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Compression Tool kit

Miramonti

Miramonti

Lifer
I need to do a lot of coaxial wiring for different rooms from the attic and want to get a compression tool kit to make it a lot easier. There are plenty to choose from: cablepro, snap-n-seal, digicon, paladin...and compatible plugs etc. I need quality low leakage stable connections for a great price.

And for top quality, would that be quad shield, and would something like this qualify? (and are these rg6-q plugs?)

Thanks.
 
Paladin makes good crimpers for coax .. just be sure you get what is known Hex Full Cycle Ratchet Crimper

Like this one: http://www.solidsignal.com/pro...HEX6&xzoom=Large#xview

Or this from Paladin: http://www.altex.com/Paladin-R...er-PA1356-P139982.aspx

The advantage to Paladin is once you have the FRAME with the Ratchet is you can buy other DIE Sets as needed.
They swap out with 2 screws .. so it is easy to adapt the tool to other types of crimp jobs if needed. But they are
a little more costly, better quality in my view. And don't forget to get good quality F Connectors and a tool to strip
the coax properly.


 
Originally posted by: bruceb
Paladin makes good crimpers for coax .. just be sure you get what is known Hex Full Cycle Ratchet Crimper

Like this one: http://www.solidsignal.com/pro...HEX6&xzoom=Large#xview

Or this from Paladin: http://www.altex.com/Paladin-R...er-PA1356-P139982.aspx

The advantage to Paladin is once you have the FRAME with the Ratchet is you can buy other DIE Sets as needed.
They swap out with 2 screws .. so it is easy to adapt the tool to other types of crimp jobs if needed. But they are
a little more costly, better quality in my view. And don't forget to get good quality F Connectors and a tool to strip
the coax properly.
Click to expand...
Those would be crimpers, while I'm looking for compression, much easier and probably more reliable too. I've somewhat narrowed it down to paladin and thomas & betts (snap n seal).

This is an example of a compression kit.
 
Originally posted by: jjsole

Good information, but this thread is about coaxial terminations. 😉
Click to expand...

LOL, I think I have to take a brake from Networking. 😉

 
That tool you linked to would be fine for compression. But be aware, it may be harder to find compression coax fittings locally.
Your Radio Shack would not have them. And while it is what pros would use, it is really needed only for wires that are exposed to the weather. Indoors the crimps will be fine as long as you use good cable and good connectors.
 
Originally posted by: bruceb
That tool you linked to would be fine for compression. But be aware, it may be harder to find compression coax fittings locally.
Your Radio Shack would not have them. And while it is what pros would use, it is really needed only for wires that are exposed to the weather. Indoors the crimps will be fine as long as you use good cable and good connectors.
Click to expand...

I pretty much agree but the compression fits are so much easier to do when you have many and are more reliable a fit, atleast in my experience. I've had compression envy for a long time. 😱 And you're right, they're not only harder to find locally, they are much more expensive even if you do, but I can live with that since once I get this project out of the way, I won't go thru them very quickly.
 
I've been doing a lot of coax work around the house lately.

Compression tools all do the same thing, squeeze that locking collar up into the connector. IMO, there is no need to spend a lot of money on one for home use. I've been using one made by Ideal. http://www.idealindustries.com...ession_tools&l3=30-633 If you have a lot of connectors to put on, compression is the way to do it IMO.

The stripper is the problem child. I'm on my 4th one and this one is the best so far. http://www.idealindustries.com...t_coaxial_stripper.jsp What I like about it is that in addition to stripping RG-58, RG-59 and RG-6 the blades can be adjusted to strip RG-6Q. It also has a replaceable blade cartridge. Quad shield really is a bitch to strip.

Howard, a member here, linked to the following article in a thread I posted in. http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/shielding.htm It makes some good arguments against the need for quad shield. I'll leave that decision up to you. If you decide to not go with quad, you will be a much happier stripper. 😀 I'm actually not kidding at all, the stuff is really difficult to strip consistently. Although I may not have found the right tool yet.

I bought these tools at either Home Depot or Lowe's (sorry can't remember which) along with the compression connectors. The Ideal connectors are not as fancy as some, but they fit my needs very well. Plus, if you need more, they're readily available. I bought my coax there too in bulk length. I bought the compression tool as part of a kit that included a nice coax cutter. The stripper in that kit is a throw away - a total piece of garbage.


 
Originally posted by: boomerang
I've been doing a lot of coax work around the house lately.

Compression tools all do the same thing, squeeze that locking collar up into the connector. IMO, there is no need to spend a lot of money on one for home use. I've been using one made by Ideal. http://www.idealindustries.com...ession_tools&l3=30-633 If you have a lot of connectors to put on, compression is the way to do it IMO.

The stripper is the problem child. I'm on my 4th one and this one is the best so far. http://www.idealindustries.com...t_coaxial_stripper.jsp What I like about it is that in addition to stripping RG-58, RG-59 and RG-6 the blades can be adjusted to strip RG-6Q. It also has a replaceable blade cartridge. Quad shield really is a bitch to strip.

Howard, a member here, linked to the following article in a thread I posted in. http://www.bluejeanscable.com/articles/shielding.htm It makes some good arguments against the need for quad shield. I'll leave that decision up to you. If you decide to not go with quad, you will be a much happier stripper. 😀 I'm actually not kidding at all, the stuff is really difficult to strip consistently. Although I may not have found the right tool yet.

I bought these tools at either Home Depot or Lowe's (sorry can't remember which) along with the compression connectors. The Ideal connectors are not as fancy as some, but they fit my needs very well. Plus, if you need more, they're readily available. I bought my coax there too in bulk length. I bought the compression tool as part of a kit that included a nice coax cutter. The stripper in that kit is a throw away - a total piece of garbage.
Click to expand...
Thanks for the info. I own that stripper (and one of ideal's coax crimpers too), so I'm happy about that. I went ahead and bought a compression tool from monoprice for $30, with some help from your thought that they all do pretty much the same thing. A couple reviews found it worked well. I also bought some generic rg-6 quad connectors from them too, so I hope they work well together. These are all for indoor.

I've never thought about the merits of quad shielding, except when I've used a really cheap coax that came inside a piece of hardware, and the signal was horrendous. Very insightful article. Since this is a project mostly from the attic and not something I want to redo if the signal is bad, I went ahead and got the quad shielding. Better safe than sorry I guess.
 
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