That contractor's offhand comment about coax bends stuck with me

Last Wednesday I was on a job in Austin and this older contractor walked by while I was wrestling a stiff RG6 around a tight corner. He just said, 'you're training that cable to fail, not to fit' and kept walking. I measured it later, the bend radius was maybe 2 inches when the spec calls for 5. He was right though, I've seen too many service calls where a sharp kink caused intermittent signal drop months later. Now I carry a 5-inch PVC pipe section in my van as a quick bend guide on tricky runs. Any of you guys ever had a hidden kink come back to bite you on a rework?

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felix38512d ago

Had a run in a condo complex a few years back where someone had tucked a cable behind a fire sprinkler pipe with a bend so tight it looked like a knot. Checked fine on the toner but would drop signal every time the HVAC kicked on, took me two visits to figure out. Finally cut out that section and put in a proper service loop with a 90 degree fitting, problem gone. Now I keep a marking on my tape measure at 5 inches so I can eyeball the bend before I even start pulling. That PVC pipe trick is smart, might have to steal it.