SC/APC-LC/APC Single-mode Fiber Optic Launch Cable - 1000M (FLC-1007)

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-1007 is that length: 1,000 m (3,281 ft) of G.657.A2 single-mode fiber wound in a compact housing, with 2 m pigtails terminated SC/APC on one side and LC/APC on the other, so it connects to an OTDR with either port and to the link under test without an extra adapter. 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 types are 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.

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 and LC/APC pigtails, 2 m. One connector type on each end, so the same launch cable fits an SC-port OTDR and an LC-port OTDR, or an LC panel and an SC panel.
• 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, which is to say every FTTH and PON construction crew proving drops and distribution legs, enterprise and campus teams tracing backbone and riser fiber, data center teams qualifying trunks between halls, contractors who have to hand over OTDR traces where the first and last connectors are measured rather than hidden, 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. Stick the housing to the rack with the magnet rather than leaving it on the floor where the pigtails get stepped on, and cap the pigtails when they're not connected. The G.657.A2 fiber is bend-insensitive, which is why it survives a compact reel, but it's still glass. For a multimode OTDR a multimode launch cable is needed; this one is single-mode.

Specifications

Documentation