Reflectometer has dual-wavelength capability

Test & Measurement

3 November 2004 Test & Measurement

Fast, reliable testing of virtually all premises and campus fibre networks - including CCTV and legacy installations - is easy with the new XC8513 dual-wavelength cross-checking reflectometer according to its manufacturer, Megger.

Like the company's popular XC850 single-wavelength model, the XC8513 brings the benefits of optical time domain reflectometry (OTDR) to data networks, without the complexity and cost usually associated with OTDR testing solutions.

It has the ability to measure at both 850 nm and 1300 nm. When used at 850 nm, the XC8513 measures all connector and fibre losses, and shows faults, such as macrobends, indicating the position of fibre features to within 0,5 metre. Operation at 1300 nm is useful when it is necessary to measure the fibre loss for links operating at this wavelength, which is predominantly used for fibre backbones and in CCTV installations. The instrument stores the results for use in reports, and also indicates the cause and precise location of fibre features, allowing faults to be located much more easily than with a conventional light source and optical power meter.

The XC8513 is a duplex instrument, and measures both fibres of a duplex link automatically without reconnection. It may also be used in simplex or duplex-loopback mode, where its high dynamic range of <16 dB is essential. At 850 nm, the XC8513 can be used on fibre segments up to 2 km long, and typical event dead-zone performance is two metres at 850 nm. At 1300 nm, the typical dead zone is eight metres.

The time taken to power the instrument, make a measurement, and store it is less than 30 seconds, claims Megger. The operator is guided through the basic sequence by following highlighted soft keys. Operator preferences can be entered using the instrument's menu system, or they can be set up on a PC, and loaded into the XC8513 via a plug-in memory card.

Megger offers the XC8513 in two versions. The XC8513ST features a bright back-lit colour display, and offers an economical choice where the instrument will be used primarily indoors, while the XC8513SSR has a transflective colour display which is equally easy to read indoors and in bright outdoor light. Both versions include a full alphanumeric keyboard and also support data entry via an external bar code scanner. Configuration data, test identification data, and measurement traces are stored on removable memory cards, as well as in standard CSV format.

The XC8513 is suited for the harsh reality of site installation, and is designed to be splash-proof, dust-proof, and is rubber-armoured. Battery capacity exceeds ten hours of use.

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Reflectometer has dual-wavelength capability

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