c/cable-installers

Had a customer thank me for actually showing up on time last Tuesday

An older lady in Evanston told me her last installer ghosted her twice, and she offered me a slice of homemade pie after I ran her new coax line through the crawlspace - has anyone else had a simple thank you stick with you like that?

Hit 10,000 feet of coax pulled in a single week last month

I've been doing this for 15 years now and I never counted until my foreman dared me to keep track last month. Got curious one Tuesday morning and started logging every drop. By Friday afternoon I was at 9,400 feet and I pushed hard to crack 10,000 before clocking out. That's almost 2 miles of cable in 5 days. My shoulders felt it the whole weekend. Back when I started we were lucky to pull 2,000 feet a week with all the daisy-chaining and splitters. Now with direct runs and new construction it's just nonstop. Anyone else ever tally up their weekly pull just to see where you're at?

Finally chose a Klein drill over DeWalt for my install rig. Here's why it mattered.

I was stuck between the Klein 23-in-1 impact and my old DeWalt for running coax in attics this summer. The Klein is so much lighter (like 2 pounds less) and fit in tight rafters better, but I worried about losing power. After 30 jobs with it, I only had to switch back to DeWalt once for a super thick concrete wall. Has anyone else switched drill brands mid-career and regretted it or been glad they did?

Old lead installer told me to stop using my impact driver on satellite dish mounts

I've been cable installing for about 4 years now and always used my impact driver to crank down those J-mount bolts on satellite dishes. Thought it was fine, got the job done quick. Then this old lead installer, Mike, watched me put up a dish on a tile roof in Austin last summer and pulled me aside. He said I was over-tightening and cracking the mount flanges, causing micro-cracks that would rust out in 2 years. I laughed it off at first, but he showed me 3 of his old jobs with cracks around the bolt holes. Now I hand tighten with a ratchet and only use the driver to get it started. Time is a bit slower but I haven't had a callback since. Has anyone else had an old timer call them out on something like this? What did they say?

Bought a $200 fiber cleaver and it snapped on the third job

Picked up this budget cleaver from an online deal last month. Thought I was saving cash, but on the third install it just cracked right at the blade edge. Had to finish the residential run with my backup and the scraps were brutal. Anyone else had a tool fail that early and regret not spending more upfront?

Why does nobody talk about using a toner with a paperclip for tight spots?

I was wrestling with a jammed Cat6 run in a drop ceiling last Tuesday and figured I'd try bending a paperclip into a hook to attach the toner lead, and it actually picked up the signal through the insulation where my alligator clip couldn't reach - has anyone else hacked their toner like that?

TIL a homeowner in Austin kept a note on their router from 3 years ago saying 'don't touch' and the cable was still a mess

Spent 45 minutes untangling that rat's nest while they watched and finally asked me 'so you're not supposed to loop the extra cable around the pole?' - has anyone else dealt with customers who think their DIY setup is sacred?

Switched from push to caddy after tearing up my back

Used to carry 3 spools of coax on my shoulder for every job, figured I was just toughing it out like everyone else in the crew. After a 12 hour shift in a townhouse complex near Atlanta last fall I couldn't stand up straight for two days. Anyone else make the switch to a hand truck or caddy and wish they did it sooner?

My old supervisor told me those cheap RJ45 connectors were fine...

A few months back, my old supervisor said I was wasting money on name brand RJ45 connectors. I finally tried a box of the bargain ones last week and got three callbacks for loose connections. Has anyone else had a customer get mad over a $0.30 connector failing?

Switched from fish tape to glow rods for attic runs

Used to fight fish tape in blown insulation for years. Picked up a set of 4-foot glow rods last month and now I'm done in half the time. Anyone else make the switch and never look back?

Old timer at the supply house told me I was crimping my ends too tight and bending the pins

I always cranked down like I was trying to crush a beer can until a 30 year Comcast guy showed me my signal loss was from flat pins, now I just snug them and my upload speed went up 15 mbps, anyone else overdo it on connectors at first?

Just realized my fish tape needs a diet

I was pulling Cat6 through a crawlspace in a 1920s house in Cleveland last Thursday and my fish tape kept snagging on every single cross brace. Turns out I had 3 feet of extra tape coiled up inside the reel that was causing all the friction. Anybody else ever have a tape that just gets too fat to work right?

That one stubborn coax connector cost me 45 minutes on a Friday job

I was finishing up a install in an older house last week and the main line coming in had a connector that just would not thread. I tried a new compression fitting, even a different tool, nothing. Turned out the previous installer had used a thread adapter that was slightly stripped and I didn't spot it until I pulled the whole wall plate off. Has anyone else run into hidden adapter problems eating up your time on a simple hookup?

Wasted $200 on a cheap crimper kit from Amazon

I bought a no-name crimper set off Amazon for $35 thinking I was saving money. After fighting with bad connections on three jobs in Austin, I finally borrowed my buddy's Klein and finished in half the time. The cheap one stripped two RG6 cables wrong and gave me intermittent signal issues. Anyone else get burned by bargain tools that end up costing way more in the long run?

Chat with a new guy made me rethink how I run drops

Had a conversation with a younger installer last week. He was complaining about how messy his trunk was with all the loose ends. I told him to just use the standard zip tie method like everyone else. He asked me why I didn't just terminate them at the box first so the slack is gone before you even get to the drop. Hit different because I've been doing this 15 years and never even considered doing it that way. Has anyone else changed a basic habit after talking to a rookie?

Pro tip: try a fish tape reel with a brake on it

I was doing a 150-foot run through conduit in a commercial building in Seattle last week. My old fish tape kept birdnesting on me every time I pulled more than 50 feet. So I borrowed a Klein Tools tape with the thumb brake from a buddy. No more tangles, and I finished the whole pull in 20 minutes instead of an hour. The brake keeps the tape from spooling loose when you stop pulling. Has anyone else tried one of these and noticed a big difference?

Blew $400 on a fancy cable toner that barely works in old houses

Picked up one of those high end Fluke toner kits because I was tired of cheap ones dying on me. First job with it was a 1970s ranch house with aluminum wiring and it was useless. Couldn't get a clean signal through the old coax no matter what I tried. Ended up using my old $30 no name probe and it worked fine. Anyone else run into toner issues with older wiring?

Chat with an old timer about modem speeds changed my approach

I was at a supply house in Akron last week and this retired installer told me he used to run 56k lines through the same cable I'm fighting with today for gigabit. He said 'the wire don't care how fast the signal is, only the ends do' and it hit me that I been overthinking terminations. Any of you guys had a random conversation that made you look at your work different?

Old timer at a job site told me my coax bends were too tight - he was right

I was doing a job in a new build over in Riverside and this guy who's been doing cable since the 80s walks past and goes 'you're gonna kill your signal with those 90 degree bends.' I thought it was fine because the cable was still working, but I checked my signal levels and sure enough they were tanking. Now I take the time to make gentle loops (you know, like a 6 inch radius minimum) and my callbacks dropped by like half. Has anyone else noticed their customers having spotty internet after a tight bend? I'm wondering if this is a bigger problem than people talk about.

Called BS on using a toner for every single drop... until I ate crow on a 48-unit job

Spent 6 years just using my eyes and a known good modem to trace lines, figured toners were for newbies who couldn't read a cable label. Then last month in a 1970s apartment building with zero labeling and three different cable drops in each unit, I wasted 4 hours pulling the wrong line before I grabbed a Fluke. How many of you actually use a toner for every job or just when things get messy?

Warning: Left a ladder unsecured on a job site in Phoenix and learned a hard lesson

I was running cable for a new build out in Phoenix back in June. I set my ladder up on a sloped driveway but didn't lock the feet properly. Halfway up with a spool of RG6, the whole thing slid out from under me. I landed on my side and bent a brand new compression tool. Now I always check the ground and use levelers before climbing. Has anyone else had a ladder slip like that?

Had a homeowner in Philly tell me I was "making a mess" with my coax runs last Tuesday

I've always been a run it tight and fast kind of installer, zip ties and hookups done in 20 minutes. This older guy watches me for a bit and says I'm gonna make his cable fail in a year cause I'm bending the lines too sharp near the splitter. I mean, I've been doing it this way for 7 years and never had a callback, but he showed me a pic of his old install that did fail right at the bend. Do you guys really take the extra time to sweep every corner gentle, or is that just overkill for a basic cable drop? I'm wondering if I should change my technique or if this guy was just being picky.

Took a call from a homeowner who said his cable was "intermittent" and I'll never chase signal issues the same way again

Took me 5 years to admit that old timer was right about fiber bends

Back in 2019 I had a veteran installer named Dave tell me to stop kinking fiber near the connector during a job in Phoenix. I waved him off thinking I knew better since the light was passing through fine. Last month I got called back to that same building for signal loss and found microfractures exactly where he pointed out. Had to re-terminate three apartments and it cost me a whole Saturday. Any of you guys had that moment where you wish you listened sooner?

Why does nobody talk about the order of your lines at the ground block...

I just figured out I've been landing my ground wire before my messenger for almost 2 years now. An old timer watched me do a house yesterday and asked why I was making extra work for myself. He showed me that if you do the messenger first the ground sits way cleaner and you don't have to fight the slack. Has anyone else had a basic thing like that totally go over your head?