Using Fiber Optic Test Equipment Assured

There are several specialized pieces of fiber optic test equipment, and it is important to know the type of plant to determine the type of equipment needed, but in any case there are certain basics.

What Fiber Optic Test Equipment is Needed

Running fiber optic networking can be a very technical operation, and the most important of tools are the fiber optic test equipment. This importance grows from the need and sensitivity of digital data to be clear and precise.


Among the most basic of fiber optic test equipment pieces is the source and power meter. This is important because the power meter is calibrated to the source, allowing it to better determine the transmission quality of the fiber optics in between. This can not only be important to the final transmission quality, but also protect the technician’s eyes. While most sources are safe, there are certain CATV and telecom applications in which the source is powerful enough to cause damage to the retina if the eye is unprotected. Therefore it is always important to know what strength is being dealt with to determine the level of protection needed.

The last piece in the basic kit of fiber optic test equipment is the fiber tracer or visual fault detector. This seems like a normal pen light, and is a regular or LED visual light source attached to one end of the fiber optic to send light through to the other end. One simply looks to see if it made the full trek. This is, of course, a gross simplification, because the sources are typically bright enough to reveal the leak as well, by shining through the orange or red covers, if not the black or gray jackets.

These are in no way the sum total of all pieces of fiber optic test equipment. There are many more tools needed based on the specifics of the plant being worked on. One other universal might be the fiber optic microscope used to visually inspect the quality of the polish on the ends of the connections. Yet these are the basics to start a fiber optic tool kit.

Some other important pieces of fiber optic test equipment are the carefully matched reference test cables. These work with adapters to connect the test equipment with the lines and sources to be tested, so not having the correct ones can bring an entire test session to a halt, rendering all the rest of the specialized fiber optic test equipment useless.

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Labels: data fiber opticfiber optic technology, data fiber optics, fiber optic technology, source, test, Using Fiber Optic Test Equipment

Everyday Fiber Optic Technology Transition

The primary use of fiber optic technology is the transmission of digital data. This data consists of intermittent on and off bursts, making it quite fragile. The amount of data a line can hold is controlled by the rapidity of the switching it can handle, which is in turn determined by its purity. This is why testing is so vital to the equation. Without it, there would be no way to sort out the best fibers for data usage. Therefore, before it is ever bundled into a fiber optic cable, each fiber has to pass stringent tests for data quality. This creates a certain amount of waste in the form of discarded fibers. While these fibers cannot pass the sensitive data cleanly, they still hold onto the property of transmitting light waves.

The most exotic technologies eventually become ubiquitous, so common that one doesn’t even notice them anymore. Fiber optic technology has made that transition. Once the exclusive wonder of the laser labs and scientists, it can now be found in everything from fiber optic pool lights to children’s toys.

What Makes Fiber Optic Technology So Common?

To put it the most simply, flaws make the technology so common.


Why Waste A Good Thing?

The rejected fibers don’t have to be thrown out. They are still able to channel light to whatever location the user wants. This has given rise to everything from toys to modern efficient lighting, all based on the same principles of fiber optic technology.

Some of the earliest people to use the waste fiber optics were special effects model makers. The fibers made it easier to add realistic lighting to the models without adding the heat that could melt the fragile plastics. It wasn’t long before these very same properties came to the attention of designers. Soon, little penlight fiber optic toys could be seen anywhere there were dark events. Then they entered the home. Soon no coffee table was complete without the colorful little fiber optic bonsai tree. Over time, the designs have become more elegant, blending the fiber optic technology in a less obtrusive way. Now, designers have started using fiber optics to actually replace home lighting applications, allowing a much higher level of efficiency

These hidden design trends have brought the little light pipes home, made them a part of our everyday lives, and make those lives better for it. As the designers learn more about the fiber optic technology, the designs will grow in sophistication.

Fiber Optic Technology Resource:http://www.iec.org/online/tutorials/atm_pon/topic01.html

Labels: data fiber optics, didgtal, fiber optic technology

Fiber Optic Pool Lights for Safety and Efficiency

The liquid environment of the swimming pool or spa has always presented certain problems to the designer. Using electricity near water always does, but that is not the only concern. All lights generate heat and the brighter the light the higher the heat.

The Future is Here with Fiber Optic Pool Lights

Fiber optic pool lighting came from the ability of the optics to remove the light source from a possibly hazardous environment. While there were watertight lights for pools long before fiber optics, they were bulky, and it was always difficult to change a burned-out bulb. Fiber optics made it possible to not only distance the electricity from the water, but also made changing the bulb a much simpler proposition.


The nature of the electricity demands that a bulky fixture be used to separate the light source from the water so that a connection can never be made. This usually involves some sort of glass lens held by a metal frame, and then the light has to be of a rather high wattage to shine through the water. It is only natural that a great deal of heat builds up in the lens and frame. The problem here is that if too much heat builds up anyone using the pool is in danger of burning themselves on the fixture.

From a design standpoint, the difficult frames also make it difficult to add or change lighting for the pool lights. The most common method involves changing the bulb with one of the desired colors.

Fiber optic pool lights answer all these problems efficiently. The nature of the fiber optics allow for the source of the light to be not only centralized, but removed much farther than the sides of the pool. Fiber optic pool lights can operate off of one light, and that be distanced from the water so not only is less electricity used, but there is much less chance of it coming in contact with the water. By separating the source fiber optic pool lights automatically separate the heat as well, eliminating the chances for pool patrons to be burned. Designers like the fiber optics because by changing a simple light filter, the colors of the pool lights can be changed, often done by a color wheel attached to a simple electric motor. The color can often be changed at the push of a button.

These benefits are working to integrate fiber optic pool lights into the very basics of pool and spa design, so as the future develops the old style of lights will surely be relegated to the past.

Labels: fiber optics lightening, fiber optics pool lights, technology

Facts About Data Fiber Optics

Fiber optics is a technology that uses glass or plastic threads to transmit data. A data fiber optics cable consists of a bundle of glass threads capable of transmitting messages that are modulated into light waves. The following article will contain a variety of technical details that will, hopefully, shed some light on the subject of fiber optics and demonstrate how it functions to provide information and data to a variety of sources using light energy.

Applied Science

Optic fibers or data fiber optics are often used in the field of telecommunications, imaging optics, sensors, and lighting in general. This is because of the quickness of data transmission and the fact that it doesn’t rely on electrical impulses to move the data. The light transmits energy faster and cleaner, causing the need for electrical power in terms of data transmission to become nearly obsolete.

Data fiber optics is a part of applied science or engineering that is comprised of the science and technology of transmitting data or energy. This falls closely under the realm of physics as many of the fundamentals to fiber optics are defined through mathematical equations and scientific processes that help designate the actual flow of the data into observable and replicable systems.

Data Fiber Optics and Telecommunications

In order to fully understand fiber optics and its implications on technology, we need to understand how it works in terms of telecommunications. Telecommunications is the conduction of signals over distance for communication purposes. Telecommunications are widespread and there are many devices that assist in the spread of this communication, such as the television and the radio. Data fiber optics factors heavily into this medium.

The basic fundamentals of a telecommunications system are a transmitter, a transmission medium, and a receiver. A transmitter is an electronic device that proliferates an electromagnetic signal with the aid of an antenna, essentially taking information and converting it to a signal for transmission which passes it on to the transmission medium. The transmission medium is the device or material over which the signal is transmitted. A receiver is, of course, the receiving end of the communication channel.

Data fiber optics plays into the telecommunications process by serving as an effective transmitter of information. The use of glass and light energy has helped to revolutionize the process of telecommunications and change the way the world communicates far into the future.

Labels: communication, data fiber optics, radio, telecommunication, transmission

The Benefits of Fiber Optics Cables Now

No one could have foreseen the Internet or digital cable when people first began experimenting with and utilizing fiber optics technology, but without fiber optics cables, advancements like the Internet, pay-per-view movies and breakthroughs in medical imaging may never have been possible.

Besides the ability to transmit all forms of data at the speed of light over a fiber optics receiver transmitter system, fiber optics cables provides a host of benefits to the average consumer that many may not even realize.

Benefits Of Fiber Optics In The Home

Just because the use of fiber optics cables and fiber optics lighting has yet to take over the average home, doesn’t mean the average homeowner is not reaping its rewards. First, the less expensive fiber optics cables means cable, telephone and Internet providers can string thousands of miles of cable for less cost. This translates into less expense that is passed on to the consumer.

The light used to transmit fiber optics signals provides substantial benefits in reception and quality of things like telephone and television. Consumers may be used to crystal clear phone calls and high-definition T.V., but without fiber optics, which provides little to no signal degradation compared to traditional cable, none of these would be possible. Fiber optics receiver transmitter systems also have become increasingly less costly to install, allowing these companies to stretch their fiber optic cables further by using these systems to send signals farther without any degradation.

Pay-per-view movies and high-speed Internet also have benefited from the fiber optics revolution, thanks to their speed-of-light delivery, allowing movies and data to be transmitted instantaneously from provider to consumer with just a click of a remote or mouse. While companies are still working on fiber optic delivery directly into the home, these recent technologies have delivered it to the neighborhood, allowing a clean and pure signal to then be sent to the home via traditional electronic cables.

The Benefits You May Not See Everyday

While cable television and Internet are obvious benefits to the consumer, fiber optics cables also has provided for several breakthroughs in medical and engineering imaging. Laparoscopic surgery and imaging was a direct result of developments in fiber optics technology, allowing surgeons to use the tiny, hair-like cables to peer into the human body and detect any abnormalities. This technology also allows doctors to transmit their findings to other doctors around the world, ensuring illnesses are correctly diagnosed and the best treatment is determined.

Fiber optic cables also are used in engineering applications, to inspect millions of working parts crucial on some of today’s most complex machines, such as airplanes and power generation equipment. Plumbers now routinely employ it to find leaks or blockages as well.

So, whether it’s a movie on a Saturday night, downloading your favorite song off the Internet, finding the best treatment for an illness or simply clearing a clogged drain; fiber optics has had a tremendous impact on the average consumer, whether they realize it or not.

Labels: fiber, fiber optic cables, fiber optics, fiber optics lightening, optic, receiver transmitter