Certified Fiber Optics Practice Exam

Visual continuity testers are primarily designed to check for breaks or faults in fiber optic cables by sending a visible light source through the fiber. This type of testing is particularly applicable to multimode fiber because multimode fibers have larger core diameters, which allows them to carry multiple light modes simultaneously and recover from bends or other obstacles more effectively over shorter distances. Multimode fiber is generally used for shorter distance applications, typically within buildings or local area networks, where lower signal integrity losses are acceptable compared to long-distance communications that single-mode fibers are designed for. Since a visual continuity tester can operate effectively at distances up to 2 kilometers, it makes more sense economically and practically to use it with multimode fibers, as they are intended for such applications. Single-mode fibers, while capable of longer distances, typically require more specialized equipment, such as an optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR), to perform testing due to their smaller core size and the way light travels through them. Coaxial and twisted pair do not pertain to fiber optic testing and are irrelevant in this context as they are entirely different cable types used for different purposes, primarily concerning electronic data transmission rather than fiber optic communication.