Black Box TS054A, TS055A, TS056A Specifications

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Black Box Corporation • 1000 Park Drive • Lawrence, PA 15055-1018 • Tech Support: 724-746-5500 • www.blackbox.com • e-mail: [e-mail]

© 2003. All rights reserved.

Black Box Corporation.

09/24/2003 #10102

FIBER TALK’N TEST,POCKET FIBER TESTER,POCKET OPTO SOURCE

Test fiber optic cable on the spool or

already installed. Even talk to a test partner!

Compact test devices
that are powered by a
standard 9-V battery.

Use to determine dB
loss.

For fiber optic cable
with ST connectors.

Use Talk’n Test to
communicate with a
partner during testing.
Headset is included.

Pocket Opto Source
provides a light source
for a tester.

Pocket Fiber Tester also
tests for continuity.

Test measurements
shown on easy-to-read
LED bar scale.

Key Features

F

or simple and affordable testing

of multimode fiber optic cable,
order one of these battery-powered
testing devices from Black Box:

The Pocket Fiber Tester is
a simple, convenient, general­purpose tool that enables you to
check the integrity of your fiber
optic interconnections. It’s the
perfect tool when all you want is
a quick measure of a fiber cable’s
dB loss and continuity.

The Pocket Fiber Tester has
a simple test format that gives you
a rough idea of the quality of a
particular fiber cable, whether
it’s installed or still on the spool.

Test measurements are
displayed on an LED scale, which
can be easily read in even dimly
lit environments. This scale is
calibrated in dBms, which is a
standard unit for fiber optic power
measurements, and marked in
increments of 2 dBm.

The Pocket Fiber Tester works
with the following types of ST-

terminated fiber cables: multimode
(50-, 62.5-, or 100-micron) single,
duplex, or bundled. Its transmitter
has a current-controlled capability
to launch -20 dBm of continuous
850-nm light into a properly
prepared terminus of a 100-micron
fiber cable. The launch power into

62.5-micron cable is -23 dBm, and
into 50-micron cable, it’s -28 dBm.

Small enough to fit into a shirt
pocket, this compact tester also
features a power-on indicator,
which reminds you to switch the
unit off after use.

The Fiber Talk’n Test functions
like the Pocket Fiber Tester but
also enables you to talk to a test
partner at the cable’s other end
via amplitude modulation (AM).
Shipped with a folding headset
with a boom microphone, the
Fiber Talk’n Test has a ”press
to test” pushbutton switch and a
volume control so you can
optimize communications with
your test partner.

The Fiber Talk’n Test must be

used in pairs.

The Pocket Opto Source,
which can be used with the
Pocket Fiber Tester, injects a
continuous, nonpulsed signal at a
known power level into a
terminated multimode fiber optic
cable link. In simple terms, you
use it to send a beam of light to
someone with a tester at the end
of the fiber cable.

When used with the Pocket
Fiber Tester, the Pocket Opto
Source is ideal for measuring
an installed cable’s continuity or
attenuation in situations where
the cable’s ends are too far apart
to be connected.

It’s also small enough to fit into
a shirt pocket and draws its power
from a standard 9-volt battery.

Tester components

The Pocket Fiber Tester and
Fiber Talk’n Test feature four main
components: an optical source,
an optical receiver, receive-level

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Test just-arrived or already installed fiber optic cable.

Length of previously

installed fiber optic cable

Pocket Fiber

Tester (TS055A)

Pocket Fiber

Tester (TS055A)

Recently delivered
spool of fiber optic

cable

Pocket Fiber

Tester

(TS055A)

Accessories

: TS054A: Folding

headset with boom mike

Modulation: TS054A: AM

Output Wavelength: 850 nm, ±15 nm

at ±3 dB

Power Output: -20 dBm ± 0.5 dBm

into 100-µ core fiber, -23 dBm
±1 dBm into 62.5-µ core fiber,

-26 dBm ± 1 dBm into 50-µ core
fiber

Readout Range: TS054A, TS055A:

-22 to -40 dBm

Readout Resolution:

TS054A, TS055A: 2 dBm

Controls: TS054A: Volume, “press to

test” button

Connectors: TS054A: (2) ST, (1) RJ-11

(headset);
TS055A: (2) ST;
TS056A: (1) ST

®

Indicators: All models: (1) Power LED;

TS054A, TS055A:

(1) bar-graph-style LED,

graduated in 2-dBm steps

Power: 9 volts, supplied by alkaline or

nickel-cadmium transistor battery

Size: 4.5"H x 2.3"W x 1"D

(11.4 x 5.8 x 2.5 cm)

Weight: 0.3 lb. (0.1 kg), including

battery

Specifications

circuitry, and receive-level scale.

The Pocket Opto Source is
a single component, a regulated
optical source.

All of these test devices shoot
light into the fiber optic cable at the
varying intensities: 100-micron cable
core: -20-dBm intensity; 62.5 micron:

-23 dBm; and 50 micron: -26 dBm.

The optical receiver and
receive-level circuitry of the Pocket
Fiber Tester and the Fiber Talk’n
Test include an optoelectronic
transducer and active voltage­divider circuitry. These components
convert the light received into a
voltage, which is then modified
by the receive-level circuitry and
displayed on the testers’ receive­level LED scale.

The receive-level LED scale,
which is calibrated in -2-dBm steps
from -22 dBm to -40 dBm, shows
you the intensity of light, in dBm,
received by the tester.

Interpreting a tester reading

You can determine the
approximate measurement of
received power of light in the cable
by simply observing the highest
bar illuminated on the tester’s LED
scale. For example, if all bars on
the scale light up to and include the
“28” segment of the bar graph, you
know the measured received power
is at least -28 dBm but less than

-26 dBm, the next highest scale

value (that is, the signal received
is between -28 and -26 dBm).

You would then compare the
difference between the amount of
light sent and the amount received
to immediately know how well your
fiber cable transmits light signals
and to determine its quality.

Tester applications

You can use the Pocket Fiber
Tester or Fiber Talk’n Test in a
variety of measurement modes. Use
a single tester as both transmitter
and receiver to test continuity in a
spool of cable. Or use a single tester
to detect light activity on a particular
cable that you‘re trying to locate
within a bundle of cable.

You can also use two testers
in tandem to check both sides
of duplex cables simultaneously.
Connect one tester to terminals at
the start of the cable, and connect
the other tester to the cable‘s other
end. You can then compare the
measurements for each side of the
duplex cable with the values you
expect.

Want to examine long-distance
cable runs? Well, the Pocket Fiber
Tester can be used with a Pocket
Opto Source to examine such
lengthy runs. In this setup, the
transmitter of the Pocket Opto
Source sends the light signal while
the optical receiver of the Pocket
Fiber Tester measures the signal
loss.

Ordering Information

ITEM CODE

Pocket Fiber Tester, ST ..............................................TS055A

Fiber Talk’n Test, ST.....................................................TS054A

Pocket Opto Source, ST.............................................TS056A

NOTE: Testers are for use with glass-core fiber optic
cable only. Fiber Talk’n Test must be used in pairs.