Fiber optics is becoming a progressively common
Another reason behind its immense popularity in networking and telecommunication areas is that fiber cables transmit data in the form of light pulses over long distances. One important thing to mentions here, light travels faster than electricity that is why optical fibers can transmit data at much faster rate than copper cables. But dust, finger oils and other contaminants are the major enemies of this high-speed data transmission medium and can create interruption in the smooth transmission of signals, thus need to be tested at regular intervals.
There are different types of equipment available in the market that are used to test optical cables, let's have a look on the most commonly used tools of fiber optic cleaning and testing kit:
Optical power meter: One of the most important tools of a fiber optic testing kit, an optical power meter is a handheld device used to measure the light intensity of signal, energy loss during transmission, to observe laser power in an optical signal generation etc. There are different types of optical power meter available in the market, depending upon the mode of light, type of the connector, and wavelength toy can choose the right one for your testing task. Optical power meters rely on photo detector or photodiode that works by transforming light onto an electric current, on amplifier that works by transforming the electric current into voltage, and a converter that works by changing the received voltage into a digital signal.
Visual fault locator: Another essential component of a fiber optical tool kit, a visual fault locator is a pen like device that functions as an end-to-end cable continuity tester in order to locate faults (like breaks, tight bends, and bad connectors), to verify polarity and flashing modes etc.
Optical Fiber identifier: It is an installation and maintenance fiber optic testing equipment used to detect the presence of signals that are transmitted through optical cable.
Fiber jumper: Sometimes referred to as patch cord, fiber jumper is a cable with same connectors like SC, LC, ST, or MTRJ, use at each end.
Apart from these aforementioned testing tools, other equipment that are used to clean fiber cables include alcohol, swaps, and wipes.
