Improving a poor OTDR trace

Knowledge Base - Solution

I have a very poor looking OTDR trace. What can I do to try and "see" the fiber more clearly and clean up my trace?
First make sure you are using the correct pulse width. Too short a pulse width and you are running out of power by the time you reach the end of the fiber. Too long a pulse and you are oversaturating the line and causing a lot of ghosting. The second step is too increase your acquisition time. This will allow the OTDR to collect more samples to average which can improve the signal to noise ratio for a better trace. Inspect and clean connections to the OTDR and the fiber under test to ensure good launch conditions.