Upper-midwest US vender to terminate a personal fiber optic line?

September 12, 2024 12:03 PM

Mice chewed near the LC connectors of 50/125 line that runs between my house and outbuilding. I've called every Google-able telecom and splice/termination service provider here in this Minneapolis / St. Paul / western Wisconsin. Most won't return or refuse to work on personal lines; only one would even quote it ($4000 USD -- which, to me, is ridiculous figure to repair what was a $600 terminated line I trenched myself).

Should I be reaching out to other not-so-obvious outfits (other low-voltage-installers or networking-type) to have better luck?

Failing that, are DIY splicing/termination kits rentable? If I took the repair on myself, what's a good source for guidance toward doing it right?

posted by glibhamdreck to Technology (5 answers total)

in situations like this, it's usually WAY cheaper to just run a new fiber than to weld on a new connector.
posted by Geckwoistmeinauto at 12:57 PM on September 12 [2 favorites]

Seconding that running new fiber is likely the best option if no one will splice a new end on for you.

That said, if you're willing to throw away ~$30 and an hour of your time you can try to do this yourself. When I worked with fiber optics in a lab environment we used temp / permanent glue fixtures for single mode fiber splicing when we didn't have access to an arc splicer.

If you can figure out the fiber type (should be on the outside of the fiber jacket), have extra length of fiber to play with, you can try using something like a this that mechanically aligns fibers and can be made permanent with epoxy.

Most fiber jacket materials will soften and can be pulled off after soaking in acetone so you don't necessarily need a fiber stripper.

Cleaving the end of the fiber can be done with a sharp razor blade and epoxy can help bridge any roughness in the ends to help light make it into the other side of the fiber.

If you end up having to replace it, and you're not under immense time pressure, might make sense to try.
posted by Quack at 2:13 PM on September 12 [1 favorite]

Thanks to the rise of mass scale FTTH deployments, it's not too difficult to find mechanical connectors. Apparently they work fine as long as you have a good cleaver.
posted by wierdo at 2:29 PM on September 12

Seconding that fiber terminations are not difficult to learn to DIY. If you get the tools.

But I would try to find a very small low-voltage integration firm. Or AV integrator. Who is advertising that they install surround sound systems in fancy homes in your area? They might have the expertise and still be small enough to take the job.
posted by hovey at 3:37 PM on September 12 [2 favorites]

Local community colleges often offer classes to learn fiber optics. Maybe an instructor wants to pick up some extra cash moonlighting? Also private company classes.

Maybe watch for fiber optic install vans and ask if they want a side job?
posted by at at 4:30 AM on September 13