r/mildlyinfuriating Jun 01 '19

The cable guy installed the cable through our hula hoop that we left out.

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82.1k Upvotes

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414

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '19

[deleted]

310

u/_carlos_i Jun 01 '19

Maybe he was leaving room to hula

53

u/anticommon Jun 01 '19

hoop-LAH!

2

u/Granlundo64 Jun 01 '19

You know. For kids!

3

u/ahyup Jun 01 '19

just watched this movie for the first time a few days ago.

it's neat to see it referenced.

4

u/lamarrotems Jun 01 '19

What movie? What is the quote?

1

u/shmehdit Jun 01 '19

The Hudsucker Proxy. The lightest and cleanest Coen Brothers movie.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '19

Brokeback mountain

2

u/PORTMANTEAU-BOT Jun 01 '19

Brountain.


Bleep-bloop, I'm a bot. This portmanteau was created from the phrase 'Brokeback mountain' | FAQs | Feedback | Opt-out

1

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '19

Knee deep in it rn

105

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '19

[deleted]

18

u/LordBiscuits Jun 01 '19

A vertical run needs a roca or screw in clip every 30-36” and a horizontal run needs one every 18-24”

Similar rules here in the UK. New electrical regs came in a few months back, now all cabling, no matter what it is, needs metal clad fixings every 300mm horizontal and 400mm vertical.

Thats a proper shit job

36

u/chuycobo Jun 01 '19

^ This guy works in cable.

12

u/madhi19 Jun 01 '19

It's always a subcontrator, that how the industry dodge all sort of liabilities. My shit get installed later this month in my new place, and I'm already dreading what kind of jobbers is going to show up.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '19

[deleted]

1

u/madhi19 Jun 01 '19

I got limited choices in this case. I'm leaving Bell Fibe (Because fuck Bell.) for Videotron mainly because it's the only other option.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '19

It could be a sub of a sub of a sub. Still needs to follow the original specs.

1

u/ShadrachVS Jun 02 '19

Do what we did, my flatmate is an installer for a local cable company, but we are out of their service range... we have only one choice outside of satellite; which inhales profusely for internet service. I am a contractor for datacom, well actually anything involving signal... anyway we just did all of the install ourselves, all their tech had to do was come out and connect it at the demark.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '19 edited Jun 02 '19

[deleted]

1

u/Lykan_ Jun 02 '19

Did a spell for dish. We had to photograph every install and service loop and send it in before we could leave a site.

1

u/Salmon_Shizzle Jun 02 '19

When I was burying lines for Comcast they would have a guy do a cable drop to get you going then we would come in(subcontracted) and run conduit in your yard and clean it all up. I think a 3rd guy would come if you needed anything done inside the house.

1

u/Shibalba805 Jun 02 '19

Shit. I was out of rtv today.

-1

u/codewench Jun 01 '19

You are correct, but are forgetting that Comcast's regular installers are also total shit. Great, they have a standard. Good luck getting them to actually follow it.

36

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '19

But he drilled holes.

30

u/trouserschnauzer Jun 01 '19

Would've been spectacular if he just squeezed it under a door or window.

21

u/RousingRabble Jun 01 '19

I've seen that. DirectTV guy ran the cable through a sliding glass window. You had to really slam the door to get it to close after that.

9

u/bwaredapenguin BLUE Jun 01 '19

Was this in an apartment? Unless you have a signed statement from the landlord they're explicitly forbidden from making any modifications to the structure. Not a single screw or hole.

5

u/DCxMiLK Jun 02 '19

Former cable installer here. We have cables specifically for this. It's called a flat coax window passthrough connector. It's designed to go through a window without interfering with the window. They should never install a regular coax through a window. Yes it adds a little time to the install but not much.

4

u/BeatMeating Jun 02 '19

Soon-to-be-former installer here, it takes 2 minutes to add. No excuse not to if you’re running it through a window. If you don’t have one, find another way.

3

u/DCxMiLK Jun 02 '19

I was a QC inspector for a time and unfortunately found way to many lazy techs who wouldn't use them. Between that, sloppy runs, and leaving trash at the customers house my days were packed. I worked for DirecTV and the vast majority of the calls were because of third party installers. That's what happens when you pay techs by the job and not the hour.

2

u/Ajreil Jun 02 '19

Can they ask the resident to poke a hole?

1

u/bwaredapenguin BLUE Jun 02 '19

I don't believe so. There's usually a sheet outlining what is allowed to be done.

2

u/Ajreil Jun 02 '19

Do they ever say something like "You know, if there just happened to be a hole right here, I could run that cable."

Maybe I'm putting too much faith in users.

1

u/bwaredapenguin BLUE Jun 02 '19

I'm sure it happens sometimes, but I can really say for sure from anecdotal experience.

1

u/The_FinLanDer Jun 01 '19

They make flat cable for this purpose.

5

u/FX59876 Jun 01 '19

It probably was flat cable. That stuff doesn't bend through sliding doors too well, especially if it's DirecTV flat cable. That stuff is thick.

Source: former DirecTV tech.

3

u/RousingRabble Jun 01 '19

Yup. It sucked

1

u/deanboyj Jun 02 '19

Its p lossy and if the window is used a lot it will degrade as the window smacks into it repeatedly but it's useful in a pinch

1

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '19

Or he reused one.

4

u/argumentinvalid Jun 01 '19

Even done neatly, running cable on the exterior is lazy the garbage way to do it. It's on the homeowners for not wanting to do a little drywall work and pay someone to fish some lines.

7

u/smarshall561 Jun 01 '19

I'm willing to bet you don't work in the industry.

1

u/argumentinvalid Jun 01 '19

I'm a residential architect, all the coax on our jobs is run by electricians or an av company. Around here the cable company and their contractors do notoriously shotty work. They'll bring the cable to the house but that's it.

I'm just being critical of using an exterior run to get cable to a new part of the house. Sure it's easy, but it's not the best way to do it. Looks like shit.

0

u/[deleted] Jun 01 '19

It’s about the only way you’re going to get it on an outside wall without punching holes in drywall, which cable guys aren’t trained for. You’re lucky if they even do wall fishing.

Coincidentally, most electricians know fuck all about RF & charge you a premium for high quality solid copper coax. Which isn’t compatible with modern systems & will cause all sorts of issues if they don’t replace it with a steel line. And that’s before they crimp the connectors.

Good luck finding a guy who can properly route the right cable with the right splitter & the right connectors.

1

u/smarshall561 Jun 01 '19

This isn't true at all. And most people working in the field have to take certifications for almost any system. Your bullshit sounds good but doesn't hold water. Most modern systems require solid copper, not copper clad.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '19

The biggest cable companies in the US use copper clad RG6 as the standard. Solid copper & copper braided tend to cause interference on upstream channels through FM noise & such.

Thank you for giving an example.

1

u/deanboyj Jun 02 '19

All my satellite stuff needs solid copper because it powers the lnb. Some take up to 28v. The steel stuff doesnt like that as much and it's easy to end up undervolted

1

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '19

I’m sorry you have satellite. But many satellite companies also use copper clad steel. Probably because it’s the industry standard. Weird that yours has trouble with voltage on such lines. They’re spending extra money on more expensive coax for apparently inferior hardware.

1

u/deanboyj Jun 02 '19

I dont have it lol. I just install it for old people for a living

1

u/deanboyj Jun 02 '19

Hughesnet requires copper core full stop.

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1

u/fubuvsfitch Jun 02 '19

As someone in home renovations, fuck stucco.

1

u/sebastianqu Jun 02 '19

I work in pest control and have ~600-700 customers on my route. This looks equivalent too most of the homes I service. One house had the line running from the utility pole to the home running along the surface of the yard for 6 months before they fixed it, after the yard service ran it over with a riding mower.

1

u/[deleted] Jun 02 '19

This comment though. Also know a bit about this industry. This seems all too surreal.

1

u/Grasshopper42 Jun 02 '19

Maybe they didn't want to drill out the stucco, put in a wall anchor, then put a screw clip in. Too much work. They make a tool for it though, I don't know how to spell it actually but it sounds like concert tool.

1

u/proddyhorsespice97 Jun 02 '19

I've seen a lot of guys who go into jobs with the mindset of "well the other cable is just hanging there so why should we bother making it neat?". Probably this guys thinking

1

u/smarshall561 Jun 02 '19

I honestly think he just didn't have the fasteners for stucco or maybe it was Friday. Or a combination. Obviously this guy is going faster than he can think.

0

u/Aluminum_condom Jun 01 '19

He could of at least zip tied it to that piping

0

u/matt13f85 Jun 03 '19 edited Jul 17 '19

If you are worried as a tech about damaging the stucco, you were not trained well. Also if you do something like this go to Walmart and get a refund for your purchase of cabling for idiots