Progress in fiber optic reliability and maintainability

Results from tests of connectors from several manufacturers are presented. Tests included preparation time, insertion loss, thermal shock, humidity cycling, thermal life aging, and durability. Results were generally very promising. Testing was also performed on an improved pot and polish connector which is being used in the AV-8B digital map set. This connector requires approximately 15 min to terminate, an improvement over the 2 h required for the previous connector. The new connector uses an epoxy that is preinstalled in the contact and is thicker than the previous epoxy. This results in reduced termination time, because the epoxy does not have to be mixed and injected into the contact