What is OTDR?
An Optical Time Domain Reflectometer (OTDR) injects pulses of light and measures backscattered and reflected light to identify splice losses, connector losses, and fiber breaks.
Acceptance Thresholds
Typical OFC project acceptance criteria:
• Splice loss per joint: < 0.1 dB
• Connector loss: < 0.3 dB
• Total link attenuation: per design budget
• Event loss: < 0.3 dB (any event)
Reading an OTDR Trace
The OTDR trace shows distance on X-axis and signal level (dB) on Y-axis. Steps down indicate loss at splices/connectors. Spikes up then down indicate reflection. End of fiber shows sharp drop to noise floor.