TEST: Tips

At Fiber Optic Center, we recommend the Viavi MAP-200 Passive Component Tester to measure IL/RL. Viavi (formerly JDSU) has been producing IL/RL meters for at least 20 years. In fact, they initially built this tester for their own internal use, because suitable ...

Cross-sectioning is an effective diagnostic tool – a practical solution to identify process issues, which can lead to problem resolution. When fiber optic connectors fail, cross-sectioning can help to determine the cause and identify process issues. ...

Return Loss is a measure of the relative power reflected back from a splice, connection, or defect in the fiber. In the early days, this was a big problem. Lasers could be destabilized by power coming back at them, and analog video would suffer ghosts. This is...

For the most part, corporate and government communication entities connecting data centers around the world – bringing fiber to the office (FTTO) and fiber to the home (FTTH) – have standardized measurement wavelengths. When researching passive component...

Because the longitudinal axis of a PC ferrule is perpendicular to the interferometer camera, the measured Apex Offset value remains constant regardless of the orientation of the ferrule in the equipment fixture. If you measure a PC ferrule’s Apex Offset, and then...

Only the loss of a connection can be measured – a mated pair of connectors. (It’s impossible to measure a single connector.) Therefore, to qualify the performance of a jumper, other cables must be used, and the quality of those cables will affect the measurement...

Passive component testers are a combination of firmware and hardware that, as noted earlier, must be correctly configured for your specific product. Many PCTs offer the following features: Insertion Loss/Return Loss module, which contains light sources and a...

Fundamentally, Insertion Loss is the loss of power that results from inserting a cable into a network or transmission path. Keep in mind that, inevitably, some power is lost because every connection represents a break in the fiber optic system. That’s why your...

One key point to consider in Bi-Directional testing is the testing of dissimilar connector styles, i.e. SC to LC. During referencing the launch and receive cables need to be connected and if they aren’t the same they can’t be connected using a standard adapter....

To measure Return Loss, some means of isolating the connector part of the reflected signal is required: a mandrel wrap, index matching gel, or Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR). A mandrel wrap is impossible to use with thick cables – Early instruments...