A field demonstration of 1. 7 Gb/s coherent lightwave regenerators

This paper discusses how four 1.7 Gb/s FSK coherent regenerators have been successfully operated in a typical field environment using installed fiber cables connected between Roaring Creek and Sunbury, PA (a distance of 35 km) in November, 1989. Each regenerator is housed in a standard repeater shelf and consists of five separate plug-in subsystem modules including a polarization diversity receiver, a FSK transmitter, and a cold start AFC circuit. During the one month continuous operation, the received optical powers ({bar {ital P}}) for 10{sup {minus} 9} BER were between {minus} 38 to {minus} 40 dbM. An error rate below 6 {times} 10{sup {minus} 15} (less than one error per day) was achieved at {bar {ital P}} = {minus} 33{sup {approximately}} {minus} 35 dBm.