FiberNoob Wrote:I am overwhelmed by the choices available on the market for mechanical splices.
How can I make sure I get the splice that's right for me?
Why are all the prices so different? I mean, I see some that cost $3.00 and some that cost $20.00!
That's true - there are a lot of options for mechanical splices and it may seem overwhelming at times. As for getting the right mechanical splice for your application, it really depends on what you're looking to do.
Mechanical splices are usually used for multimode fibers and as emergency restorations for singlemode fibers. Generally, these splices are designed for extremely fast splicing (most around 30 seconds or so), and they are also reusable as well.
There are several types of mechanical splices out there, and they do vary in price. (A few examples are 3M - Fibrlok, AMP - Corelink, Corning - Camsplice, and Siemon - Ultrasplice). Along with name brand also being a factor, there are other reasons as well, such as, different insertion losses, reflection characteristics, and different fiber retentions amongst the varieties. Could also be the technology behind them, such as 3M's version uses V groove technology and it does not require epoxy, or the Camsplice , which incorporates a unique alignment method that self centers the fibers -
