Archive: Jun 2015

White Paper Overviews New FTTH Fusion Splicer

OFS released a white paper on the new FITEL® NINJA™ NJ001 handheld fusion splicer at the FTTH Connect Conference in Anaheim this week. Specifically designed for Fiber-to-the-Home (FTTH) applications. the NINJA features the industry’s first detachable V-groove that allows technicians to easily remove and clean that part.

With fusion splice-on connectors gaining acceptance as a way to field terminate cables, the NINJA is compatible with fusion splice-on field installable connectors from a wide variety of manufacturers. In addition, while the NINJA design is compact and low profile, its large battery capacity allows 100 splicing and heating cycles in one charge. Finaly, FTTH drop cables are often stiff. Less powerful splicer motors can require the technician to perform more cable preparation to offset the motor weakness. The NINJA offers powerful fiber propulsion motors to complete splices with even very rigid drop cables.

According to Mark Boxer, Applications Engineering Manager and author of the white paper, dirty V-grooves are a source of error and also the number one reason splicers are submitted for repair. In fact, OFS data indicates that approximately 60-70% of splicer repair occurrences are due primarily to dirty V-grooves.

For more information and to access this new white paper, please go HERE.

There’s a New Microcable in Town

Today, OFS introduced the newest member of its growing microcable product family at the FTTH Connect Show in Anaheim, CA.

Building on the company’s expertise in microcable technology, the MiDia® FX Cable is specifically designed for excellent air-blown installation performance using microducts.  This new cable can help make fiber optic cable deployment faster and less costly, especially in locations where space is at a premium.

While offering the smallest cable outer diameter in OFS’ North American microcable portfolio, MiDia FX Cable also provides excellent mechanical and environmental protection in compliance with Telecordia GR-20.

“With their continued focus on reducing costs, our North American customers can now capitalize on the installation and cost benefits of MiDia FX Cable,” said Pierre Marty, Executive Vice President Sales and Marketing for OFS.

Available with 12 to 144 fibers from a full range of OFS application-specific fibers, MiDia FX Cable is the latest innovation in OFS’ extensive line of OSP cable products, building upon the company’s expertise in the development and expansion of microcable technology.

To learn more about MiDia FX Cable, please go HERE.

A Miniature Turnaround for Distributed Temperature Sensing

Fiber optic distributed temperature sensing systems (DTS) are valuable tools used for a broad range of applications, including the monitoring of hydrologic systems and power cables, and the detection of pipeline leaks. In many fiber optic DTS systems, a dual-ended configuration can correct the temperature measurement error associated with wavelength dependent loss (WDL) of the optical fiber. This design can also provide a more accurate temperature measurement when compared with a single-ended fiber system.

Xiaoguang Sun, David T. Burgess, Kyle Bedard, Jie Li and Mike Hines of OFS recently presented a white paper on this subject at the 2015 SPIE Defense, Security and Sensing Conference. This paper focuses on their research findings when a miniature-turnaround device built with a short section of a graded index (GI) fiber is used. To read more, please go HERE.