Some Basics About Fiber Optic Loss Testing Equipment

By Author: fiber qa
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There are number of fiber optic loss testing equipment available in the market. A little knowledge about the components of the testing device can be a great help in understanding the functioning of the device. It can also come in handy at times when there is any problem in the working of device. Few basics about the optical fiber testing equipments are discussed below.

The equipment used for an optical fiber loss test consists of two devices: a laser light source and an optical power meter, which are integrated together in a single unit. Two power adapters are used one each for laser light source and optical power meter respectively for providing power to the assembly. The integration of both units into a single device made the equipment compact light weight as compared to the equipment used in earlier times which had two separate units. It also made the testing equipment a lot more cost effective as spending on two separate units used to cost a lot more.

That was all about the physical aspects of the equipment. Now, if we talk about the technical part as in how the equipment works, one thing that needs to be kept ...
... in mind while using these testing equipments is that the wavelength used in the laser light and the wavelength of the operating equipment. If they are not same, then there will be incorrect results as the loss in the optical fiber varies with the wavelength of light used.

Another thing to consider is that the source of light used in testing should be same as that of the working light wave equipment that is to be tested. If the designed uses an LED as a source of light then it should be tested with an LED.

With all that being said and done, automated equipments have come in the market which are much more efficient and provide highly accurate results. These automatic devices have not only made the task of optical fiber loss testing easy, but far more time efficient as well. The advanced ones also come with an option to test optical return loss, also called as back reflection in technical terms, making these latest devices really effective as compared to the earlier ones.

Understanding these steps and carefully following them can ensure that the results of the fiber optic loss test are accurate. So always make sure that you follow these steps while using your fiber testing equipment.

FiberQA is a joint business enterprise of AEFOS, Inc. and PVI Systems. FiberQA is focused entirely on manufacturing of automated optic fiber testing assemblies.

Log on to www.fiberqa.com to have a look at the products that they offer and even ask for a free quote of their automated fiber optic testing devices.