Considering the number of fiber splice trucks rolling around I think your supposition is incorrect. Fiber splicing happens thousands of times every day. Fibers break and get cut all the time. Tt's not common in data centers, but once you leave those walls fiber splicing happens everywhere every day.
Also just upgrading the connecting bits. Like the muffle/joint in the ground, for more 'speed',
to enable more branching out, or both. Seen yesterday night, had a good chat with the two guys.
I always stop when I see them, to get a better picture of what is where, who owns it, and so on.
Sometimes they even let YOU do the splicing. Which is actually easy, because it's fully automated.
Imagine something like a small suitcase, or a shoebox with LCD-screen on top. You insert both ends into slits on both sides,
the 'box' grabs and aligns them, cuts and repolishes the ends, melds them together, and ejects the fibre through a slot in the front.
Then you sleeve that with tape, insert it into a muffle, apply some hardening foam, sometimes gel, like hot-glue, and close that muffle like a clam shell.
I've personally spliced about a dozen optical fibers and I don't even work in telecom :)
Not exactly by hand though - all the prep is done by hand but the actual alignment and fusion steps were automated by the fusion splicer machine (about the size of a small toolbox)
burnte|9 months ago
LargoLasskhyfv|9 months ago
to enable more branching out, or both. Seen yesterday night, had a good chat with the two guys.
I always stop when I see them, to get a better picture of what is where, who owns it, and so on.
Sometimes they even let YOU do the splicing. Which is actually easy, because it's fully automated.
Imagine something like a small suitcase, or a shoebox with LCD-screen on top. You insert both ends into slits on both sides,
the 'box' grabs and aligns them, cuts and repolishes the ends, melds them together, and ejects the fibre through a slot in the front.
Then you sleeve that with tape, insert it into a muffle, apply some hardening foam, sometimes gel, like hot-glue, and close that muffle like a clam shell.
Done.
unknown|9 months ago
[deleted]
0_____0|9 months ago
Not exactly by hand though - all the prep is done by hand but the actual alignment and fusion steps were automated by the fusion splicer machine (about the size of a small toolbox)