In the rapidly advancing world of telecommunications and data transmission, fiber optic laser light plays a huge role. In today’s world fast and smooth communications are very important in our daily life and most of it runs through fiber optic cables. These cables use laser to send information really fast . But how do we know if the optical is strong enough or if there’s a problem in the cable? That’s where an optical power meter comes in.
What is Optical Power Meter?
So, Exactly an optical power meter is a small device that tells you how strong the optical signal, it likes a thermometer but instead of checking your temperature, it checks the strength of optical laser going through the fiber cable.
This is super important because if the light is too weak or too strong , it can mess up the connection. The optical power meter gives a number , usually dBm that tells us how much light is passing through the cable at a certain point.
The optic power meter has a sensor that catches the light coming out of the fiber and measures it. The device then shows the result on a screen.
Sometimes, it’s used with another device called a light source , which sends light into one end to the cable. Then, we check how much light comes out the other end with the meter. If there’s a big difference, it means the signal is getting lost somewhere in the cable, which could be bending, dirt or a break.
The most popular optical power meter suggestion
There are two types of Optical Power Meter, which is suitable for most fiber communication application.
1. Basic Power Meter BD-POW-D01
Good for everyday testing, especially when installing or checking cables, the optical power meter only measures one wavelength at a time (850/1300/1310/1490/1550/1625nm can be selected).
Measurement range: -70~ +10dBm or -50~ +26dBm
Optical interface: FC, SC
It has multiple functions (VFL function, LED function)
Our main recommended model is BD-POW-D01
2. PON Power Meter
They are used for types of fiber optical FTTX network, PON power meter measures three wavelengths of 1310/1490/1550nm at the same time. The PON power meter BD-PON-J3 is more suitable for measuring OLT, ONU PON system, and passive devices.
Measurement range: -40dBm～+10dBm
Optical interface: FC, SC
Multiple functions (supports USB connection and has ordinary optical power meter function)
Our main recommened model is BD-PON-J3 
Related artical:
How to Test Fiber Splice Loss? Selet OTDR or Optical Power Meter?
Conslusion:
Optical Power Meter is normally used by Technicians, Network engineers and Manufacturers. They used to check if the optic fiber cable is working properly, measures how much signal is getting lost in the cable, find problems like broken cables or dirty connectors .