An OTDR, or optical time domain reflectometer, is designed for troubleshooting fiber optic cables. OTDRs characterize fiber cables and detect bends, breaks or distortions in fiber cabling, measuring the length of cables and forming a picture, or trace, of the cable’s condition. OTDRs create these traces by sending pulses of high-powered laser light down the fiber and measuring the light that reflects back, or backscatter, over time. A trace should be taken of the fiber optic cable at first installation for immediate verification and for future reference.
Fiber optic certification consists of two tiers of tests: Tier 1 certification, in which an optical loss test is performed on the cabling, and Tier 2 testing, which refers to the troubleshooting performed by OTDRs. Troubleshooting is performed at every stage of the fiber cable lifecycle, including after fusion splices to verify splice loss. OTDRs are invaluable tools for fiber network maintenance and confirming the quality of your fiber, connection and splices.
Rent OTDRs from ATEC, including single-mode and multimode OTDRs designed for enterprise, datacenter, campus, FFTx, outside plant, PON applications and more. We offer OTDR rentals for products from leading manufacturers like Fluke, Exfo, Viavi and Anritsu.