Abstract

An automated loss set for optical cables (ALSOC) has been described previously.¹ A new version (ALSOC III) has been in use in the Western Electric lightguide manufacturing plant since August 1981. The new set has several advantages; it eliminates uncertainty due to connector loss, creates a steady state launch distribution as would occur in the field, measures loss at two wavelengths, and detects crossovers in a fiber ribbon automatically. The set also contains an optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR) and visible HeNe laser for diagnosing high loss or broken fibers. The loss of a 12-fiber ribbon can be measured at 2 wavelengths in 3 minutes with an accuracy of better than 0.1 dB. A laboratory version which includes a time-domain bandwidth measurement will also be described. A loss concatenation experiment indicates that the set can be used to predict accurately system loss.