OTDR OPERATION BASICS

OTDR: What it is
OPTICAL TIME DOMAIN
REFLECTOMETER
,

OTDR Working Principle
The OTDR’s operating principle is based on
the measurement of the Raleigh
Backscattering Signal, generated by sending
a high power optical pulse from the OTDR
through the optical fiber. Light is reflected
back to the OTDR.
www.imtcomputers.net www.imtfibers.com www.imtmag.com,

This backscattered light is
measured by the sensitive optic
receiver, converted to digital form
and averaged to improve the
signal to noise ratio

The resulting signal forms a graph called a
TRACE. The trace is a visual
representation of the backscattering
coefficient created by the OTDR to
determine the “events.” The trace shows
the “events” on the fiber optic link such as
breaks, splice loss, bends, attenuation and
distance

OTDR MACHINE WINDOW
MENU
5 Basic menu every OTDR must have
•Trace title
•Menu bar
•Button toolbar
•Information Panel
•Trace window

,
TRACE TITLE
TRACE WINDOW
BUTTON TOOLBARMENU BAR
INFORMATION PANEL

GENERAL OTDR
FEATURES
OTDRS CAN BE CATEGORIZED BY
•Their operating wavelength,
•Their dynamic range (the length of optical fiber
link over which they will operate),
•Their sensitivity or resolution. OTDR sensitivity is
its ability to differentiate between closely spaced
events.

OTDR OPERATIONAL TOOL
BAR
THESE ARE THE TOOLS FOUND ON
THE BUTTON TOOL BARS FOR THE
SMOOTH OPERATION AND ANALYSIS
OF THE OTDR TRACE

Attenuation measurement by straight-line trace
approximation [D]
Restores all trace scales [ALT+BKSP]
Opens up the measurement parameters
window

Starts the measurement process in real time
mode [ENTER]
Vertical zoom out control [CTRL+V]

Automatic trace analysis [A]
Deletes all the marks between markers
[ALT+DEL]
Horizontal zoom out control [CTRL+H]
Applies a template to current trace [CTRL+T
Inserts trace from clipboard onto host trace
[SHIFT+INS]
Trace information [I]
Reflection coefficient measurement [R]
OF refractive index adjustment [N]

Inserts a mark for the current mode and marker
position [CTRL+ENTER
Opens a table of the current trace marks [Т]

Copies current trace to clipboard [CTRL+INS]
Deletes inserted trace [CTRL+DEL]
Horizontal zoom in control [H]
Vertical zoom in control [V]

Attenuation measurement in OF junctions [S]
Attenuation measurement between two points
mode [P]
Starts the measurement process in Normal
mode
Saves a current trace [CTRL + S]
Prints a current trace
Opens a previously saved trace [CTRL + O]

OTDR Operations
In addition to the trace analysis, the OTDR will
determine the following

Distance of the fiber link
Attenuation of the fiber link
The fibers ORL
Splice loss
Connector loss

WHAT TO OPERATE ON
OTDR
Every OTDR user must know how to
adjust the distance to be displayed on the screen
adjust the dB for vertical scale representations
select various wavelengths
adjust the transmission pulse widths
select a vertical position on the screen using the curser
print, save, and execute other file commands

OTDR ACCEPTANCE
TEST
Acceptance testing provides a quality assurance
notification to the installation crew that the cable
meets the manufacturing standards, and is not
damaged.
It ensures that:
•the cable meets the manufacturer's specifications for
optical attenuation requirements
•the footage of the reel is correct
•the cable remains undamaged from shipment and
handling

THERE IS MORE
TO
OTDR
in the aspect of its
TECHNOLOGY,
FUNCTIONALITIES AND
MAINTENANCE

THANK YOU
from
Intra-Metropolitan
Technologies (IMT)
www.imtcomputers.net www.imtfibers.com
www.imtmag.com
,

OTDR OPERATION BASICS

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OTDR OPERATION BASICS