I have been trainingtechnicians in fiber optics since 2002. Increasingly fiber optics are being used in our industry for camera, voice evacuation systems and data communication connections. From the number of requests I am receiving for fiber training classes, it certainly appears that fiber optics are rapidly becoming the preferred choice for cabled connectivity.
One of the recurring problems when working with fiber optics is very simple; the strands of glass are thinner than a human hair and each end of a fiber “link” must be “cleaved” to a 90-deg. flat angle to achieve a functional connector or fiber splice. Being so small it is impossible to determine whether a fiber end has been properly cleaved until the connector is installed and the fiber link is tested. In too many cases, fiber links will test as “bad” and with one connector on each end, which is the bad one? Or are both defective? With fiber links easily exceeding 2,000 ft., it can take a long time to walk from end to end. This problem causes technician frustration, lost productivity, increased labor time, as well as wasting connectors at $10 each.