Product Review

OTDR Launch and tail cords let the tester measure the loss and reflectance of the first and last connectors in the cabling and also include them in the measurement of overall loss. Without launch and tail cords, no backscatter is available before the first connector nor after the last. Fluke Networks recommends that you use launch and tail cords when making an OTDR measurement. You should also use the launch/tail cord compensation function to remove the lengths of these fibers from the OTDR measurements.  The tail cord used should have the same characteristics as the OTDR launch cord. OptiFiber Pro SmartLoop OTDR enables automated testing and analysis of two fibers in a single test. This process automatically separates the two fibers for individual pass/fail analysis, display, and reporting. Not only does this cut the testing time by at least half, it also enables bi-directional testing without moving the OTDR to the far end. In addition to getting the job done quicker, SmartLoop OTDR further enhances the ease and speed of testing in environments where the far end is difficult or even dangerous to reach because the OTDR never has to be moved to the far end. And when you run the SmartLoop test, the bi-directional averaging is done on the tester—there is no need to use additional software to accomplish bi-directional averaging on tested links.