Why does nobody talk about using the right compression fitting for coax?

I spent 3 hours last week at a job in a condo building redoing someone else's work because they used standard RG6 fittings on quad shield cable. They kept getting intermittent signal loss and the customer was ready to cancel. Has anyone else run into this or am I the only one who checks before crimping?

2 comments

2 Comments

ericschmidt19d ago

...and that's exactly why I keep a stash of proper compression fittings in my trunk. People don't realize quad shield needs the right die size too, not just the fitting. I had a similar issue last year where a guy used standard F connectors on some old flooded cable from a direct bury line. Signal was fine for a week then just started dropping out every time it rained. The moisture got in through the crimp because the fitting wasn't tight enough. Now I just tell everyone to spend the extra 20 bucks on a good compression kit and never look back.

cole_robinson19d ago

Grab yourself a torque wrench for compression fittings, nobody ever brings that up. I saw a guy in a data center absolutely destroy a $200 modem port because he cranked down a compression fitting like it was a lug nut. The spec is usually 30 inch-pounds max, maybe 35, but most people just spin till it feels tight. Same thing happens on satellite installs where tightness changes with temperature swings. If the fitting is over-tightened, the dielectric core actually deforms and you lose signal on the higher frequencies. Torque wrench costs like 40 bucks and saves you from chasing ghosts on 4K channels and DOCSIS 3.1 modems.