# Zenith Compression Tool and Connectors



## lazaruspup (Mar 18, 2005)

This last weekend, I ventured out to Home Depot and Lowes to check out the prospects of recabling both of my houses with new RG6U for cable and satellite. I had a very comparable experience at both stores except for the fact that I could not find ANYTHING at Lowe's. I had to ask for assistance twice and then they couldn't find it without looking up part numbers. I ended up purchasing a kit for $28 that included 10 Zenith compression quad shield connectors and the compression tool. 

I read around on the net and saw that this is a handy little tool, and let me tell you, it's awesome. I have had a generic ideal compression connector tool with an RG59 die that one of my first satellite installers left me for years. I used this the last time I ran a couple splits for mirroring receivers in bedrooms. I've also used the trusty side hex crimpers on several occasions. The Zenith tool compares to the quality tools we used with Digicons and Thomas and Betts connectors in college, when I worked for a home theater business. This tool which sells for $15 was a snap and I mean that literally. 

I bought 100 ft of RG6U by Carol at Home Depot for 27 cents a foot for each house and had it installed at each house in under half a day including drive time. I did three runs with plates at my home and 2 runs at my lake house. It is kind of cool how Zenith has engineered the professional compression tools down to a consumer level. 

The connectors feel very solid and claim to be water tight. I don't know how water tight they are so I put a weatherproof box over my grounding blocks anyways. Now I know, you're saying... Laz is ridiculous for paying that much for connectors, but I needed very few and am very impatient, so I wasn't about to wait for an internet delivery.  

For those DIY'ers out there that need a good set of connectors and compression tool though, check out the Zeniths as they are worth every penny. Be sure though to grab a rotating coax stripper while at the store though, it eliminates a lot of grief from stripping your coax.


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

27 cents a foot! YIKES!

You need to shop some more. Last time I looked in a DIY store, RG-6 was 12 cents a foot, and that's still double what installers get it for.


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## RandallA (Feb 4, 2005)

I'm using that Zenith tool and I like it too. I have used it with PPC EX6XL, Snap n Seal and the Zenith connectors and they all work great. It's pretty easy to use.

Regarding the cable, $0.27 is a little too much. I bought 500 ft of the same Carol RG6 but Quad at Home Depot and paid $62.00 for it. That's about $0.12 per feet.


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## lazaruspup (Mar 18, 2005)

RandallA said:


> Regarding the cable, $0.27 is a little too much. I bought 500 ft of the same Carol RG6 but Quad at Home Depot and paid $62.00 for it. That's about $0.12 per feet.


That's exactly what I bought, it was $59.00 for a 500ft roll or 27 cents per foot. I knew I would NEVER use 500ft of it and it would just be a waste, so I paid the per foot price. Btw, it was quad shield.

Oh, the RG6 dual shield was only 11 cents per foot.


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## RandallA (Feb 4, 2005)

Got it. Quad is usually a little higher and this particular one is a decent cable.


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

Now it makes sense.

Of course, quad shield is like Monster Cable - almost always a waste of money.


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## Mike500 (May 10, 2002)

Simon,

Quad shielded has better conductivity for long cable runs. It is also good for better signal integrity for OTA. Stripping and placing connectors correctly, however, takes twice the skill and twice as long.


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## SimpleSimon (Jan 15, 2004)

No argument - my "almost" applies.


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## lazaruspup (Mar 18, 2005)

The reason I did quad shield is to "future proof" my house. My DCT6412 was showing a high percentage of AGC(cable term) lol and holding steady on signal strength, so the tech that came out, suggested I place some quad shield in when I refished the walls and it might help. It actually did help, although, not real well, but did help.


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## RandallA (Feb 4, 2005)

Same here, the reason I went with Quad was if I ever switch to Comcast I will need Quad shielded cable in the area we live. Since I have several long runs, regular RG6 cable will have ingress in the signal. 

It's a little difficult to work with but I like the fact that is stronger.


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## jrbdmb (Sep 5, 2002)

(remove duplicate)


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## jrbdmb (Sep 5, 2002)

(remove duplicate)


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## jrbdmb (Sep 5, 2002)

I am looking at getting the Zenith tool to do a new cable run (hard to justify a $50+ compression tools for the few times I will use it). However, I plan to use standard RG6 cable I already have, and all of the Zenith connectors specify RG6 quad.

Can I use a standard RG6 compression connector (i.e. Ideal RG6 connectors available at Home Depot) with this tool? Alternately, can I use the Zenith Quad connectors with standard RG6 cable?


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## lazaruspup (Mar 18, 2005)

jrbdmb said:


> I am looking at getting the Zenith tool to do a new cable run (hard to justify a $50+ compression tools for the few times I will use it). However, I plan to use standard RG6 cable I already have, and all of the Zenith connectors specify RG6 quad.
> 
> Can I use a standard RG6 compression connector (i.e. Ideal RG6 connectors available at Home Depot) with this tool? Alternately, can I use the Zenith Quad connectors with standard RG6 cable?


What I recommend is, buy the Zenith RG6Q compression connectors and tool and buy a tube of silicone grease, located normally in the same isle, if not, ask an employee and they will help you. Apply a small dab of the grease to the inside of your connectors before placing them on your wire and you should be good to go. If these are not located outside, you should need that. I have found that the RG6Q connectors fit RG6 quite snugly. I have been hard pressed to pull one free of the cable. I don't believe the Ideal connectors will work because the only ones I've seen have been crimp-on and not compression. But, yes, any compression connector(just about) will work. I bought a whole box of rg6 compression connectors by Genesis and they work just fine with the tool.


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## Neil Derryberry (Mar 23, 2002)

Home depot also sells a PPC compression tool that has been relabeled for Ideal tools. I had two of the zenith tools and just didn't like them.. the Ideal tool was worth the difference, at least to me. The PPC is heavy-duty and fast... very easy to use.


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