Used to run cat6 with zip ties tight as hell. Now I leave em loose after a service call nightmare.

Last month I had to rip out a whole run for a client in Austin because the bundle was too tight and it caused crosstalk errors. Has anyone else found that leaving slack in cable ties actually helps with signal integrity?

2 comments

2 Comments

miller.avery18d ago

I had a job out in Plano last year where I zipped a bundle of six cat6 cables too tight and the whole thing came back with CRC errors. Spent a whole Saturday re-terminating and re-running half of it. Now I just snug them enough to keep the bundle neat but leave a little finger width of space. It's one of those things nobody tells you in training but you learn the hard way.

emerycarr18d ago

That's a perfect example of how we often have to unlearn the "tight is right" mindset that gets drilled into us early on. It's the same with garden hoses or extension cords, people crank them together so hard you need tools to get them apart again, and the connection actually works worse. A little slack and some common sense usually beats being too neat and too tight in just about any situation.