DIY fiber optic writeup with parts

11 minutes ago, TimG said:

Those look like quite thick cables, Elias? Much thicker than the 617 type?

Agreed. Generally good fiber cables are going to be 2mm outside diameter. Those look much thicker.

Yes, you are right.  It is difficult to predict what outer diameter the fiber optic cables will have from the posted photos on Amazon or similar.  Some are thin, others thick.  I shave the thick ones with a sharp razor so they fit in the Uxcell plug. Both thin and thick f.o. cables trigger the strobes just fine.

I use this to cut cables 

both for underwater and lab use. We had a fancy one from Thorlabs that cost like $1200 but this one works fine.

Bill

4 hours ago, bvanant said:

I use this to cut cables 

both for underwater and lab use. We had a fancy one from Thorlabs that cost like $1200 but this one works fine.

Bill

I just tap a razor with a light hammer to make the cut against a block of wood.

If I tried that often I suspect it would lead to significant blood (mine).

Bill

I recently got some cable and YS connectors from DiverVision. I was ordering the snoot base anyway and threw it in the mix to see how it looks.  The prices were very cheap for what you get and it could be worth ordering even with the $20-30 shipping since you still save a ton vs. the overpriced cables elsewhere.

This is the cable they sell by-the-meter. You can even get different types of plugs added.

https://www.divervision.com/deeproof-straight-fiber-optic-cable-sof?search=fiber cable&sort=p.price&order=ASC

Also got some adapters:

https://www.divervision.com/howshot-fiber-adapter-l-for-seasea-ys-strobes-FAL-SS.html?search=Howshot Fiber Adapter

The cable is definitely multi-core, although not 613L. Maybe 70-90 fibers is my estimate. Haven't tested them yet but I can't imagine they'll work any worse than having to hack toslink cables.

Hey UK / EU folks,

I ordered this off ebay "Fiber Optic Cable 1 / 1.5 / 2.0 Silica Core End Glow black PVC Waterproof tube" (2mm, 5m length) and it transmits light amazingly well!

...but it snaps like a twig, one wrong move underwater and it's bent, the only thing holding it is the black PVC tube.

Does anyone have links to cables in EU/UK that are bendable and transmit light extremely well even with a 90 degree(ish) bend?

If you want cables that have small bend radii then you will need the multi-core stuff as discussed above ad nauseam. But it depends on the bend radius, since you can make a 90 degree angle that is quite wide. The 613 fibers have bend radii about 1 mm for a half dB loss. The equivalent ESKA material has a minimum bend radius of 40 mm for the same loss. Getting the 613 fiber has also been discussed, I have bought some for folks and sent it to Europe and supposedly there was a  group buy. If you need some let me know. 
Bill