PSA - don't look into fiber optics

[spidey07]

I've worked in communicaitons for quite a while. I ignored the warnings and what not and would look into a fiber optic cable to see the light to make sure I had the right cable. nah, those warnings don't mean anything...they're just like the warnings on the laser scanner at the grocery store.

Well I've had a spot on my eye for two years now, very small. Eye doctor examined my eyes for a full checkup. He said "you've got a very small scar tissue on your retina...that is causing the spot. you don't per chance work with fiber optics do you. Yep, burned a small spot on my retina.

I have since never looked into a fiber transmitter/cable again. Nor will I ever. So if you see somebody looking into the cable tell them to quit. And cap your transmitters. You only have one set of eyes.

-cliffs-
1) looked into fiber
2) burned spot/scar tissue on retina

 

[imported_Pablo]

couldn't you have just pointed the fiber optic cable at your hand and seen the light?

Hindsight FTW!

 

[Heisenberg]

No kidding. It doesn't take that much direct power to cause damage. Even a 1mW laser directly in the eye will cause a spot. The lasers in our lab next door scare me, quite frankly.

 

[notfred]

Couldn't you jsut shine it on your hand or the wall or something and then look and see if there was a light spot there, instead of looking directly into it?

 

[rbrandon]

 

[BrokenVisage]

Are you going to get it "repaired"?

 

[MiniDoom]

I put a piece of paper in front of it and if a red dot shows up it works.

 

[Toonces]

you mean I can check to see if my gun is loaded by not looking directly down the barrel?

 

[Baked]

Originally posted by: notfred
Couldn't you jsut shine it on your hand or the wall or something and then look and see if there was a light spot there, instead of looking directly into it?

Simplicity escaped the OP. Maybe he's one of those LED freaks w/ LED fans all over his computer case.

 

[spidey07]

Originally posted by: notfred
Couldn't you jsut shine it on your hand or the wall or something and then look and see if there was a light spot there, instead of looking directly into it?

the fiber I deal with is incredibly small (9 microns) so you can't really shine it onto something. It's just about impossible to see the light and instead you use test equipment.

 

[bleuless]

Originally posted by: Pablo
couldn't you have just pointed the fiber optic cable at your partner's eye and seen the reaction?

fixed

when i was a kid i used to look into the sun, and now a days i see bunch of "scars" floating around.

 

[csiro]

cool. Is it possible to write out the letter z everywhere you look this way?

 

[KLin]

Fluke Optiview FTW .

 

[wfbberzerker]

Originally posted by: bleuless

Originally posted by: Pablo
couldn't you have just pointed the fiber optic cable at your partner's eye and seen the reaction?

fixed

when i was a kid i used to look into the sun, and now a days i see bunch of "scars" floating around.

um, those aren't scars, and thats normal.

 

[Glavinsolo]

Didnt they teach you to stick your hand at the end of the fiber to see if any light was projected on your hand?

 

[bleuless]

Originally posted by: wfbberzerker

Originally posted by: bleuless

Originally posted by: Pablo
couldn't you have just pointed the fiber optic cable at your partner's eye and seen the reaction?

fixed

when i was a kid i used to look into the sun, and now a days i see bunch of "scars" floating around.

um, those aren't scars, and thats normal.

i could swear i read it some where (no pun intended) that is the result of looking into bright object....

 

[Darthvoy]

When I was kid a looked directly into on of those pen lasers. Now I have very high stigmatism on my right eye...so to conclude..yes those warning actually mean something

 

[Lonyo]

Originally posted by: Glavinsolo
Didnt they teach you to stick your hand at the end of the fiber to see if any light was projected on your hand?

Didn't anyone teach you to read the thread before replying?

 

[preslove]

Originally posted by: UNESC0
you mean I can check to see if my gun is loaded by not looking directly down the barrel?

Looking down the barrel is more fun, dude.

 

[acemcmac]

WOW

 

[spidey07]

Well the only other way besides test gear is to shine a birght light into the fiber. But even then you could be looking into a fiber that was lit with a laser on the other end. And that only works for distances under a few kilometers.

But I won't be taking any chances.

I just see people doing this sometimes and wanted to get the warning out. I shudder to think about the power levels of some of the long haul gear has.

 

[TuxDave]

Ouch. I was always required to wear optical safety glasses when I worked in the fiber optics lab.

 

[MisterJackson]

as someone earlier said, hindsight is 20/20, but yours sure isn't!

Sorry dude. You could use the fiber to try and give yourself lasik surgery though!

again, sorry. Thanks for the warning, seriously.

 

[TuxDave]

Originally posted by: spidey07

Originally posted by: notfred
Couldn't you jsut shine it on your hand or the wall or something and then look and see if there was a light spot there, instead of looking directly into it?

the fiber I deal with is incredibly small (9 microns) so you can't really shine it onto something. It's just about impossible to see the light and instead you use test equipment.

That and the fact that (at least for the ones that I worked on) work on frequencies outside of the visible spectrum (~900nm and ~1500nm for EDFAs) and they're REALLY high powered. So MAYBE shining it on your hand would work because your hand would start getting burned.