Optical characteristics of do-it-yourself short optical links with multiple connectors

This paper first clarifies Do-It-Yourself optical connector loss characteristics that must be known to design networks that have short optical links. Novices are tasked with using two typical fiber facet finishing methods to create connectors. The packet loss characteristics of optical links constructed with several of these connectors are measured and discussed. Experiments show that amateur optical connectors with about 3 dB loss are feasible if the hot plate is used for finishing the fiber facet. Concatenating connectors will decrease the reachable fiber distance so careful link configuration is needed.