Old crimper trick from my first boss still saves my butt on bad connectors

Back in 2003 my first crew lead showed me to re-crimp a compression fitting twice if the cable jacket felt loose. I laughed it off until last month on a job in Allentown where a whole box of fittings acted just right on paper but kept failing signal checks. I tried the double crimp again and every single one passed after that. Been doing it solo for 15 years and I guess sometimes the old habits beat the fancy new tools. Has anyone else got a weird trick from their early days that they still lean on?

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jones.anna23d ago

Yeah the double crimp thing is solid, I've done that too when the die didn't seat quite right. My old guy made me always check the depth gauge before crimping, and then after crimping I'd spin the connector on the cable to feel for play. If it moved at all, I'd hit it again with the tool. Saved me on a whole spool of cheap RG6 that was supposedly UL listed but the jacket was just slick. Also learned to wipe the cable with alcohol first, not the fitting, the cable itself, because a little oil from your fingers on the jacket can make it slide in the connector even after a good crimp.