User's Manual

Handling optical fibers
When you work with optical fibers, you must take the following general precautions:
• Wear safety glasses when you install optical fibers.
• Do not look into the opening of an optical fiber, or the opening of an optical fiber
connector, if the optical fiber is active or the unit has the power turned on.
• Avoid direct exposure to optical fiber ends or optical connector ends where you
can access the laser signal directly.
• Clean your hands after you handle optical fibers. Small pieces of glass are not
always visible and can damage your eyes.
• Do not handle pieces of optical fiber with your fingers. Use tweezers or adhesive
tape to lift and discard any loose optical fiber ends.
• Wear rubber gloves when you clean optical connectors. The gloves prevent direct
contact with the isopropyl alcohol and prevent contamination of the ferrules with
skin oils.
• Place all optical fiber clippings in a plastic container provided for that purpose.
• Handle optical fibers with caution. Place the optical fibers in a safe location during
installation.
• Protect all optical fiber connectors with clean dust caps at all times.
• Follow the manufacturer instructions when you use an optical test set. Incorrect
calibration or control settings can create hazardous levels of radiation.
Splicing optical fibers
When you must look at a spliced optical fiber with a small magnifier, take the
following precautions:
• Power off all laser sources to the optical fiber or disconnect the remote optical
fiber end from the laser sources before you start splicing. Make sure that all laser
sources remain disconnected or have the power turned off.
• Disconnect all optical test sets from the optical fiber before you start splicing. The
connections can be local or remote.
• Use only the optical instruments approved by your company.