c/cable-installers

A customer in Phoenix showed me why you never skip the signal meter

I was finishing a job at a house in Phoenix last week, and the guy asked me to check his old cable box. I hooked up my Fluke meter and saw the signal was way off, like -12 dBmV. He said, 'That thing's been acting up for years, but the last guy just swapped the box and left.' I had to run a whole new line from the pole to fix it right. Anyone else run into a problem that was way bigger because someone cut corners before?

Warning: That 'easy' attic run in a 1920s house turned into a full day nightmare

Everyone says to just push the cable through the old plaster walls, but last week in a Portland bungalow, the lathe and plaster crumbled and I spent 6 hours fishing through three separate fire blocks. What's your go-to method for these old houses when the walls just eat your fish tape?

Had to choose between a crawl space full of cats or a basement with a beehive

Got a call for a rewire in an old house in Asheville last month. The only two routes for the coax were a crawl space with about eight feral cats or a basement where a beehive had formed in a corner. I picked the cats, figuring some hissing was better than stings. Spent the whole job with a flashlight in my teeth, trying not to startle them. Anyone ever had to make a call like that with wildlife involved?

Pro tip: a cheap plastic putty knife saved my kitchen floor last week

Honestly, I was running a new line in a tight crawlspace and my fish tape got stuck on a nail. I used a Klein 6-in-1 to pry it, but the head snapped clean off. Had to cut the line and re-feed from the other side, which added an hour to the job. Anyone got a better tool for pulling around sharp edges?

Overheard a customer call their cable box a 'magic picture toaster'

I was finishing up a wall fish in this older house in Akron, and the homeowner was on the phone in the next room. I clearly heard her say, 'Yeah, the guy is here to fix the magic picture toaster.' I had to stop and just... process that for a minute. She was talking about their cable box. I guess because it sits under the TV and 'pops out' the picture? It was so funny and weirdly accurate in a way. It made me think about how we use all this technical jargon every day, but to most folks, it's just a black box that makes their shows work. I've started trying to use simpler words like 'box' or 'receiver' instead of 'STB' when talking to customers. Has anyone else had a customer come up with a totally bizarre name for a piece of gear?

Question about using a 6 foot ladder for attic work

Heard a guy at the supply house say he never uses anything but a 6 footer. Said it's faster and safer. I used to think that too, but a job in Phoenix last month changed my mind. Had to run a line across a deep attic with blown-in insulation. My 6 foot ladder sank right in, almost tipped. Now I bring a plank for those jobs. Anyone else think a one-size-fits-all ladder rule is risky?

An old timer in Cincinnati showed me a trick with a butter knife

Honestly, this was about 8 years ago on a job in an old brick apartment building. I was struggling to fish a line down a wall that had like three layers of plaster. This retired installer, just watching from his doorway, said 'Kid, hand me your butter knife.' He bent the tip just right and used it to hook the cable through a tiny hole in the lath. Ngl, I still use a bent butter knife in my bag for tight spots. Anyone else have a weird simple tool they keep around?

Just finished my 500th drop in the same apartment complex

Honestly, I didn't even realize I'd hit that number until I was updating my log last night. It's the Oakwood Gardens complex over in Springfield, and I've been the main installer there for about two years now. Ngl, it's wild how knowing every single chase and wall cavity in that place has cut my average install time down to under 45 minutes. Has anyone else had a spot they've worked so much it feels like second nature?

A customer in Phoenix asked me to run a line through his pet snake's cage

This happened last month on a job installing a new drop for a home theater. The guy had a huge python in a glass tank and wanted the coax to go right through a small hole in the lid. I told him I'd have to think about that one for a minute. Anyone ever get a request that made you just stop and stare?

Bought a cheap coax crimper for a big apartment job and it cost me half a day

I mean, it was one of those off brand ones from the hardware store, only $25. I figured it would be fine for a quick job wiring up a building in Phoenix. The first few ends went on okay, but then the crimp started slipping and mangling the connectors. I had to redo like 30 lines because the signal was junk. Ended up having to drive across town to get my good tool, which put me way behind. Has anyone found a decent budget crimper that actually holds up, or is it just a buy once cry once thing?

Hot take: I tried using that new flexible fish tape from the supply truck on a tricky retrofit in an old San Antonio house and it just kinked on me halfway through a wall.

I mean, I had to cut open a whole new access panel to get it out, so has anyone found a brand that actually holds up when you need to push through insulation and around corners?

Hot take: I chose a 3/8 inch drill over a 1/2 inch for crawl spaces and it's better

Everyone on my crew said the bigger drill was the only way to go for boring through floor joists, but I got tired of wrestling the heavy thing in tight spots. I switched to a lighter 3/8 inch model six months ago and I haven't had a single job where it couldn't handle the task, even with long bits. Am I the only one who thinks we overrate power for the sake of it in this job?

Remembering the choice between crimp connectors and compression fittings

Back in my first year, my boss gave me a box of cheap crimp connectors and said 'this is how we do it.' I saw the other guys using compression fittings on a big apartment job in Austin. I spent my own cash on a pack of compression fittings to try, about $15 back then. The crimps kept failing in the heat, but the compression ones held up perfect. Anyone still run into that old crimp vs. compression debate on older lines?

I thought those cable fishing magnets were a total gimmick

Saw them online for years. Figured they were just cheap junk. Then I got a job in an old building in Cleveland. Had to run a line through a finished wall with zero access. My boss handed me one, said 'trust me'. It was a Greenlee Magnepull. Cost about 60 bucks. I was ready for it to fail. But that thing pulled a pull string through a 20 foot run in under 10 minutes. No cutting, no damage. The magnet was strong enough to hold through two layers of drywall and some insulation. Totally changed how I handle those tight retrofit jobs now. Anyone else have a tool they wrote off that actually saved their butt?

Got a service call for a 'cable box in the tree' in Dayton last Tuesday

The customer was serious, their old box was actually wedged in a maple branch after a storm. I had to use my 28 foot ladder and a fish tape to hook it out. Anyone ever had to retrieve gear from somewhere that ridiculous?

TIL that using a proper cable comb on a 48-port patch panel can cut my termination time in half, but my crew still thinks it's a waste of money.

I dropped $150 on a thermal imaging camera for finding wall studs and hot spots. Some guys say it's a game changer, others think it's a total waste for our line of work. What's your take?

Question about coax grounding at the service entrance

I keep seeing other installers in my area just run the drop straight to the ground block without a proper ground wire. Had a call last week where a lightning strike fried a whole home theater setup because the coax wasn't grounded to the house's main electrode. The homeowner was out over $2k in gear. Are you guys actually checking for that 6 AWG copper bond, or are most people just skipping it to save 10 minutes?

Update: A customer's comment about my cable routing made me change my whole approach

I was finishing a job in a new build last month, and the homeowner just said, 'It looks neat, but how do I get to the outlet if I move the couch?' I realized I was running everything tight to the baseboard, making it impossible to access without moving heavy furniture. Now, I leave a 6-inch service loop coiled and secured behind a piece of furniture or in a closet near the termination point. It adds maybe 5 minutes to the job and uses a bit more cable, but it saves a huge headache later. Has anyone else started doing this after getting similar feedback?

Question about a crawl space job that ate up my whole Friday

I had a simple drop to a new outlet in an old house, figured two hours tops. The crawl space was a mess of old knob and tube and random pipes, but the real issue was a solid rock shelf right where I needed to drill up. My 18-inch bit was useless. I had to go back to the truck for my rotary hammer and a masonry bit, which I never need for residential work. Between clearing debris, fighting the drill in that tight spot, and re-running the line to avoid the rock, what should have been a 9 AM finish turned into me clocking out at 4 PM. Seven hours for one drop. Anyone else hit a hidden rock layer that wrecked their day?

DAE ever use a regular drill bit on a masonry wall in a pinch?

I was in a tight spot on a job in Spokane last Tuesday (forgot my hammer drill) and tried using a standard bit with a lot of pressure, which actually worked on the old brick but completely wrecked the bit and took about 15 minutes for one hole, so what's your go-to backup method when the right tool isn't around?

Just did a job in a new apartment building over in the West End and the cable runs are a nightmare

I was pulling lines for a full install in this brand new complex, and the builders must have been in a huge rush. The main chase they put in is maybe two inches wide, and it's already packed with electrical, fire alarm, and other low voltage lines. I spent over an hour just trying to fish a single coax through without kinking it. The worst part is the drywall guys clearly didn't care, they just shot screws right through the path in a bunch of spots. I had to cut three new access holes just to free a snag. It's like they think our cables just magically appear. How do you guys deal with builders who give you zero room to work? Do you just start cutting more drywall or call the site manager first?

Bought a $90 cable toner from a truck sale, thing is basically a paperweight.

I used to think those cheap crimp tools from the hardware store were fine, but one job changed my mind.

I was doing a big apartment install last month, about 40 units. I was using my old $15 crimper that I'd had for years. Halfway through, I started getting signal failures on every third or fourth connector. I wasted an entire morning redoing them. My lead handed me his Klein crimper and said just try it. I didn't have a single bad crimp for the rest of the job. The difference in the feel and the click was huge. What's the one tool you all finally upgraded that made a real difference in your day?

Just realized how much RG6 cable gets left in attics after a job

I was cleaning out my own attic in Phoenix and found over 300 feet of old cable from previous installers, just coiled and abandoned. It made me wonder about the total waste across thousands of homes. Do you guys always pull out your old cable runs, or is it standard to just leave it?