aemeijers wrote:

On 2/3/2011 10:07 PM, Pete C. wrote:

Nate Nagel wrote:

Hi all

bought a roll of quad shield a while ago and still have a good bit left.
Still find myself occasionally needing to make up a cable. Connectors
are damn near impossible to install on this stuff; I had a tool that
looked like a blue handled screwdriver but where the tip would be was a
male thread to hold the f-connector; in the handle there was a little
baloney cut piece of tube to help open up the cable around the shield
prior to pushing in the connector. It's apparently in a very safe
place, meaning that the only way I'm ever going to find it is to buy
another one and then it'll magically appear.

Problem is, I know I didn't buy it locally, I couldn't find anything
like it. I must have ordered it online, but I can't remember where, nor
is a quick search turning up anything. Anyone know what I'm talking
about and know where I can get one? Is there another style of tool that
will do the same job only better?

What type of tool? Did you get the Ideal (blue) compression type F
connector tool kit that Lowe's carries for ~$50 or so?

There are plenty of different tools available for terminating coax
cable, and the last time I looked, both Depot and Lowe's carried a
fairly good selection.

If these cable are just for you and your relatives, HF has a pretty
decent knockoff of the 'real' compression end tools and fittings, at
about 20 bucks for the tool and 5 bucks for 5 fittings. I wouldn't use
them for paying customers, but if it is just family, so what if you have
to redo a few of them?

I got to use a mil-spec (like for olive drab satt dishes) compression
fitting tool once. Sweet, but several hundred dollars, and the fittings
were about 3 bucks a pop, the instructor said. We each got to do ONE of
them, in the class.

Compression fittings are the only way to go, IMHO.

Quality fittings are the only way to go, compression or crimp. There are
low quality knock-offs of both types and high quality versions of both
types.