Caught myself doing the same cable bend for 12 years before a coworker spoke up

Was running a line through a drop ceiling in a old office building near Denver last month when my helper asked why I was bending the coax so tight around the corner. I told him that's just how it's done, always been that way. He showed me a picture on his phone of a signal loss chart that proved sharp 90 degree bends kill your dB levels after about 6 months. Pulled out my Klein meter and tested an old run I did 8 months ago. Lost nearly 4dB on that line. Now I use a 2 inch radius sweep on every corner and my signal tests are way cleaner. Anyone else ever get called out by someone younger and realize they were right?

3 comments

3 Comments

kim.jake1mo ago

Read something similar in a trade magazine a while back about how cheap connectors can cause signal loss too. The guy wrote that even gentle bends over time weaken the cable shield, and copper braid just doesn't bounce back. Switched to compression fittings after that article and my sweeps improved a lot. Have you noticed any difference with the connectors you use since you changed the bends?

the_wesley1mo ago

Oh man, you're totally right. I see it everywhere now, not just with cables but with pretty much anything people make cheap. Like, you buy a cheap garden hose and it kinks and splits in a year, but a decent one lasts forever. Same with those dollar store phone chargers that stop working after a month. It's almost like the whole "you get what you pay for" thing is a universal law of the universe, right down to the way a connector bends. Have you noticed how that pattern shows up in other stuff you own, like tools or even furniture?

mary_west1mo ago

Honestly, I wonder if it's more about how we use stuff now versus how it used to be made.