Method and circuit device for checking an optical cable for the passage of light and undue increases in attenuation caused by defects

Abstract From the Canadian patent

Method and apparatus for detecting defects in an optical cable composed of a series of cable units. Light pulses are sent through one cable conductor and returned to the starting end via a second conductor and an electrical signal representative of the light intensity exiting the second conductor is derived. The electrical signal is applied to a sensitivity control circuit which is switched through a succession of sensitivity levels starting from a minimum level and proceeding to a maximum level. Each sensitivity level corresponds to the attenuation produced by a cable composed of a given number of cable units and is associated with a particular ratio between the output signal provided by …