Brian DiMarco
GREENVILLE, S.C.—FiberSource is a leading manufacturer of fiberoptic connectivity products, with cable television, telephone, and data communications industries as our primary customers. We observed the upswing in fiberoptic connectivity by these businesses, and in 2008 decided to expand into the manufacture and repair of optical fiber camera cables and field installation of fiber cables, primarily SMPTE-type connectors.
We looked at several suppliers for cables and connectors, and eventually selected Canare as our preferred supplier. Canare offers a full line of SMPTE 311M products., including both 9 mm and 7 mm bulk cable, connectors, connector panels, and associated test equipment. Canare products are SMPTE 304M, 311M, and ARIB BTA S-1005B compliant, and the company is a participating member of the standards committees so we know that their products will work with other maker's products. We believe it's important to sell products that meet industry standards rather than proprietary to a specific manufacturer.
We've found that Canare can usually ship the same day as an order is received. This is important, as lead-time in the repair of camera cables very important. Broadcasters can't wait weeks or months for a connector to arrive from overseas.
Canare provided us with full training and technical support. Their products allowed us to use most of our existing equipment with only the purchase of a few fixtures necessary. We especially like Canare products, as the fiber termini are longer than other makers and provide better support to the fiber during polishing. Also, Canare uses epoxy encapsulation which prevents water egress and eliminates connector pullout.
As a repair facility, we get to see all types of cables and connectors used in the industry. We've noticed that other connectors that aren't similarly encapsulated show pullout of the cable jacket from the connector. The surface of the Canare cable is smoother than other products and this helps keep dirt from adhering to the jacket, making for cleaner cables. Another nice feature of the Canare connector is a quick release alignment sleeve that makes the cleaning process easier and much more thorough.
PANELS EASE INSTALLATION WORK
We have done field installation of the Canare COP connector panels in stadiums and arenas. These panels are specially designed for hybrid fiber-optic camera cables and are very easy to install. The panels allow for cable to enter from five different directions and that provides us with a lot of versatility in panel placement and cable dressing.
The COP also provides for securing the cable tension member, allowing the panel to be mounted securely to the cable prior to installation in equipment racks. The design allows connectorized trunk cable fibers to be easily interchanged after installation. The associated copper connectors use standard nylon AMP connectors that can be terminated with a simple hand tool in the field.
Another tool we've found very useful is Canare's FCT tester. This allows us to easily test and verify the optical loss/power and also electrical continuity of the installation.
Brian DiMarco has more than 25 years experience in design and manufacture of fiberoptic connectivity products and holds 8 patents in that field. He may be contacted at bdimarco@fibersource.net.
For additional information, contact Canare Corporation of America at 973 837-0070 or visit www.canare.com.
