Fiber Simplex Breakout

This board is actually a pair of boards! We wanted to design a product that gave you the bare minimum amount of support circuitry for playing with these modules from Industrial Fibre Optics.

Not currently available

Our Code: SKU-007596

Supplier Link: [SparkFun MPN:17509]


Description

This board is actually a pair of boards! We wanted to design a product that gave you the bare minimum amount of support circuitry for playing with these modules from Industrial Fibre Optics. This product is for people who might not be connecting their fibre modules directly to a UART, and instead want to interface with them simply as an LED and a photodetector. Using a pair of pliers, the two sides of the Fibre Simplex Breakout can be snapped apart along the perforated line to create a one-way fibre link. Both the receiver and transmitter have four pins: VCC, Ground, Signal, and Inverted Signal. See the Hookup Guide for information about each signal.

The Industrial Fibre Optics line of emitters and detectors are by far the most economical way we’ve found to create a simple fibre link between two devices. The IF-E97 emitter is literally just a superbright red LED in a fancy plastic module that makes it easy to insert a piece of optical fibre and lock it in place. On the other end, the IF-D96F is a 5v TTL phototransistor in an identical enclosure. Connect the two with a piece of fibre and you have, basically, the simplest possible fibre link. Speaking of fibre, while you can certainly use glass fibre (in the proper jacket) to connect these modules together, we recommend PMMA plastic fibre! It’s cheap, it’s not at all fragile, and you can cut it with scissors. In our experience, it requires no polishing at all, simply cut it with scissors and jam it into the connector.

We've tested these modules at baud rates up to 1Mbps and distances up to 50 meters with no transmission errors.

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Specifications

  • Easily create fibre serial links between embedded devices
  • Supports Serial Baud Rates up to 1Mbps
  • 5V and 3.3V compatible

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