Business activities and summary of significant accounting policies - Additional Information (Detail) - USD ($)	12 Months Ended
	Oct. 31, 2016	Oct. 31, 2015
Business Activities And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Amortization of Intangible Assets	$ 649,000	$ 598,000
Advertising Expense	156,000	152,000
Research and Development Expense	747,000	775,000
Stock based compensation expense	$ 206,000	$ 232,000
Shares excluded from computation of diluted per share amount	824,441	792,386
Earn-out Payment	$ 1,360,000	$ 800,000
Trademarks [Member]
Business Activities And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Impairment of Intangible Assets, Finite-lived	150,000	0
Cables Unlimited Division [Member]
Business Activities And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Goodwill, Impairment Loss	2,600,000
Cables Unlimited Division [Member] | Trademarks [Member]
Business Activities And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Impairment of Intangible Assets, Finite-lived	$ 150,000
Maximum
Business Activities And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	5 years
Minimum
Business Activities And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Property, Plant and Equipment, Useful Life	3 years
Selling General and Engineering Expenses
Business Activities And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Stock based compensation expense	$ 178,000	179,000
Cost of Sales
Business Activities And Summary Of Significant Accounting Policies [Line Items]
Stock based compensation expense	$ 28,000	$ 53,000