Vent: My coax compression tool was set wrong for 3 years

I was down in Austin last week swapping out a customer's drop line when the connector wouldn't bite, and I finally checked the die setting on my compression tool. Turns out I had it on the wrong gauge the whole time, every fitting I crimped was loose or barely hanging on. How many service calls did I waste because I never double checked a simple dial?

2 comments

2 Comments

anderson.david11d ago

Haven't I read somewhere that something like 40% of techs never calibrate their tools? That statistic popped into my head as soon as I saw your post. I had a buddy who spent a whole summer chasing RF issues on commercial jobs, swapped splitters, cables, everything. Turned out his compression tool was off by one click the entire time. He said he felt like an idiot when he realized it, but at least he only lost three months, not three years.

lane.cameron11d ago

Honestly I bet most of those "calibration issues" are just techs covering their own mistakes.