INSERTION LOSS or ATTENUATION

dB= amount of attenuation(cable/splice loss)

dBm=level of power measured/mW

Insertion loss(dB)= -10log(P1/P0). Where Log is to base 10, P0 is calibration reference

power(calibration cable) , P1 is power measured with aircraft cable.

For HF cable, 3.5 dB maximum loss

Fiber core dia=200 microns

Wavelength=850nm

Multimode

Simplex(1 wire). For info Duplex would require a pair of wires.

For fiber core dia's 50 or 62.5 microns will require to wrap transmit cable 5 turns around a
mandrel(N/A for HF system)

PROCEDURE AS PER OLS1 and OPM1 USER GUIDE

Connect receive jumper between OLS1 and OPM1 to check if within reasonable limits. Disconnect
receive jumper. Connect calibration transmit jumper between OLS1 and OPM1. Reading on OPM1
will be the reference value in dBm. Disconnect transmit end at OPM1 and connect receive jumper at
OPM1. With the use of 2 splice adaptors connect either end of aircraft cable to transmit and receive
jumpers. Read value on OPM1. Difference in reading from latter value and reference value will be
the aircraft cable insertion loss in dB(plus any splice adaptors in that line, including the 2 above).

PROCEDURE AS PER ROCKWELL COLLINS SIL DOCUMENT(523-0804787)

Prepare a single transmit Calibration cable(2 feet long) and measure its reference value in dBm by
connecting it to OLS1 and OPM1. Do not switch off OLS1. To test aircraft cable, connect a splice
adaptor to the calibration cable that is already attached to the light source. Connect the aircraft
cable to the other end of the splice and to the light power meter. The cable should not have more
than 3 dB loss. If there is more than 3 dB loss, reverse the cable under test, and repeat the test. The
suspect connector will be the one at the light source end when the lower reading(higher negative
value) was taken.

Example: Say transmit calibration cable is calibrated with a reading of -3.7 dBm. Subtracting 1 dB to
allow for loss in the splice adaptor gives a starting reference of -4.7 dB. The light power meter reads
-5.9 dBm when aircraft cable is connected to splice. This indicates a cable loss of 1.2 dB. The cable
has passed the test. Any reading within the range of -4.7 and -7.7 dBm (0 to 3 dB loss) would be
considered good for aircraft cable.

With above example, Insertion loss(dB)= -10 log (-5.9/-4.7) = -0.98