Splicing 12 cores into 24 core cables, seems simple enough with modern splicing tools.

However, not testing them before hand can cause problems such as not having a connection to the other end.

By good fortune the company who was testing these fibers spoke to one of our technical specialist who went out the next morning with an OTDR and FIP to test the circuits.

Testing revealed 5 out of 12 fibers had a very high macro bending loss. Surprisingly most of the problems were at the patch panel with up to 3.5db losses. Fault finding using the EXFO OTDR, pinpointed the problem area, this being inadequate routing of the fibres causing severe macro bending losses. The testing and fault finding was completed within 15 minutes.

The cost of the truck roll would have been approximately $800. Training the personnel with the appropriate test equipment would have avoided unnecessary expenses.