Fluke live fibre detectors and expert advice to help users make optimal fibre testing choices

Fluke Networks believes those who are not sure about which fibre testing methodology to use – or want to know more about fibre testing best practices in general – will benefit from an appointment with an expert from the company who will provide free consultation as well as possibly deliver a demonstration on how to determine what the best, most reliable and most cost-effective fibre test solution is for their application.

Those partaking in a demo will receive a free FiberLert detector and a cashback offer to use against buying selected Fluke fibre testers between the 1st March and the 31st July 2023. A free, downloadable fibre selection guide is available.

Robert Luijten, Technical Expert and Training Manager at Fluke Networks said, “Now that fibre is increasingly preferred in the marketplace for use with innovative technologies that support exploding bandwidth demands, it is essential that network professionals make sure they use the best fibre testing solution. We want to give them the maximum level of support in that process and believe our free advice, demo and testing equipment will go a long way to achieving that goal.”

Performance characteristics

Expert advice will focus on various scenarios, such as ensuring performance characteristics of a fibre installation comply with such industry standards as ISO/IEC 14763-3, TIA-568-C or EN50173. Fluke would recommend an optical loss test using equipment like its CertiFiber Pro set which improves the efficiency of fibre optics certification. Benefits of using this optical loss test set with wizard-guided set-up include being able to test a fibre TX/RX pair at two wavelengths in under 3 seconds, test both cores bi-directionally in under 10 seconds, and eliminate negative loss errors by ensuring the correct reference setting is used. Built on the Versiv platform, the CertiFiber Pro set offers multi-mode dual wavelength and single-mode dual-wavelength in the same unit. It also provides merged Tier 1 (basic) and Tier 2 (extended) testing and reporting when paired with Fluke’s OptiFiber Pro optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR).

A combination of fibre end-face inspection and OTDR is ideal for users investigating a fault or sub-optimal performance in a fibre installation, says Fluke. The OptiFiber Pro OTDR family provides multiple wavelengths (850nm, 1300nm, 1310nm, 1490nm, 1550nm and 1625nm) to support LAN, data centres, passive optical networks (PONs), the fibre in the loop (FTTx) and outside plant applications. Other features include Intelligent Autotest which senses fibre characteristics and adjusts output for maximum resolution, while EventMap automatically identifies connectors, splices, bends and splitters. Also, a SmartLoop function reduces Tier 2 certification times by enabling a fibre pair to be certified (testing from one end) in no more than 30 seconds.

End-face inspection

Fluke experts stress that checking fibre end faces for cleanliness and the condition is critical, regardless of what other testing may be carried out. End-face inspection confirms that every fibre connection is clean and undamaged, ensuring maximum possible performance. Typically, inspection cameras such as Fluke’s FI-3000 FiberInspector Ultra or FiberInspector Pro are able to provide total visibility with live view from a 32-core MPO connector end-face to a single-core end-face. In particular, the Ultra features a multiple autofocus/auto-centring camera for real-time imaging and offers the ability to obtain automated pass/fail results within seconds.

Documentation and data consolidation

Depending on the modules that are inserted in the mainframe, a Versiv transforms itself into a copper cable tester (DSX CableAnalyser), fibre loss/length tester (CertiFiber Pro), an OTDR (OptiFiber Pro) or with a camera into a fiber inspection instrument (FI-3000 FiberInspector Ultra or FiberInspector Pro), all with a common user interface.

This is unique in the industry and results in great productivity enhancements.

Now being able to operate different testers with a common user interface is great but what perhaps is even more important that the measurement data gathered by all these different testers can be easily consolidated in a single PDF report by LinkWare PC and/or the LinkWare Live Cloud service.