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Just realized I'd been crimping D-sub pins backwards for 3 years
I finally figured out why half my DB9 connectors would come loose during vibration testing. Turns out I was putting the contacts in from the wrong side of the tool. A senior tech at the hangar in Denver watched me do one last Tuesday and just laughed. He showed me the little arrow on the die that I'd been ignoring the whole time. Felt like a total goof but at least my terminations are solid now. Anyone else have a moment where a small detail in a crimper or pin tool made you rethink everything you knew?
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david3712d ago
Spent a year using the wrong size die on RG58 connectors. Every single one had intermittent signal loss until a buddy finally caught it. Embarrassing but you never forget that lesson once you learn it.
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andrew_rodriguez12d ago
Whoa, hold up, I actually gotta disagree with you on this one! I mean, sure, using the wrong die was a mistake, but I think it shows you were just trying to get things done without knowing better. Maybe you could have caught it sooner by testing every joint right after you crimp it, like checking continuity with a meter before moving on. I get that it's embarrassing, but I think the real lesson here isn't about the die size at all. It's more about building a simple habit of checking your work as you go instead of waiting for problems to pile up. That way, even if you mess up a tool, you'll spot it right away.
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Oh gosh, I have to push back on that a little. Checking every joint with a meter is smart but it wouldn't have caught a crimp that looked solid but was seated wrong in the shell.
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