Pigtail SC/APC SM G657A1 SX 0.9mm OFNR 1M Yellow, semitight

Pigtail SC/APC SM G657A1 SX 0.9mm OFNR 1M Yellow, Semitight from Red Cable Technology (RCT) is a simplex fiber optic pigtail for terminating singlemode cable by fusion or mechanical splicing, built on bend-insensitive G.657A1 SM fiber with an SC/APC connector for low-return-loss applications. It ships as a single yellow 1-meter lead in 0.9mm semitight OFNR construction.

Features & Specs:

• Use: terminate fiber optic cables via fusion or mechanical splicing; high-quality pigtail cable plus correct fusion splicing practices give the best possible termination performance; typically installed in ODFs, fiber terminal boxes, and distribution boxes.
• Configuration: simplex (SX), single yellow lead, 1 meter, 0.9mm semitight buffer, OFNR rated.
• Connector — SC/APC: snap-in connector with a 2.5mm ferrule, much like the ST; known for excellent performance; simple, rugged, and low cost; push-on/pull-off operation.
• Polish — APC: the angled polish for applications sensitive to return loss; UPC connectors are blue, APC connectors are green.
• Fiber: singlemode, bend-insensitive G.657A1 — the de facto standard NDSF SMF for premises cabling, chosen for its optimized performance-to-cost balance; ITU-T G.657A1 and A2 are fully compliant with G.652D and deliver enhanced, low-loss fiber.
• Bend performance: minimum bending radii can be optimized, but that trades off fiber attenuation and cost; bend-insensitive NDSF is defined in ITU-T G.657 — G.657A1 (10 µm).

When APC matters

Some applications are more sensitive to return loss than others — those call for APC. In higher optical wavelength ranges (above 1500 nanometers), such as the RF video signals used by most cable companies and other FTTX providers, reflected light can adversely impact the signal — which is why APC connectors dominate outside plant work. APC is also the standard in passive optical applications (GPONs and passive optical LANs), since many of those systems use RF signals to deliver video, and future higher-speed passive optical networks and other WDM applications running higher wavelengths over singlemode fiber will likely need APC’s reduced return loss too.

Singlemode vs. multimode

Singlemode gives users a greater transmission rate plus nearly 50 times the distance of multimode — at a higher price. The most basic difference is core size, along with its associated loss/attenuation and fiber bandwidth. For on-premises or access-network fiber replacement — or a new installation — we recommend replacing legacy OS1 with a new bend-insensitive OS2 (ITU-T G.657A1) SMF cabling system for longer reach and enhanced link performance.