Jay writes:

On 28 Aug 2007 08:17:00 -0400 Sam Goldwasser
wrote in Message id: :

Jay writes:

Hello all,

I have a piece of test equipment that needs repair, and which goes beyond
my skills in the field of electronics. It's a 1550nm ILX Lightwave
MPS-8033/03, which has had a botched repair attempt - The fiber optic
cable between the laser and the front panel was severely kinked (pretty
much 180 degrees!), and no longer appears to conduct light.

The instrument can be seen he
http://www.ilxlightwave.com/propgs/f...ents_8033.html

The laser is from Lucent technologies, and looking at a PDF of the device
it would appear that the 32" of fiber optic cable comes with the laser -
in other words, not detachable. So, basically, I'm looking for a
professional in the US (I am located in MA) who can cut about 3" of the
cable out, then splice it, as I have neither the tools nor the knowledge
to do so myself. I would also be interested in any tips on reasonably
priced repair facilities that do this kind of work. (The manufacturer
wants a ridiculous amount for the repair.)

With the proper equipment (fusion splicer, some experience) this shouldn't
be difficult.

Neither of which I have... ($18K USD. Ouch!)

Well, maybe $2-3K on eBay. At the bottom of the dot.bomb, they were
going for under $1K. The experience might cost more though.

However, when you say "kinked 180 degrees", are you sure it's really broken
internally? That's the only way it would fail. How tight is the kink? And
how did it get kinked?

Well, this instrument was originally missing it's key. An overzealous
"tech" [cough, cough] figured he/she could replace the keyswitch, and
dis-assembled and removed the front panel of the equipment. In order to do
this, they pulled the nicely looped fiber optic cable hard against two of
the ties holding the loop against the solder side of the lower circuit
board. Now it's come to MY bench for repair... I don't know how I can be
sure that it's broken internally, but it is severely deformed and
stretched looking. If one were to take a piece of really thin fiber and
pull it tight around the radius of a pin's diameter, that would pretty
much describe the cable - kinks are in two places about two inches apart.

Doesn't sound good. Especially the stretched part. Fibers will bend around
a small radius without breaking, but not a pin diameter.

Using an optical power meter tuned to 1550nm I was unable to get any
reading, no matter how I tried to straighten the kinks.

A dead laser would produce the same symptoms, right?

Yeah, that's always a possibility. I'd use a scope to check the laser
drive, but I've no idea what it would look like as this is my first
experience with this type of stuff. The laser does get comfortably warm to
the touch after a few minutes and seems to vary thermally depending on the
output power I dial in, so I'm ASSuming and hoping that it's still
functioning. Given those conditions, would the laser appear to be
working?

Likely working but no guarantee.

I don't think that Lucent is making these devices anymore, but the laser
looks similar to the device on this website:
http://www.intenseco.com/products/inslam/?View=S

Will also post to sci.optics .

Someone should be able to point you to a place that has a fusion splicer.

But to do a one-off repair at a reasonable price, may take a friend of a
friend....

--- sam | Sci.Electronics.Repair FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/
Repair | Main Table of Contents: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/
+Lasers | Sam's Laser FAQ: http://www.repairfaq.org/sam/lasersam.htm
| Mirror Sites: http://www.repairfaq.org/REPAIR/F_mirror.html

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