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What are the differences between fiber optic patch cords, pigtails, and fiber optic connectors?

2024-03-20

Latest company news about What are the differences between fiber optic patch cords, pigtails, and fiber optic connectors?

Fiber optic patch cords are used as jumper cables connecting devices to fiber optic cabling links. They have a thicker protective layer and are generally used for connections between optical transmitters and terminal boxes.

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Pigtails, also known as pigtail cables, have a connector at one end and a severed end of an optical fiber cable at the other. They are connected to other optical fiber cables through fusion splicing and are often found inside fiber optic terminal boxes, used to connect optical cables to fiber optic transceivers (with the use of couplers, patch cords, etc.).

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Fiber optic connector is a detachable (movable) device used for connecting fibers to each other. It precisely aligns the two end faces of the fibers to maximize the coupling of the light energy emitted by the transmitting fiber into the receiving fiber and minimize the impact on the system due to its intervention in the optical link. This is the basic requirement for a fiber optic connector. To a certain extent, fiber optic connector also affects the reliability and various performances of the optical transmission system.

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First, the optical cable comes in from outdoors and needs to be spliced in the optical cable box, which is the terminal box you mentioned. Optical cable splicing is a technical task that requires stripping the cable and splicing the thin fibers inside the cable with pigtails. After the splicing is completed, it is placed in the box, and then our pigtails emerge. The ends of the optical fibers are connected to the ODF (a rack connected with couplers). The other side of the rack also uses pigtails (or fiber optic patch cords, which are actually used for fiber optic patching) to connect to the optical-electrical converter. The optical-electrical transceiver then outputs a network cable that connects to the router, switch, local area network, and finally the host.

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In the above steps, the fiber distribution frame can be omitted, and the pigtails can be directly connected to the fiber optic transceiver, thus eliminating the need for a coupler. A coupler is a device that connects two pigtails (or fiber optic patch cords).

 

A fiber optic coupler is commonly referred to as a flange for the movable connection of two optical fibers or pigtails.

A fiber optic terminal box is the termination point of a fiber optic cable. One end is the fiber optic cable, and the other end is the pigtail. It is effectively a device that splits a fiber optic cable into individual optical fibers.

A fiber optic splicing box is used to splice two fiber optic cables together to form a longer cable.

 

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Can I understand the terminal box and the splicing box in this way? They are both used for splicing the two ends of optical fibers, with the former being the splicing of optical cables and pigtails, and the latter being the splicing between optical cables. This basic understanding is correct.

Are the splice box and the terminal box the same?

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No, they are not the same. The splice box is fully sealed and waterproof, but it cannot fix the pigtails. The terminal box is not waterproof, and its internal structure allows for fixing optical cables on one side and pigtails on the other.

 

Can I understand that the coupler is used to connect optical fibers or pigtails, but the connection part is movable and not spliced?
Yes, this understanding is correct. The coupler can only connect two pigtails and comes with different interfaces such as SC/PC and FC/PC. On the other hand, the connection between an optical cable and a pigtail is achieved through splicing using a fusion splicer, which is a permanent connection.

 

What is the difference between a pigtail and a patch cord? Can a patch cord be divided into two halves and used as a pigtail?


A pigtail has only one end with a movable connector, while a patch cord has movable connectors on both ends. There are many different types of connectors, and different couplers are needed for different interfaces. A patch cord can indeed be divided into two halves and used as a pigtail, and this is a common practice.

 

 

 

 

 

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