Chapter 6: Fiber Optic Cleaning Guidelines
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6. Fiber Optic Cleaning Guidelines
Fiber Optic transmitters and receivers are extremely susceptible to
contamination by particles of dirt or dust, which can obstruct the optic path
and cause performance degradation. Good system performance requires
clean optics and connector ferrules.
1. Use fiber patch cords (or connectors, if you terminate your own fiber) only
from a reputable supplier; low-quality components can cause many hard-to-
diagnose problems in an installation.
2. Dust caps are installed at Black Box to ensure factory-clean optical devices.
These protective caps should not be removed until the moment of connecting
the fiber cable to the device. If you need to disconnect the fiber device,
reinstall the protective dust caps.
3. Store spare caps in a dust-free environment such as a sealed plastic bag or
box so that when reinstalled they do not introduce any contamination to the
optics.
4. If you suspect that the optics have been contaminated, alternate between
blasting with clean, dry, compressed air and flushing with methanol to remove
particles of dirt.
