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Can You Build a Fiber Test Kit On a Budget?

Posted by timothy on from the un-un-explained-acronyms dept.

An anonymous reader writes "Have any Slashdot readers hacked together cheap test kits for fiber optic cable? More and more IT infrastructure is using multimode and single mode fiber optic cabling. Commercial test equipment is extremely expensive, running the gamut from a few hundred dollars for a basic light source, to tens of thousands for an OTDR. What equipment do you consider essential to your fiber kit? Is there a way to save costs when it comes to fiber test equipment? It is worth it to do so?"

2 of 53 comments (clear)

  1. Cheap Kit == Cheap Results by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 4, Insightful

    Depends on what you need to do.

    There are many different tests you can do on fiber. A basic college course will teach you that.

    Do you just want to know if the fiber is not "broken"? a LED and a phototransister can do that.

    Want to know if the fiber is the correct mode, optimized for the wavelength of the led, or can support multimode and run parametric tests on the fiber, gee, that gets more expensive.

    Its the same for the DIY ethernet cable testers too.

    Want to test continuity? a 5$ multimeter will do that.

    Want to determine if the cable meets spec? You need better equipment.

    Better Equipment GENERALLY equals better [test] results. [ yes, a lot can depend on the skill of the tech operating said equipment too].

    1. Re:Cheap Kit == Cheap Results by Creepy+Crawler · · Score: 2, Insightful

      And that means a Fluke with full fiber gear.

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