What events are included in a complete loss measurement of a fiber under test?

What events are included in a complete loss measurement of a fiber under test?

Each of these may show as a measured event. Most OTDR’s will contain setting thresholds below which an event will not be measured, i.e. event loss threshold. This does not mean the loss is not measured it is just not marked as an event.

1. Connectors

2. Bends

3. Fusion Splices

4. Mechanical Splices

5. Junction Losses

6. Backscatter and Optical Power Loss

Note: in order to measure the connector loss at the end of the fiber you need to do one of two things. Place a launch cable at the end of the fiber because you need to see past the end connector in order to measure its loss. Or measure the fiber from both ends. If you do not do one of these then you are measuring the loss of the fiber from the OTDR connection up to the end connector but not beyond, thus the end connector loss is not measured.

A general discussion about fiber optics is located in Optical Test Primer / Fiber Optic Cable and Test Equipment Basic Concepts