A Start to All Things Fiber Optic: Who AM I?

I‘m Fiber Fan. I should probably start by telling you a little about myself, because that’ll naturally bias my opinion and the content you’ll see here.

The first things I should mention is that I’m a computer engineer by training and I’m located in the United States. During my career I’ve written a lot of software. I’ve also worked on data communications projects ranging from protocol design and development to network infrastructure and security. In smaller companies where I’ve worked and for my (work from) home lab I’ve pulled cable and managed the networks.

Some time in 2024, I decided to upgrade my home network, and stumbled upon fiber optics as a physical medium. I spent the customary weeks and months being confused, starting with the usual “single mode vs multi-mode” and “duplex vs BiDi” questions, and eventually progressing to “if I bought some SM cable, how would I put a connector on the end?” I read about mechanical connectors. I discovered fusion splicing. I saw videos. That’s it. I was hooked.

I spent hours reading eBay listings, Googling for information, gathering data and experiences from the good people on Reddit r/FiberOptics.

I overpaid for some random shit on eBay. Eventually, I made some good deals. After much consideration, I took a chance and bought my first fusion splicer, used, for $500. I felt guilty and stressed over spending that much money. I sat down, cut up some patch cables, and practiced. After doing about a hundred practice splices, I started to feel like I almost knew what I was doing. I could consistently splice 2 fiber optic cables together.

I very quickly started to get annoyed at some of my entry-level equipment. So, I bought better equipment. For example, I bought a new Fujikura cleaver to replaced the lame one I got from Amazon for $70, which I had gotten to replace the even lamer one that came with the splicer. I bought another fusion splicer, and now felt really guilty and really stressed over spending several thousand dollars.

It was about this time that I started to think “You know, I bet folks could learn a lot from my experience“ because there were surprisingly few actual reviews of fiber optic equipment and tools. There were even fewer articles aimed at how small businesses, home uses, and hobbyists can use fiber in their network infrastructure.

And that’s when this site was born.

So, you won’t find me doing 648ct butt splices in a FOSC-600. ”High count” to me is a 24 count micro-distribution cable. My fiber work is all on prem, doing short runs in home and small business environments. It’s more of a hobby for me than a way to make a serious living.

Still, I think I bring a useful perspective to the field. And I’m eager to share what I’ve learned.

Thanks for visiting.