#Fiber optic audio splitter Patch#
#Fiber optic audio splitter upgrade#
#Fiber optic audio splitter Pc#

The higher the return loss is, the lower the reflection and the better the connector performance will be. According to the industry standards, the return loss of PC, UPC, and APC connectors is respectively about -40dB, -50dB, and -60dB or higher. For this reason, the values of the return loss are different. The insertion difference between APC and UPC has been diminished.Īs for the performance of return loss, you may have noticed APC connectors have the lowest back reflection of all the fiber connectors mentioned owing to the angled endface. It used to be hard to achieve low insertion loss using APC connectors owing to the air gap in the apex offsets, yet nowadays the improvement of connector design and manufacturing push APC connectors to perform better. It is also a simple way to tell these connectors apart.

#Fiber optic audio splitter Patch#

While for an LC UPC single mode fiber optic patch cable, the connectors are generally blue. Take an LC APC single mode fiber optic patch cable as an example, the connectors on both fiber ends are all green. It is visible to distinguish which type of polish style the connector features by the color of the connector body. Instead, an APC connector is featured with 8° angle endface.Īnother obvious difference is the color.

#Fiber optic audio splitter Pc#

PC connectors and UPC connectors are both polished with no angle, though endface of UPC has a slight curvature. The major difference in terms of appearance is the fiber endface. The following lists their differences in appearance, performance, and application categories.

APC: What Are Their Differences?Īfter the definition of three connector types, you will find that PC, UPC, and APC connectors vary in many aspects. The optical return loss of APC connectors is -60dB or higher, better than the other connector types.įigure 4: APC fiber Connector PC vs. It should be noted that APC connectors should only be mated with other angled-polished connectors rather than non-angled polished connectors, or it will cause very high insertion loss. Since adding the angled endface, the reflected light will leak out into the cladding instead of staying in the fiber core. APC refers to Angled Physical Connect, the ferrule endface radius of which is polished at an 8°angel, minimizing the back reflection as a result. Out of the pursuit of lower back reflection, APC fiber connectors were developed. Note that repeated connections and disconnections will bring about the degradation of the surface and ultimate performance.įigure 3: UPC fiber connector APC Fiber Connector Though it has a relatively lower back reflection in comparison with the PC connector, it is not robust enough.

It is an improvement of the PC fiber connector with a better surface finish after an extended polishing and the return loss is better than PC structure, nearly -50dB or higher. UPC is the acronym for Ultra Physical Contact. Up to now, this polish style has been outdated and the evolution – UPC polish style has come into being.įigure 2: PC fiber connector UPC Fiber Connector In PC fiber connector design, there is a slightly cylindrical cone head with the aiming to eliminate the air gap, so that the typical return loss in single mode applications is about -40dB, higher than the return loss of the original flat polish style (-14 dB or roughly 4%). PC fiber connector was generated to overcome the air gap between two surfaces from small imperfections in the original flat fiber connector. It is the most common polish type that is found on OM1 and OM2 multimode fiber. PC fiber connector refers to the connector that is polished in the physical contact style.

There are four connector polish types, three of which will be highlighted below.įigure 1: Ferrule polish PC Fiber Connector

#Fiber optic audio splitter upgrade#

To increase the efficiency of fiber, engineers began to upgrade the surface of the critical point of attachment, and that’s how ferrule polish technologies are introduced. When connectors are installed on the end of a fiber, light is reflected back up the fiber towards the source, disrupting the signal. The ferrule is the housing for the exposed end of a fiber, designed to be connected to another fiber, or into a transmitter or receiver. To put it simply, PC, UPC, and APC refer to the polish styles of the ferrules inside the fiber optic connectors, just as the following figure shows. Introduction to Different Connector Types What do these words mean? What’s the difference between these connector types? This post will shed light on these connector types and their differences for you. When choosing fiber optic cables or fiber connectors, you may find that the description of the product noted the word “PC Polish”, “ UPC Polish” or “ APC Polish”.