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Your team has been using VFLs because there was nothing better

VFLs are the right tool for single-strand verification. But for multi-strand cable mapping, there's now a faster, safer, more accurate approach.

Comparison

VisiMap vs. legacy methods

Four methodologies exist for fiber strand identification. Only one was built for parallel, multi-strand operation.

VFLTone / IdentifierOTDR onlyVisiMap™
Strands per cycle1116 / 12
Identification typeVisualElectronicTrace-basedEncoded
Eye safetyDirect laser viewingClamp/contactN/A (one-end)Indirect (screen/audio)
Contact requiredYesYesN/A (one-end)No
Dust cap removalYesYesN/ANo
Contamination riskHighModerateLowNone
Technicians required2211
Data outputManual recordLED/toneTrace fileDigital + Cloud
Built-in documentationNoNoTrace filesYes (WiFi/BT/Cloud)
Polarity testingMultiple VFLsNoNoYes (MPO breakout box)
Bare fiber IDLimitedNoYesYes
Bidirectional commsNoNoNoYes (CCM)
Integrated measurementNoNoYes (primary)Yes (optional)
Single mating cycleNoNoNoYes
Patent protectedNoNoNoYes
Legacy methodology

Where VFLs fall short at scale

Visual fault locators work for single-strand verification. At multi-strand scale, they become the bottleneck.

Scale problem

One strand per test cycle

A 96-strand cable requires 96 individual test cycles with a VFL. With VisiMap's 12-port FCM, the same cable requires 8 cycles.

Labor cost

Two technicians required

Traditional VFL testing requires one person to inject light and another to identify the strand at the far end. VisiMap's audible announcement enables solo operation.

Contamination

Dust cap removal every test

Every VFL test cycle requires removing and replacing dust caps — introducing contamination risk to every connector. VisiMap's non-contact decoder never touches the fiber.

Safety

Direct laser viewing

VFL testing requires a technician to look directly at fiber endfaces. FDA regulates lasers over 5mW as Class 3B, yet many VFLs in the field exceed that threshold — often mislabeled.

Positioning

VisiMap doesn't replace VFLs — it goes beyond them

A VFL finds breaks and verifies continuity on a single strand. VisiMap answers the question none of them were built to answer efficiently: which strand is which — for all of them — right now?

US 8,467,041 B2US 8,823,925 B2GrantedPatents pending
MPO VFL tools

VisiMap vs. dedicated MPO VFL testers

MPO visual fault locators — such as the FIS Mini MPO Visual Verifier, MPO VFL with Optical Polarity Verifier, and MPO-VFL Easy Tester Kit — verify continuity within a point-to-point MPO trunk. VisiMap identifies and documents every strand, in any cable.

MPO VFL testers (e.g., FIS)

  • Light / no-light verification within a point-to-point MPO trunk only.
  • Cannot identify an individual strand beyond the MPO trunk, or in any non-MPO multi-fiber cable.
  • Laser-based (650 nm) — identification relies on viewing the source.
  • A 2nd-end device is needed to localize a source, and its function can be replicated with an off-the-shelf MPO cassette.
  • In manual mode, a single technician makes repeated trips between ends.

VisiMap FCM-12LED

  • Identifies each individual strand in any multi-fiber cable — MPO or non-MPO.
  • Encoded color + pattern signatures, machine-decoded and audibly announced — no laser viewing.
  • Non-contact and eye-safe; the LED model removes lasers from the workflow entirely.
  • The 2nd-end MPO breakout box safely confirms trunk polarity method (A, B, or C).
  • One technician, one mating cycle — no trips between ends.

Ready to see the difference?

Request a demo to see VisiMap in action alongside your current testing workflow.

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