This simulator traces light through a fiber spool, a connector at 25% of the route and a splice at 65%. Change total length, attenuation coefficient, launch power, connector and splice loss and receiver sensitivity, then move or sweep a power probe along the route to see distributed loss, discrete steps and the margin left at the receiver.
• A 3D route with a reference optical source, a fiber spool, a mated connector with ferrules, a fusion splice tray, a power probe that can be placed or swept, a distributed-loss visualization and a receiver power meter. • Ten controls for length, attenuation, launch power, connector loss, splice loss, absorption share, receiver sensitivity, probe position, sweep and markers. • Twelve readouts including distributed fiber loss, end-to-end loss, received power in dBm and as a fraction of launch, sensitivity margin, power at the probe and assigned absorbed and scattered power. • Four guided experiments, a verification bench, Curves & measurements and a Learn & assess tab.
Fiber loss is α(dB/km) × L(km) and total loss is that plus the connector and splice losses. Received power in dBm is launch power minus total loss, and the margin is received power minus the receiver sensitivity. At the probe, P(x) = Ptx · 10^[−(αx + preceding event losses)/10], so the connector and splice appear as steps and the fiber as a slope.
For example, a 3 dB connector leaves about 50.12% of the launched power, and the final experiment reaches a total loss of 41.5 dB, received power of −41.5 dBm and a margin of −11.5 dB against the chosen reference.
This is a scalar one-way power budget with a uniform attenuation coefficient and two nonreflecting insertion-loss events. The coefficient is assumed valid for the chosen fiber and wavelength, and the absorption and scattering shares are assigned teaching parameters. There is no dispersion, bend-radius solve, backscatter or OTDR, noise or data rate prediction. The spool and moving markers are schematic.
Decibels turn multiplicative power factors into additions, so fiber, connector and splice losses can simply be summed along the link and subtracted from the launched power in dBm.
It is received power minus the receiver sensitivity, in dB. A positive margin leaves room for aging, repairs and temperature, while a negative margin means the link fails the budget, as in the fourth experiment.
Distributed loss declines smoothly with distance at α dB per km, while connectors and splices remove power in steps at their locations. Moving the probe along the route shows both shapes.
No. The received power is unchanged; only the accounting and visualization of where lost power goes changes.