为什么 FiberLert 是光纤游戏规则的变革者

Over the past 25 years of my career in fiber optics, I have seen a great deal of new and innovative products that aim to increase quality and ease manufacturing and installation. Those innovations ranged from cheap little jigs to six-figure pieces of equipment. There have been a few that I and others have wished for in the fiber world, such as the mythical fiber stretcher, a self-cleaning connector, and PoE over fiber. While our chances of seeing any of those are probably slim to none, there was one thing on the wish list that has recently become a reality: the FiberLert™ Live Fiber Detector from Fluke Networks.

什么是 FiberLert？

FiberLert is essentially a voltage detector-like tool from the electrical world that has been reinvented to work in the fiber world.

For many years I have said that it would be nice to have a tool you could wave in front of a transceiver, a pair of connectors, or even a bend in a cable to simply check if it was live. You may say that you can do the same thing with a power meter, a fiber identifier, or even one of those mood-ring-on-a-card things from the early 2000s (if you know, you know), but each of those tools took time to get out and set up, and in reality, they told you only part of what you wanted to know.

The real issue with those tools has to do with duplex connectors — specifically, small form factor connectors such as the LC and soon-to-be-popular USFF/VSFF connector solutions such as the CS and SN from SENKO and the MDC from US Conec. While those tools made it possible to detect the presence of traffic, it was difficult to distinguish which fiber or duplexed port or connector was live.

Easier fiber optic testing

Imagine my excitement that day in late January 2021 when Adrian Young, Product Manager at Fluke Networks, reached out to see if I could be a sounding board for a new product idea that he had. He even had a “somewhat working prototype via web cam” to show me. That idea and prototype was a fiber optic tester (much like the ever-popular Fluke LVD2 Volt Light and 1AC-II VoltAlert for the copper world) that was hypersensitive to the presence of a live optical signal without physical contact. While a tool like this had been on my wish list for decades, I never thought that I would actually see one. When Adrian asked if I thought that there could be a market for something like that, I may have broken his eardrum with my very enthusiastic YES!

Fast forward six months or so, and that concept became a working product. It took a couple more months for me to get one in my hands to try, and a few more months to iron out some logistics, but I was finally able to get a FiberLert into every one of our “Fiber Optics 1-2-3” hands-on course kits. Each student in that class gains exposure to what is arguably the most useful and easiest-to-use fiber optic indication and troubleshooting tool available.

^{Detect a live optical signal without physical contact with the Fluke Networks FiberLert.}

Makes detecting a fiber optic signal safe and accurate

The FiberLert fiber optic testing tool should become a staple in every technician’s tool bag. It is not only useful as a troubleshooting and polarity tool, but as a safety tool to verify disconnection prior to inspection with a direct-view inspection scope. It is easy to use with minimal training and is useful in so many ways. Its footprint is also very familiar to former copperheads and electricians that have transitioned into the fiber world.

This is one of the most innovative tools that I have seen in my career, and yet it is relatively inexpensive when compared to other testing and troubleshooting tools.

Phil Shoemaker, senior instructor and staff development lead at Light Brigade, adds: “I love being able to show this tool to students in class. It is a simple-to-use, innovative tool that makes detecting the presence of a signal easy and accurate. 它可以显示双工收发器上的哪个端口是带电的，收发器本身是否处于活动状态，信号是否从链路或跳线的远端发出，以及是信道 A 还是信道 B。这不仅对光纤网络故障处理或检查极性很有价值，而且是一种增强的安全措施。我们一直强调，您永远不应该检查带电光纤路径。在没有 FiberLert 之前，这项工作介于猜谜游戏和耗时的多步骤过程之间。但有了 FiberLert，就可以轻松快速地验证光路的状态。”

Get your own FiberLert

继续学习

• • Fiber Optic Tester Fundamentals
• • 5 Vital Safety Rules for Working with Fiber Optic Cables
• • 为如今的光纤检测选择最佳的光纤显微镜