Reddit reviews Klein Tools 56005 1/4" Wide Steel Fish Tape, 25-Foot

A fish tape reduced my wire-related cursing substantially.

All of the above, plus a few usb thumb drives.

A copy of any os you expect to work on as you can almost guarantee that the customer does not have a copy. (set up a seperate usb drive to install each os).

A few known good parts also helps. (cheap graphics card for systems with no integrated graphics, a spare power supply to allow you to insure nothing else is damaged if a psu goes bad (had that happen to me, psu and graphics, just didn't know about the graphics till after replacing the psu and felt stupid "yeah your psu was bad, but your graphics card is bad also...")

If you are doing mobile repairs (at customers location), then a laptop and internet access (from your phone hotspot or separate hotspot never count of the customer to have internet access).

If you are going to be running new network cable then a:

wall fish I prefere the fiber glass rods for running across attics or drop ceilings over the metal tape unless you will be running in conduit (but in conduit I prefer jetline and compressed air for that).

strong magnet, and a chain (you can buy it by the foot from hardware stores)(small links, 10ft of Sash Chain is what I use. (tape the wire to the chain with electrical tape, drop the chain down the wall, use the magnet to locate it, a strong magnet will slap the chain to the inside of the wall, and pull the chain to the whole for the outlet then pull the wire through)

Either use /u/steebo's suggestion of a vacuum at the other end, or get yourself a fish tape which is a really great tool for fishing cable down long distances. The "tape" is metal so it's easy to push, but also bends easily so it can make it around bends in conduit.

Yes I know, that's the one thing this thing offers lol, it's the only real tangible benefit you've been able to find to explain why it's 10x as much as an echo dot.

BTW these two tools will give you that same "hidden wires" benefit for a whole lot less money:

https://www.amazon.com/25-Foot-Measuring-Klein-Tools-56005/dp/B0026TBOU8/ref=sr_1_5?ie=UTF8&qid=1538366334&sr=8-5&keywords=fishtape&dpID=51JR4coh8YL&preST=_SY300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

https://www.amazon.com/Stanley-15-206-Jab-Wood-Handle/dp/B00002X21P/ref=sr_1_6?ie=UTF8&qid=1538366405&sr=8-6&keywords=drywall+saw&dpID=21Fk1DkuDxL&preST=_SX300_QL70_&dpSrc=srch

And then here are the actual mounts themselves: https://www.amazon.com/Simple-Built-Google-Home-Mount/dp/B078Z214QX

EDIT Whoops that's the home mini, I'm sure there's an echo dot equivalent though. Frankly if you don't already have these assistants in your home, I would highly recommend the google version, it's a whole lot more useful and intelligent than alexa.

If you have interior walls are on studs and not insulated, running the wires down the walls will be much easier (since you are already going into the attic). Plus you don't have buy more expensive cable, worry about making sure the wound you put in the outside of the house is sealed appropriately to be weatherproof.

You'll need to drill a small hole in the header of the wall from the attic. If the wall isn't insulated then just drop the cable down the opening and grab it from where you make the cutout for your Ethernet faceplate/keystone jack. If you go all uninsulated walls, you'll just need a drill and standard tools. If a wall is insulated, a fish tape will be helpful. Just use your stud finder to make sure that you don't have a fire block in that stud cavity as that presents additional challenges.

Now if you have brick/cement walls, that does present another challenge.

Ok so here's my list of stuff. Please tell me if I'm off on anything.

Speaker wire

https://www.amazon.com/AudioQuest-G-2-bulk-speaker-cable/dp/B000F1X6GE

Subwoofer cable

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B003P63SP0/ref=mp_s_a_1_14?ie=UTF8&qid=1504795218&sr=8-14&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=subwoofer+cable

Fishing tool

https://www.amazon.com/gp/aw/d/B0026TBOU8/ref=mp_s_a_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1504795375&sr=8-3&pi=AC_SX236_SY340_QL65&keywords=fish+tape&dpPl=1&dpID=415cJ-VZ12L&ref=plSrch

I've already got the rear speakers, subwoofer and mounts.

There's some good instructional videos on Youtube if you search for it. My walls were a bit of a pain, but definitely well worth it in the end.

Here's my tool list that I'd recommend:

• Fish Tape
  
• Pull kit, this is optional
  
• Network Termination Kit
  
• Tape

Klein Tools 56005 1/4-Inch Fish... https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0026TBOU8?ref=ppx_pop_mob_ap_share

Yes, I didn’t want to risk removing the boot. $10 was worth piece of mind.

https://www.amazon.com/dp/B0026TBOU8/ref=sxts_kp_bs_1?pf_rd_p=8778bc68-27e7-403f-8460-de48b6e788fb&pd_rd_wg=DdRVS&pf_rd_r=C744MBRXWY16CSB4HHTV&pd_rd_i=B0026TBOU8&pd_rd_w=fGzeL&pd_rd_r=a9255a04-57b1-4447-9aa1-5bea4fee238a&ie=UTF8&qid=1550616178&sr=1

You could do a through/in wall cable pass through/s. There are lots of options for diffrent types. some go through into the next room, some just go into the wall with the intention of running the cables through the wall to another receptacle that is placed lower or higher.

The hardest part will be getting the cables routed through the wall. You could use a wire fish to get them trough. I'd recommend running a cable pull (a pice of thin nylon rope), t hat can be left in place, in case you need to run additional wires latter on.

It's an art- it's helpful if you're familiar with how a building of that era and type is constructed. You can start at the top and drop down, or start at the bottom and push up with a fiberglass fishing rod, or drop a pull-string or fishing tape and pull the Ethernet up, or some combination therof.

Given my house, I'll probably try to drop a string down from the attic and pull ethernet up. If I get lucky I can use the same string to pull from the basement to the first floor livingroom too.

I'm lucky, there's a basement under the first floor and an attic above the second. For people on a slab or 3-story builds there's often little choice other than to go on-wall or do some significant drywall cutting.

I once had to notch drywall and right-angle drill studs for a 30ft length of wall because the client needed drops all along the space and it had to be in-wall. Slab construction and an open ceiling = nowhere to go. Drywall guy bought me a case of beer :D