The OP930 served as the premier option for IL and RL testing in both lab and production settings for over 10 years. In 2016, the final OP930 was produced and the OP940 made its debut.

The OP940 insertion loss and return loss meter was designed with the same technology principles as the OP930 and introduced new features to improve the operator’s ease of use, such as a full-color LCD Screen, configurable on-screen pass/fail results, and two-position RL measurements.

There are many OP930s still in use today, which serves a testament to the longevity and reliability of OptoTest products. That being said, there are some reasons to consider upgrading or adding an OP940 to your test system if you have an OP930 now.

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As fiber continues to replace copper and as emerging technologies demand the deployment of more fiber that meets ever higher performance requirements, the need for fast and accurate testing of fiber optic cables is more important than ever before. What is not discussed nearly as much is the longevity of the equipment used for testing, the importance of knowing that you can count on your test equipment to get the job done both now and for the long haul.

OptoTest is proud to offer support and service for equipment far beyond its warranty period. We have equipment still in use today that was first deployed a decade ago, and our commitment to quality and service is just as strong today as it was on day one.

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The TIA convened for its last meeting of 2019 from Sept 16^th to Sept 20^th in Albuquerque, New Mexico.  Up for discussion in the TR42.11 subcommittee was the general concern from field installers on the testing and usage of bend insensitive multimode fiber (BIMMF).  Current standards call for non-BIMMF cables to be used as the launch cables for fiber optic testing. This is because non-BIMMF cables can maintain encircled flux (EF) launch conditions which are often required when testing installed multimode (MM) cables.

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Optical Shuffle Testing with OP415 Polarity Analyzer

How do you Find Flaws in Optical Systems with Multiple Signal Pathways?

As the demand for more information in smaller form factors increases, optical shuffles emerge as a method for maximizing the efficiency of an optical network. Their ability to route signals in many different directions increases the complexity of testing these systems. All possible signal routes must be evaluated for proper signal transmission and quality. Any misrouted fibers in patchcords can cause downtime in networks and identifying those errors early in the production process can reduce the cost of labor required to re-terminate those cables.

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The standardization of wide band multimode fiber leads to allocating a color designation similar to the OM2 orange or OM3/OM4 aqua.  The widely accepted color within the Telecommunications Industry Association (TIA) has been lime green for the OM5 cable jacketing.  However, it has been proposed that the connector for OM5 cabling should also be lime green.  On the surface this sounds fitting.

Some concern has been raised among the TIA, pointing out that the lime green designation is too close to standard single mode APC green connectors and could potentially be confused with each other.  Next to one another, an OM5 lime green connector and an APC green connector could most likely be distinguished.  The issue arises when the distinction needs to be made without having the opposing type as a reference.  Basically, in the absence of an APC green connector, it would be difficult to tell if an OM5 lime green connector is lime or green.

Below, you can see the lime green jacket next to the standard APC connectors.

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