Softing recently made its FiberXpert OTDR 5000 available in the United States. The optical time domain reflectometer has a dead zone of 80 cm, which the company says makes the tester “ideal for relatively short fiber links, which are installed in company networks or data centers.
“Plugs following one another in succession can be disconnected and measured to a high degree of accuracy,” Softing added. “These highly accurate measurement results for fiber-optic links can be achieved by the FiberXpert OTDR 5000 both in the singlemode range [1310/1550 nm] and the multimode range [850/1300 nm].”
The OTDR conducts standard-compliant Tier 2 measurements, the company said, and also offers automatic pass/fail analysis in line with TIA and IEC limits, as well as automatic macrobend detection. “Using the integrated attenuation measurement device and the optical power meter, the FiberXpert OTDR 5000 can calculate link attenuation and measure the output of active network components, such as switches, quickly and accurately,” Softing noted. “For a length-dependent rating of all events in terms of reflection and attenuation, the 5-inch color screen displays a razor-sharp graphical reflection curve as well as a table containing a list of all the link events together with their rating. And thanks to the new optical fiber microscope that can be connected to the OTDR via USB, fiber ends and link end surfaces can now be tested to an extremely high degree of accuracy and rated in accordance with IEC 61300-3-35.”
The OTDR weighs 400 grams (less than 1 pound), the company noted. It is available in two versions: The FiberXpert OTDR 5000 Quad for multimode, or the combi-device for singlemode/multimode (850/1300/1310/1550 nm).