Anyone know anything about Fiber Optics?

[Tuckerman]

I have some older fiber connections that I need to try and use. I guess I have fiber going from one building here.
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=30909&d=1190404124

http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=30910&d=1190404124

That I would like to connect to my LAN here.
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=30911&d=1190404124
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=30912&d=1190404124

Can I use this to do it?
http://www.tetongravity.com/forums/attachment.php?attachmentid=30913&d=1190404124

And are these ST connections?

[lemon boy]

first you have to shine a flashlight in one end to see if the line's cut or not.

[Lurch]

I have some experiance with FC SANs but I've never seen the kind of connections you have in that cabinet.

[Tye 1on]

All i know about fiber is if you nick it with a backhoe it's around 10 grand to be repaired...

[cj001f]

Siecor, now there's a vintage brand

side views of connectors are helpful. as would be information about what kind of "fiber-optic" equipment you are using. There's well more than 31 flavours.

[TomK]

I think you're out of luck.

-----------------------
Cable inside the Siecor box looks like a 6 fiber bundle of multimode glass.
The fibers are color coded so that you know which one is which at both ends.
1 = Blue
2 = Orange
3 = Green
4 = Brown
5 = Slate (grey)
6 = White

The light carrying part of this fiber is very very tiny only 10 microns or so in diameter.

The connectors on the J-box appear to be FCs (Focal Contact).
If the outside connector is threaded, then FC's is most likely what they are.
If the outside connectors are twist-locks latches like a BNC coax cable then they are probably ST connectors.

An SC connector is Square Contact push-lock connector that is the current standard for 1310 and 1550 nM IR telecom signals like OC-12/48/192/etc used between telco offices.

FC
http://www.timbercon.com/Connectors/fc.jpg

ST
http://www.timbercon.com/Connectors/st.jpg

SC
http://www.timbercon.com/Connectors/sc.jpg

This is all set up and optimised for infrared light used by telecom optical transport equipment.

-----------

Your LAN patch bay looks more like visible light (red) signals at 850nM.
(The orange patch-cords indicate visible light, or else VERY old IR)
The glass there uses a 50 or 100 nM dia core, so less than 10% of the light will make it into the cable even if you cludge up an adapter.

Those connectors on the Unicom box are hard to make out - a clearer picture will help, but I think it's a single-mode fiber device for 1000Base-FX.

-----------

While you can sometimes get a usable signal that starts as IR/multimode to pass thru a short length of single-mode cable, the opposite never works. Sending singlemode light thru mutlimode glass is like trying to shine a searchlight thru a tiny stirring stick straw.

[TomK]

All i know about fiber is if you nick it with a backhoe it's around 10 grand to be repaired...

CALL before you dig.
Utility locates are free because it costs a whole lot more to fix it than it does to locate and put down some paint. :smile:
If they locate but put paint down in the worng place, you can't be charged for the fix.
Dig and cut a cable without a locate is when you can be held liable for the repair costs.

[TomK]

I think you're out of luck.

While you can sometimes get a usable signal that starts as IR/multimode to pass thru a short length of single-mode cable, the opposite never works. Sending singlemode light thru mutlimode glass is like trying to shine a searchlight thru a tiny stirring stick straw.

However, there are singlemode to multimode converters on the market.
Like this one:
http://www.arcelect.com/Fiber_Optic_Single_Mode_to_multimode_converter.htm

[Tuckerman]

Ok so it looks like I have ST connections all around. I will post more pics on Monday. Whats the worse case, I upgrade the Siecor box? Or do I have to have them run new fiber?

[TomK]

Ok so it looks like I have ST connections all around. I will post more pics on Monday. Whats the worse case, I upgrade the Siecor box? Or do I have to have them run new fiber?

STs were very common until the SCs came along, so ST is probably right.

I think you can make it work by putting a couple of singlemode to multimode converters at both ends of the siecor box cable. Much cheaper to reuse two of the six fibers that are there than having someone run fresh glass between the buildings.
Looking at the ends with a fiber-scope would tell you singlemode or multimode, but it's unlikely you have access to one of those.

LAN-Converter-Siecor box-------Siecor Box-Converter-LAN in other building.

Happy extension.

[RShea]

Once you ID what you have, there probably will be media converters that will get you to standard copper plugs for standard 10/100/1000 twisted pair ethernet. As for the converter that you picture- like the previous post mentioned it is hard to make out from the photo. Post the model number etc. on the device and clarify what you have.

Some of the sites that make the media converter modules:
http://www.rad-direct.com/Application-Ethernet-fiber-converter.htm
http://www.transition.com/TransitionNetworks/Newsletter/google_mct.aspx?gclid=CMn8xLjp1Y4CFReQGgodQjpzAA
http://www.milan.com/TransitionNetworks/Products2/Static/ByPlatform.aspx

There are some others too like Black Box that handle this type of stuff.

But if you do not have any spare pairs- you should probably have someone (lan cable installers or maybe a few electricians in your area that know and install fiber) with the tools and equipment come in and test the lines to see if they are usable before you go and spend money on equipment to finish the connection.

[Tuckerman]

I'll get some more info on Monday. I guess the good thing is that I don't need to rerun fiber because it's about 3/4 of a mile apart, thanks all.

[RShea]

I'll get some more info on Monday. I guess the good thing is that I don't need to rerun fiber because it's about 3/4 of a mile apart, thanks all.

If it tests out and is not severed, broken, or damaged somewhere along the way, then yes you can probably make use of it. The fact that you have so many pairs (and sounds like you really only need a single line between the installs) bodes better- unless the cable somewhere has been cut through, it is rare that all the lines are not going to test out.

[TomK]

J-box shows all 6 fibers unconnected. You'll need to use 2 of them.
My guess is that they were used for inter-building OC-3/12/48 at some time in the past, but that equipment has been taken out, leaving the glass "abandoned in place". ;-)
3/4 mile is pretty far for the flashlight test. A source+power meter or OTDR would be definitive but those are pretty pricey so I'd work on getting the media converters and try it first.

That Unicom box looks to me like an electrical to Optical Lan converter, but I believe the optical side is the wrong flavor to use the Seicor glass, so that's why a multimode/singlemode converter will be needed.