At Creativeit Group we have OTDR launch cables. A fiber optic launch cable is used to analyze potential problems and faults in a fiber optic line. It is an indispensable tool in construction, certification and maintenance alike.
The spool is usually bare optical fiber which, thanks to its extreme thinness, can be wound in lengths of 100 to 2000 meters inside a small hand-sized box that holds the spool and is fully portable for whoever performs the measurements. The cables must be of the required length, with connectors that match the optical port of the OTDR and of the fiber link under test.
One end of the OTDR launch cable is normally left connected to the OTDR, and the other end is moved progressively along the patch panel as each fiber is measured. Naturally, the corresponding cleaning procedures must be performed at every stage. At the other end of the network, the receive cable must be placed, with no equipment connected to it, since an OTDR measurement involves a single instrument and an “open circuit.” This receive cable is often omitted through lack of awareness, but it is strictly necessary when you need to characterize the entire network and observe events including the first and last connectors.
Launch and receive cables are essential and play a very important role in fiber optic measurements, since they remove the dead zone at the start of the network and the Fresnel reflection at the end of the network from the measurement, making it possible to measure the total link loss, including the first and last connectors of the network.
