Fiber Academy · INTERLAB
Interactive handbook · for installers and fiber technicians

Fiber optic link measurements — a handbook that runs live.

The classic INTERLAB handbook — OTDR reflectometry, insertion loss, end-face inspection, PON networks — turned into live simulators and animations. You set the parameters, and the physics responds before your eyes.

Launch the OTDR simulator See the program
Six chapters

From laser safety to trace analysis

Every chapter has its own interactive element — something print simply can't do. The handbook's content is covered in full; all chapters are currently open, and eventually full access will require personal training codes.

open 01

General rules for working with optical fibers

Laser radiation classes per EN 60825-1 and choosing protective measures.

→ protective measures calculator open 02

Visual inspection and cleaning

Grading the connector end face, contamination migration, the verdict: accept / clean / replace.

→ virtual microscope open 03

Optical insertion loss

Methods 1a / 1b / 1c with a light source and power meter — L = P₁ − P₂ computed live.

→ measurement animation open 04

Return loss and reflectance

Where the −14.7 dB at the glass–air boundary comes from and why APC doesn't reflect back into the core.

→ PC vs APC + OTDR markers open 05

OTDR event analysis

The heart of the handbook: OTDR, dead zones, ghosts, gainers, PON networks — all in a single simulator.

→ trace simulator open 06

Good practices for working with your equipment

Calibration, the internal reference, the zeroing attenuator, and a dirty port versus the dead zone.

→ checklist + control chart cheat sheet ★

Fiber technician's cheat sheet

Fiber color codes, the O·E·S·C·L·U bands, dB/dBm, PLC splitters, PON class budgets, connector loss limits, connector identification, cleaner selection, and a glossary.

→ data from the handbook's covers
Premium access

The full Academy for customers and training participants

Chapters 3–6 with their simulators are available via personal access codes — for our good customers and after INTERLAB training sessions. Write to us for access.

Request an access code
About the handbook

Where this knowledge comes from

Fiber Academy is the interactive edition of the handbook „Pomiary jednomodowych linii światłowodowych" ("Measurements of single-mode fiber optic lines", INTERLAB sp. z o.o., Warsaw 2014, ISBN 978-83-940673-0-4) — a collective work edited by Jakub Koryciński. Authors: Jakub Koryciński and Przemysław Kupczyk; technical consultation: Grzegorz Kubiak. The values, tables, and procedures in the simulators come straight from the handbook and the standards it references: