Fiber optic cable can be damaged if pulled improperly. Broken or cracked fiber, for example, can result from pulling on the fiber core or jacket instead of the strength member. And too much tension or stress on the jacket, as well as too tight of a bend radius, can damage the fiber core. If the cable’s core is harmed, the damage can be difficult to detect.

Once the cable is pulled successfully, damage can still occur during the termination phase. Field termination can be difficult and is often done incorrectly, resulting in poor transmission. One way to eliminate field termination is to pull preterminated cable. But this can damage the cable as well because the connectors can be knocked off during the pulling process. The terminated cable may also be too bulky to fit through ducts easily. To help solve all these problems, use preterminated fiber optic cable with a pulling eye. This works best for runs up to 2000 feet (609.6 m).

The pulling eye contains a connector and a flexible, multiweave mesh-fabric gripping tube. The latched connector is attached internally to the Kevlar®, which absorbs most of the pulling tension. Additionally, the pulling eye’s mesh grips the jacket over a wide surface area, distributing any remaining pulling tension and renders it harmless. The end of the gripping tube features one of three different types of pulling eyes: swivel, flexible, or breakaway.

Swivel eyes enable the cable to go around bends without getting tangled. They also prevent twists in the pull from being transferred to the cable. A flexible eye follows the line of the pull around corners and bends, but it’s less rigid. A breakaway eye offers a swivel function but breaks if the tension is too great. We recommend using the swivel-type pulling eye.

A pulling eye enables all the fibers to be preterminated to ensure better performance. The terminated fibers are staggered inside the gripping tube to minimize the diameter of the cable. This enables the cable to be pulled through the conduit more easily.

• The ST® connector, which uses a bayonet locking system, is the most common connector.

• The SC connector features a molded body and a push- pull locking system.

• The FDDI connector comes with a 2.5-mm free-floating ferrule and a fixed shroud to minimize light loss.

• The MT-RJ connector, a small-form RJ-style connector, features a molded body and uses cleave-and-leave splicing.

• The LC connector, a small-form factor connector, features a ceramic ferrule and looks like a mini SC connector.

• The VF-45™connector is another small-form factor connector. It uses a unique “V-groove“ design.

• The FC connector is a threaded body connector. Secure it by screwing the connector body to the mating threads. Used in high-vibration environments.

• The MTO/MTP connector is a fiber connector that uses high-fiber-count ribbon cable. It’s used in high-density fiber applications.

• The MU connector resembles the larger SC connector. It uses a simple push-pull latching connection and is well suited for high-density applications.

Bringing fiber to the desktop is a great way to provide your users with increased bandwidth. The first step in achieving this goal is to provide an inexpensive fiber optic system that is intuitive to the end user, easy to terminate in the field, and widely supported by equipment manufacturers. MT-RJ could be the answer to all these requirements.

A collaborative effort by leading fiber optic manufacturers, MT-RJ has an intuitive RJ latch that users recognize from copper Category 5 patch cords and traditional telephone cords, and it operates in the same way. The plug and jack are also similar in size to traditional RJ-type connectors.

Field installation, a common concern, is easier because of MT-RJ’s no-polish, no-epoxy, quick-termination design. MT-RJ is available in single- or multimode configurations and is backwards compatible for integration into existing networks. Since MT-RJ has duplex polarity, you don’t have to worry about the polarity reversal that happens with traditional ST type connectors. The TIA/EIA recently voted to accept MT-RJ, indicating wide acceptance of the new design and possible future inclusion in the TIA/EIA 568A standard.

Black Box, the name you trust to keep you up with the latest industry developments, supports this new technology.

With breakout- or fanout-style cables, the fibers are packaged individually. A breakout cable is basically several simplex cables bundled together in one jacket. Breakout cables are suitable for riser and plenum applications, and conduit runs.

This differs from distribution-style cables where several tight-buffered fibers are bundled under the same jacket.

This design of the breakout cable adds strength to the cable, although that makes it larger and more expensive than distribution-style cables.

Because each fiber is individually reinforced, you can divide the cable into individual fiber lines. This enables quick connector termination, and eliminates the need for patch panels.

Breakout cable can also be more economical because it requires much less labor to terminate.

You may want to choose a cable that has more fibers than you actually need in case of breakage during termination or for future expansion.

Multimode, 50- and 62.5-micron cable.
Multimode cable has a large-diameter core and multiple pathways of light. It comes in two core sizes: 50-micron and 62.5-micron.

Multimode fiber optic cable can be used for most general data and voice fiber applications, such as bringing fiber to the desktop, adding segments to an existing network, and in smaller applications such as alarm systems. Both 50- and 62.5-micron cable feature the same cladding diameter of 125 microns, but 50-micron fiber cable features a smaller core (the light-carrying portion of the fiber).

Although both can be used in the same way, 50-micron cable is recommended for premise applications (backbone, horizontal, and intrabuilding connections) and should be considered for any new construction and installations. Both also use either LED or laser light sources. The big difference between the two is that 50-micron cable provides longer link lengths and/or higher speeds, particularly in the 850-nm wavelength.

Single-mode, 8–10-micron cable.
Single-mode cable has a small, 8–10-micron glass core and only one pathway of light. With only a single wavelength of light passing through its core, single-mode cable realigns the light toward the center of the core instead of simply bouncing it off the edge of the core as multimode does.

Single-mode cable provides 50 times more distance than multimode cable. Consequently, single-mode cable is typically used in long-haul network connections spread out over extended areas, including cable television and campus backbone applications. Telcos use it for connections between switching offices. Single-mode cable also provides higher bandwidth, so you can use a pair of single-mode fiber strands full-duplex for up to twice the throughput of multimode fiber.

Specification comparison:

50-/125-Micron Multimode Fiber

850-nm Wavelength:
Bandwidth: 500 MHz/km;
Attenuation: 3.5 dB/km;
Distance: 550 m;

1300-nm Wavelength:
Bandwidth: 500 MHz/km;
Attenuation: 1.5 dB/km;
Distance: 550 m

62.5-/125-Miron Multimode Fiber

850-nm Wavelength:
Bandwidth: 160 MHz/km;
Attenuation: 3.5 dB/km;
Distance: 220 m;

1300-nm Wavelength:
Bandwidth: 500 MHz/km;
Attenuation: 1.5 dB/km;
Distance: 500 m

8–10-Micron Single-Mode Fiber

Premise Application:
Wavelength: 1310 nm and 1550 nm;
Attenuation: 1.0 dB/km;

Outside Plant Application:
Wavelength: 1310 nm and 1550 nm;
Attenuation: 0.1 dB/km

Fiber optic cable consists of a core, cladding, coating, strengthening fibers, and cable jacket.

Core
This is the physical medium that transports optical data signals from an attached light source to a receiving device. The core is a single continuous strand of glass or plastic that’s measured (in microns) by the size of its outer diameter. The larger the core, the more light the cable can carry.

All fiber optic cable is sized according to its core’s outer diameter.

The three multimode sizes most commonly available are 50, 62.5, and 100 microns. Single-mode cores are generally less than 9 microns.

Cladding
This is a thin layer that surrounds the fiber core and serves as a boundary that contains the light waves and causes the refraction, enabling data to travel throughout the length of the fiber segment.

Coating
This is a layer of plastic that surrounds the core and cladding to reinforce the fiber core, help absorb shocks, and provide extra protection against excessive cable bends. These buffer coatings are measured in microns (µ) and can range from 250 to 900 microns.

Strengthening fibers
These components help protect the core against crushing forces and excessive tension during installation.

The materials can range from Kevlar® to wire strands to gel-filled sleeves.

Cable jacket
This is the outer layer of any cable. Most fiber optic cables have an orange jacket, although some types can have black or yellow jackets.