Vent: I spent 6 months stripping coax wrong before a senior tech set me straight

I was always nicking the center conductor on RG400 and just thought that was normal. One day a guy with 20 years experience walked by, grabbed my stripper, and showed me I was using the wrong depth setting for that cable. Anyone else have a basic task they thought they had down until someone called them out?

3 comments

3 Comments

bennett.nora1mo ago

I read somewhere that the difference between a good install and a bad one is often just knowing which depth to set your tools to. Little things like that can save you hours of trouble later on.

uma_martinez1mo ago

Bennett.nora nailed it, that depth setting is literally the difference between a clean strip and a mess you don't even realize you're making. Always check the manufacturer guide for your specific cable instead of guessing based on feel.

jamesm381mo ago

... and my buddy Mark was doing the same thing with ethernet crimps for like a year. Thought he was getting good at it until a network guy saw his work and just shook his head. Said he was shoving the wires in at a slight angle every time so half his connections barely worked. Mark thought a few failed cables was just normal and you had to redo them sometimes. The guy spent five minutes showing him how to line things up straight and suddenly his success rate went from maybe 60% to almost perfect. Now he gets annoyed every time he sees someone doing it the slow old way.