August, 2006
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Installer Database to register. Looking For Jobs?
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New
Hampshire College Holds First FOA FTTx Certification Class
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- Dave Miller, CFOS/I, Professor
at New Hampshire Community Technical College at Pease (the ex
Air Force Base) recently held the first FOA FTTx certification
class and his students became the first FOA CFxT techs. Congratulations
to all involved, especially Dave, a dynamic instructor along
the lines of "Mr. Wizard" who amazed and amused all
his fellow students while attending the first FOA Instructor
Certification Course in 2002 with his fabulous classroom demos.
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- The FOA is providing schools
with material for their FTTx curriculum, since the 3rd Edition
of The Fiber Optic Technicians Manual contains only a
brief mention of FTTx, as it has developed, no exploded, in the
last year. The CFxT exam has now been reveiwed by many instructors
and vendros and has been tested by Dave Miller's students. The
exam passed with flying colors, so we at the FOA consider our
CFxT program officially launched.
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- Watch for more schools offering
this program this fall.
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- A New Portable Interferometer
& Why You Might Need One If You Are Installing Singlemode
- In a recent train-the-trainer
class, we had 16 instructors who were active installers and contractors
themselves. 30% of them had already done singlemode installations
including field terminations. All had different interpretations
of what doing SM in the field required. None really understood
completely the need for special polishing film, using a polishing
slurry, and polishing for low relfectance as well as low loss.
- All these practices are carefully
followed by factories making SM patchcords, as their customers
spec both loss and reflectance. They also inspect the connectors
not only for end polish but end profile, as the shape of the
connector ferrule determines how well connectors mate with each
other and that is a big part of what determines reflectance.
- One of the best inspection tools
for SM connectors is a gadget called an "interferometer"
that actually shows the profile of the end of the connector.
Typically an interferometer shows several views, one with the
"fringes" or circular shadows shows the consistency
and alignment of the dome shape of the ferrule, as the perfect
connector would have them centered onthe ferrule and they would
be perfect circles. Note in the photo below, the fringes are
considerably offset from the fiber. The 3D view is easier to
understand - it shows the shape in 3 dimensions that can show
the scratches, dirt, undercutting of the fiber (as in this example),
etc.

- While factories making patchcords
routinely use interferometers, field installers don't. But if
you want to get really good SM terminations, it's the only way
to determine how well you do. The new FiBO
interferometer by Promet is indeed portable and works with
a PC for data analysis and readout instead of a video monitor
to reduce bulk and cost.
- Installers doing lots of SM
might want to have one. Generally SM is field terminated by fusion
splicing pigtails onto the installed cable, as good field termination
is difficult and mistakes can be both hard to find and expensive
to fix.
- We're looking for more information
on using a interferometer, especially in the field, and we'll
share it with you.
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- Photos furnished by Promet,
manufacturers of the FiBO portable interferometer.
Special Offers On Equipment,
FTTx Backgroung Materials and T-Shirts From Mississauga Training
Consultants
FOA T-Shirts: Mediun, Large and
Extra Large only. And all are white and 9oz cotton.
400 X microscopes and at a discounted price of 140.00 US while
supplies last.
The FTTX text by Mississauga Training is complete and ready for
sale. It is about 100 pages with lots of pictures.
VISA and MCard accepted.
If you are looking for an odd item for your show and tel in your
class let me know. I probably have it and can help you.
We can give a quantity discount to FOA approved schools
William Graham, CFOS
Mississauga Training Consultants
6117 Clover Ridge Crescent
Mississauga, Ontario, Canada, L5N 7B2
<http://www.fiberoptictraining.com>
e-mail: <mailto:mrfiber@canada.com>mrfiber@canada.com
Tel: 905-785-8012
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FOA Textbook published
in Spanish
- The FOA's textbook, The
Fiber Optic Technicians Manual, is used by our approved
schools around the world to teach fiber optics.
- Now we have our textbook in
Spanish, we have also translated our CFOT exams and will have
other FOA materials available in Spanish soon, greatly facilitating
the training of fiber optic technicians in Spanish-speaking countries.
- Contact us if you need more
information.
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- Book Details: Manual Del
Technico De Fibra Optica, Published by Thomson Delmar Learning,
ISBN 1-4180-6121-2
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- If you are getting started
in fiber optics and Spanish is your native language, you can
download an introduction to fiber optics in Spanish here.
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- Verizon Selling FiOS At Shopping
Centers
- And Other Venues
- (As an update to the following,
which ran in last month's newsletters, Verizon FiOS booths have
been spotted at more venues around the country - Boston, DC and
even at a Bluegrass Festival in Temecula, CA!)
- While on a recent visit to Boston,
we ran across a Verizon FiOS kiosk at the Burlington Mall shopping
center. It had several computers connected on FIOS and knowledgeable
personnel manning the kiosk. Literature (right) explained FiOS
technology and services well. According to the signs in the kiosk,
FiOS service is available in over 35 towns in the Boston suburbs,
New Hampshire and Rhode Island.
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- What's a FiOS install like?
See Dan Bricklin's description
at http://www.bricklin.com/fiosinstall.htm.
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- Trivia: Who is Dan Bricklin? He's the guy who co-developed
"Visicalc," the first PC spreadsheet and the "killer
ap" that led to the widespread adoption of PCs by business!
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- More Trivia: What does "FIOS" mean? FIber
Optic Service? According to Wikipedia,
Verizon's Trademark (No. 3001081) application says FiOS is a
Gaelic word for "knowledge".
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- NEW-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. All are
PDF files you can print and use.
- Designing
and manufacturing fiber optic communications products for manufacturers.
- Choosing,
installing and using fiber optic producst for users.
- Troubleshooting
fiber optic cable plants and communcations systems.
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- FTTH Conference To Be Held
In October
- The 2006 FTTH Conference &
Expo will be held in Las Vegas at The Venetian Resort ·
Hotel · Casino on October 2 5, 2006. As usual, the
FTTH Council will have many informative technical sessions and
a lively trade show.
The 2006 FTTH Conference &
Expo will attract over 2,500 FTTH leaders and decision makers
from across North America, Europe and Asia to hear keynotes from
industry visionaries, learn from over 50 track sessions and meet
with 170 exhibitors representing the latest services and technologies.
Hiromichi Shinohara, Director
of NTT Access Network Service Systems Labs, will open the conference
on October 3rd. Mr. Shinohara has been engaged in research and
development of fiber optic cables, broadband networks and optical
access systems since joining NTT Laboratories in 1978. The conference
lineup of keynotes also include Robert (Bob) Ingalls, President
of Verizon,s Retail Markets Group, Jeffrey Weber, Vice President,
Product & Strategy, AT&T and featured speaker Jim Carroll,
futurist, trends and innovation expert.
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- Lightwave/KMI Executive Briefing
(preconference): The Market Dynamics of FTTX and Video Service
Provision
- This Executive Briefing will
examine the dynamics of today,s FTTX market, particularly as
it relates to the provision of video services. The briefing will
examine the demand and technical requirements for various video
services; explore consumer perceptions of video services, including
who provides them and how they are provided; highlight how current
and future equipment and architecture choices can affect video
service delivery (and vice versa); and provide examples of how
carriers have implemented video services via their optical access
networks. Speakers will include market researchers and analysts
and representatives of the service provider and vendor communities
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- Don't miss the premier FTTH
event of the year. See http://www.ftthconference.com/
for more details and online registration.
- Job
Openings
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-
Multimax has full time employment
and subcontracting openings to help integrate and modernize the
FAA's telecommunications network. We provide CPE maintenance and
support to numerous mission-critical FAA sites and through field
maintenance in support of FAA locations dispersed throughout all
50 states. We are seeking:
Familiarity with cable connectors
and replacement, (RJ-11, RJ-45, DB-25, V.35, RS-449)
Familiarity with Fiber, Multiplexers, Network topology,
Frame Relay, Fractional T-1, SONET, ATM, Private Line, Voice &
Data apps
Experience with network and circuit testing with T1 Testing Specifications,
DS3 Testing, Digital Testing (BERT), and Analog VG Testing
Contact Kcormack@multimax.com
for more information on either FTE or subcontracting opportunities
with Multimax. Learn more about us at www.multimax.com
-
- Also Check Recent Job Openings
In Previous Issues of The FOA Newsletter
-
-
- Tech Puzzler
- What connector is this? We're
going to run a few months of having you try to identify fiber
optic connectors, some common, some obscure. Recognize this one?
It's still used in some process control and military applications.
Why are there two versions?
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-
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- Answer
below
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- Understanding FOA Certifications
- To answer questions on FOA certifications,
we've created several new web pages:
- Overview
of FOA certifications
- CFOT
- CFxT
- AFOT
- CFOS
- Training
Requirements - What Schools Are Teaching
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- Reading these will help you
understand what each FOA certification covers and how to prepare
for them.
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- New Professional Society
for Structured Cabling Recognizes Importance of Fiber Optics
(and Wireless)
- The new Structured Cabling Association,
Inc. (http://www.scausa.org/)
is a professional society aimed at installers of "structured
cabling" or premises cabling. Structured cabling has been
focused on so-called "Cat 5" or UTP cabling for years,
while network speeds have left UTP behind. Now most backbones
for LANs are fiber optics and every network seems to have wireless.
The SCA, founded in part by FOA activists Tom Collins and Jim
Hayes, intends to make structured cabling training and certification
more relevant to today's world.
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-
New: FOA Logo Merchandise
- FOA has arranged with EmbroidMe
to provide FOA logo merchandies. Identify yourself as a FOA-certified
tech or instructor. The lab coats are super impressive for either
cabling techs and instructors. Check
out the selection.
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-
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- FOA CFOT Renewals Get Free
Copy of NECA/FOA Installation Standard
- Every CFOT renewal will now
receive a free copy of NECA 301-2004,
Installing And Testing Fiber Optic Cables, produced by
The FOA in cooperation with NECA (The National Electrical Contractors
Association). This is an important reference document for defining
the installation and testing of fiber optic cable plants in a
"neat and workmanlike manner."
- The FOA feels this is such an
important document that we are giving a free copy (normally priced
at $15) to every active CFOT when they renew their active status.
- The FOA has also sent free copies
to all FOA-Approved schools. The new FOA CFOT exam to be used
after August, 2005, will include questions from the standard.
Schools should be including information from the standard in
their classes already.
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New Tech
Topics
- FOA Tech Bulletins - for those designing FO communications
products or installing cable plants.
- 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.
All are PDF files you can print and use.
- Designing
and manufacturing fiber optic communications products for manufacturers.
- Choosing,
installing and using fiber optic products for users.
- Troubleshooting
fiber optic cable plants and communcations systems.
Does
Glass "Flow"? Is it really a liquid?
FAQs (Frequently Asked Questions)
on General Topics and Testing
Fiber Or Copper? Making decisions,
overview and LANs
What
Happens When You Mate Mismatched MM Fibers?
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- New PowerPoint Presentation
Introduces Fiber Optics - in English or Spanish!
- The FOA has created a short
PowerPoint presentation that introduces you to fiber optics and
talks about job opportunities in the field. It was intended for
instructors to introdcue studnets to the field, but it's a good
introduction for anyone. It's about 3 meg file so it takes a
while to download and you need PowerPoint to view it. See http://www.thefoa.org/ppt/
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-
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- FOA Certification Top Choice
The FOA CFOT and CFOS programs continue to gain momentum in fiber
optics. Over 15,000 CFOTs have been certified by over 120 schools
as the FOA completed its 10th year. Since our founding in July,
1995, we have dedicated ourselves to promoting fiber optics and
professionalism in fiber optics personnel, focusing on education
and certification. We are continuing to add new schools and more
CFOTs as users of fiber optics learn that a CFOT is the indication
of a professional, well-trained fiber optic technician. Now with
FTTH (fiber to the home) finally taking off, demand for CFOTs
is rising and schools are responding by expanding programs rapidly.
- The FOA now has approved programs
at 125+ organizations, welcoming new additions like the Joint
Apprenticeship and Training Committee of the International Brotherhood
of Electrical Workers, Corning Cable Systems for their installation
training programs and NASA's Goldstone Tracking Station. The
complete list of FOA-Approved schools is at http://www.thefoa.org/foa_aprv.htm.
Your Name, CFOT - It pays to
advertise!
The FOA encourages CFOTs to use
the logo on their business cards, letterhead, truck or van, etc.
and provides logo
files on this site for that purpose. But we are also asked
about how to use the CFOT or CFOS certifications. Easy, you can
refer to yourself as "Your Name, CFOT" or "Your
Name, CFOS/T" for example.
Feel free to use the logo and
designations to promote your achievements and professionalism!
Remember To Renew Your Certification
!
Remember to renew your FOA certification.
All current CFOTs have a ID Card with their certification data
and we keep a database of current CFOTs to answer inquiries regarding
your qualifications if needed. If you forgot to renew, use the
online application
form or the FOA
online store to renew NOW!
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- To
Contact The FOA:
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- The
Fiber Optic Association
- 1119 S Mission Road,
# 355
- Fallbrook, CA 92028
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- Office Hours 10AM-5
PM Pacific Time
- Telephone: 760-451-3655
- Fax: 781-207-2421
- info@thefoa.org
info@thefoa.org
Want to write for the FOA
Newsletter? Send us articles,
news, anything you think might be interesting to the rest of the
membership!
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to The FOA Home Page
(C)1999-2006, The Fiber Optic Association, Inc.
- Tech Puzzler: MT
- The MT or MTP is a 12 fiber
connector for ribbon cable. It's main use is for preterminated
cable assemblies and cabling systems. Here is a 12 fiber MT broken
out into 12 STs.. See the FOA
Tech Topics Connector ID page.