer gear locks up or drops packets over the same issue. It could be less about the old timer showing off and more about the gear he learned on being a lot tougher.

sean_barnes241h ago

Yeah @hannahcraig, same deal here once saw a guy run a whole season on a connector that looked like a porcupine chewed it and it worked fine.