Chapter 6
Fiber Optics Diagnostics (TRACETEK)
Table 6-1: Resolution Settings and Recommendations
Resolution
Setting
Power
Distance
Scale
Distance Recommendation
High
Low
Short
0-800 m (0-2625 ft)
Med
High
Short
250-850 m (820-2790 ft)
Low
High
Long
500-4000 m (1640-13120 ft)
Note: The recommendations for distance do not reflect the absolute minimum or
maximum distance capabilities of TRACETEK. These are recommendations that will
yield the best results in most cases. You should feel free to experiment and
determine the setting that gives the best result for a particular test configuration.
HIGH RESOLUTION
High Resolution provides accurate back reflection measurement of fiber and will
resolve individual events as close as 2 meters apart at rated accuracy. This setting is
used to check for connector quality, optimized for short-distance cables with lengths of
no more than 800 meters and mostly used on horizontal links and shorter backbone
cables. This mode has a “low power” setting.
MEDIUM (MED) RESOLUTION
Medium Resolution provides accurate back reflection measurement of lengths and will
resolve measure events 8 meters and up at distances of 850 meters. This setting is
primarily used to locate high quality connections for documentation purposes. It is on
cables between 250-850 m in length or when trying to locate low-reflection events
such as mechanical splices or connectors where the polish is so good that they do not
reflect enough light in the low power mode to be detected. This mode has a “long
laser pulse” setting.
LOW RESOLUTION
Low Resolution provides accurate back reflection measurements for cables between
500 and 4000 meters in length, since most connectors and mechanical splices will be
visible in this mode. This mode combines the “high power/long pulse” of the Medium
Resolution mode with long-distance scaling.
TRACETEK OVERVIEW
High-bandwidth optical networks have become increasingly sensitive to signal
transmission problems. In many cases the channel insertion loss is the only parameter
that is measured to make a determination that a link’s performance is satisfactory.
Channel insertion loss only measures the weakening of the signal from one end of a
fiber optic link to the other, making sure that enough optical power is present at the
receiver to ensure the optical transceivers can “see” each other.
FIBERTEK is an exceptional tool to certify proper link channel loss. However, in a
situation when a certification test fails or there are unusual network performance
problems, another tool can help isolate cabling problems.
TRACETEK is a unique tool that provides many of the useful features of an OTDR
without the high cost or complex parameters to set up. An easy to use diagnostic tool,
TRACETEK allows the user to measure the total length of a link, measure the distance
to a reflective event such as a connector, and most importantly, identify faulty
connections.
6-4
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