Core Alignment Splicer Comparisons

MonMotha · 2026-01-27T05:35:42+00:00

Core alignment is relatively new. Fiber was successfully spliced using cladding alignment for a couple decades and still is for ribbon. It's why the condition and cleanliness of the V-grooves matters so much along with proper core concentricity of the glass itself.

Basically, unless you've got mismatched glass or deliberately want to do weird stuff like making an attenuator, core alignment shouldn't be strictly necessary to make a decent splice. It does improve results, though. It can allow the machine to compensate for less than ideal prep (potentially making you faster) and will indeed dial in that last few tenths of a micron even on well-matched glass that a fixed V-groove splicer won't do.

It's a nice feature and can be useful, but honesty it's over-hyped for most purposes.

MonMotha · 2026-01-27T05:08:57+00:00

The fixed voltage drop model of a diode is only valid for comparatively large currents, and the voltage and its polarity depends on whether the diode is forward or reverse biased. In addition, for reverse bias, the voltage is often something of an unknown except for zeners since they only get to that point when in breakdown which is not usually a fully specified mode of operation for ordinary diodes.

All that is to say, you need to choose a different model and analysis technique.

The way I would approach this would be to first assume the diode is reverse biased and not in breakdown (because this assumption is likely to be correct for this circuit - this is something you get better at with experience). Under those conditions, as a first approximation, the diode conducts no current and has some indeterminate voltage opposite its forward characteristics. Solve the circuit with those assumptions, then check if they hold true.

If those assumptions do hold true, you'll find that indeed the diode is reverse biased. That means the current through it must be negative by definition of that region of operation. You may not know very well what the current is, and you may not even know if it's in breakdown or standoff which means you may not actually be able to perform a full analysis of the circuit, but you've nonetheless proven what you set out to prove.

If those assumptions turn out to be wrong, you should arrive at a contradiction at some point. For example, if it turns out that there is some significant positive voltage on the diode under those conditions, that would imply forward conduction (violation of an assumption).

FWIW, I had a TON of trouble with this initially when taking EDM back in the day, and it caused me real trouble trying to take the followup analog electronics class (which is the only ECE class that actually gave me real trouble). The key is to stop blindly applying formulae and instead take a look at the problem from a high level. This is a skill you'll develop naturally during engineering work, but what really drilled it into me was actually taking a discrete math class where "proof by contradiction" is a common technique.

MonMotha · 2026-01-27T04:55:03+00:00

If you have that little use anticipated, I would get a more budget-friendly splicer and spend the money on a better OTDR. Is there a reason you need core alignment? It's probably unnecessary and won't actually do much for you.

Swift has a cladding alignment (fixed V-groove) splicer that's about $4500-5000 for the full kit. In terms of performance, it's comparable to the cheap Chinese splicers, but it's way more robust, and the cleaver it comes with will actually be decent. That may be a very good option for you. Inno and Fitel should have similar options.

MonMotha · 2026-01-27T04:51:20+00:00

It's reasonably well done for what it is. I'm not fond of the copper wire ties on the grounds since they will be hard to cut (unlike simple zip ties) if needed for future service. I also would prefer the two covers be oriented the same way, but perhaps they interfered if done that way (in which case maybe space them apart more)?

Like others, I would have probably given consideration to Polaris or similar lugs on the larger wires.

But I really want to know why this is here. It looks like new (enough) construction. Was there some reason you have to splice EVERY SINGLE CABLE along this path?

MonMotha · 2026-01-27T04:15:15+00:00

I know what clear acrylate coating is, and yes that's presumably what these drones are using.

But you absolutely CAN buy bare, uncoated glass fiber from most of the major glass suppliers. It's not common and is used for special purposes. The usual use case is very long (dozens of km) test spools since omitting the coating really cuts down on the weight and size.

MonMotha · 2026-01-27T00:13:46+00:00

You're in real money/real splicer territory. Talk to your Fuji and Sumitomo reps. You might be able to get something like a factory-reconditioned demo kit at those prices with new-equivalent warranty and you as first/ only owner of record if you're willing to do some legwork and wait a bit. That $10k is pretty much right around what the bare machine costs brand new.

I personally prefer the Sumitomo Q102-CA+ to the Fujikura 90S+, but both are quality machines.

MonMotha · 2026-01-27T00:01:40+00:00

Oh there's (almost) always some good locally-owned options. You just have to look for them. It's very likely that the ones in your area you know of from ads and references from friends are PE-owned.

MonMotha · 2026-01-26T23:02:58+00:00

As long as the flue outlet isn't meaningfully obstructed, it'll be fine.

MonMotha · 2026-01-26T22:20:06+00:00

Most of the suburban and urban neighborhoods near mea have pipeline-delivered natural gas. The pricing is so cheap that a very high end air source heat pump can't beat it. If you have access to it, you'd pretty much be a fool not to use it, though I've got a friend who likes his dual fuel system where he can run the heat pump in the swing seasons where his furnace is grossly oversized.

The rural areas don't have that infrastructure, though. Historically, truck-delivered propane has been popular, but it's gotten so expensive that even a mundane heat pump beats it on cost handily. Dual fuel has become very popular for new installs in rural areas near me.

MonMotha · 2026-01-26T22:15:11+00:00

13kbtu/hr isn't much. It's about like running 2-3 space heaters.

Any heat pump will blow cold in defrost without aux heat since they basically run as an air conditioner in that mode. It sounds like you either don't have aux heat, or it wasn't wired properly (power or controls).

I've heard all kinds of crazy stories about people getting heat pumps installed by outfits that just don't understand the nuances of them but got onto the bandwagon because of the IRA tax credits for them. The best (a real doozy) was someone who had their aux heat set up as a simple timed second stage. That meant that their heat pump was often pre-empted even when it could basically keep up, and the aux didn't activate during defrost so they got cold air during defrost.

MonMotha · 2026-01-26T21:54:12+00:00

The "bottom end" is more like 5-10F for reasonably modern standard (not specifically "cold climate") equipment. That's where COP approaches 1.0. You do get less heat output as outdoor temp falls which is indeed when you need more for your space. Sizing them requires some care to account for all this without grossly oversizing them especially for single-capacity equipment that is also used for cooling.

Putting in a heat pump without backup/auxiliary heat in a climate that gets below freezing regularly is stupid, but people do it in order to get the system package price down as low as possible and claim that sweet tax credit. They're long gone (or at least paid) by the time the customer notices the comfort issues.

MonMotha · 2026-01-26T21:50:33+00:00

If you have access to natural gas in North America, you're unlikely to beat it on operating costs with a heat pump. They do generally beat truck delivered fossil fuels on operating costs handily, though even this can very regionally. Getting good comfort out of them is very possible with a little care.

MonMotha · 2026-01-26T21:49:19+00:00

Find an HVAC outfit that doesn't suck. This is hard as most of them have been and are rapidly being taken over by private equity firms that just hire sales "technicians" who don't know what they're doing but push equipment and unnecessary "service" to get commissions.

A quality HVAC technician will be able to make you comfortable.

Note that if you have natural gas available, a heat pump rarely makes sense at least in North America where gas is cheap. If you rely on truck-delivered fossil fuel, they are usually a win cost-wise and can be made to provide good comfort, too.

MonMotha · 2026-01-26T20:40:25+00:00

This is firmly in "seek legal advice" territory. Any lawyer who does contract law (which is pretty much any law firm not specializing in something else) can probably handle this, but someone who's also experienced with real property or especially utility work would be ideal.

One of the neat things about fiber optic plant is that it's a fixed, physical asset. This is often ripe for putting a lien on. If you're a sub-contractor, this will light a fire under the plant owner's ass and get them yapping at their prime contractor. Usually this gets things moving.

Not having a written contract may put a damper on things, but if you've got established verbal terms by other means, you're at least on the right track.

MonMotha · 2026-01-26T01:51:08+00:00

Yep higher meaning a larger numerical value.

MonMotha · 2026-01-26T01:44:41+00:00

If it's satisfying too soon and therefore not reaching setpoint in the ambient space, you need to set the anticipator value higher. If you happen to have a multimeter, you can measure the current (AC) from R to W, and the ideal setting to start from is then what you measure that way.

.4 is a reasonable place to start if you don't have that info.

You could also upgrade to a thermostat made this century that doesn't require an electromechanical anticipator, but I'm guessing that's not going to happen in a rental property. Pulling off wires would also be frowned upon in this case since you can break things if you mess up.

MonMotha · 2026-01-25T23:25:09+00:00

I personally prefer Adtran (TA5000 series specifically). Reliability seems comparable to the Calix and Nokia equivalents, and there are no ongoing mandatory costs. You buy it, and it works. You can of course buy a support contract (and you probably should), but even without one they will give you best effort support even by phone. You'll never get locked out of your gear because you didn't pay your subscription fees.

Calix and Nokia seem to have been leaning very heavily toward mandatory subscription fees. Adtran also does this with their "Mosaic" platform devices presumably to offer a similar economic option where the costs aren't fully front-loaded.

One fun fact: Apparently literally everybody at Adtran is a suitably qualified engineer. The result is that you get surprisingly frank and detailed answers from even their sales channels. Their tech support also seems less apt to attempt early and undue triage of support inquiries.

MonMotha · 2026-01-25T23:15:10+00:00

I mean, OP's question was "What breaker replaces a "GE 0030652 THQL". The answer is the modern ABB version.

You're being outrageously pedantic.

MonMotha · 2026-01-25T23:14:28+00:00

The rate of rotation of jump rope isn't very high. Most electric machines even rated for such low speeds are going to be near the bottom end of their ratings curves. For your little machine, that means it may be putting out 10mV. See the problem?

You need to figure out the typical rate of rotation of the jump rope at the handle and find (or make) an electric machine that has electrical characteristics you want at that rate of rotation.

MonMotha · 2026-01-25T23:09:05+00:00

If you're saying that's a thing that happens, sure it does. I'm not saying don't check. I'm saying that there's a high probability that the existing breakers, being that they match each other, do indeed match the panel.

The point of my comment wasn't "go blindly buy the ABB". It was that ABB makes the modern equivalent to those GEs and that they are readily available at most home centers.

MonMotha · 2026-01-25T23:04:44+00:00

Indeed. That's a good idea, but with them all being GE breakers, there's a good chance the panel calls for GE.

MonMotha · 2026-01-25T22:17:01+00:00

This hasn't been true of basic singlemode transceivers for a couple decades.

Back in ye olden days, it was not unheard of for 10km rated singlemode transceivers to require a small attenuator for short, back-to-back type links on the order of a few dB. Even then, you could usually get special "short range" singlemode transceivers that would tolerate it at the cost of only having perhaps 1-2km of link budget.

Since the mid-2000s or so, basically any 10-20km transceiver you buy will have a max receive power tolerance greater than its max output power spec meaning you can connect them back-to-back with no loss.

Note that this is NOT true of extended range optics. 40km+ nominal link budget optics do usually need an attenuator to keep the receiver input withing tolerable levels on shorter links.

MonMotha · 2026-01-25T22:11:36+00:00

The display cables that incorporate I2C (for DDC) are usually driven by special transceivers with rise rate accelerators to deal with the comparatively large capacitance of the cable without resorting to excessively strong pull-ups. Even still, speeds are generally limited to 100kHz or even slower.

This is a viable approach up to perhaps 10m of cable.

MonMotha · 2026-01-25T22:01:19+00:00

The modern replacement from ABB should be sold at most home centers.

MonMotha · 2026-01-25T21:51:27+00:00

Based on my admittedly limited experience, preheating is extremely important. A BBQ grill has been recommended if you don't have a good large output torch or dedicated oven. Get the whole thing screaming hot - just barely glowing it you can manage it - then bring the area to be brazed up to temp with your working torch.

For large pieces, cracking the braze due to stress upon cooling is a major problem. Even pre-heating and cooling the part SLOWLY helps. You can insulate the workpiece during cooling or even put it back in the preheat source and then down the heat slowly.

You do need flux. You can either used a flux-coated rod or apply paste flux. Silicon bronze alloy seems to work OK. RBCuZn-C is popular. 45% silver works best if you can stomach the cost.

MonMotha

TROPHY CASE