A Few Things to Consider When Choosing Fiber Optic Patch Cord

Currently, fiber-optic cable and Ethernet are the two most widely used methods. Among these two methods, fiber-optic cable has the advantages of long transmission distance and fast transmission speed. It has a much larger data throughput than Ethernet and can meet our high requirements for network transmission, easily beating Ethernet. So, when choosing fiber optic patch cord, how should we choose?

What is the connector for fiber optic patch cord?

When purchasing fiber-optic cable, the first thing to consider is what connector to buy. Common fiber-optic connectors are SC, FC, LC and ST.

• SC: rectangular connector head, commonly used for routers and switches;

• FC: circular fiber-optic connector head, generally used in ODF fiber-optic distribution frames;

• LC: square connector head, commonly used in routers;

• ST: round connector head, commonly used in fiber-optic distribution frames;

• MPO/MTP: consists of two high-precision plastic-formed connectors and optical cables, using a miniaturized design, and has high density and stable and reliable connectivity. Fiber optic patch cord with multiple cores and small volumes are used in high-density integrated fiber-optic line environments.

These connectors are all physical connectors. Besides their different shapes, their functions are the same. Fiber optic patch cord are non-directional and can be interconverted. In the purchasing process, we need to determine the equipment connector for the fiber-optic cable.

Single-core or double-core for fiber optic patch cord?

After determining the connector, we need to determine if it is a single-core or double-core jumper. Single-mode fiber-optic cables can be divided into single-mode single-core fiber-optic jumpers and single-mode double-core fiber-optic jumpers according to the number of cores. Dual-core jumpers are generally labeled A and B to distinguish between the two cores, and when in use, A-A and B-B are respectively connected.

Single-mode or multi-mode for fiber optic patch cord?

According to the transmission mode, it can be divided into single-mode fiber-optic cables and multi-mode fiber-optic cables.

• Single-mode fiber-optic cables: The center glass core is thin and can only transmit one mode of fiber-optic cables with a small diameter. In theory, only straight-in light can enter the fiber-optic cable and propagate in a straight line inside the fiber core. They are suitable for long-distance transmission.

• Multi-mode fiber-optic cables: The center glass core is thick and can transmit multiple modes of light. Due to the large diameter of the multi-mode fiber-optic cables, different modes of light can be transmitted on the same fiber-optic cable. The propagation constants and rates of each mode are different, which makes the bandwidth of the fiber-optic cable narrow, the dispersion large, and the loss also large. They are suitable for medium- and short-distance fiber-optic communication systems.

What length and diameter of fiber optic patch cord do we need?

The necessary length of the fiber-optic cable jumper can be specified by the customer, and the outer diameter of the fiber-optic cable jumper can be 0.9mm, 2.0mm, 3.0mm or other specified diameters.