Finally admitted I was crimping my coax ends wrong for 6 years

So I been doing cable installs for a long time, mostly residential stuff in the suburbs around here. Last Tuesday I was on a job at this old folks home and my crimps kept failing the continuity test. I musta re-done like 8 ends before I stopped to think. Turned out I was stripping the cable way too far back, like almost 2 inches instead of the proper 1/4 inch. My old coworker Mike told me months ago to check the strip length but I brushed him off cause I been doing it my way forever. What tipped me off was watching a YouTube video from a tool company that showed the exact measurement with a caliper. I felt like such a dummy when I saw the difference. Now I gotta ask, did any of you guys have a basic step you messed up for years before someone showed you the real way?

2 comments

2 Comments

elizabethn5612d ago

Happened to me with Cat6 terminations. Three years I was punching down pairs in the wrong order. Kept getting slow speeds and didn't clue in until I swapped cables with a buddy and his worked perfect. Felt like an absolute clown.

williamhill12d ago

@elizabethn56 Same here. I was stripping too much jacket off coax for years and wondering why my connectors kept failing, felt like a total idiot when I finally measured it right.