Cabling Chronicles
An Update on IEC 61280-4-1 Edition 3, Multimode Attenuation Measurement of Installed Cabling Plant
Introduction
IEC and other organizations, such as TIA, routinely reaffirm standards every few years. Reaffirmation is a way for subcommittees to decide if a standard is “dated” or still applicable to current times. Technology and market needs change often which drive standards to change. IEC 61280-4-1 edition 2 was in such a cycle several years ago and it was decided an edition 3 was needed.
June 25, 2020
June 18, 2020
Cable Testing 101: Understanding Near and Far End Crosstalk
If you're at all familiar with copper cable, you've probably heard about crosstalk--the phenomenon by which a signal transmitted on one pair or one channel creates an undesired affect on another pair or channel.
June 10, 2020
Social Distancing the LinkWare Live Way
While everyone has been working smart and social distancing, LinkWare Live surpassed another milestone with over forty million test results uploaded since it was launched back in 2015. Last spring, we passed the twenty million mark meaning that LinkWare Live usage continues to grow exponentially, with total uploads doubling about every 12 months.
May 29, 2020
The OM Mantra
Adopted by TIA, the nomenclature for multimode fiber found in the ISO/IEC 11801 standard includes the prefix “OM.”
Rather than the spiritual mantra you hear in yoga class, most sources in our industry state that the acronym OM comes from “optical multimode” which seems rather obvious. But when it comes to the various nuances of each type of OM, the differences aren’t quite as obvious.
Let’s take a closer look.
May 22, 2020
2020 Cabling Industry Salary Survey Now Available
For the second year, Fluke Networks has teamed up with Cabling Installation and Maintenance to survey structured cabling professionals for salary information.
May 14, 2020
What are all those specialty cords you use?
I was recently asked by a customer, to whom I was demonstrating a Fluke Networks OptiFiber® Pro OTDR and CertiFiber® Pro OLTS, why do you need all those specialty test leads to make measurements? Why can’t I use patch cords? We often take the understanding of such things for granted, so let’s take an in-depth look at the various accessory cords you need to make measurements accurately with our testers.
May 7, 2020
But I can’t get to the far end!
There are often times when you have to test a fiber link, but you can’t access the far end. One of our customers, for example, was required to test fiber links to offshore wind platforms. Unfortunately, in order to set foot on a platform, the technician would need to complete three days of safety training. Three days training, lost time and all to test just a pair of fibers running to each tower.
April 30, 2020
Get Reel Before You Install!
It’s obvious why you might want to test reel of cable before you commit your time and resources to installing it. While it would be nice to think that every reel of cable coming out of the factory is in perfect condition, that’s not always the case. Furthermore, what’s not to say that the reel wasn’t damaged during shipping and handling? Just imagine testing the cable plant after installation only to find out that the cable is faulty—now that’s time and money lost!
April 23, 2020
What’s On Tap?
For those of you who got excited at the thought of happy hour when your customer requested a TAP, we thought you could use a little tutorial on these data traffic monitoring devices, the difference between passive and active TAPs, and some of the key considerations.
April 16, 2020
