Maintenance And Troubleshooting; Cleaning Fiber Optic Connectors; Cleaning Patch Cord Or Pigtail Fiber Optical Connectors - Prevail-Catv WT-1550-DM Operating Manual

Intelligent direct modulated optical transmitter

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6. Maintenance and Troubleshooting

DANGER: The fiber optic connector carries invisible laser radiation

while working, so should avoid charged operation.

Dirty optical connectors are the leading source of poor performance in a broadband

optical fiber network. Dirty optical connectors lead to optical signal loss and

reflections, which in turn can seriously degrade signal-to-noise (SNR) performance

and, in some cases, distortion performance. We recommend that you clean all mating

fiber connectors before connecting them to an optical transmitter.

In addition, if you suspect that the optical connector of WT-1550-DM may have been

exposed to contamination (by a dirty fiber cable connector, for example), you should

properly clean the WT-1550-DM optical connector before connecting the optical fiber.

CAUTION: Improper cleaning of an optical connector can do more

harm than good. Never spray a clean-air product onto the surface of an

optical connector. Spraying air onto an optical connector can cause

condensation on the connector surface, leaving water spots and trapping

dust. Failing to wipe a connector on dry lens paper immediately after

wiping on paper wet with isopropyl alcohol can also lead to

condensation on the connector. Using low-grade cleaning paper or other

cloth to wipe an optical connector can leave microscopic fibers on the

optical connector Surface.

To clean optical connectors, we recommend using a fiber optic connector cleaning

cartridge (such as NTT Cletop). If a cleaning cartridge is not available, follow these

steps.

To clean the optical connector of a patch cord or pigtail:

1. Fold a piece of unused dry lens cleaning paper twice, for a four-ply thickness.

2. Use a drop of high-grade isopropyl alcohol to wet part of the paper.

3. Lay the connector on the lens cleaning paper with the tip touching the paper.

4. In one continuous motion, pull the connector from the wet part of the paper to the

dry part.

WT-1550-DM Intelligent Direct Modulated Optical Transmitter

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