The
Fiber Optic Association
- Tech Topics
The FOA
presents "Tech Topics"
- a free resource for the fiber optic industry - schools, installers
and contractors, and those interested in finding out more about the
medium that has revolutionized communications. Here you will find numerous webpages, technical papers and links on fiber optics, with
content ranging from the basics for the novice to state of the
art papers. Don't miss the FOA
Online Newsletter
is online monthly and has lots of technical content. You can read
back issues too.
 Search the
FOA Tech Topics and
Online Fiber Optic Reference Guide |
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- Textbooks
& References For FOA Certifications
- New: The FOA Online Fiber Optic Reference Guide, a complete reference website for fiber optics created as a complement to our textbook.
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- The
Fiber Optic Technicians Manual , 3rd Edition, Written by FOA Instructors Errata sheet
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- NECA/FOA-301 Installation
Standard - Alternatively use FOA Tech Bulletin Installing Fiber Optic Cable Plants. (PDF, 0.2 Mb)
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- Introductions
To Fiber Optics
- Getting Started: Introduction
To Fiber Optics presentation in English or Spanish
- FTTx PowerPoint tutorial
- Lennie Lightwave's Guide To
Fiber Optics
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- NEW!
Instructional Videos
- We have
made available online videos on four topics:
- Cable Preparation (zipcord, distribution,
breakout, loose tube and armored cables)
- Termination (adhesive style connectors)
- Mechanical Splicing (Ultrasplice, with
optimization using visual fault locator)
- Testing (insertion loss with light
source and power meter)
- The videos
are in Quicktime format for viewing online.
Freqently
Asked Questions (FAQs): General
FAQs and Testing
FAQs.
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- FOA Technical Bulletins
- How do you
design and manufacture fiber optic systems? Choose and install one to
serve your communications needs? Troubleshoot problems? The FOA Fiber
Optic Technical Bulletins will provide step-by-step
guidelines to help you. Designed to accompany the NECA/FOA-301
Installation Standard. and the Installing Fiber Optic Cable Plants covers the same materials. All are PDF files you can
print and use.
Designing and manufacturing
fiber optic communications products for manufacturers. (PDF, 0.2 Mb)
Choosing, installing and using
fiber optic products for communications network users. (PDF, 0.1 Mb)
Designing
Fiber Optic Networks - a reference guide for contractors, designers, installers and
users and the reference for the FOA CFOS/D Design Certification (PDF, 1.3 MB).
Installing Fiber Optic Cable Plants. (PDF, 0.2 Mb)
Troubleshooting fiber optic cable plants and
communications systems. (PDF, 0.1 Mb)
Fiber
Optic Restoration - how to plan ahead and restore networks
quickly. (PDF, 0.1 Mb)
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Fiber Optic Components and Standards
How Optical Fiber Is Manufactured
Fiber
Optic Connector Identifier - a history of fiber optic terminations.
FOCIS
- Fiber Optic Connector Intermateability Standards
Multimode Premises
Cable Plant Nomenclature (OM3, etc.)
Wavelength-Division
Multiplexing
How Fiber Amplifiers Work
Plastic
Optical Fiber
Singlemode
Fiber Nomenclature
Fiber Optic Cable Jacket Color Codes
The Effect Of Termination and Splicing on Bandwidth
Understanding Fiber Optic Wavelengths, Jim Hayes
Multimode Fiber Bandwidth ( PDF 1.6 MB)
EIA/TIA (US) and IEC (International) Fiber Optic Standards
EAI/TIA 568 B.3 For Fiber Optics
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Fiber Optic Network Design
Start with the Design Reference Guide in FOA Technical Bulletins
Specifications for Fiber Optic LANs and Links
(Updated 1/2008)
Specifying
Premises Cable Plant Nomenclature (OM3, etc.)
Calculating Link Loss Budgets
What Loss Should You Measure When Testing Fiber
Optic Links?
What Happens When You Mate Mismatched MM Fibers, e.g. 50/125 > 62.5/125?
Fiber or Copper? A general overview and a specific look at fiber in LANs.
Fiber Optic Construction
Guidelines from US DoT
American Polywater's Cable Pulling Calculators
Calculate Loss
Budgets, Conduit Fill Online. Corning offers two online calculators on
their website, where you can calculate loss budgets or conduit fill
using your own data. Very convenient. See http://www.corningcablesystems.com/web/privnet/privnet.nsf/ehtml/descalc
and remember to count the connectors on the ends of the cable plant!
The OSI Model For Networks, Marilyn Michelson
Fiber Makes Telecom Closets Disappear, Eric Pearson
Estimating Communications Cabling Installations,
F. Douglas Elliott
EAI/TIA 568 B.3 For Fiber Optics
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- FTTx
- Fiber To The Home/Premises/Curb
- FOA's FTTx Pages
- FTTx PowerPoint tutorial
- Designing And Building Homes
For Broadband/FTTH (FOA Presentation To Homebuilders)
- What
Competes With FTTH? Jeff
Baumgartner in the October 2005 issue of CED Magazine has
compiled the most comprehensive list we've seen.
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- Fiber Optic Installation
- Start
with our Tech Bulletins, listed above.
- Safety In Fiber Optic Installations
- Digging Safely - Avoid Buried Cable Damage
or Physical Harm To Installation Crews
- Fiber Optic Termination, a Lennie Lightwave Tutorial
- Cleaning Fiber Optic Connections
- Stripping
Fiber Optic Cable. Berk-Tek has several ap notes on stripping cables on
their website as PDF files. Here is the list
of all Berk-Tek ap notes.
- What Happens When You Mate Mismatched MM Fibers?
- Eric
Pearson's (Pearson
Technologies) Fiber Optic Newsletter (PDF format)
- Volume 2, No. 1 "Cleave and Leave" Connectors
- Volume 2, No. 2, Connectors and Interpreting OTDR
Traces
- Volume 2, No. 3, Fiber To The Desk Costs, Testing
- Volume 2. No. 4, More "Cleave and Leave," Mandrel
Wraps
- Volume 4. No. 1, Should OTDR Testing Be Required
By Standards
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- Fiber Optic Testing
- Before
you test, read about loss budgets
and expected measurement results.
- 4 Ways To Test An Installed
Cable Plant,
an overview of testing standards and measurement uncertainty (PDF,
1.3MB)
- Insertion Loss, a Lennie Lightwave Tutorial
- Understanding OTDRs , a Lennie Lightwave Tutorial, and "Virtual Hands-On OTDR Tutorial"
- Do OTDR
tests correllate with insertion loss measured by Light Sources
& Power Meters? (FOA
R&D Project, PDF, 44 kB)
- First clean your connectors and equipment.
- Testing FAQs. Worth a review, answers many
questions we are often asked.
- More advice on using OTDRs properly. (PDF, 1.2 MB)
- What Happens When You Mate Mismatched MM Fibers, e.g. 50/125 > 62.5/125?
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- Fiber Optic Jobs and FOA Online Searchable Database
- Fiber Optic Job Titles.
- Fiber Optic Science
Project
- Fiber Optic Project for a Science Fair Or Scouts
Myths
Does Glass "Flow" Over Time? Is It Really a Liquid?
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- Fiber
Optic Lighting
- The FOA is
really focused on fiber optics in communications, but we get requests
for information on lighting so we have created a tutorial.
- Fiber Optic Lighting Tutorial.
- Here is a website
that has some very good examples of fiber optic lighting.
Links
to other fiber optic sites
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Search the
FOA Tech Topics and
Online Fiber Optic Reference Guide |
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- Return To
The FOA Home Page
(C) 2001-2009 The Fiber Optic Association, Inc.