OWL VS-400-U User manual

Optical Wavelength Laboratories
OPERATIONS GUIDE
400x USB Video Inspection Scope
Model Number:
VS-400-U
Revision 1.00
OWL
5 Commonwealth Ave
Woburn, MA 01801
Phone [phone]
Toll Free 1-800-517-8431
Visit us at www.TestEquipmentDepot.com

i
INTRODUCTION
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
BeforeYouBegin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
AboutThisManual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Applications. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
SECTION 2: INSTALLING THE VIDEO MICROSCOPE
InstallingUSBDrivers.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
VerifyingInstallationoftheUSBDriver. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
SECTION 3: ENDFACE VIEWER SOFTWARE
LaunchingFiberEndfaceViewerSoftware. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
ViewingFiberEndfaces . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 6
Capture/StoreFiberEndfaceImages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
RetrievePreviouslyStoredEndfaceImages. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
EndfaceViewer“GetCurrentImagefailed,hr=8000ffff”Error. . . . . . . . . 10
SECTION 4: MAINTENANCE
CleaningOpticalPorts. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
CleaningConnectorEndfaces.. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11

1
INTRODUCTION
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
Allpersonneltestingopticalfibersshouldbeadequatelytrainedinthefieldoffiberopticsbeforeusinganyfiberoptictestequipment.
Iftheuserisnotcompletelyfamiliarwithtestingfiberoptics,theyshouldseekcompetenttraining. Suchtrainingcanbeacquiredfrom
avarietyofsources,suchaslocalhands-ontrainingclasses.
Valuable informationaboutfiberoptictesting canalsobegatheredfrom readingprintedliteraturecarefully orby thoroughlyreading
suppliedoperationsmanuals.
Fiberoptictestersvaryfromothertypesoftestequipmentduetoissuessuchas:
1)standards-basedtesting
2)properfiberoptictestprocedures(FOTPs)
3)"zeroing"orreferencingofpowerlevels
4)determiningthecorrectlinkbudgettopassorfailby
Completeunderstandingofeachoftheseissuesiscriticalforperformingproperfiberoptictests.
Throughoutthismanualyouwillfindvarioussymbolsthatassistwithunderstandingtheproceduresoutlinedinthismanual. Belowis
alistofthesesymbolsandashortdescriptionoftheirpurpose:
Showsahelpfultipthatwillmakeaproceduregomoresmoothly
Tellstheusersomeusefulinformationaboutthesuccessfulcompletionofaprocedure
Warnstheoperatorofapotentiallydangerouscondition
ABOUT THIS MANUAL

2
INTRODUCTION
DESCRIPTION
The VS-400-U is a USB-based video microscope with 400x magnification, allowing for inspection of both
multimodeandsinglemodefiberconnectorendfacesandopticalportsforcleanlinessandquality.
REQUIREMENTS
APCorlaptopequippedwithaUSBportisrequiredforviewingendfacesandportswiththeVS-400-U.
ADVANTAGES
Videomicroscopesofferthreedistinctadvantagesovertraditionaldirect-viewmicroscopes:
Eye safety. Even with IR filters and other eye safety precautions, viewing endfaces and ports
through a direct-view scope can be harmful to the eyes, due to high-intensity optical radiation
directlyenteringtheeye. Videomicroscopescompletelyisolatetheeyefrompotentiallydangerous
incominglight,whichinsteadfallsuponasmallvideocamera.
Large viewing area. Images on a video screen are much larger than when viewed through a direct-view
scope,andthuseasiertosee. Imagescanalsobezoomedinon.
Largerviewingareaalsoreduceseyestraincausedbysquintingthroughaviewfinder.
Image capture. Digitalimagesoffiberendfaces/ports canbecapturedthroughsoftware,andstored onhard
diskforlaterretrieval.

3
INSTALLING THE VIDEO MICROSCOPE
INSTALLING USB DRIVERS
ConnecttheVS-400-UtoaworkingUSBportonaPCorlaptop.
Most Windows operating systems already include a USB driver for the VS-400-U, so the USB
driver may install automatically without the need for user intervention. In this case, “balloons”
will appear near the System Tray showing installation status information.
If prompted to install USB drivers manually, a “Found New Hardware Wizard”
dialogboxwillappear.
Select“No, not this time”,thenclickNext.
Atthenextdialogboxthatappears,select“Install the software automatically
(Recommended)”.
If necessary, insert the included CD into the PC/laptop CD-ROM drive. The
installationwizardshouldbeabletofindtheappropriatedriverfileontheCD.

4
INSTALLING THE VIDEO MICROSCOPE
VERIFYING INSTALLATION OF THE USB DRIVER
The following information applies to a PC/laptop running Windows XP or later.
USBdriverinstallationcanbeverifiedbyaccessingtheDeviceManagerthroughControlPanel.
Device information for the VS-400-U can be found
under the section titled “Sound, video and game
controllers”.
Twodeviceswillappear:
USB 2861 Device
USB Audio Device
NOTE: USB Audio Device is not critical to the image viewing function of the VS-400-U.
IftheUSB 2861Devicehasanerror,un-install thedevicefromDeviceManager, andre-installusingthe USB
driverfoundontheCD.

5
ENDFACE VIEWER SOFTWARE
LAUNCHING FIBER ENDFACE VIEWER SOFTWARE
FiberendfaceandportimagescanbeviewedwiththefiberendfaceviewersoftwareincludedontheCD.
Ifnecessary,inserttheCDintothePC/laptopCD-ROMdrive.
Double-clicktheFiber Endface Viewer shortcuttolaunchthe
program.
NOTE: this software program can also be copied to the
PC/laptop hard drive in order to run the program without
having the CD inserted.
ClickFile, Open Device...
Select USB 2861 Devicefrom the dropdown menu, then click
OKtocontinue.

6
VIEWING FIBER ENDFACES
If no fiber is connected to inspection probe,
theviewerwindowwillbeblack.
Insert a fiber connector into the probe, or
inserttheprobeintoanopticalport.
Atfirsttheendfaceimagemaybeblurry,soit
mustbefocused.
ENDFACE VIEWER SOFTWARE

7
Oncetheimageisfocused,theendfacecan
beanalyzed.
Imageofendfaceaftercleaning.
Lightareaistheconnectorferrule.
Darkareaisthecladding.
Smallspotinmiddleofimageisthecore.
Thereareafewspotsofdebrisontheferrule
andcladding. Itisrecommendedtoclearoff
this debris so it does not shift to block the
core.
CLADDING
CORE
VIEWING FIBER ENDFACES
ENDFACE VIEWER SOFTWARE

8
To capture the image file and store it on the
PC/laptop,clickFile, Save Image...
Browse to the folder you want to save the
imagefilein.
In the File name box, type the name of the
imagefile.
NOTE: the image file can be stored in
either BMP or JPG file format.
Click Save to store the image on the hard
drive.
CAPTURE/STORE FIBER ENDFACE IMAGES
ENDFACE VIEWER SOFTWARE

9
To retrieve a previously stored endface image, click
“Quick Open File...”
Browse to the folder where the stored image file
resides.
Clickthedesiredfilename,thenclickOpen,orsimply
double-clickonthedesiredfilename.
RETRIEVE PREVIOUSLY STORED ENDFACE IMAGES
ENDFACE VIEWER SOFTWARE

10
Usethefollowingstepstocorrectthe“GetCurrentImagefailed,hr=8000ffff”errormessage:
ENDFACE VIEWER “GetCurrentImage failed, hr = 8000ffff” ERROR
ClickView, Options...
OverlayMixerisselectedbydefault
ClickOK tocontinue.
Reboot the PC for the changes to take
effect.
ClickSystem Default radiobutton.
ENDFACE VIEWER SOFTWARE

MAINTENANCE
CLEANING OPTICAL PORTS
Required Accessories:
=Isopropylalcohol(91%orbetter)
=In-adapterfiberopticcleaningaccessories,suchas2.5mmcleaningswabsorotherin-adapterferruleconnectorcleanersuchas
OWLOC-2
=CompressedAir(optional)
Below are procedures for “wet” cleaning and “dry” cleaning. For best results, a combination of these cleaning methods is
recommended.
CLEANING CONNECTOR ENDFACES
Required Accessories:
=Isopropylalcohol(91%orbetter)
=ConnectorcleaningtapesuchasOWLFCC-2cleaningtapereel
=CompressedAir(optional)
Forbestresults,acombinationofwetanddrycleaningmethodsisrecommended.
11
“WET” CLEAN PROCEDURE
Wet the tip of a 2.5mm cleaning swab with isopropyl
alcohol.
Carefullyinsertthewettipoftheswabintotheoptical
port.
Clean out the optical port according to the directions
providedwiththeswabs.
Blow dry the optical port with the compressed air. If
compressed air is not available, allow 2 minutes for
thealcoholtoevaporate.
Inspect the optical port with the fiber optic inspection
probetoensuretheportisclearofobstructions.
If the port is still dirty, another round of cleaning will be
necessary. You may also want to use a combination of “wet”
and“dry”cleaningtoachievebestresults.
“DRY” CLEAN PROCEDURE
Carefully insert a dry 2.5mm cleaning swab or a
2.5mm in-adapter ferrule connector cleaner into the
opticalport.
Clean out the optical port according to the directions
thatcamewiththecleaningaccessories.
Inspect the optical portwith the fiber opticinspection
probetoensuretheportisclearofobstructions.
If the port is still dirty, another round of cleaning will be
necessary. You may also want to use a combination of “wet”
and“dry”cleaningtoachievebestresults.