Installation guide

Planning and Designing RIO Cable System
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890 USE 101 00 October 2006
Using Fiber Optics in an RIO System
Overview 490NRP954 Fiber Optic Repeaters can be introduced in an RIO cable topology to
allow you to transition from coaxial to fiber cable then back again to coax at one or
more of the remote drops on any RIO network. Fiber optics allow you to:
z extend the total length of the RIO installation
z significantly improve the noise immunity characteristics of the installation
z create topologies that would be illegal if built with coaxial cable alone
The RIO port on a fiber optic repeater has the same electrical specifications and
restrictions as a head RIO processor with a pre-amp—e.g., the RIO signal output
from the fiber link back onto the coaxial cable has a dynamic range of 35 dB.
Note: The coaxial cable running into a fiber optic repeater is a drop cable—i.e.,
coming off a tap from the trunk cable. The coaxial cable coming out of a fiber optic
repeater is a trunk cable—i.e., taps must be connected to it to support the drops
and it must be properly terminated at the end of the run.
This document provided by Barr-Thorp Electric Co., Inc. 800-473-9123 www.barr-thorp.com