Patent ID: 7341384

Claim:
A portable fiber optic transceiver module having built-in test capability comprising: a housing sized to be portable; an internal optical fiber having an angled end that defines an acute angle relative to a longitudinal axis of the internal optical fiber; an optical source for emitting an optical signal which is reflected by the angled end of the internal optical fiber and propagated along the internal optical fiber; an optical-to-optical connector for connecting the internal optical fiber to an existing optical fiber of an optical fiber system that lacks built-in-test (BIT) capability; an optical detector for receiving a return optical signal transmitted through the angled end of the internal optical fiber in response to reflection from a discontinuity in the existing optical fiber; and an optical time domain reflectometer (OTDR), responsive to the optical detector, for determining an elapsed time between emission of the optical signal and receipt of the return optical signal and for determining a location of the discontinuity in the existing optical fiber based on the elapsed time, wherein the OTDR is also configured to distinguish the return optical signal generated by a discontinuity in the existing optical fiber from any return optical signal generated at the optical-to-optical connector such that the OTDR is configured to ignore any return optical signal generated at the optical-to-optical connector.