With so many countries struggling under abnormally hot weather right now, it's reassuring to know that Kingfisher fiber optic testers are made to take this heat in their stride.

Specified for operation up to +55 C, our testers have always been designed for operation in the hot Australian climate. Things like de-rated components, alkaline batteries, custom LCDs that are equally clear in bright sunlight, well-specified optical detectors & input amplifiers, apparently over-specified linearity (it can drop off quite a bit in hot weather), and quality construction, all contribute to keep you going when things get hot. Benefit from our proven reliable testers.

VISTA, CA Tempo® Communications, a leading manufacturer of tools and test equipment for the global communications industry, is pleased to announce the acquisition of Kingfisher International®, an Australian based manufacturer of handheld fiber optic testers, effective July 1, 2023. This acquisition accelerates the growth of Tempo within the fiber optic installation and maintenance sector across telecom, datacom, wireless, electrical, defense and more.

Kingfisher’s Australian based manufacturing expands Tempo’s footprint with an additional regional center of competency enhancing Tempo’s current global distribution network. Their engineering expertise enhances Tempo’s existing technology, capacity, and capability within fiber optic testing; and will accelerate product development of future fiber test solutions.

“We are excited to add Kingfisher to the Tempo family” states Jason Butchko, President of Tempo Communications. “This acquisition will enable us to expand our product portfolio and provide our customers with a broader range of innovative solutions for installing, testing, and measuring fiber optic networks. We look forward to the innovation that comes from the combination of our two strong teams.”

“We are thrilled to join forces with Tempo,” said Bruce Robertson, President of Kingfisher International. “Together we will be able to offer our customers an even more comprehensive range of products and services.”

The company will add Kingfisher technology to their growing portfolio of professional fiber optic tools for technicians. Their current portfolio includes Fusion Splicers and Cleavers, Optical Power Meters, Fiber Identifiers, Loss Testers, OTDRs and more.

To view these and Tempo’s other products visit tempocom.com

About Tempo Communications

Tempo Communications, Inc. offers a complete line of reliable, industry-leading test and measurement solutions to address all stages of network deployment, enabling the development, installation, and maintenance of Copper/xDSL, Fiber, Cable, Ethernet, Wireless, Electrical and Irrigation networks. The Tempo Communications North American headquarters remains in Vista, CA, with its European HQ in Cwmbran, UK.

About Kingfisher International

Kingfisher was founded in 1986 by Bruce & Rosmin Robertson with the vision of simplifying optical communications testing. For 37 years, Kingfisher's fiber optic test equipment has provided industry-leading ROI, accuracy, and flexibility. This innovation started with the world's first handheld laser light source and continues today with flexible and inexpensive testing capability. Kingfisher International is a manufacturer of handheld fiber optic testers for niche and mainstream applications across telecom, datacom, wireless, defense, aerospace, automotive, manufacturing, AV, and research. Kingfisher is headquartered in Melbourne, Australia with global distribution across 70 countries.

Media Contact

Ashley Skitt, Director of Marketing
Tempo Communications
[email protected]
+1 760-510-0594

Kingfisher is pleased to offer a very-high-power fiber optic power meter to test power, loss and continuity on single mode fiber optic systems from -40 to +33 dBm / 10 mw - 2 Watts. The H6 high-power detector head uses an innovative attenuator device for improved overall test accuracy compared to existing solutions. This instrument is of interest to staff working on pump lasers, optical amplifiers and other laboratory situations with maximal optical power in single mode fiber. This inexpensive yet full-feature instrument has comprehensive report generation and data logging capabilities with a variety of useful features for maximum productivity and flexibility. The instrument is available with a PC or APC connector interface, with a range of interchangeable connector styles.

Kingfisher is pleased to announce the immediate availability of MMC connector adaptors for Optical Power Meters and Inspection Microscopes. Believed to be the industry's first such test adaptors, they are a good practical test solution for all fiber types and variants of the MMC connector. The matching optical microscope is available with x200 magnification for detailed inspection, or x40 magnification for a wide field of view image of the end-face. A range of matching power meters covers single or stacked fiber ribbons up to 16 fibers wide, and all fiber / wavelength types.

Kingfisher International is pleased to announce that our Optical Calibration Laboratory can now calibrate any typical OTDR, with calibration traceable to ISO/IEC 17025. We perform a pass/fail check on the optical connector to IEC61300-3-35, then do length, loss, ORL and dynamic range performance tests in conformance with EN 61746-1:2011&AC:2014 Calibration of optical time-domain-reflectometers (OTDR) -- Part 1: OTDR for single-mode fibres.

Kingfisher International can now efficiently test broadband spectral loss or responsivity of fiber optic devices, and optical detectors, from 350 - 1650 nm in 5 nm increments.

Test results we have achieved on this facility have only a vague resemblance to published data in many cases, so we think that this must be an unusual capability, and that a lot of published data is not based on real measurements.

Absolute accuracy of these tests is of the order of 1.4%, and is NATA/ILAC traceable to ISO/IEC 17025.

For example, these detector responsivity graphs have 250 data points per device

In 1993, the Kingfisher Optical Calibration Laboratory, became the first commercial optical calibration laboratory in Asia to achieve accredited traceability status. 

 

 

Kingfisher International has recently added a plastic optical fiber version of it's G2 series interchangeable optical connector, so this panel-mount fiber optic connector is now available in POF, multimode and single mode variants. This useful device lets end-users easily swap optical connector styles, which include LC, SC, FC, ST, E2000, MU, LSA, various POF, HFBR, SMA, universal 2.5 mm ferrule and universal 1.25 ferrule. The G2 connector is of general interest to equipment manufacturers, laboratories, researchers, educators and fiber optic production service and QA facilities. The device can be locked to prevent adaptor removal, and is available with CWDM colour coding.

Our KI27400 Series of Two-Way Loss, Length & ORL Testers are known to set a new benchmark in field test productivity, accuracy and ease of use. Testing fiber length, bi-directional loss at two or more wavelengths, and ORL at each end, now requires only one test hook-up and is completed in a few seconds, using the same test procedure for both single-mode and multimode fiber.

Since initial introduction, ORL test performance has been significantly enhanced, with a much lower level of residual ORL.

In response to customer requests, we have new models with additional wavelength options:

KI27416LV-INGAAS-APC*	Length, VisiTester, 1310-1490-1550-1625 nm Laser APC, InGaAs
KI27424LV-GE*	Length, 850-1300 nm, 1310-1550 nm Laser  VisiTester, Ge (EAR99 Restricted)
KI27424LV-GE-APC*	Length, 850-1300 nm, 1310-1550 nm Laser  VisiTester APC, Ge (EAR99 Restricted)
KI23416OLF-INGAAS-APC*	ORL Length VFL, 1310-1490-1550 nm u/s Laser APC, InGaAs

These testers eliminate a layer of administration, co-ordination, training and reporting when certifying a LAN to many standards, in addition to minimising test errors and providing high accuracy.

The full-function ORL capability can be used in both integrated Autotest mode, as well as a stand-alone ORL test mode. The user can apply a calibration offset and noise floor compensation, for enhanced rnge and accuracy. Calibration is traceable to ISO/IEC 17025. 

The instruments are used as a pair, without defining any master/slave relationship. They are small and light, with an 80 hour battery life and sunlight readable display. Associated KITS software works securely with Excel, and can be used in real time to transfer readings to a report. Alternatively, the 8,000 fiber memory can be used to record pass/fail tests, for later reporting.

Versions include Quad, singlemode only, multimode only and also a convenient Visitester option, which illuminates the fiber under test.

Kingfisher's novel Optical Power Leveler product is used to stabilise receiver power in an optical transmission system. Used instead of a fixed optical attenuator, it dynamically adjusts it's attenuation to keep the output power at a steady level, so it can compensate for varying laser power level and cable attenuation. Mounted on a standard DIN rail, and requiring only a 12 - 48V DC power supply, it is reliable and easy to use. It is set up locally, and doesn't need a telemetry link. It is particularly useful to resolve issues with SDN or "white box" optical networks. 

The Lightwave Magazine Innovation Review 2022 has awarded an Honouree to Kingfisher's Two-Way Optical Loss Test Set. This is awarded to products that obviously improve the industry state-of-the-art. 

Our new Two-Way tester offers many improvements for users, in terms of size, run time, flexibility, accuracy & speed of use, and reporting capability. It also has a VFL built into the optical test signal, This makes it easy to find a misplaced fiber to test, increasingly useful as fiber counts in a single cable are now likely to be in hundreds to thousands of fibers.

We have worked hard on the many novel details of this product, and our team is very pleased to receive this industry recognition for our achievement.