Northern Telecom NT6F21AC Stable Laser

[DavePEI]

Northern Telecom NT6F21AC Stable Laser Light Source from NT's Optical Systems Division in Saskatoon. This device is protected via a key, which thankfully was included. It appears to be operating! The unit appears to be very lightly used, and is clean inside and out. The key serves as a safety interlock. The yellow cable from the yellow plug is fiber optic, and about ten feet long. It coils in the ring around the face plate.

Product Overview Northern Telecom's Stable Light Sources are portable, test instruments that use a solid state laser to provide a stable optical signal.  They have been designed to be used in adverse field conditions to provide optical stimulus for functions including system loss measurements, local monitoring of splice loss and fiber identification.

Operator safety has been maintained to a high degree and the Stable Light Sources are fully certified by the U.S.A. Bureau of Radiological Health.

(From an Ebay Ad for one of these). This was also made in a dual-source version. I would love to find a copy of its operator manual, or of the Installation Products Overview (both shown below - photo below of a manual taken from an Ebay listing - only sold with unit) The seller is unwilling to copy it.

I have few tools designed for Fiber - I will have to find more for the Museum collection.

[19and41]

Looks like it was well cared for.

[DavePEI]

Looks like it was well cared for.

Yes, it does. A couple of very minor scratches on the outside of the box, but the faceplate is pristine - the key isn't even tarnished. The photo below were taken without any cleaning.

It is just about the first tool I have in the museum tool collection designed for Fiber. So it opens up a new avenue I must explore...

Dave

[19and41]

Be gentle with it's cabling.  they can be broken easily and must not be coiled much tighter than the storage form. 

[DavePEI]

Be gentle with it's cabling.  they can be broken easily and must not be coiled much tighter than the storage form.

Yes, I know....

[DavePEI]

Now, here is a question from someone who doesn't know hardly anything about Fiber Optic, a person who is largely stuck back in the 80s. I am sure there are fancy (and very expensive) Fiber power meters to use on the other end of a fiber line with this, but is there any such thing as a Fiber test pen which will at the bare minimum detect a light signal coming down the Fiber. You can't very well peek at it to see if there is light!! Does anyone know what is used for this? I am going to try to collect a few at least basic fiber tools for the Museum as I can afford them..... I guess at the bare minimum, a test pen would have to contain a fiber switch and some form of LED indication of light? - for want of a better description, a go/no-go indicator.

[19and41]

For your needs you shouldn't need a high priced meter.  Here are some inexpensive meters that should give pretty good service.  The meters that system techs use run about $500.00 and up.  These ought to do for dabbling in it.

http://www.ebay.com/sch/i.html?_from=R40&_sacat=0&_nkw=fiber+optic+power+meter&_sop=15

[unbeldi]

The fiber that is wound on the take-up form of the instrument is not intended to be uncoiled or used extended in any way, I don't think.
Proper optical time-domain reflectometry (OTDR) requires a certain length of cable as reference before the cable that is to be measured.  For certain tests, it is also necessary to use another length of reference cable before the detector end.  The detector which you are missing completes the instrument.

But not all tests require a remote detector, just a proper termination of the fiber.

.... a person who is largely stuck back in the 80s.

The 1980s were prime time for fiber-optics.  Early in the decade the WECo Atlanta Works was converted to a fiber-optics plant.
I had the opportunity to visit in ca. 1989 or so.

[DavePEI]

What I ended up ordering was a cheap Chinese Power Meter, Now I will have to find a cheap cleaver, fusing tools,etc., hopefully used. It will take a while to be able to afford them, as I am short of $'s this year, but I think they will be worthwhile additions to the Wire and Cable and tool displays: http://www.ebay.ca/itm/282047412345?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

[19and41]

I think something along that line will suit your needs for the time being until some kind person donates a optical time domain reflectometer to your museum.  You never know when a unit might be made redundant.

[DavePEI]

Yes, I have  a TDR unit, but not for Optical 

[19and41]

We used those to hunt bullet holes in waveguide and heliax.  Those towers were irresistible for some reason.  In Germany, we even had an arrow lodged in one of my sites' receiver dishes.