AFL has expanded its range of ground tactical fibre optics products for fast deployment with the Sidewinder Rapid Cable Deployment System.

The Sidewinder reel system is made from a high impact grade polymer that is also lightweight and easy to handle. The removable handle enables fast sidewinding action so that cable rigging can be accomplished rapidly, helping to ease the deployment of tactical fibre optic cables by reducing handling and set up time for portable deployment and retrieval in field conditions.

AFL has launched the LightLink 550 optical splicing and distribution enclosure (LL-550), a compact wall-mounted enclosure that builds upon the success of its larger counterpart, the LightLink 580, by providing similar patching and splicing capability but in a smaller form factor.

The LL-550 is useful for business service hand-offs, MDU distribution and connectivity, cellular backhaul and other commercial services that require weather-proof field connectivity, but may have size constraints due to crowded cabinets, telco closets or other congested mounting surfaces.

The latest addition to AFL’s MicroCore cable family is the Ultra HD MicroCore, which uses SpiderWeb Ribbon (SWR) technology.

The new cable supports high fibre density deployments in data centre and central office installation environments and is designed to optimise splicing efficiency when interconnected with the company’s Wrapping Tube Cable (WTC), a fibre optic cable that AFL says provides the smallest cable diameter and lowest weight, high-fibre count ribbon cable in the industry.

AFL has released the FCC3 Debris Destroyer pen, a tool for cleaning fibre-optic connectors, and bare fibres in preparation for fusion splicing. In combination with wipes, tips and sticks, the pen works to remove end-face contaminants such as dirt, dust, oil and other debris, and eliminates electrostatic charge.

AFL has modified the LC version of its Poli-MOD patch and splice module to include an automatic shutter for increased dust protection. As LC connectors are inserted or pulled from the module, the shutter protects the contents from dust particles that may interfere with connections.

AFL has released two new optical time-domain (OTDR) modules for its Rogue modular test platform: the RG-2100 Quad 850/1300 multimode plus 1310/1550 nm singlemode OTDR and the RG-2100 Dual 1310/1500 singlemode OTDR. The new modules are ideal for verifying the installation of singlemode and multimode fibre networks.

Both modules may be installed in either the ROGUE compact cB1 base or the Rogue intelligent iB1 base. Both include integrated visual fault locator (VFL) and are available with optional integrated optical light source (OLS) and optical power meter (OPM).

AFL is introducing a new fibre-optic cable structure with proven performance to 300°C. Intended for long-term installation scenarios, the new high-temperature fibre-optic cable structure can be optimised to suit the environmental conditions that it will experience in service. Optical integrity up to 300°C has been validated via what the company describes as “unique processing of the fibres and cables” within its manufacturing facilities.

AFL has expanded its portfolio of fibre connector inspection products with the FOCIS Flex No Wireless (NW) version of its award-winning FOCIS Flex inspection probe. FOCIS Flex is a self-contained, tether-free, compact and handheld connector inspection probe. At the click of a button, FOCIS Flex auto-focuses, captures, centres and analyses end-face images to easily display, transfer or store pass/fail results within seconds.

Fibre-optic cable and accessories manufacturer AFL is introducing two new products at OFC 2017 in Los Angeles this week: its range of optical card edge and on-card assemblies, and Wrapping Tube Cable with SpiderWeb Ribbon (SWR) technology.