Performance of fiber optic transmission can be seriously affected by dirty, damaged, or malformed connector end faces. Common effects are: 1. Link loss increases, either causing immediate data failure, or loss of optical margin resulting in later fa. Performance of fiber optic transmission can be seriously affected by dirty, damaged, or malformed connector end faces. Common effects are: 1. Link loss increases, either causing immediate data failure, or loss of optical margin resulting in later failure. 2. Optical reflections (ORL/ return loss) get worse, causing immediate or intermittent transmi. There are various common categories: wet and dry cleaners. Arguments can rage back and forth on the merits of each, so here are a few factors: 1. Wet systems may have problems with being allowed on to flights as cabin luggage, they can get contaminated by atmospheric pollution, and they can dry out. They are generally recommended for use when a dry. Here are various popular configurations. In all cases, anti-static rated devices are preferred. There are others of course: 1. The classic cartridge-cleaner is useful for cleaning connector tips. The cleaner has a microfiber cloth reel that is moved forward so a clean cloth is used for each clean. The reel needs occasional replacement. These are an. Connector and through-connector dust caps play a significant role. To begin with, new terminations may have acquired end-face contamination during storage, so new connectors need inspection before use. During and after any work, dust caps should always be put back to protect equipment from dust etc. Transparent ferrule dust caps are a very handy th. There are three common classes of inspection equipment: 1. Traditional optical / mechanical microscopes. These have the advantage of simplicity, low cost, small size, and flexibility, and should always have a proper eye-safety filter. 1. Video scopes / probes. These are more expensive, bulkier, and typically more delicate, but have advantages that.
