Do I require, pigtails, or jumpers?
1) Pigtails: These are cable assemblies terminated on one end with a connector, and typically the other side is spliced to OSP (Outside Plant Cable). The may be simplex: (single fiber), or multi-fiber sometimes up to 144 fibers. Essentially these cable assemblies or pigtails are used to make connection between patch panels in a Central Office or Head End and OSP cable. Often times they may also provide connection to another splice point outside of the Head End or central office. The purpose of this is because various jacket materials may only be used a limited distance inside the building.
2) Jumpers: These are double ended cable assemblies, terminated on both sides with connectors. These cable assemblies are typically simplex (single fiber), or duplex (two fibers) and make connection from a patch panel to a network element. These cables provide a benefit allowing an expendable connection that can be easily replaced easily if it becomes damaged.

• CONSIDERATIONS to make the correct purchase:
i. Fiber Type
1. Singlemode (Yellow)
2. Multimode (Orange)
a. 50/125
b. 62.5/125
ii. Connector Style
1. ST, FC, SC (2.5mm Ferrule)
2. LC, MU (1.25mm Ferrule)
3. MT, MTP, MPO (Multi-Fiber)
iii. Connector Polish
1. Flat Polish- Typically multi-mode
2. PC- Physical Contact
a. Essentially refers to a Physical contact between the end faces of the two fibers when mated in a connector.
b. Sometimes referred to as UPC as well
3. APC- Angled Physical Contact (Green)
a. Essentially the end faces of the fibers are polished at an 8 degree angle. This allows for the faces to meet closer together essentially eliminating any extra reflection being able to interfere with the transmission. This reduces the return loss and making the performance much better.
iv. Fiber Count
v. Jacketing material
1. 900um Just the basic protection of a secondary buffer material on the cable. This is typically used in the back of a patch panel. This cable configuration significantly reduces the cable congestion in the back of a patch panel.
2. 2mm Jacket: A reduced jacket diameter that allow more cables to be placed in a smaller space. Often the 2.0mm, or 1.8mm diameters are used on Small form factor connectors such as LC, and MU connectors. However because of larger density patch panels the use of the smaller diameter cables is increasing.
3. 3.0mm Jacket: Standard “Jumper” jacket. The style has been utilized for many years and represents either an orange or yellow jacket material reinforced with Kevlar materials.
Again the goal of this article is to outline some of the basic information necessary to request the appropriate cable assemblies to fulfill your requirements. Most of the information is not difficult to determine. For instance: Singlemode or Multimode can typically be determined by the color of the jacket. Jacketing material can be determined by the diameter. Some of the things that are more difficult is the polish type. The flat polish can be determined by looking at the fiber face. If it is rounded it’s a UPC, or angled it is APC. Then the color will complete the determination: Blue-UPC, and Green-APC.
Fiber Solutions is available to help with all of your selection. Give us a call at 800-743-4237, or e-mail info@fibersolutionsinc.com and let us know how we can help. Our customer service staff is available to help you walk through the selections that we have discussed, and assist you in making the correct selections.

Recently, new tools have been developed that allow you to clean connector interfaces both in cable assemblies as well as patch panels, test equipment interfaces, and bulkheads. These new tools essentially replace Cletops as well as provide additional functionality not available through the use of a Cletop.

FiberSolutions Inc. has been a woman owned distributor of fiber optic cleaning tools for over 25 years. This longevity in the industry allows us to make recommendations and explain the differences between many of the new fiber optic cleaning tools being introduced into the market. The purpose of this blog is to outline the features of the new IBC Brand connector cleaner available from US Conec.

IBC Brand connector cleaners are manufactured by US Conec. They are mechanical cleaning tools designed to clean fiber optic connectors residing in a bulkhead adapter, a patch panel faceplate or a cable assembly. The IBC Brand connector cleaner utilizes a cleaning strand to gently sweep and lift away the dust and dirt that resides on the connector interface.

The benefit of the connector cleaning methodology implemented by the IBC Brand connector cleaner is the fact that it actually breaks away the dirt and then sweeps it off the fiber end face when the strand advances. This is accomplished by the dual mechanism within the tool. It actually rotates to break away the dirt and then advances the tape to remove the dirt from the connector interface. This dual action of cleaning actually does a very good job at cleaning all types of fiber optic connector interfaces.

Some of the features of the US Conec IBC Brand cleaner is the simple pushing motion to engage the tool. This results in an audible click that allows the operator to know that the tool has been deployed. The IBC Brand connector cleaner is a dry cleaning method. This makes the tool easily transportable in a briefcase or hand tool carry-on. The IBC Brand connector cleaner offers over 525 uses per tool. This makes this a very economical tool to use for cleaning fiber-optic interfaces.

The US Conec IBC Brand cleaner is available in multiple styles:
1. IBC Brand cleaner M250 – Utilized for 2.5 mm cleaning surfaces including FC, ST, FC, E, 2000, Mil 83526 and other harsh environment connectors
2. IBC Brand cleaner M 16 – Cleans 1.6 mm pin and socket terminations in a MIL- 38999 connector
3. IBC Brand cleaner SC – Cleans SC, ST, FC, and E 2000 connectors with a UPC and APC polish
4. IBC Brand cleaner LC – Cleans LC and MU connectors with a UPC and APC polish
5. IBC Brand cleaner HC- Cleans OptiTap connectors for F TTX applications
6. IBC Brand cleaner M20 – Cleans SMPTE 304M connectors in broadcast and MIL/COTS 2.0mm connectors.

IBC Brand cleaners are useful in applications including: telecom central offices, data centers, CATV head ends, outside plant applications, FTTX applications, fiber to the antenna for WiMAX and cellular networks, Broadcasting applications, and military and civilian aviation applications.

The US Conec IBC Brand cleaner is part of the US Conec family of fiber optic cleaning tools.
The IBC Brand cleaning tool can also be incorporated into the Fiber Solutions CleanFiber Optical Cleaning kit as an additional accessory.
Fiber Solutions Inc is a well-established fiber-optic distribution company providing the finest products in fiber optic cleaning applications. In addition Fiber Solutions offers fiber optic test equipment, cable assemblies, patch panels, splicing products, hand tools, and many other fiber-optic related products. We at Fiber Solutions are pleased to be a provider of some of the finest cleaning products available in the fiber-optic industry including all those available from US Conec. You can find all of these tools available on our website at http://www.fibersolutionsonline.com. You can also contact our customer service representatives at 800-743-4237, or e-mail us at info@fibersolutionsinc.com.

Buying a fiber optic cleaning kit is the best way to make sure that you are using the right cleaning products and tools to clean your fiber optics. When you purchase one of these cleaning kits you should find the appropriate cleaning formulas, wipes and swabs that can be used to clean your fiber optic cables. If you do not use the right cleaning formula on your fiber optic cables, you have a good chance of damaging your fiber optics and causing yourself a lot of problems in the process.

Not only do fiber optic cleaning kits come with the right cleaning solutions but they also come equipped with the appropriate cleaning tools as well. These wipes and swabs will make the cleaning process much easier, and allow you to effectively clean your fiber optic connections without damaging the cables.

These fiber optic cleaning kits come equipped with all of the necessary tools required to effectively clean your fiber optic cables. Most importantly, fiber optic cleaning kits include a specific type of cleaning solution that is safe to use on your fiber optic connections. Without this type of cleaning solution you could damage your fiber optic cables, which of course would not be a thing.

The best place to buy low cost fiber optic cleaning kits is on the internet. There are many different online stores that offer these great cleaning kits for at a discounted price over their brick and mortar counterparts. Searching for an online store with the lowest price and best customer service is a great way to find low priced fiber optic cleaning kits.

One of the best ways to find cheap fusion splicers is to search on the internet. There are various different makes and models of fusion splicers, allowing for a good deal of variety to the consumer. Knowing exactly what type of specs you need in a fusion splicer will help you determine which model to buy for your project. Once you know what model to buy, you can then search all of the different online stores to find the one that is selling your model at the lowest price.

The best place to buy fiber test equipment is on the internet. Online electronic stores should carry most types of fiber test equipment for a reasonable price. One of the biggest reasons why the internet is such a great place to buy fiber test equipment is that you can get a great deal on this specific equipment. Online stores are able to offer fiber test equipment for a lower price simply because they do not have as many expenses that need to be covered in the price of the product. Because of these lower costs to run their business, online stores are able to offer their customers a lower price on all of their products. These lower prices present a great opportunity to buy high quality products at an affordable price compared to those of a physical store.

The best type of fiber optic cleaning kit you can purchase is made by Chemtronics. Chemtronics has been developing fiber optic cleaning kits since the early 1990s, and has perfected the design of several cleaning tools. These fiber optic cleaning kits can easily be purchased online. Rather than having to go to a physical store or have your fiber optic cleaning kit specially ordered, you can simply log onto the internet and purchase a fiber optic cleaning kit from a variety of online stores. These electronic and fiber optic parts stores will have a wide selection of fiber optic cleanings kits, allowing you to choose the specific kit that meets all of your needs and fits well within your current fiber optic cleaning kit budget.

Included in the fiber optic cleaning kits are top of the line solvent formulations, clean room swabs, and precision wipes that are designed to take a thorough approach to cleaning your fiber optic cables. Because fiber optics are so delicate, it is important that you take special precautions when trying to clean any fiber optic connection. The best way to take these precautions is to use the cleaning products developed by Chemtronics, so that you know you are not using any cleaning products that might actually cause damage to your fiber optic connections.

A great method that can be used to find fiber optic cleaning equipment is searching on the internet. If you are not sure what kind of equipment you need to clean your fiber optic cables, you can start off by doing some research to see what types of cleaning solutions and tools can be used to clean your fiber optics. After you know what you are looking for you can then turn your attention to the online stores that sell these types of cleaning equipment. Doing some research about the different types of fiber optic cleaning equipment you find online is a good way to make sure you are buying a quality product. Consumer reviews are the best way to go about learning which fiber optic cleaning equipment allows you to properly clean your fiber optic connections for the lowest price.

Some of the most popular products produced by Chemtronics are their fiber optic cleaning kits. Because fiber optics is such a unique product in and of itself, the cleaning kits needed for these items need to be very specific as well. Chemtronics has been able to perfect these fiber optic cleaning kits in such a way that they are the best type of fiber optic cleaning kit on the market today.

Another popular Chemtronic product that many technical workers find extremely useful is their cleaning wipes. When dealing with certain types of electronics and fiber optic cables, you need to use certain materials so that you do not damage your materials. The cleaning wipes produced by Chemtronics meet the highest industry standards, making them the perfect way to clean your electronics and fiber optic cables.