A simple method to identify the quality of optical cables

A simple way to identify the quality of optical cables:

1. Sheath: Indoor optical cables are generally made of polyethylene or flame-retardant polyethylene, and the surface should be smooth, bright, flexible, and easy to peel off. The outer skin of poor-quality optical cables has poor finish, and is easy to adhere to the tight sleeve and aramid fiber inside.

The PE sheath of the outdoor optical cable should be made of high-quality black polyethylene. After the cable is formed, the sheath is smooth, bright, uniform in thickness, and free of small bubbles. The outer sheath of inferior optical cables is generally produced with recycled materials, which can save a lot of cost. The outer sheath of such optical cables is not greasy. Because there are many impurities in the raw materials, the outer sheath of the optical cable made has many very small pits. After a long time, it will crack and enter water.

2. Optical fiber: Regular optical cable manufacturers generally use A-level fiber cores. Some low-priced and inferior optical cables usually use C-level, D-level optical fibers and smuggled optical fibers of unknown origin. The color of the tide changes, and the multimode fiber is often mixed with the single-mode fiber, and the general small factory lacks the necessary testing equipment, so it cannot judge the quality of the fiber. Because the naked eye cannot distinguish such optical fibers, the common problems encountered in construction are: the bandwidth is very narrow, the transmission distance is short;

3. Reinforced steel wire: The steel wire of the outdoor optical cable of the regular manufacturer is phosphated, and the surface is gray. After the steel wire is cabled, it does not increase hydrogen loss, does not rust, and has high strength. Inferior optical cables are generally replaced with thin iron wires or aluminum wires, and the identification method is very easy-the appearance is white and can be bent at will when pinched in the hand. The optical cable produced by such steel wire has a large hydrogen loss, and after a long time, the two ends of the optical fiber box will rust and break.

Outdoor fiber optic cable

4. Steel armor: regular production enterprises use double-sided anti-rust coating longitudinal bandage steel strips, and inferior optical cables use ordinary iron sheets, usually only one side has been treated for anti-rust.

5. Loose tube: The loose tube for installing optical fiber in the optical cable should be made of PBT material. Such a tube has high strength, no deformation, and anti-aging. Inferior optical cables generally use PVC as the sleeve. The outer diameter of such a sleeve is very thin, and it will be flat when squeezed by hand, a bit like a drinking straw for us to drink.

6. Fiber paste: The fiber paste in the outdoor optical cable can prevent the oxidation of the optical fiber. Due to the ingress of moisture, etc., the fiber paste used in inferior optical fibers is very little, which seriously affects the life of the optical fiber.

7.Aramid: Also known as Kevlar, it is a high-strength chemical fiber that is currently used most in the military industry. Military helmets and bulletproof vests are produced from this type of material. At present, only DuPont and Aksu in the Netherlands can produce it in the world, and the price is about 300,000 tons. Indoor optical cables and electric displacement optical cables (ADSS) both use aramid yarns as reinforcements. Due to the high cost of aramid, inferior indoor optical cables generally have a very thin outer diameter, so that a few strands of aramid can be used to save costs. Such an optical cable is easily broken when passing through the pipe. Because the ADSS optical cable determines the amount of aramid used in the optical cable according to the span and the wind speed per second, it is generally not dare to cut corners.