Furukawa America Inc. has introduced industry’s first hand held ribbon fiber splicer - the FITEL S122M12. This ribbon fiber fusion splicer delivers a 15-second splice and 45-second heat time for 12-fiber ribbon.

S122M12 also introduces several new technologies developed by Furukawa which allow for easy operation for splicing single fiber or up to 12-ribbon fiber. These technologies include Real Time Arc Control System which greatly improves the splice consistency and reduces splice loss. Another innovation is FITEL’s Fiber Clamp Vibration System which automatically positions each fiber in the correct v-groove channel.

The best feature of S122M12 ribbon fiber fusion splicer is its operation flexibility. The unit can be used for aerial splicing, nodes and pedestals, as well as traditional large count trunk splicing. The unit can be operated via traditional work bench, worktable, tripod, hand-held, or around the operator’s neck.

New Features:

• Real time arc control: eliminates the need for traditional arc checks by actively calibrating the arc during each splicing cycle.
• Fiber clamp vibration system: allows for easy fiber placement. System inspects axis offset before each splice and makes necessary adjustment for ideal splicing.
• Automatic fiber count identification: Unit automatically identifies fiber ribbon count and selects the proper program for splicing. There is no need to manually change the program when operators want to splice different fiber counts.
• Built-in maintenance guide: Unit has built-in guides for common maintenance procedures.
• Image capture: Unit stores all relevant splicing data after splice and has ability to store actual fiber image for evaluation.

S122M12 Splicer Specifications:

You can also look at the detailed S122M12 Ribbon Fiber Fusion Splicer Data Sheet.

Fiber Optics For Sale Co. also offers a wide range of selections on fiber optic splicing products.

Verizon is expanding its FTTH (Fiber To The Home) - FiOS service again!

Verizon just announced toady (12/15/2006) that it will deploy its very popular FiOS TV service to over 100 communities in New Jersey. Here is the press release:

NEWARK, N.J. — Verizon announced plans to make its industry-leading FiOS TV service available to about 100 New Jersey communities after the New Jersey Board of Public Utilities today approved the first state-issued video franchise agreement. The BPU’s forward-looking decision will lead to a new era of video services and true competition in the state’s video marketplace.

“Today’s decision opens the door to a new world of superior home entertainment in New Jersey, and it’s a huge victory for consumers,” said Dennis Bone, president of Verizon New Jersey. “With the New Jersey market now open to competition, we will soon offer this service to hundreds of thousands of consumers in about 100 communities, and it will make New Jersey one of the most competitive states in the nation.”

You can go to Verizon’s web site to get the deal’s details.

We hope we can get Fiber To The Home services here in California too!

The major difference is oven’s maximum temperature capability.

Standard epoxy connector oven has a maximum temperature of 150 degrees C, and there are different blocks available which will fit each connector style. The oven block feature built in stops to allow the connector to sit in the center of the oven without passing through to the bottom and breaking fiber stubs.

Standard epoxy oven cannot do the Hot Melt connectors.

3M Hot Melt connectors require a temperature of 260 degrees C. Fiber Optics For Sale offers hot melt ovens in 6, 12, and 14 port versions.

Fiber Optics For Sale offers 3M hot melt connector and ovens.

6 port 3M hot melt connector oven

24 port standard epoxy fiber optic connector oven

If the received light level is too high for the detector in an active node, the result of overdriving the detector can cause noise in the signal, or worse case even damage to the unit.

The answer is an attenuator.

Attenuators are available in either fixed or variable levels of attenuation, and as pigtailed devices, bulkhead adapters, or male-to-female hybrids. Simply measure the power of the signal being received, and subtract the maximum input power of the active equipment from the measured power of the signal to determine the amount of attenuation needed.

In general, there are two main differences between singlemode and multimode connectors. The first and most obvious would be the color of the strain relief boot. A singlemode boot is generally blue or white, while multimode boots are normally black or beige.

But, the main difference is in the ferrule of the connector. Singlemode connectors will almost always have a zironia (ceramic) ferrule while multimode connectors can have stainless steel (Nickel-Silver), composite (plasitc), or zirconia. The size of the hole in the center of the ferrule will determine the correct fiber type that the connector is designed for. A standard singlemode zirconia ferrule will usually have a ferrule hole of about 126 microns, while standard multimode ferrules will be closer to 127-128 microns. The difference is very small, but can make a large impact on insertion loss if the larger multimode ferrule is used on singlemode fiber.

So, the best way to tell the two connectors apart?… Keep them in their original packaging until ready for use.

126um is the recommended ferrule hole size for 125um singlemode fiber. There are some 125.5um ferrules available for critical alignement situations, but for general connectorization, the 126um hole allows for some epoxy bond around the fiber, and for ease of fiber insertion without breakage.

You can choose from a range of connector products on the Connector and Mating Sleeves page.

BICSI’s executive board of directors has named David C. Cranmer, RCDD, the association’s new executive director, effective January 1. Cranmer has served as interim executive director since June.

“After a thorough search of many qualified candidates and months of careful deliberation, the executive director search committee elected to appoint Cranmer to permanently serve as executive director of BICSI,” the organization said in a release issued in early November. “The board’s decision directly correlates with BICSI’s new strategic direction to advance the knowledge and success of BICSI’s membership, their customers, and the ITS [information transport systems] industry.”

“The board welcomes David to his new position as BICSI looks to bring the technical aspects of the association back into focus,” said BICSI president John Bakowski, RCDD/NTS/OSP/WD Specialist. “BICSI’s outreach program of actively seeking cooperation with related industries and associations will benefit greatly from David’s expertise and ability to derive collaborative efforts.”

Cranmer is no newcomer to BICSI. He served as the association’s president in 1990 and 1991, has chaired the BICSI Installation Committee, and has served on several other committees.

BICSI believes Cranmer’s years of experience in the telecommunications industry, as well as his wealth of resources and contacts, will be invaluable in driving the organization in both the national and international forums.

PowerDsine (www.powerdsine.com), the company whose unwritten mission is to turn the RJ-45 interface into a universal receptacle for the transmission of power to networked devices, is being acquired by integrated-circuit and semiconductor manufacturer Microsemi (www.microsemi.com).

The cash-and-stock deal, announced October 24, is valued at $245 million and is expected to close between January and March 2007.

PowerDsine built its first Power over Ethernet (PoE) technology in 1998. Today, the company offers a product portfolio that ranges from silicon to midspan powering devices for PoE applications.

Go to Cabling Installation and Maintenance for details of this deal.