An Industry of Innovators

September 19, 2018 / General

Last week at the 2018 BICSI Fall Conference in San Antonio, TX, two of Fluke Networks’ solutions were chosen by a panel of top-tier cabling and communications systems specifiers, designers, integrators and managers for making groundbreaking contributions to the structured cabling industry.

In the category of test equipment for the 2018 Cabling Installation & Maintenance Innovators Awards, Fluke Networks’ new Pro3000F Filtered Probe and Versiv Cabling Certification System with Integrated SYSTIMAX Link Loss Calculator were both awarded Gold. The Pro300F was chosen for its ability to remove signal interference at 50 or 60 Hz and their harmonics to make it easy to find the cable or wire you need to identify even in the electrically noisiest environments. The integrated SYSTIMAX Link Loss Calculator was chosen for its ability to automate the testing of SYSTIMAX LL and ULL fiber systems, saving time and reducing costly errors while generating the most complete and accurate results for certification.

While we obviously aren’t opposed to tooting our own horn, there were plenty of other winners of this year’s CI&M Innovators Awards that are making significant contributions to the industry. And Fluke Networks is proud to offer the solutions that many of these innovators need to effectively test, certify and troubleshoot their innovations.

Premium Platinum

One of the Platinum Innovators Award worth mentioning is CommScope’s 25-year SYSTIMAX warranty that not only offers warranty on parts but offers warranty protection for the performance of the entire network infrastructure system, including the applications the system is designed to support. Fluke Networks’ integrated SYSTIMAX Link Loss Calculator might just have a hand in helping you take advantage of this warranty.

Another unique award went to Rosenberger OSI for the development of fiber end faces that are optimized for preventing contamination with a coating that generates an antistatic effect to prevent the adhesion of particles on the surface. While we all know that fiber end faces should always be inspected with tools like Fluke Networks’ FI-7000 FiberInspector™ Pro, we’re big fans of any technology that helps prevent contamination – the number one cause of fiber failures.

Continuing with the fiber theme, OFS received a Gold Innovators Award for their new AccuFlex Rollable Ribbon Cable and AccuRiser Rollable Ribbon Cable that reduces space and doubles the density of existing pathways compared to standard indoor cable designs. And since these 12-fiber cables are often terminated to 12-fiber MPO connectors, Fluke Networks’ MultiFiber™ Pro Optical Power Meter can also help save time when testing these cables since it automatically scans and tests all 12 fibers in MPO connectors rather than the time consuming process of single fiber certification using fan-out cords.

Going for Gold

Joining Fluke Networks with a Gold Innovators Award is Panduit with its OM5 Signature Core multimode fiber that delivers extended reach beyond industry standards and higher system performance by compensating for both modal dispersion and chromatic dispersion. With the latest Versiv™ release, Fluke Networks’ CertiFiber® Pro Optical Loss Test Set is ready to test and certify OM5 multimode fiber so you can see for yourself how this award-winning fiber performs.

With Fluke Networks’ new DSX CableAnalyzer® Series adapters, it’s easy to certify modular plug terminated link (MPTL) cabling installations like those supported with Siemon’s Gold-winning Z-Plug™ Category 6A Field Terminated Plug that facilitates quick, reliable high-performance plug terminations to a variety of IP-based devices.

And speaking of Category 6A, the DSX CableAnalyzer is also ideal for certifying Panduit and General Cable’s next generation of Category 6A cable that won a Gold Innovators Award for featuring the world's smallest diameter in a Cat 6A cable at just 0.250 inches, all with guaranteed performance that meets or exceeds all TIA standards.

The Silver Lining

Brother won a Silver Innovators Award for its self-contained, fully transportable desktop print and laminate PT-E800W labeling system that makes it easy to design and print professional laminated labels. The silver lining? The same cabling IDs you use for your labels can be imported into LinkWare™ Live with test settings and sent to your Versiv tester for mistake-free testing.

With 802.3bt four-pair PoE about to be ratified, we’d be remiss if we didn’t mention the Silver Innovators Award for Microsemi’s PDS-208G 8 + 2-Port Digital Ceiling PoE Switch that provides eight 10/100/1,000 Mb/s ports with PoE capabilities based on Microsemi's energy-efficient four-pair PoE technology. And if you know anything about testing four-pair PoE, you know that Fluke Networks has you covered with the ability to test for DC resistance unbalance within a pair and between pairs. Not sure why this test matters for four-pair PoE? Check out the white paper.

If splicing is your thing, you might be interested to know that both Greenlee and Sumitomo won Silver Innovator Awards for their splicers – Greenlee for its small, lightweight 915FS Active Clad Fusion Splicer with IP52 ingress protection rating for resistant to dust and water and Sumitomo for its T-400S Active Clad Alignment Fusion Splicer that integrates within one unit functions to accomplish all FTTx splicing initiatives in the field. And if you need to locate or troubleshoot those splices later on, Fluke Networks’ OptiFiber® Pro OTDR (a previous Gold Innovators Award winner) uses advanced logic to interpret traces and provides an EventMap that characterizes these events.

Fluke Networks is proud to be a part of this amazing industry of innovators, and our hats go off to all the award winners. Click here to check out all the silver, gold and platinum honorees of this year’s Cabling Installation & Maintenance Innovators Awards.