A Study of Precision Cleaning Methods for All Fiber Optic Connections: What Works, What Does Not and Why

This title is the second edition promised to update "The Need to Precision Clean All Fiber Optic Connections." It is based on feedback from readers of the original work who are seeking more information. The author will update your original purchase to this edition at a 25% discount. You must contact the author directly for details if you desire this accommodation. In this work the reader will learn about 'the sciences of debris', commonly ignored and misunderstood segments of all fiber optic connections and how improperly cleaning them influences service. The author has uniquely categorized the fiber optic connector and contamination in three dimensions. While this may not seem significant, indeed it is a new awareness as existing standards see not only the fiber optic connection in a two dimensional horizontal plain, but also dry debris and fluidic contamination in only two dimensions. Existing studies are based on international standards in place for more than twenty years. The author poses that standards are often published and not revisited for ten or more years. The pace of fiber optic technology obsoletes these standards nearly at the time of publication. To remedy this the author suggests annual standard review, internal standardization, and an open forum that enables inputs from segments other than manufacturers with commercial interests. There are more than one hundred (100) photographs of tests and comparative tests of four popular "probe tools," four commonly used "swab tools" and the newest categories of "cleaning platforms" and "reel cleaners." The work has important updates for trainers, teachers, technicians and designers.

About the Author :
Ed Forrest has been actively involved in specification and applications engineering of various precision cleaning applications for more than 25 years. Previously employed at ITW Chemtronics(r), retired in 2014, he was schooled to analyze precision and gross cleaning applications in a wide range of applications. In 1999 he began development of a program that resulted in formal approvals at all major telecommunications providers. He has seven patents specifically in the areas or fiber optic precision cleaning with six products in production. He has marketing credits that include branding, training, and publication of materials. He is active on fiber optic standards committees and is considered a SME in fiber optic cleaning and inspection. His work is based on field experiences and the needs of designers, crafts persons and production line workers. He is an ETA Certified Trainer. His practical thesis of "Five Zone Cleaning" is a look forward to the times when high speed and capacity of fiber optic transmission (even more) will be impacted by a contaminated or improperly cleaned connections. He has uniquely researched inspection of the 4th and 5th Zone and the influences of various debris and contamination as it is positioned on these areas of the connector. He worked as an Electronics Manufacturer's Representative throughout the 1970's and actively participated in the early introduction of fundamental consumer and industrial electronic products in the changeover from analogue to solid state. He worked in a then-developing market segment in the Home Furnishings Industry. By coordinating North American and International Development, using an effective agency in Denmark he was able to work throughout Europe prior to the time of the EU. In coordination with C.ITOH (est-1860), he traveled and developed a Japanese market long before current interest in the important nations of The Pacific Rim. Early career as a Technical Representative in Union Carbide Corporation's Automotive Consumer Products group were career-forming experiences. He is an active photographer, enjoys study of the ancients, and a hobbyist collector of esoteric high-fidelity. Married with a fascination for Weimaraners, he and his wife are often at the edge with three lovely specimens. He is an automotive enthusiast and life-long SCCA member with national completion experience. They have travelled extensively through the USA and 'never-enough' in Europe.