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If I request standard 50 micron multimode fiber, why does Superior Essex provide laser optimized 50 micron TeraGain 10G/150 fiber capable of transmitting 10Gb Ethernet out to 150 meters as a standard offering?
Although this fiber is offered by competitors at a premium, Superior Essex offers Teragain 10G/150 as a standard offering for 50 micron multimode requests. With the higher bandwidth available in the TeraGain 10G/150 fiber, customers have built-in future-proofing at no additional cost.
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May I use an all Dielectric Loose Tube cable and bury it directly in the dirt to keep my costs down?
An optical fiber is a thin piece of glass used for transmitting optical signals. A fiber is comprised of three layers: the core, cladding, and coating. The core is the area of the fiber where the light is transmitted. The larger the core, the more light that can be transmitted. The cladding is composed of a material with a different optical property than the core. The purpose of the cladding is to reflect the light back into the core so that the light is transmitted through the fiber. The coating is a layer applied to protect the fiber from stress.
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What is an optical fiber?
Superior Essex recommends that an armored cable is used in direct bury applications. Armored cables provide superior protection against the rigors of direct burial during installation as well as the long term hazards such as rodents and the occasional fence or mailbox post. In addition, dielectric cables are more difficult to locate post-installation, making them more susceptible to future excavations in the proximity.
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When would a fiber optic cable be used in place of a copper cable for communications?
The primary reason that optical fibers are specified for certain communications applications relates to the amount of information sent and the distances between sending and receiving points on the network. For most applications where high volumes of telephone voice circuits are to be supported SMF is specified. For moderated data transmission data rated and distances MMF is used. For short distance (< 300ft) and moderate bandwidth, copper is typically used.
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What are the different types of fibers used in a cable?
Depending upon the application, either a singlemode or multimode fiber will be used. Singlemode fibers have a core diameter of 8.3 microns and are used for long distance transmissions typically in outside plant applications requiring high bandwidth. Multimode fibers are used for transmissions over short distances and are usually identified by their core and cladding diameters. The core/cladding diameter of a multimode fiber can be 50/125, 62.5/125, or 100/140 microns. Multimode fibers are widely used in premise cables and private networks. The size utilized most frequently in the United States is 62.5 micron, while 50 micron fibers are often used in military applications. There is also a type of singlemode fiber referred to as non-zero dispersion shifted fiber. This type of fiber is used in long distance and DWDM applications. Examples of this type of fiber are Corning 's LEAF or Lucent Technology's TrueWave fiber. MetroCor Fiber is a new type of NZDS fiber used in metropolitan ring applications.
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What is a hybrid cable?
A hybrid cable contains more than one fiber type in the same cable. For example, a private network application might call for both singlemode and multimode fibers. Placing both fiber types in the same cable would result in installation savings since there would be no need to install two separate cables.
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Who manufactures the fibers used in Superior Essex' cables and are all fibers of the same type equivalent?
Superior Essex has approved Corning, Sumitomo, OFS, LS, and Draka as fiber vendors. These vendors were chosen because the proven quality of their optical fibers ensuring long-term performance and reliability. In addition, these fibers are optically and geometrically compatible because the fiber characteristics are strictly controlled so that each fiber can be spliced to any other fiber with extremely low splice loss.
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What are the different cable designs offered by Superior Essex?
Superior Essex offers a wide variety of cable core and sheath designs to match the needs of today's fiber optic network. For indoor applications, a tight buffered design is available and features jackets suitable for riser or plenum applications. For outside plant cables, a loose tube or single tube cable is available for lashed aerial, duct, or direct burial applications. A loose tube riser cable is also offered for indoor/outdoor riser applications. This cable is especially useful in private networks for continuous runs between buildings since this cable may be placed more than 50 feet inside a building.
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What is the difference between a riser and plenum cable?
Riser cables, which are OFNR listed (UL 1666), are typically used in vertical applications such as elevator shafts or between floors in a building. Plenum cables, which are OFNP listed (UL 910), are typically used in horizontal applications such as in the air return spaces above ceilings and under structural floors in buildings since they generate little smoke.
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Is there a standard jacket color?
For premise cables, the jacket color is dependent upon the fiber type in the cable. For cables containing singlemode fibers, the jacket color is yellow. For cables containing multimode fibers, the jacket color is orange. For outside plant cables, the standard color is black, however other customer preferences can be accommodated as well.
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What is the difference between a loose buffer tube and tight buffered cable design?
Outside plant cables have traditionally utilized loose tube cable designs. In this cable design, the fibers are placed inside plastic buffer tubes having a diameter several times larger than the fiber. Because the fibers are "loose" in the buffer tubes, they can move freely and are protected from the effects of mechanical forces and temperature fluctuations. Also, to protect the fibers from sticking together and to prevent water from causing fiber stress, a gel filling compound is placed inside the buffer tubes. Tight buffer designs, on the other hand, are most prevalent in indoor applications. In this design, the plastic buffer is applied directly over the coating on the fiber to a diameter of 900 microns. Consequently, fibers in tight buffer cables cannot move freely and are not protected as well from the stresses of temperature variations. However, this cable is used for indoor applications where the temperature variations are not extreme. Also, because the fiber in tight buffer cables stretch with the cable, tight buffer cables exhibit great flexibility and ruggedness for frequent handling which is ideal for indoor cables.
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How is water migration prevented in the cable design?
Traditionally cable designs have utilized a jelly-flooding compound in the core. By filling the interstitial voids with this compound, the migration of water within the cable has been blocked preventing water ingress along the core. Technological improvements have been made and water migration is now typically prevented by placing dry, water reactive components (Super Absorbent Polymer materials) within the cable core. These SAP components work by forming a gel compound when in contact with water. The gel acts as a barrier by filling the interstices of the core and prevents water penetration. By using cables with a dry core, significant construction savings can be realized because cable access time is reduced by eliminating the step of cleaning the buffer tubes during installation and handling.
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What are the different cable constructions for outside plant cables?
Generally speaking a cable can be all-dielectric (containing no metallic components) or armored. All-dielectric cables are typically used in lashed aerial or duct applications. For more strenuous environmental conditions or where rodents are a problem, steel armor and additional jackets can be added for mechanical protection. Armored cables utilize a corrugated electrolytically chrome coated steel (ECCS) tape. The armored cable design is intended primarily for direct buried applications.
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Which Superior Essex manufacturing plants produce fiber optic cable?
Fiber optic cable is currently produced in Brownwood , TX ; Kennesaw , GA ; and Beit She'an , Israel . Each facility manufactures fiber optic cables for different applications.
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Does Superior Essex manufacture a self-supporting cable?
There are two types of self-supporting cable. A Figure 8 cable design features an extra high strength (EHS) stranded steel messenger as its support mechanism. This type of self-support cable is presently available. An All-Dielectric Self-Supporting (ADSS) cable is the other type of self-supporting cable, which is not currently manufactured by Superior Essex.
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What is the color-coding scheme used to facilitate individual fiber identification?
All fibers used in Superior Essex cables are color coded to facilitate individual identification. Unless otherwise specified, all cables employ the standard industry color code system in accordance with the Munsell color shades. Per EIA/TIA-598, Color Coding of Fiber Optic Cables, the individual fiber colors are listed below
1 Blue (BL)
2 Orange (OR)
3 Green (GR)
4 Brown (BR)
5 Slate (SL)
6 White (WH) 7 Red (RD)
8 Black (BK)
9 Yellow (YL)
10 Violet (VI)
11 Rose (RS)
12 Aqua (AQ)
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How many fibers are in each buffer tube?
The Superior Essex standard is 12 fiber buffer tube. However other fiber configurations can be accommodated.
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What is the maximum pulling tension and minimum bending radius of outside plant cables?
Cable tensile load ratings, also called cable pulling tensions or pulling forces, are specified under short term and long term conditions. The short-term condition represents a cable during installation and it is not recommended that this tension be exceeded. The long-term condition represents an installed cable subjected to a permanent load for the life of the cable. Superior Essex's loose tube cable designs have a short term (during installation) tensile rating of 600 pounds (2700 N) and a long term (post installation) tensile rating of 200 pounds (890 N).
The minimum bending radius of a fiber optic cable is typically determined by the outside diameter of the cable. Because of this, the minimum bending radius will vary for different cable designs and fiber counts. Observe the following limits when determining the minimum bending radius:
If the Cable is… Then the Minimum Bending Radius must be…
Pulled under tension (short term) Twenty times the cable diameter
Pulled not under tension (long term) Ten times the cable diameter.
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What is the specified temperature range for outside plant cables?
The specified temperature range as defined by Bellcore GR-20 is:
Operation: -40°C to +70°C (-40°F to +158°F)
Installation: -30°C to +60°C (-22°F to +140°F)
Storage/Shipping: -40°C to +75°C (-40°F to +167°F)
All of Superior Essex's OSP cables are qualified to this specification. In addition, some customers do request a more stringent specification. Superior Essex manufactures specific products that are designed to meet an improved specification of -50ºC for both operation and storage/shipping temperature, which exceeds the Bellcore GR-20 specification.
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What is highest fiber count supplied in the different fiber cable designs?
Currently OSP loose tube cables are available in fiber counts up to 288 fibers, while the single loose tube design cables are available in fiber counts up to 96 fibers. For indoor/outdoor applications, the loose tube riser cable is available in fiber counts from 4-144 fibers. Depending upon the application, premise cables are available from 1-144 fibers.
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What performance standard does Superior Essex use to qualify fiber optic cables?
Outside Plant (OSP) optical fiber cables are tested to meet or exceed the requirements contained in Telcordia (formerly Bellcore) GR-20-CORE, Generic Requirements for Optical Fiber and Optical Fiber Cable. Our OSP cables are also tested in accordance with the Rural Development Utilities Program (RDUP), formerly RUS standard for fiber optic cables. For fiber optic cables intended for premises applications Telcordia GR-409-CORE, Generic Requirements for Premises Fiber Optic Cable and ICEA S-83-596, Standard for Optical Fiber Premises Distribution Cable are used as the qualification standards.
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Is there an industry standard which stipulates the construction of hybrid fiber cables?
The 3rd edition of the BICSI CO-OSP Design Manual (page 4-22) states "Where the cable contains both single and multimode optical fibers, the singlemode fibers are typically contained within the first group of tubes". The key word here is typically. Superior Essex will always place the singlemode fibers in the first tube (s) followed by the multimode fibers, unless the customer specifically asks us to do otherwise. Another way to tell is to look at the test results attached to each reel.
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Chemicals can degrade the cable jacket material, depending on both the jacket material and the chemical.
Before choosing a cable with a standard jacket material in areas where chemicals are present, contact Superior Essex at 800.551.8948 for alternative jacketing options that are resistant to the specific chemical(s) in question. For example, a jacket made of PVDF (fluoropolymer) or nylon (polyamide) will impart specific resistance to a number of classes of chemical compounds compared to standard materials of which cables are typically made.
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What is the difference between Single Mode (SM) and Multimode (MM)?
SM (single mode) is a form of optical transmission in which a single mode (path) of light travels down a fiber from one end to the other. Multimode is a form of transmission in which many modes of light travel down a fiber simultaneously.
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Are Zip ties suitable for securing fiber optic cables?
We do not recommend the use of Zip ties for securing fiber optic cables. Due to the common tendency toward over-zealous cinching, zip ties may compromise attenuation performance or in extreme cases cause fiber breakage due to the high level of pressure exerted on the fiber.
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What is dark fiber?
Dark fiber is a term used to describe optical fiber that is installed, but not in service and not connected to any device. Dark fiber is usually installed to avoid the expense of having to go back and lay fiber again later.
(To the Top)My upcoming project mandates that I use RoHS compliant cables. Are cables manufactured by Superior Essex RoHS compliant; do you have supporting documentation; and where can I find it?
Yes, Superior Essex manufactures RoHS (Restriction of Hazardous Substances) compliant products. These cables can be easily identified by the appearance of a RoHS logo located near the standards compliance box of our print and online product specification sheets. (Keep in mind that the most current information is available online.)
The Restriction on Hazardous Substances (RoHS) and Waste Electrical and Electronic Equipment (WEEE) directives are aimed at reducing the hazardous materials content in electronic products as well as increasing the recycling efforts for these products and became effective July 1, 2006. RoHS specifically bans or restricts the use of lead, cadmium, mercury, hexavalent chromium, polybrominated biphenyls (PBB) and polybrominated biphenyl ethers (PBDE).
General information on RoHS compliance is available on our Web at RoHS Compliance as well as on the RoHS website.
To obtain a stand-alone documents for a specific part number(s), contact your inside sales manager. He or she can provide the documentation.
If you have other questions concerning RoHS compliant cables manufactured by Superior Essex, please contact Technical Support at 877.263.2818 or via email at the link below.
TechSupport@SPSX.com
(To the Top)What are the different cable constructions for outside plant cables?
Generally speaking a cable can be all-dielectric (containing no metallic components) or armored. All-dielectric cables are typically used in lashed aerial or duct applications. For more strenuous environmental conditions or where rodents are a problem, steel armor and additional jackets can be added for mechanical protection. Armored cables utilize a corrugated electrolytically chrome coated steel (ECCS) tape.
(To the Top)What is the maximum pulling tension and minimum bending radius of outside plant cables?
Cable tensile load ratings, also called cable pulling tensions or pulling forces, are specified under short term and long term conditions. The short-term condition represents a cable during installation and it is not recommended that this tension be exceeded. The long-term condition represents an installed cable subjected to a permanent load for the life of the cable. Superior Essex's loose tube cable designs have a short term (during installation) tensile rating of 600 pounds (2700 N) and a long term (post installation) tensile rating of 200 pounds (890 N).
(To the Top)What is the specified temperature range for outside plant cables?
The specified temperature range as defined by Bellcore GR-20 is:
Operation: -40°C to +70°C (-40°F to +158°F)
Installation: -30°C to +60°C (-22°F to +140°F)
Storage/Shipping: -40°C to +75°C (-40°F to +167°F)
All of Superior Essex's OSP cables are qualified to this specification. In addition, some customers do request a more stringent specification. Superior Essex manufactures specific products that are designed to meet an improved specification of -50ºC for both operation and storage/shipping temperature, which exceeds the Bellcore GR-20 specification.
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