| Author |
Message |
Alan Rench
Guest
|
 Posted:
Thu Jan 27, 2005 8:01 am Post subject:
No polish Fiber terminations? |
|
|
I'm looking at the AMP LightCrimp Plus No Polish system. Anyone care to
share the Pro's and Con's? I like my AMP modular plug crimper. That is why I
am looking at AMP. But any other suggestions are welcome. I have been using
the Leviton ThreadLock system. My problem is I only have about 1 fiber job a
year. And even then it is usually only 12 to 24 terminations. I have a slow
start with my polishing technique which smoothes out by the end of the job.
Then the next fiber job comes along and I'm back to square one. :-)) |
|
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|
 |
Justin Time
Guest
|
| Posted:
Thu Jan 27, 2005 7:22 pm Post subject:
Re: No polish Fiber terminations? |
|
|
I have used the Siecor (now Corning Cable Systems) UNICAM system for
several years. It is another of the no polish systems. This one uses
a pre-polished stub in the ferrule with an index matching gel to mate
the raw fiber. The termination tool kits can often be rented from the
distributor which saves on buying a kit for only a few terminations a
year.
I have seen people put on connectors on a breakout fiber in as little
as 30 seconds, but the average is usually less than a minute after the
first one or two. The connectors can be pricey compared to other
systems, but the reduction in labor can go a long ways toward evening
the cost. You should be able to do one end of a 24 strand fiber in
about 45 minutes including setup time and have all the fibers test out
to less than a half dB insertion loss.
Rodgers Platt |
|
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|
|
jtodd5 dot 1
Guest
|
| Posted:
Thu Jan 27, 2005 9:34 pm Post subject:
Re: No polish Fiber terminations? |
|
|
Alan Rench wrote:
| Quote: | I'm looking at the AMP LightCrimp Plus No Polish system. Anyone care to
share the Pro's and Con's? I like my AMP modular plug crimper. That is why I
am looking at AMP. But any other suggestions are welcome. I have been using
the Leviton ThreadLock system. My problem is I only have about 1 fiber job a
year. And even then it is usually only 12 to 24 terminations. I have a slow
start with my polishing technique which smoothes out by the end of the job.
Then the next fiber job comes along and I'm back to square one. :-))
I've used the LightCrimp extensively in the past. I always liked them and |
was very successful. Very few fails and very good test numbers. Been
doing hot-melts lately, so its been awhile. I've recently looked at the
UNICAM for the first time. I was impressed with the way it works. Can't
say anything about the performance. I'm looking for an opportunity to try
them out so I can see how they perform.
Justin |
|
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|
|
Dmitri(Cabling-Design.com
Guest
|
| Posted:
Thu Jan 27, 2005 10:04 pm Post subject:
Re: No polish Fiber terminations? |
|
|
Alan Rench wrote:
| Quote: | I'm looking at the AMP LightCrimp Plus No Polish system. Anyone care to
share the Pro's and Con's? I like my AMP modular plug crimper. That is
why I
am looking at AMP. But any other suggestions are welcome. I have been
using
the Leviton ThreadLock system. My problem is I only have about 1 fiber
job a
year. And even then it is usually only 12 to 24 terminations. I have a
slow
start with my polishing technique which smoothes out by the end of the
job.
Then the next fiber job comes along and I'm back to square one. :-))
|
Crimp-style connectors like AMP's LightCrimp and UniCam by Corning, as
well as the clones (these guys OEM manufacture for everyone and their
brother) are best suited for repair work, not the new installs. I know
that this may not go too well with every installer you are talking to
because on our side of the fence installation time is (almost always) all
the matters. But the reality of the thing is: you are inserting two
additional mechanical splices on every fiber, and that may be especially
bad on singlemode cables. And also reliability and couple other issues
below.
Reliability of the crimp-style connectors also leaves to desire more. They
are notorious for not allowing ANY touching after the install is done.
With polished connectors (hot melts or regular epoxy or any other type of
glue, does not matter) your fiber is glued into the ferrule to the point
that, when pulling on the fiber, you will cut your fingers easier than
separating the fiber from the ferrule. In crimp style connector it's a,
well, crimped (or just rotated) plastic part that holds the whole thing
together. Any light pull on the fiber may potentially separate the fiber
from the connector, which destroys the link. Sometimes accidental pulls on
fiber are unavoidable, especially if you are working in a densely
populated shelf, and dressing your fibers in.
Yield: it is possible on a nice day to produce 100% yield with epoxy
polished connectors. It is impossible on a sizable crimp-style job NOT to
waste quite a few connectors because the cleaving stage is so important,
and you have no control over it, and by the time you realize something
went wrong, it's to late to redo the connector. There have been some
improvements made by Corning with introducing a base station with light
injector that makes it possible to judge be the amount of light that
escapes whether or not the cleave was done right, but you really have to
train your eye before you can tell.
Environment should also be considered when picking a particular type of
connector: if you are forced to work during construction phase (should be
avoided at all costs, but not always possible), the dust in the air may
not allow you to do good polishing. In this case the crimp style
connectors will do much better. If you have to work in a relatively clean
environment, and the number of connectors if considerable, you better of
doing polished style.
Choose the style that suits the particular situation best and be prepared
to work with both technologies.
Good luck!
--
Dmitri Abaimov, RCDD
http://www.cabling-design.com
Cabling Forum, color codes, pinouts and other useful resources for
premises cabling users and pros
http://www.cabling-design.com/homecabling
Residential Cabling Guide
-------------------------------------
##-----------------------------------------------#
Article posted with Cabling-Design.com Newsgroup Archiv
http://www.cabling-design.com/forum
no-spam read and post WWW interface to your favorite newsgroup -
comp.dcom.cabling - 1143 messages and counting
##-----------------------------------------------## |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
jtodd5 dot 1
Guest
|
| Posted:
Thu Jan 27, 2005 10:28 pm Post subject:
Re: No polish Fiber terminations? |
|
|
Dmitri(Cabling-Design.com) wrote:
| Quote: | Alan Rench wrote:
I'm looking at the AMP LightCrimp Plus No Polish system. Anyone care to
share the Pro's and Con's? I like my AMP modular plug crimper. That is
why I
am looking at AMP. But any other suggestions are welcome. I have been
using
the Leviton ThreadLock system. My problem is I only have about 1 fiber
job a
year. And even then it is usually only 12 to 24 terminations. I have a
slow
start with my polishing technique which smoothes out by the end of the
job.
Then the next fiber job comes along and I'm back to square one. :-))
Crimp-style connectors like AMP's LightCrimp and UniCam by Corning, as
well as the clones (these guys OEM manufacture for everyone and their
brother) are best suited for repair work, not the new installs. I know
that this may not go too well with every installer you are talking to
because on our side of the fence installation time is (almost always) all
the matters. But the reality of the thing is: you are inserting two
additional mechanical splices on every fiber, and that may be especially
bad on singlemode cables. And also reliability and couple other issues
below.
Reliability of the crimp-style connectors also leaves to desire more. They
are notorious for not allowing ANY touching after the install is done.
With polished connectors (hot melts or regular epoxy or any other type of
glue, does not matter) your fiber is glued into the ferrule to the point
that, when pulling on the fiber, you will cut your fingers easier than
separating the fiber from the ferrule. In crimp style connector it's a,
well, crimped (or just rotated) plastic part that holds the whole thing
together. Any light pull on the fiber may potentially separate the fiber
from the connector, which destroys the link. Sometimes accidental pulls on
fiber are unavoidable, especially if you are working in a densely
populated shelf, and dressing your fibers in.
|
While the potential is there, I'm going to have to disagree with the
reality. Of the couple thousand LightCrimps I've installed, not one that
was properly inserted (yes there were a few that didn't get right the first
time) not one has pulled out with "light pull". In fact, one of my tests
was to hold the fiber about 6 inches back and let the connector dangle.
Then I'd give the connector a little tug. Never a problem. In the dense
shelf situation, I think that you are more likely to break the glass behind
the boot than pull it out of a crimp connector. And that happens with any
type of termination. As for single mode, I'd fusion splice pigtails if I
didn't want to puck-n-polish.
| Quote: |
Yield: it is possible on a nice day to produce 100% yield with epoxy
polished connectors. It is impossible on a sizable crimp-style job NOT to
waste quite a few connectors because the cleaving stage is so important,
and you have no control over it, and by the time you realize something
went wrong, it's to late to redo the connector. There have been some
improvements made by Corning with introducing a base station with light
injector that makes it possible to judge be the amount of light that
escapes whether or not the cleave was done right, but you really have to
train your eye before you can tell.
|
I would also say that yield is probably equal between the different styles
especially if you are doing less than 100 terminations a year. Practice is
critical.
| Quote: |
Environment should also be considered when picking a particular type of
connector: if you are forced to work during construction phase (should be
avoided at all costs, but not always possible), the dust in the air may
not allow you to do good polishing. In this case the crimp style
connectors will do much better. If you have to work in a relatively clean
environment, and the number of connectors if considerable, you better of
doing polished style.
Choose the style that suits the particular situation best and be prepared
to work with both technologies.
|
I agree completely with being ready to do both. I've been thinking about
fiber to the desk situations, (which we have here) that it's got to be much
easier to do installs with pre-polished connectors than lugging a hot melt
kit all over a building!
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Phil Partridge
Guest
|
| Posted:
Fri Jan 28, 2005 12:01 am Post subject:
Re: No polish Fiber terminations? |
|
|
In article <1106835743.844766.224110@c13g2000cwb.googlegroups.com>,
Justin Time <a_user2000@yahoo.com> writes
| Quote: | I have used the Siecor (now Corning Cable Systems) UNICAM system for
several years. It is another of the no polish systems. This one uses
a pre-polished stub in the ferrule with an index matching gel to mate
the raw fiber. The termination tool kits can often be rented from the
distributor which saves on buying a kit for only a few terminations a
year.
I have seen people put on connectors on a breakout fiber in as little
as 30 seconds, but the average is usually less than a minute after the
first one or two. The connectors can be pricey compared to other
systems, but the reduction in labor can go a long ways toward evening
the cost. You should be able to do one end of a 24 strand fiber in
about 45 minutes including setup time and have all the fibers test out
to less than a half dB insertion loss.
Rodgers Platt
This is quite timely for me.. May well have to do a fibre job for the |
first time since I went 'on my own'.
Many years ago I did some fusion splicing, and have done epoxy/polish.
I now have a chance to do a little fibre work again, but will be
supplying all my own kit.
Can't guarantee the level of fibre work I will get, and this first job
will only be one run (probably 6 core multimode).
Have seriously thought of doing the donkey work of running the fibre,
and then subbing the termination.
I have done lightcrimp in the classroom, but never in the field.
What's the perceived wisdom of the group?
TIA,
Phil Partridge
philp@pebbleGRIT.demon.co.uk
Remove the grit to reply |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
David Ross
Guest
|
| Posted:
Fri Jan 28, 2005 8:01 am Post subject:
Wall Plate Labeling |
|
|
I'm looking for reasonably cost suggestions for labeling wall plates
with circuit id information. I'm thinking clear or colored tape with
black lettering. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
James Knott
Guest
|
| Posted:
Fri Jan 28, 2005 6:08 pm Post subject:
Re: Wall Plate Labeling |
|
|
David Ross wrote:
| Quote: | I'm looking for reasonably cost suggestions for labeling wall plates
with circuit id information. I'm thinking clear or colored tape with
black lettering.
|
I believe Brother makes a printer that does tapes. Also, if you have a lot
to do, you may want to consider sheets of stickers, that can be printed in
an ink jet or laser printer. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Al Dykes
Guest
|
| Posted:
Fri Jan 28, 2005 6:14 pm Post subject:
Re: Wall Plate Labeling |
|
|
In article <IJ-dnb5lANnfpGfcRVn-2g@rogers.com>,
James Knott <james.knott@rogers.com> wrote:
| Quote: | David Ross wrote:
I'm looking for reasonably cost suggestions for labeling wall plates
with circuit id information. I'm thinking clear or colored tape with
black lettering.
I believe Brother makes a printer that does tapes. Also, if you have a lot
to do, you may want to consider sheets of stickers, that can be printed in
an ink jet or laser printer.
|
panduit makes good labels in lots of shapes for pinfeed and sheet form.
http://www.panduit.com/
--
a d y k e s @ p a n i x . c o m
Don't blame me. I voted for Gore. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Justin Time
Guest
|
| Posted:
Fri Jan 28, 2005 6:17 pm Post subject:
Re: Wall Plate Labeling |
|
|
Depending on the number of labels you will be installing, something as
inexpensive as a DYMO label maker can work. Most installers use one of
the Brother P-Touch units for smaller jobs and move up to the Brady,
Panduit or other special purpose labelers for the larger jobs. In any
event, one thought about your labeling:
16) Each WAO plate is identified on the face with a machine generated
label identifying the serving TC. Each plate is identified on the
reverse side with the same information handwritten in permanent marker.
2A-23 identifies the WAO plate where cables A23V, A23D and A23S are
terminated at the work area.
..
Rodgers Platt |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Dmitri(Cabling-Design.com
Guest
|
| Posted:
Fri Jan 28, 2005 8:14 pm Post subject:
Re: No polish Fiber terminations? |
|
|
jtodd5 dot 1 wrote:
| Quote: | While the potential is there, I'm going to have to disagree with the
reality. Of the couple thousand LightCrimps I've installed, not one
that
was properly inserted (yes there were a few that didn't get right the
first
time) not one has pulled out with "light pull". In fact, one
of my tests
was to hold the fiber about 6 inches back and let the connector dangle.
Then I'd give the connector a little tug. Never a problem.
|
Don't have enough experience with LightCrimps to comment on the above, but
I would never do it to UniCam. In my experience it is hard to quantify a
"light tug", and it can easily become too much for the little part that
holds the fiber in place. I think the spec says the connector can
withstand 10N (approx 1kg or 2 pounds) of force, but it would be a steady
force in my opinion. Your impulse momentum can easily exceed couple times
that with a simple clumsy move of one finger.
| Quote: | In the
dense
shelf situation, I think that you are more likely to break the glass
behind
the boot than pull it out of a crimp connector. And that happens with
any
type of termination.
|
Well, you'd have to over-bend the fiber pretty badly for that to happen.
In my experience accidental pulls on the fiber are MUCH more common.
Example: you are re-connecting a connector that did not pass on the first
round of tests, and you had to clean it. You're removing your hand from
the shelf and a fiber gets under your wrist watch or something as silly as
that. So, whereas both type are prone to breakage from over-bending, only
crimp-style is prone to damage by pulling, which reduces the number of
fatalities.
| Quote: | As for single mode, I'd fusion splice pigtails if
I didn't want to puck-n-polish.
|
You don't always get a luxury of having enough space for the splice trays,
so there will be plenty of situations where you need to terminate directly
on fiber. One of such situations: if you don't have a fusion splicer.
| Quote: | I agree completely with being ready to do both. I've been thinking
about
fiber to the desk situations, (which we have here) that it's got to be
much
easier to do installs with pre-polished connectors than lugging a hot
melt
kit all over a building!
|
You don't really have to have an oven, just carry anaerobic glue with you
if you are not stationary.
--
Dmitri Abaimov, RCDD
http://www.cabling-design.com
Cabling Forum, color codes, pinouts and other useful resources for
premises cabling users and pros
http://www.cabling-design.com/homecabling
Residential Cabling Guide
-------------------------------------
##-----------------------------------------------#
Article posted with Cabling-Design.com Newsgroup Archiv
http://www.cabling-design.com/forum
no-spam read and post WWW interface to your favorite newsgroup -
comp.dcom.cabling - 1153 messages and counting
##-----------------------------------------------## |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Perkowski
Guest
|
| Posted:
Fri Jan 28, 2005 10:13 pm Post subject:
Re: No polish Fiber terminations? |
|
|
jtodd5 dot 1 wrote:
| Quote: | Dmitri(Cabling-Design.com) wrote:
Alan Rench wrote:
I'm looking at the AMP LightCrimp Plus No Polish system. Anyone care to
share the Pro's and Con's? I like my AMP modular plug crimper. That is
why I
am looking at AMP. But any other suggestions are welcome. I have been
using
the Leviton ThreadLock system. My problem is I only have about 1 fiber
job a
year. And even then it is usually only 12 to 24 terminations. I have a
slow
start with my polishing technique which smoothes out by the end of the
job.
Then the next fiber job comes along and I'm back to square one. :-))
Crimp-style connectors like AMP's LightCrimp and UniCam by Corning, as
well as the clones (these guys OEM manufacture for everyone and their
brother) are best suited for repair work, not the new installs. I know
that this may not go too well with every installer you are talking to
because on our side of the fence installation time is (almost always) all
the matters. But the reality of the thing is: you are inserting two
additional mechanical splices on every fiber, and that may be especially
bad on singlemode cables. And also reliability and couple other issues
below.
Reliability of the crimp-style connectors also leaves to desire more.
They
are notorious for not allowing ANY touching after the install is done.
With polished connectors (hot melts or regular epoxy or any other type of
glue, does not matter) your fiber is glued into the ferrule to the point
that, when pulling on the fiber, you will cut your fingers easier than
separating the fiber from the ferrule. In crimp style connector it's a,
well, crimped (or just rotated) plastic part that holds the whole thing
together. Any light pull on the fiber may potentially separate the fiber
from the connector, which destroys the link. Sometimes accidental
pulls on
fiber are unavoidable, especially if you are working in a densely
populated shelf, and dressing your fibers in.
While the potential is there, I'm going to have to disagree with the
reality. Of the couple thousand LightCrimps I've installed, not one
that was properly inserted (yes there were a few that didn't get right
the first time) not one has pulled out with "light pull". In fact, one
of my tests was to hold the fiber about 6 inches back and let the
connector dangle. Then I'd give the connector a little tug. Never a
problem. In the dense shelf situation, I think that you are more likely
to break the glass behind the boot than pull it out of a crimp
connector. And that happens with any type of termination. As for
single mode, I'd fusion splice pigtails if I didn't want to puck-n-polish.
Yield: it is possible on a nice day to produce 100% yield with epoxy
polished connectors. It is impossible on a sizable crimp-style job NOT to
waste quite a few connectors because the cleaving stage is so important,
and you have no control over it, and by the time you realize something
went wrong, it's to late to redo the connector. There have been some
improvements made by Corning with introducing a base station with light
injector that makes it possible to judge be the amount of light that
escapes whether or not the cleave was done right, but you really have to
train your eye before you can tell.
I would also say that yield is probably equal between the different
styles especially if you are doing less than 100 terminations a year.
Practice is critical.
Environment should also be considered when picking a particular type of
connector: if you are forced to work during construction phase (should be
avoided at all costs, but not always possible), the dust in the air may
not allow you to do good polishing. In this case the crimp style
connectors will do much better. If you have to work in a relatively clean
environment, and the number of connectors if considerable, you better of
doing polished style.
Choose the style that suits the particular situation best and be prepared
to work with both technologies.
I agree completely with being ready to do both. I've been thinking
about fiber to the desk situations, (which we have here) that it's got
to be much easier to do installs with pre-polished connectors than
lugging a hot melt kit all over a building!
Good luck!
I agree. If you do a lot of Fiber got get a hotmelt kit, but, if you |
only have a few jobs every year Id stick with the AMP Lightcrimp system.
I own it and I love it.
PS. AMP and other manufacturers have already stated the future in
premise fiber is the mechanical connector. Also, even though there are
extra splices within the connector, youd have to be commander data to
notice a fe dbs of extra loss. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
James Knott
Guest
|
| Posted:
Fri Jan 28, 2005 10:32 pm Post subject:
Re: Wall Plate Labeling |
|
|
Al Dykes wrote:
| Quote: | panduit makes good labels in lots of shapes for pinfeed and sheet form.
|
Does anyone still use Dymo label makers? I haven't seen one of those in
years. They used to be quite popular. They embossed the text on a plastic
tape. |
|
| Back to top |
|
|
Charlie
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sat Jan 29, 2005 12:02 am Post subject:
Re: No polish Fiber terminations? |
|
|
We use only the Corning Unicam system and have terminated hundreds of
strands of single-mode fiber. The terminations are about $25 Canadian
because we get end-user price as a university. We recently improved our
results by getting the adapter that allows us to have a "ruby red" visual
fault locator on the connector while crimping. The connector has a plastic
collar that shows light if the fiber is not butted up properly to the stub.
Charlie
"Alan Rench" <c7@invalid.com> wrote in message
news:10vh2n9kb9ko2c4@corp.supernews.com...
| Quote: | I'm looking at the AMP LightCrimp Plus No Polish system. Anyone care to
share the Pro's and Con's? I like my AMP modular plug crimper. That is why
I
am looking at AMP. But any other suggestions are welcome. I have been
using
the Leviton ThreadLock system. My problem is I only have about 1 fiber job
a
year. And even then it is usually only 12 to 24 terminations. I have a
slow
start with my polishing technique which smoothes out by the end of the
job.
Then the next fiber job comes along and I'm back to square one. :-))
|
|
|
| Back to top |
|
|
|
|
|
|
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