Storage for fiber optic cables?

[iancampbell]

I'm starting my strobe journey after previously only shooting underwater with ambient light. I picked up two of the new Backscatter Hybrid Flashes to connect to my AOI housing using fiber optic cables. When I'm out of the water and traveling, do I need to do anything special to protect my fiber optics or do I just toss them in with all my other miscellaneous gear like battery chargers and assume that minor contact doesn't matter?

I'm specifically curious whether I need to take precautions to protect the ends of the fiber and how delicate the coiled portions are when compressed in luggage. I know that for computer networking, fiber optic cables are delicate and polishing the ends of cables is something for professionals with specialized equipment. Do I need to do something special to protect my camera fiber cables too or am I over-thinking this?

 

[hedonist222]

I would ask backscatter.
I treat mine as you describe.

 

[Nemrod]

They are quite rugged. But I would not toss them in with just any gear. Try to avoid smashing the cable, kinking the cable and damaging the outer sheath.

 

[davehicks]

First off, coiled cables are a hassle. Straight fiber is a lot easier to manage with a few zip-ties on your strobe arms.

I put my optical fiber cables in a small zip lock and usually put them inside the camera housing when travelling. They are not as rugged as you think, and often fail if bent or pinched too much. They can take a bit of rough handling, right up to the point that they break or fail. So always have a couple of spares on hand as well.

 

[iancampbell]

Thank you, that all makes sense. I sent in a query to Backscatter to confirm. The fiber didn't ship with any sort of end-caps to use when not attached to my housing/strobes, so I would assume that the ends aren't that delicate or that a single speck of dust will destroy them. That said, I've made plenty of wrong assumptions in my day, so I appreciate the feedback from everyone.

 

[Furnari]

I take no extra precautions with the ends, but I do use a circular lunch-sized tupperware container that's about 7.5" in diameter and 2" thick. Two fibers, two spares, an extra AOI flash trigger, extra SD cards, and an extra AOI housing o-ring ride nicely without being too scrunched up. It fits in the front pocket of the soft cooler I use for local dives, and takes up very little space in my carry-on (plan on dealing with questions from TSA, tho- I'm not responsible for body cavity searches if you mouth off to the folks manning the x-ray machine). In one of my rare trips overseas, a fiber optic cable was damaged in transit and at that point I was too cheap to bring spares- never again.

 

[hedonist222]

They can take a bit of rough handling, right up to the point that they break or fail. So always have a couple of spares on hand as well.

Always have a spare. My primary unit stopped working on day two of a trip.
No manhandling on my end - so who knows why.
Was glad to have my spare. Funnily though, the primary cable started working on day 3 - this was 9 months ago and its still fine.
Could have been a kink that sorted itself out.

This the model I have and is pretty reasonable at $20:
Link

 

[Searcaigh]

I just coil mine into a small plastic container that I got from Daiso for protection.

 

[David Haas]

I've used cheap ones (like the link, some straight connector ones from Mozaik ages ago) plus nice Inon ones with right angle strobe bulkhead connector that swivels (nice) and right angle plug in to my housing.

All worked, I haven't babied them but I also never stretched out on 3 foot long arms, wound them around like an anaconda, etc.

I do like others have said and keep mine in a ziplock bag, pack them laying flat with gentle coils when not in use or traveling.

Never had a failure either.....

Good luck!

David Haas

 

[Nemrod]

I carry a spare set. I have cables from DiverVision. They have replaceable parts. I broke the end off of one on a trip to Bonaire recently. Replaced the connector and good as new.

Sync Cable - Fiber Optic

multi-core fiber optic cable for optimum signal transmission

www.divervision.com