FOA Guide to fiber optics


Topic: Fiber Optic Loss Measurements: Hybrid Cables

Table of Contents: The FOA Reference Guide To Fiber Optics


Testing Hybrid Cables

Hybrid here means cables with different connector types on each end.

As described elsewhere on the FOA website, there are three ways of setting a reference and testing fiber optic cables depending on the standards requirements or the types of connectors on the cables.   However, what happens when the cable is a "hybrid" with one type of connector on one end and another type on the other? And what happens if you need to test each end individually? Here is a solution.

Consider a hybrid military cable assembly with a multipin 38999 connector on one end and SCs on the other. The manufacturer provides a SC to "probe pin" cable with a mating pin as a reference cable.
Here a picture is worth at least a thousand words. The trick involved is to use two tests, one for each end of the cable, resetting the "0 dB reference" for each test. You need a meter or OLTS with adapters on the detector  unless, as in this case, the pin is a 2.5 mm ferrule just like the SC, so a universal adapter will work.



MIL cable testing


 


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