The VLF-280 is a hand-held battery powered stabilized fiber optic laser source that emits visible (red) light at 650 nm. Its intended function is to allow an operator to identify the exact location of a break, microbend, or other discontinuity in a fiber optic cable. As the radiation is visible, light emanating from a break or microbend enables the user to locate the exact position of a fault even at very short distances that would not be detectable by conventional means such as an Optical Time-Domain Reflectometer, (OTDR). It is also useful for identifying a particular fiber in a cable by exciting the fiber to be located with visible radiation.
The fiber to be tested is connected to the source by means of a standard 2.5 mm fiber optic connector. The source may be used in one of its two modes, Modulated or Continuous. In the modulated mode the laser is turned on and off at a 6 Hz rate. This mode is helpful in permitting the user to identify the source radiation in the presence of high levels of ambient light. It also aids in conserving battery life.
The VFL-280 has a power saver feature and will power down after twenty minutes. This feature is easily deactivate by simply depressing the I/O key for three seconds when powering up the unit.
The usable range for fault location depends on the fiber, the intended use, such as fault finding or fiber identifying, type of fiber, the jacketing of the cable and the loss incurred at the fault. Several hundred meters to 1 or 2 Km are typical for singlemode fiber fault location, however fiber identification can be made at greater distances.
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