Doing Fiber In-House: Fast Review of Affordable Fusion Splicer

Anyone that can crimp an RJ-45 can also put a connector on the end of a fiber cable with some help from affordable Amazon splicers. Are they worth getting, and do you give up any features by going this route? I will very quickly go over the product so that you can see it in action.
The splicer from this video is this one, links support our channel!
amzn.to/484pbaO

[@d00dEEE]

This reminds me of when I got AT&T to finally pull fiber into our office back 5-6 years ago. I quizzed the guy doing the splicing and he ended up giving 3-4 of us a tutorial on how to do it, just like yours. He was a pretty good teacher and our office crew enjoyed learning something new.

[@CPD-KD6-3.7]

A local ISP technician actually had one of these when he did my fiber line. He said they used to have more expensive machines, but they were constantly getting mugged.

[@JeffGeerling]

"In house" in this case not necessarily meaning it's cheap enough to consider for a hobbyist homelab's house :) But thanks for this video, I've never done a splice, it would make running fiber so much easier than trying to buy the right length cables.

[@tciproductions]

I suspect a spouse would object, but maybe you could go in together with some neighbors :) Otherwise I would always want some income lined up to offset the purchase. But its fun to learn and use.

[@heselmas]

I glued 0,9 mm white single mode fiber in the sealing corners in my house. Now i have a 10 gigabit bidi connection to my desk and tv. My wife doesn’t know where the cable’s are. 😂

[@Michiel313]

Small warning, be careful not to poke yourself with exposed fibers. These exposed fibers are extremely painful if they break off in your fingertips. Once they break off they are impossible to remove.

[@blubery2]

they get pushed out by our bodies eventually

[@CPD-KD6-3.7]

​@@blubery2 True, but in the meantime, they're a gigantic pain in the ass.

[@rammone5241]

I bought the first version 5 years ago, if you are using 900um buffer it takes practice, the holder is meant for jacket fiber, if you have burning experience you can see there is only a few mm of channel for 900 um fiber. You have to slowly lower the clamps and make sure that buffer does not move. The core alignment is very good, just takes A LOT of practice to get below .02 db. After 100 splices you will be a pro. If you have used the 20 k splices, you might want to avoid this, you are spoiled. If you are doing a few splices a day, like FDN and DIA, or break fix, this will do it. In data center on a new job, no. I was very impress by how compact it is and all the tools were sufficient. As starter splice, I do recommend.

[@GoreGamer]

Looking into this! Thanks!

[@JasonsLabVideos]

Good video man !!

[@striverzmoney]

thanks for the video. which one would you recommend for PM splices? (polarization maintaining and low loss(=very good splice)?) what do I need to consider when selecting a model? (eg fiber core/cladding size etc)?

[@tciproductions]

Any good splicer will splice all types of cladding and fibers, mine all have settings for single mode, multi-mode, OM3 vs OM4, and so on. You normally do a quick calibration splice when you get on site and then you set the machine to the right mode for the fiber you have in hand. For core alignment and more advanced considerations, you might look into a Fujikura 90S+ or one of the Sumitomo's that can examine the endfaces and optimize its arc. If the splicer doesn't estimate your loss at .02 or less then you would have to decide if you want to redo it or not. Going all the way across town and needing to splice a dozen times, that would add up. With my Fujikura it often estimates 0.00 loss, and that might fit what you are referencing better.

[@rammone5241]

You can load the signalfire 2 app on your phone and set up the blue tooth, then open the app and you will see all the settings option. Please load that app first before you use. Get the vision aid goggles, most times you do premise it is not well lit areas. Plus it helps with core alignment to get .01 or 0.0 db. Been at for 25 years my eyes are done.

[@DiyintheGhetto]

One question I have is that After the Fiber is spliced what do you do to cover it and protect it? Only people I see doing this uses some type of box to cover it up. What do you use to splice them together into a longer fiber cord?

[@tciproductions]

I've got a whole range of things I use depending on the situation, but the splice-on connectors are the simplest method since you don't need a protective box. Otherwise I might use stuff like these: amzn.to/48wsJmh Or www.showmecables.com/2-port-optical-fiber-information-panel-with-sc-apc-pigtails-and-sc-apc-adapters?gad_source=1

[@DiyintheGhetto]

@@tciproductions thank you.

[@tomfooleryhandle]

Lots of fusion splicers have a heat shrink tubing section next to the splicing area, you'd splice then move the heat shrink over the fiber, then close top again to shrink the tubing. Just make sure to slide the heat shrink tube on one side or the other before you splice, of course they don't fit over the connector at the end of the fiber.

[@kellydardeen6308]

A Burner For Under 1K 😂🤣😂 Hope You Don't Give Up Your Day Job

[@tciproductions]

I've not heard a splicer called a burner before, that's a new one.

[@lmarcu91]

5-10 years ago cheap fiber fusion splicers were junk and did little to nothing. Unfortunately it's just not the case now. I've seen these cheap machines work flawless and I've seen expensive ones break just the same. Maintenance on them is key.

[@SKLS-pq6wf]

Good video man !!