Tools
From instrument settings to a finished link
The calculators stand in the order the work goes. Pick the step you are at.
Before the shot
You are at the instrument, choosing the settings. A mistake here costs a second shot.
What pulse the instrument would setA lookup in one instrument's table: what it would choose on your line.
you enterline length and splitteryou getrange, pulse, averages
Dead zone and launch cableHow many metres after a connector the instrument cannot see, and whether your launch cable is long enough.
you enterpulse and launch cable lengthyou getthe dead zone and a verdict
Reading the trace
The trace is shot, and a distance on it has to become a place on the cable and on the ground.
A distance at another index of refractionThe instrument had one index, the cable datasheet gives another.
you entera distance and two indexesyou getthe new distance and the shift
Distance to a fault on the groundThe instrument measures fiber, and people dig along the ground. The answer is a window.
you enterthe reading and the cable typeyou geta window along the cable and the ground
The budget
Before the build you work out whether the link will pass. After it you set the calculation against the measurement.
Link loss budgetA point-to-point link: fiber, connectors and splices against the transmitter and the receiver.
you enterlength, connectors, splicesyou getloss, margin, the longest link
PON power budgetA tree or a bus: splitters and unbalanced taps down to every ONT.
you enterthe class and the cascadesyou getloss and margin on every branch
At the closure
The cable is open, and the right fiber has to be found by its color.
Set the calculation against the trace
Open the trace in OTDR Master and put the measured figures next to the calculated ones.