OWL OWLTrek WTO-M85 User manual

Optical Wavelength Laboratories
OPERATIONS GUIDE
OWLTrek
Optical Time Domain Reflectometer
(OTDR)
Singlemode: WTO-S15 / WTO-S13 / WTO-S35
Multimode: WTO-M85 / WTO-M13 / WTO-M83
OWL-INC.COM
Revision 1Q Optical Wavelength Laboratories (OWL)
N9623 West US Hwy 12
Whitewater, WI 53190
Phone: [phone]
Internet: OWL-INC.COM
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OWL

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TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
Before You Begin . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
About This Manual . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 1
Description . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Performance Expectations and Limitations . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Reflective Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Fault Location . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Fiber Length Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Backscatter Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Backscatter Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Attenuation Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 2
Precautions . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Eye Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Electrical Safety . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Operational . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Connector . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Service . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Product Label . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 3
Ports . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Buttons . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 4
Display . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
Indicator LEDs . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 5
SECTION 2: OTDR TESTING
Power ON/OFF . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Key OTDR Trace Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Wavelength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Index of Refraction . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Capture Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Pulse Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Number of Samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Dead Zone Length (m) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Step . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 7
Setting Test Parameters . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Set Wavelength . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Set Index of Refraction. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 8
Setting Trace Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Capture Mode. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Pulse Width . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Number of Samples . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Dead Zone Length (m) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Range . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Step . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 9
Starting an OTDR Trace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
Cursor Navigation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 10
SECTION 3: TRACE ANALYSIS
Overview . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Events . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 11
Fiber Length Measurement/Link Loss . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
FiberAttenuation Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 12
Reflectance Measurement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Trace Events Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 13
Detector Saturation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 14
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION

ii
TABLE OF CONTENTS
SECTION 4: TRACE STORAGE
Stored Readings/Setup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Saving a Trace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 15
Loading a Previously Stored Trace . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 16
SECTION 5: OTDR SETUP
Menus . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Navigating the Menu System . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Setup Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Help Topics . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 17
Operational Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Set Backscatter Coefficient. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Trace Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 18
Set Length Units. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
System Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 19
User Information Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Enter User Name . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Enter Phone Number . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 20
Display Preferences . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Mode . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Dimness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Brightness . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Speaker . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Trace Clipping. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 21
Power Options . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Dim Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Standby Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Off Time . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 22
Utilities Menu . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Set System Clock . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
SetAPD Bias . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Format Data Flash. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 23
Manufacturer Setup . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
Factory Reset . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 24
SECTION 6: OPERATION/MAINTENANCE
Visual Fault Locator (VFL) Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 25
Fiber ID Tone Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 26
Live Mode Operation . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 27
Cleaning the OTDR Port . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 28
SECTION 7: APPENDICES
Specifications . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Maintenance Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Repair . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Battery Replacement . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Cleaning . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Warranty . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
Contact Information . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . 29
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION

1
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
BEFORE YOU BEGIN
All personnel testing optical fibers should be adequately trained in the field of fiber optics before using any fiber optic test equipment.
If the user is not completely familiar with testing fiber optics, they should seek competent training. Such training can be acquired from
a variety of sources, such as local hands-on training classes or online courses.
This is especially true for Optical Time Domain Reflectometers (OTDRs). OTDRs are complicated technical devices, requiring a
great amount of technical skill, knowledge, and expertise to operate. Proper setup and trace interpretation are paramount to a
successful OTDR test, and the consequences of being inadequately trained could result in a significant amount of network down-time
and repair costs.
In addition, OTDRs are delicate scientific instruments, and should be treated as such. Great care should be taken to ensure that all
optical ports are kept clean and free from debris. The reasons for this are two-fold: 1) a clean OTDR produces accurate and precise
results; and 2) if debris is allowed to build up in the OTDR test port, over time connector insertions will grind the debris into the OTDR
port endface, resulting in scratches or “pits” that require extensive and costly repairs.
Valuable information about fiber optic testing can also be gathered from reading printed literature carefully or by thoroughly reading
supplied operations manuals.
The main reason to use an OTDR is to locate faults in an optical fiber that exhibits unacceptable amounts of optical loss, or is no longer
functioning properly. These faults are commonly called “events” and include anomalies such as breaks, shatters, connector
endfaces, patch panels, splices, macro-bends, and micro-bends. By knowing the precise distance to an event, the technician can
determine the nature of the event and quickly restore the network to its former working state.
There are two types of events detectable by an OTDR: Fresnel (reflective) and backscatter (non-reflective).
Fresnel events are caused by “glass-to-air” boundaries in the optical fiber, which causes a high amount of light to be reflected directly
back toward the OTDR. Common Fresnel events include breaks, shatters, connector endfaces, patch panels, or even the end of the
fiber. End-of-fiber detection can also be used to measure the end-to-end length of the fiber.
Backscatter events are caused by the intrinsic properties of the optical fiber. The make-up of the optical fiber scatters the light in all
directions, including a small amount that gets scattered back towards the OTDR. Common backscatter events are splices, (either
fusion or mechanical), macro-bends, and micro-bends. Backscatter can also be used to measure the attenuation (loss) on a certain
section of an optical fiber.
Throughout this manual you will find various symbols that assist with understanding the procedures outlined in this manual. Below is
a list of these symbols and a short description of their purpose:
Helpful tip
Cautionary information
Potentially dangerous condition or operation
ABOUT THIS MANUAL

2
Upholding OWL’s commitment to high-quality, yet affordable, fiber optic test equipment, the OWLTrek OTDR from OWL enables fiber
optic professionals to quickly and easily troubleshoot and locate optical faults in singlemode fibers.
The OWLTrek is truly a hand-held unit, being one of the smallest OTDRs on the market today – easily able to fit into a shirt pocket – yet
having capabilities of other OTDRs costing thousands of dollars more.
Optical fiber traces are displayed on a high-resolution color LCD display which implements state-of-the-art display technology to
allow the OTDR’s high-resolution color LCD display to “flip” between portrait or landscape mode automatically simply by rotating the
device 90°. By “flipping” from portrait to landscape, the user sees a wider viewing area, displaying more trace information on the high-
resolution color LCD, and allowing for greater viewing detail.
Important OTDR trace parameters such as pulse width, index of refraction, and data point averaging are fully user-configurable, and
are accessible through an intuitive menu system. A minimum of 65 traces using the longest trace distance can be stored in the
OWLTrek’s internal memory.
Powering the OWLTrek is a re-chargeable Lithium-polymer battery that allows for hours of normal usage.
The OWLTrek is equally suited to testing singlemode fibers in many test environments, including LAN, MAN, WAN, FTTH, Telco,
CATV, Manufacturing, and Laboratory.
up to 20
DESCRIPTION
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
REFLECTIVE EVENTS
Fault Location. The main function of the OWLTrek OTDR is to detect the presence of highly reflective events, otherwise known as
Fresnel events, such as breaks, shatters, patch panels, or the end of the fiber link. The distance to an event is shown as a spike on the
OTDR trace, allowing the technician to quickly locate the problem and restore the network.
Fiber Length Measurement. The OWLTrek can give the operator a general idea of the length of the optical fiber by placing the
cursors at the first and last reflective events, although the last reflective event is not guaranteed to be the end of the fiber. For
example, a severe enough break mid-span could prevent the OTDR from detecting other events beyond the break, or the OTDR trace
could show echoes or ghosts of previous Fresnel events.
BACKSCATTER EVENTS
Backscatter Events. The OWLTrek has some ability to locate and measure backscatter events. Tweaking pulse-width and
averaging settings may enhance the OWLTrek’s ability to detect backscatter events. However, even with optimal settings, low loss
backscatter events will become less detectable as the event gets farther away from the beginning of the fiber, especially on longer
fibers.
Backscatter events are also more difficult to measure and interpret. Proper cursor placement is vital to the accurate measurement of
backscatter events. Only individuals with OTDR training and expertise should attempt backscatter event measurement. Interpreting
OTDR traces will be covered in more detail later in this manual.
Attenuation Measurement. Backscatter can be used to measure the attenuation (or loss) of certain sections of an optical fiber by
placing the cursors at the beginning and end of the segment of fiber to be measured.
If available, however, a Power Meter / Light Source (PMLS) test kit or Optical Loss Test Set (OLTS) should always take precedence
over an OTDR for end-to-end attenuation measurements.
PERFORMANCE EXPECTATIONS AND LIMITATIONS

3
PRECAUTIONS
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
LABEL INFORMATION
On the back of each OWLTrek OTDR is a label similar to the one shown here containing model
number, serial number, power requirements, and special cautionary information.
OTDR port Class 1M Laser Output
VFL port Class 2 Laser Output. Do NOT stare into beam.
USB port 6VDC, 1A
Directive 2002/96/EC of 27 January 2003 on waste electrical
and electronic equipment (WEEE)
EU Directives EN 61326-1:2006 (EMC) and EN 61010-1:2001 (Safety)
WARNING
ASSEMBLED IN USA
Optical Wavelength Laboratories
Whitewater, WI 53190 • 262-473-0643
MODEL#: WTO-S15
SERIAL#: WTO100001
This product complies with the
following EU Directives:
EN 61326-1:2006
EN 61010-1:2001
OTDR: Class 1M Laser Output
VFL: Class 2 Laser Output
Do NOT stare into beam.
Output Type: FP Laser
Output 8: 1550nm
Power: 6VDC, 1 A
IEC 60825
OTDR: Class 1M Laser Output
VFL: Class 2 Laser Output
Do NOT stare into beam.
IEC 60825
Power: 6VDC, 1 A
Eye Safety
look into the connector port of any fiber optic test or transmission equipment, patch cable, fiber link, or other
installed fiber. Always assume that active laser equipment is attached to optical fibers, and is powered on.
Do not run a test on the OTDR unless it is connected to the fiber under test, or the dustcap is firmly in place.
Electrical Safety
Only use appropriate AC adapters for charging this device. Use of inappropriate power adapters could cause damage to
the device, and could cause harm to the user from fire and electrical shock.
Operational
eep connector ferrules and optical connector ports clean to prevent irreparable damage to the OTDR port. For best
results, replace dust caps after each use.
Connector
do NOT insert APC (Angled Physical Contact) connectors into the OTDR port.
Service
NEVER
K
For best results,
There are no user-serviceable parts in this device. Unauthorized attempts to service this product will void the product
warranty.

Menu Buttons – activates the associated
menu option
Navigation Buttons – moves cursors or
menu options in the direction of the button, or
are used to zoom in or out on cursor
placement
Power Button – powers the OTDR on; press
and hold to power off; also, while the OTDR is
on, brief press will activate other functions
Enter Button – from the trace screen, this
button changes the function options menu at
the bottom of the screen. Also activates
menu options while in the menu system
4
PORTS
BUTTONS
Visual Fault Locator Port (VFL) – Visual Fault Locator port
for troubleshooting
USB Download Port ( ) – downloads data from the
OTDR to the PC for software trace analysis and digital data
storage; also used for battery charging
OTDR Port (OTDR)– connects the OTDR to the fiber under
test
Reset Button – resets the OTDR in case of malfunction
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
06086m
20226m
24718m
RFL dBx
-81.00x
14140
dB
2.43x
3.34x
L mx
Fiber #x
TESTZOOMLOCKCURSOR
ENTER
AUTO
1550nm
VFL OTDR

5
Fiber ID – name of the currently loaded fiber trace
OTDR Test Mode – shows which test mode the OTDR
is in –AUTO, USER, SEMI, or FILT
VFL Indicator – shows the current VFL mode: blank =
OFF; = ON continuous; = ON flashing
Zoom Indicator – displays “H” for horizontal zooming,
and “V” for vertical zooming
Battery Life Indicator – displays the remaining
battery life
Trace Viewing Area – displays the results of the
OTDR trace(s), which users can zoom in on for more
detailed trace analysis
Trace Wavelength – shows the wavelength(s) of the
traces displayed in the trace viewing area. The active
trace wavelength will be listed on the left.
If more than one wavelength is present, the color of the trace corresponds with the color of the wavelength number
Trace Information – displays the relative position and power levels at and between the red and green cursors for the
currently active trace.
Function Options Menu – displays the on-screen menu options for trace control
There are three sets of Function Options Menus. The Enter key ( ) is used to toggle between these three menus:
red pink
DISPLAY
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
TEST
ZOOM
LOCK
CURSOR SETUP
INDEX
LOADSAVE MENU WAVE EOFEVENTS
MENU 1 MENU 2 MENU 3
NOTE: the WAVE option will only be
displayed if more than one wavelength
is present
06086m
20226m
24718m
RFL dBx
-81.00x
14140
dB
2.43x
3.34x
L mx
Fiber #x
TESTMENULOCKCURSOR
ENTER
1550nm
AUTO H

6
SECTION 1: INTRODUCTION
CHARGING STATUS – will be lit when charging through a
transformer or USB port
battery fully charged
battery charging
problem with battery and/or charger; contact OWLfor service
STANDBY STATUS
Normal operation blinking
STANDBY solid; press any key to “wake up” the device
GREEN
GREEN
ORANGE
RED
RED
INDICATOR LEDs
Fiber #xAUTO

7
KEY OTDR TRACE PARAMETERS
SECTION 2: OTDR TESTING
POWER ON/OFF
POWER ON
Press to power on the OTDR.
When the OTDR has completed startup, the trace area will either be blank, as shown at right,
or will show the previously viewed trace.
Continue below for more information about running a new OTDR trace.
POWER OFF
The OTDR may be powered off from any screen by holding .
Below is a descriptive list of key OTDR trace parameters.
WAVELENGTH – range of values: Multimode: 850, 1300, BOTH; Singlemode: 1310nm, 1550nm, BOTH. Allows the user to
select one or two wavelength(s) used for testing. Wavelength selection only applies to dual-wavelength OTDR.
INDEX OF REFRACTION – range of values: 1.4000 to 1.6000. To ensure the most accurate distance to events, Index of Refraction
(IoR) should be set to the fiber manufacturer’s refractive index specification for the fiber under test. If unknown, set IoR to 1.4681 as
this value falls within 99% of the IoR values for most optical fibers.
CAPTURE MODE – range of values: AUTO, SEMI, USER, FILT, LIVE.
AUTO all trace options are determined automatically, except dead zone length.
SEMI same asAUTO except the pulse width is not automatically determined.
USER all user configured options are used when capturing the trace.
FILT same as USER plus the software will filter (smooth) the trace to remove noise. This will help produce a cleaner
trace with less averaging required.
LIVE uses the user-defined trace settings to continuously update the trace on the screen. The trace will be updated
after the user-defined number of averages is completed. The cursors and zoom functions work in LIVE mode. To
start and exit LIVE mode, press the TEST function button.
NOTE: if connected to a PC running OWLView software, LIVE mode also updates the software trace area
PULSE WIDTH – range of values: Multimode: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100 m; Singlemode: 1, 2, 5, 10, 20, 50, 100, 200, 500, 1000 m.
Pulse width offers a trade-off between the ability to measure longer cable distances (longer pulse width) versus the ability to see two
events that are closely spaced (shorter pulse width). This is otherwise known as an OTDR’s event dead zone (i.e. the minimum
distance between two events where they both can be measured).
NUMBER OF SAMPLES – range of values: 256, 512, 1024, 2048, 4096. Increasing the number of samples allows the OTDR to
have better display resolution (events are easier to see, especially near the noise level), but also increase the trace acquisition time.
DEAD ZONE LENGTH(m) – range of values: 0 to 1500. Allows the user to enter the length of a dead-zone box (a.k.a. pulse
suppressor), if one is being used. If a value is entered for dead zone, the dead zone portion of the OTDR trace will be grayed out. The
active portion of the trace will begin where the dead zone ends.
RANGE – range of values: 1, 2, 5, 10, 25, 50, 65, 128 km. Allows the user to manually enter the total length of the trace. NOTE: for
best results, this value should be set to the next highest value from the actual length of the fiber under test.
STEP – range of values: 1, 2, 4 m. Trace sample spacing. Smaller steps produce more accurate distance to events, but trace
acquisition takes longer.
06081m
20221m
24711m
RFL dBx
-81.00x
14140
dB
0.00
0.00
L mx
Fiber #x
TESTZOOMLOCKCURSOR
ENTER
AUTO
1550nm