How to Select the Right Fiber Patch Cable

A fiber patch cable, also known as fiber patch cord, which is widely applied to connect telecommunication equipment and backbone cabling, is a length of fiber optic cable capped at either end with connectors that allow it to be rapidly and conveniently connected to CATV, an optical switch or other telecommunication equipment.

As the fiber patch cables are used to cross-connect installed cables and connect communications equipment. The choice of fiber patch cable is very important to the performance of the network. Currently vendors offer fiber optic patch cables in a variety of cable and connector types. In order to select the right patch cable, some attributes needed to be obtained. They are fiber type, connector type on each end, simplex or duplex, jacket type and length. Fiberstore offers you the following tips to choose the proper fiber patch cable for your applications.

Choose the right fiber type—fiber patch cable should use the same fiber type as the fiber optic cabling that it is connected to. Fiber optic cable comes in two general types which are single-mode and multi-mode fiber.

Choose the correct connector type—the connectors on both end of fiber patch cable are used to connect to the patch panels and equipment. Connector types of the patch cable must match the patch panels and equipment. They can be the same and can also be different. For example, a fiber patch cable with a ST connector on each end is known as ST to ST patch cable. A fiber patch cable with a LC connector on one end and a ST connector on the other end is known as LC to ST patch cable.

Simplex or duplex—unlike copper patch cable which sends information in both directions, most fiber patch cord cables have a single strand of fiber allowing for signal flow in one direction only. A simplex patch cord is a single-fiber cable with simplex connection terminations. A duplex patch cord is a two-fiber cable with duplex connectors. Connecting equipment so that it can send and receive information requires two strands of fiber (one to transmit and one to receive information). This can be accommodated by using two “Simplex” (single strand of fiber) cables for each equipment interconnection or a “Duplex” cable, with conductors and/or connectors bonded together in pairs.

Jacket of fiber patch cable—flammability of the jacket material could become an issue if the area they are in has special requirements for flame spread or products of combustion in case of a fire. To answer the market call, there are LSZH (low smoke zero halogen) fiber patch cable whose jacket is made of materials free of halogenated materials like fluorine (F), Chlorine (Cl), Bromine (Br), Iodine (I) and Astatine (At). This type of fiber patch cord won’t release low smoke zero halogen when it’s on fire.

Length—overall length of the patch cable may be specified in feet or meters, depending on your preference.

Fiberstore provides various types of fiber optic patch cables including single-mode, multi-mode, multi-core, armored patch cables, as well as fiber optic pigtails and other special patch cables. For most of the patch cables, the SC, ST, FC, LC, MU, MTRJ, E2000 connectors (APC/UPC polish) are all available. In addition, we also have MTP/MPO cables in stock.

Originally published in: http://www.fiber-optic-cable-sale.com/how-to-select-the-right-fiber-patch-cable.html