# COAX Compression Tool Recommendation ?



## Jim Ignatowski (Dec 20, 2011)

Hello Everyone,

Can someone tell me what kind of compression tool and fittings the TELCOs and cable companies use for COAX, RG6 ? I've purchased two tools and two sets of fittings and the connections are not nearly as tight as what I see on the cable company wires and the factory produced cables. What do I need to do this right? Thank you


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## ktkelly (Apr 7, 2007)

Many use "Snap N Seal". Pretty common and available on Amazon/Ebay.

I have used "Cable Pro" for many years as a professional. Also available on Amazon/Ebay.


I've used both and my preference is the CP item. But, then again, I use the tool for lots of installations, and not only for RG6.


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## Jim Ignatowski (Dec 20, 2011)

I tried the snap-n-seal but I never was able to get a really tight fitting. It was on there, but if messed around with it enough, it would come off. I followed the instructions and believe that I used it correctly.... Is there a particular type of compression fitting that you use for coax? Thanks for the reply.


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## ktkelly (Apr 7, 2007)

Dealing with OLD coax?

It might be you had RG6 fittings and RG59 coax. That would account for the fitting being REALLY loose. If that's the case, you just needed the correct fittings.

If it is RG6 and you have the correct fittings, when fully compressed they should be tight enough that you can't pull them off, let alone being able to move them a bit. No way, no how.


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## Jim Ignatowski (Dec 20, 2011)

The coax is definitely old ... It's the Cable Company drop that used to go to a splitter on the outside of the house. I'm moving that splitter inside so I had to cut the head off, ran it into the house and want to put a nice fitting on there. The current fitting is not tight like you described.


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## dftc (Nov 12, 2012)

You should get a tight fit even with the relatively inexpensive tools and terminations found at a typical hardware store.
I think the issue was correctly identified as using RG6 fittings on RG59 cable.


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## ktkelly (Apr 7, 2007)

You should be able to get some of the correct fittings on Amazon, or maybe even locally at a Home Depot, or Lowe's.

Either that or try to catch one of the cable guys somewhere and get him to give you a couple fittings.


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## Jim Ignatowski (Dec 20, 2011)

I actually just got back from Home Depot and I ended up getting a Klein Tools Compression tool that does both RG6 & RG69. 

http://www.homedepot.com/p/Klein-Tools-Compression-Crimper-VDV211-048/202102678

They only had RG59 RCA compression fittings, but I found some on ebay for a good price. I have a bunch of RG6 in the house that is well identified, but the cable company drop doesn't have any markings on the cladding. Is there a definitive way of determining whether a coax cable is RG59 or RG6? or is just from looking at the amount of shielding?

Thanks for all of the information. Appreciate it.


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## ktkelly (Apr 7, 2007)

RG59 fittings will just not go on RG6 no matter how hard you try, so that's a pretty simple way to figure out what you're dealing with.


The old black RG59 probably wouldn't have any markings on it, so the way to tell what you're dealing with is to test fit with the actual fittings.


Yeah, I could tell the difference, at a glance, having worked with both for many years, but most people would just be guessing (including some of the guys I hired over the years)..


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## RonRN18 (Feb 4, 2011)

I realize this is several months late but I was just reading this and it is something I've spent a bit of time with in the past. 

As television cable is generally receive-only, 75Ω coaxial cable has been found to be the easiest to work with. Cable for 2-way radio such as CB or ham radio generally uses 50-52Ω cable like RG8 or RG58. When I was a kid, 300Ω twin-lead wire was frequently used, especially for UHF on TVs; our first TV had 300Ω twin-lead connections for both VHF and UHF. Twin-lead is more prone to interference from nearby electrical noise than coax, so it is rarely used any more. There are typically three types of 75Ω cable used, depending on what the purpose is. The longer the cable length, the more signal loss occurs. Due to a variety of factors, including cost of materials, the longer the run the fatter the cable. While rarely seen, there is an RG11 cable that is nearly a half-inch in diameter (0.405”). That cable is heavy and doesn’t easily bend. It is great for buried cable use but too difficult to work with inside most homes. The easiest to work with is RG59 (outside diameter is 0.242”), as it is relatively skinny and easy to bend. This also means it has higher signal loss per length than fatter cable. It is rarely used for anything other than connections to components, such as between a wall plate and a cable box. The most common cable for wiring homes is RG6 (outside diameter is 0.332”). Some cable companies have used RG59 for some runs but RG6 is used almost exclusively for satellite work. It is easier to work with than RG11 and has less loss than RG59, but not all RG6 is created equally. While television cable generally uses a solid core wire, some are copper-clad steel while others are solid copper. Some have a solid plastic insulating material between this center wire and the shielding while others use a foam material. When it comes to the shielding, they are usually either foil, braid or some combination of foil and different materials of braid. Some of the shielding can use expensive materials or an expensive process to provide better results but wire that is called “quad-shield” is a very common solution to minimize signal loss while using cheaper materials or process for that shielding. The drawback to the quad-shielding is when using compression fittings as compression fittings have tighter tolerances than crimped connectors. They make compression fittings specifically for quad-shield RG6 and they should ONLY be used on quad-shield cable. You will likely not get a non-quad-shield connection to properly seat on quad-shield cable while quad-shield connectors on non-quad-shield cable will be loose. 

When it comes to tools, I have several compression tools. Some work only for F-plugs (the standard television connector) while one of mine will also do BNC and RCA connectors. Before DVI and HDMI cables, I used to “roll my own” component video cables using RG6 with RCA connectors that had color bands to identify red, green or blue. Most compression tools that work for RG6 will work with RG59 but only the most expensive compression tools also work with RG11, I never invested in that because I never found a need for it.


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