Fiber Optic Check

After all fiber optic cables are installed, spliced ​​and terminated, they must be tested. With each fiber optic cable network, you must check continuity and polarity, point-to-point insertion loss and then solve any problem that could occur in each fiber of each cable. If it is a long external plant cable with splices along with it, you may also want to verify the individual splices by testing with OTDR (optical reflectometer in the time domain), since it is the only way to ensure that each splice is made correctly. If you are the network user, you may also be interested in testing the power of the transmitter and receiver, since the power is the measurement that indicates whether the system is operating properly.

Testing is the main subject of most industry standards since there is a need to verify the specifications of the components and systems in a consistent manner. A list of TIA and ISO standards on the optical fiber is available on the FOA website. Most of these tests are related to manufacturing tests to verify the operation of the components and are not relevant to the installation tests.

The testing of fiber optic components and cable networks requires several evaluations and measurements with the most common tests listed below. Some involve the inspection and judgment of the installer, such as visual inspection or tracking, and other sophisticated instruments that provide direct measurements are used. The optical power, required to measure the power of the source, the power of the receiver and, when used with a test source, to measure the loss or attenuation, is the most important parameter and is required for almost all tests of optical fiber. The backscatter measurements performed by an OTDR are the measurements that remain in importance, especially for testing external plant facilities and troubleshooting. 

Fiber optic certified

Measurements of the geometric parameters of the fiber and the bandwidth or dispersion are essential for fiber manufacturers but are not relevant to the field test. Every installation requires the solution of installed cable and network problems. but they are not relevant to the field test. In every installation, the solution of installed cables and networks problems is required. but they are not relevant to the field test. Every installation requires the solution of installed cable and network problems.