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Safety and equipment care
• Do not allow a static load of more than a few pounds on a section of the cable.
• Place protective caps on fiber optic connectors that are not in use.
• Store unused fiber optic patch cables in a cabinet, on a cable rack, or flat on a shelf.
Frequent overstressing of fiber optic cable causes progressive degeneration that leads to
failure.
If you suspect damage to a fiber optic cable, either due to mishandling or an abnormally high
error rate observed in one direction, reverse the cable pairs. If the high error rate appears in
the other direction, replace the cable.
Caution:
Risk of equipment damage
Do not crush fiber optic cable. If fiber optic cable is in the same tray or duct with large, heavy
electrical cables, the weight of the electrical cable can damage the fiber optic cable.
Fiber optic connector care
Before you connect fiber optic connectors to transmission equipment, test equipment, patch
panels, or other connectors, ensure fiber optic connectors are clean. The performance of an
optical fiber connector depends on how clean the connector and coupling are at the time of
connection.
A damaged or dirty connector can damage a connector with which it pairs. A connector must
be clean before you insert it into a transmitter or receiver.
Never clean an optical connector while it carries light. Optical power can cause ignition of the
cleaning material when it contacts the end of the optical connector and can destroy the
connector. Typical cleaning materials, for example, tissues saturated with alcohol, combust
almost instantaneously after you expose them to optical power levels of +15 dBm or higher.
Visually inspect the connector to determine cleanliness and to determine if it needs replacing.
You must replace a connector that has a scratch across the core, or a scratch that appears to
end in the core.
The proper connector cleaning method depends on the connector contaminants:
• Judge cleanliness by visual inspection with a fiber microscope. First inspect the
connector, and then clean as required.
Warning:
Risk of eye injury
When you inspect a connector, ensure that light sources are off. The light source in
fiber optic cables can damage your eyes.
• If you suspect only the possibility of dust particles, for example, if you leave a connector
uncapped in a clean environment, use high-quality canned air or a reel cleaner, for
example, a Cletop, to clean the connector. A reel cleaner is a good choice to ensure that
no dust contaminates the connector.
• If the connector is visibly dirty or you suspect contamination by chemicals (for example,
matching gel), use high-quality alcohol and canned air to clean the connector. This
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Installation — SFP Hardware Components
Comments? infodev@avaya.com
December 2012
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