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Making Measurements
Cleaning Connections for Accurate Measurements
paper.
4 Clean the fiber end with the swab or lens paper.
Do not scrub during this initial cleaning because grit can be caught in
the swab and become a gouging element.
5 Immediately dry the fiber end with a clean, dry, lint-free cotton swab
or lens paper.
6 Blow across the connector end face from a distance of 6 to 8 inches
using filtered, dry, compressed air. Aim the compressed air at a shallow
angle to the fiber end face.
Nitrogen gas or compressed dust remover can also be used.
CAUTION Do not shake, tip, or invert compressed air canisters, because this releases
particles in the can into the air. Refer to instructions provided on the
compressed air canister.
7 As soon as the connector is dry, connect or cover it for later use.
If the performance, after the initial cleaning, seems poor try cleaning
the connector again. Often a second cleaning will restore proper per-
formance. The second cleaning should be more arduous with a scrub-
bing action.
To clean an adapter
The fiber-optic input and output connectors on many Agilent Technol-
ogies instruments employ a universal adapter such as those shown in
the following picture. These adapters allow you to connect the instru-
ment to different types of fiber-optic cables.
Figure 2-9. Universal adapters.
1 Apply isopropyl alcohol to a clean foam swab.
Cotton swabs can be used as long as no cotton fibers remain after clean-
ing. The foam swabs listed in this section’s introduction are small
enough to fit into adapters.