Technically, I am still certified as a fiber tech… But I got the cert 20 years ago with equipment setups that were easily +$50k. I am also struggling to remember all the terminology and I am extremely out-of-date with current tech. (I still remember how to polish the fiber ends for optimal connections though, so that is nice.)

Question: Is there a cheap way to do LC termination at home these days? I just want to clean up some of my fiber runs and reduce size of the “service loops” that I am stuck with for some of the 15m cables.

I am guessing there isn’t anything under $300 for fiber fusion splicing. That would be a wasted purchase for splicing a few cables every couple of years.

I like fiber for a number of reasons, mainly because it is easy to pull and throw over drop-celings. Fiber has drawbacks and 10gE is absolutely more logical for a homelab. Alas, I simply like the was fiber looks and how much easier it is to work with at times.

  • duckythescientist@sh.itjust.worksEnglish
    6·
    16 hours ago

    You can buy LC terminations that don’t need a splice. You just strip the end of the end of the fiber, cleave it to the correct length, put it into the LC thing, and lock it into place. I have no clue how good the connection actually is. A full kit with cleaver, power meter, laser illuminator, and some odds and ends was about $100 on Amazon/AliExpress, and the LC ends are a couple bucks each.

    I only did this for a short run of 1Gbit, and I have no actual background in fiber.