SC/APC-SC/APC Single-mode Fiber Optic Launch Cable - 1000M (FLC-1006)

Ships direct from the manufacturer. Please allow up to 10 business days, though it often ships sooner.

An OTDR can't see the first connector on a link, because that connector sits inside the instrument's own dead zone, and the fix is to put a known length of fiber between the OTDR and the link so the first event lands where the trace can resolve it. The Jonard Tools FLC-1006 is that length: 1,000 m (3,281 ft) of G.657.A2 single-mode fiber wound in a compact housing, with SC/APC connectors on both ends for SC/APC ports, and steel interlocked armor under the fiber jacket so the pigtails survive a van floor and a vault. The fiber is bend-insensitive G.657.A2, with attenuation of 0.35 dB/km or less at 1310 nm and 0.22 dB/km or less at 1550 nm, connector loss of 0.1 dB or less, and return loss of 65 dB or more, so the launch cable adds a clean, known section to the trace rather than events of its own. The polish type is color coded for identification, a shoulder strap carries it, and a magnet on the bottom of the housing sticks it to a fiber rack or a cabinet while you test. For an SC/APC to LC/APC version, there's the FLC-1007.

Features

• 1,000 m of single-mode fiber. 3,281 ft of G.657.A2, long enough to clear the dead zone on most OTDR testing, including long pulse widths.
• SC/APC on both ends. For OTDRs and panels with SC/APC ports, with no adapter in the path.
• Armored pigtails. Steel interlocked armor under the fiber jacket protects the fiber from accidental damage.
• Low loss, high return loss. ≤0.35 dB/km at 1310 nm, ≤0.22 dB/km at 1550 nm, ≤0.1 dB per connector, and ≥65 dB return loss, so the launch section reads as fiber and not as a fault.
• Color-coded polish. The APC connectors are color coded for quick identification, so an APC pigtail never ends up in a UPC port.
• Compact housing, strap, and magnet. Shoulder strap for carrying, and a magnet on the bottom of the housing that mounts it to a fiber rack or cabinet while you test.

Where It Fits

It suits anyone certifying or troubleshooting single-mode fiber with an OTDR that has an SC/APC port, which covers most FTTH and PON work, where the OLT, the splitters, and the drops are SC/APC end to end; enterprise and campus teams tracing backbone and riser fiber; contractors who have to hand over OTDR traces where the first and last connectors are measured rather than hidden; crews who want the armored pigtails because the launch cable lives in a truck; and the OTDR-1000 or any other OTDR, which needs a launch cable to do its job on a short link and a receive cable to see the far end.

Good to Know

Connect the launch cable between the OTDR and the near end of the link, so the OTDR's own dead zone falls inside the launch fiber and the link's first connector shows up as a measurable event; set the OTDR's launch-cable length to 1,000 m so it subtracts the launch fiber from the distances it reports. For the far-end connector to be measured too, put a second launch cable (a receive cable) on the far end, which is the usual reason to own two. The connectors are APC; mate them only to APC ports and APC connectors, since APC into UPC damages both end faces and shows up as a huge reflection on every trace afterward, and the color coding is there to stop that. Clean every connector before every mating, including the launch cable's own pigtails and the OTDR port, because a dirty launch cable is a bad event at the start of every trace you take until it's found. Leave the fiber on its housing and don't unwind it; the 1,000 m is a known reference and a kink in it becomes an event. The armor protects the pigtails from being crushed or stepped on, not from being bent tight at the connector; coil them loosely and cap them when they're not connected. Stick the housing to the rack with the magnet rather than leaving it on the floor. For a multimode OTDR a multimode launch cable is needed; this one is single-mode.

Specifications

Documentation