Fiber Kit Buying List

Timber SAV installs armored outdoor fiber and needs to be able to repair it: replace a failed connector end, and splice a mid-span cut when someone digs through a buried run. This is the complete kit, bought from scratch.

The cable this kit is sized around is ERSTICKT OD 5.0mm armored uniboot, OM3/OM4 multimode duplex. Tool sizing depends on that 5.0mm outer diameter, and most armored slitters on the market are the wrong size for it.

The Cable

The ERSTICKT armored cable already in service. Specs, price, and the link to reorder.

Core Splicing Rig

Splicer and cleaver, and the honest buying sequence between them.

Cable Prep Tools

Armor slitter, buffer stripper, Kevlar shears. Sized for 5.0mm, not the usual 8-28.6mm tools.

Inspect and Clean

Scope and cleaner. Dirt is the number one cause of fiber failures, so this comes first.

Consumables

Splice sleeves, pigtails, couplers, patch cords, dust caps. What gets restocked.

Connector Repair

Fixing a bad LC end: splice-on connector or mechanical field connector, and the SOC holder blocker.

Mid-Span Repair

For a backhoe through a buried run. Closure, slack, and why one dig strike needs four splices.

What This Costs

Three buy tiers with running totals, from splice-and-terminate to full dig-strike repair.

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The Cable

Prices captured 25 Aug 2026. Amazon pricing moves, so confirm at checkout.

The cable in service, for reference and reordering.

Field	Value
Product	ERSTICKT 100M/328FT OM3/OM4 LC to LC Outdoor Armored Fiber Optic Patch Cable
Price	$149.41 new, $121.93 open box from Amazon Resale
Link	View on Amazon →
Construction	Stainless steel spiral armor tube plus fiberglass yarns, industrial TPU jacket
Outer diameter	`5.0mm`
Connectors	LC Uniboot, UPC polish, tool-free polarity reversal
Fiber	OM3/OM4 multimode 50/125um, bend insensitive
Insertion loss	0.3dB or less up to 100m
Temperature	-40C to +80C
Tensile	200N long term, 600N short term. Crush 2000N/3000N

Uniboot connectors have a deliberate polarity-reversal mechanism. The boot slides or rotates to release the two connector bodies so A and B can be swapped, then relocks. A released mechanism looks exactly like a broken connector: two ferrules that slide relative to each other under light tension. Before assuming a connector is dead, work the collar back to the latched position. That is a free fix and it should be the first thing checked every time.

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Core Splicing Rig

Prices captured 25 Aug 2026. Amazon pricing moves, so confirm at checkout.

Item	What it does	Price	Link
Signal Fire AI-6A+ Fusion Splicer, six motor core alignment, with OPM and VFL	Melts two glass ends into one strand. Its built in optical power meter and visual fault locator mean it also serves as your test gear.	$549.99	View on Amazon →
Signal Fire AI-9, step up Upgrade path	Same idea, faster, more headroom	$899.99	View on Amazon →
Jonard FC-500 Precision Cleaver, 250um and 900um, 16 blade positions Buy only if needed	Cuts bare glass perfectly flat. A flat cleave is what makes a good splice.	$249.95	View on Amazon →

The AI-6A+ ships with a cleaver, and the cleaver is the part buyers of that machine consistently call the weak link. The FC-500 nearly doubles the entry cost, so the honest sequence is to buy the splicer, make ten practice splices on scrap with the bundled cleaver, and check whether the loss numbers are consistent. Upgrade only if they are not. Do not buy the FC-500 preemptively.

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Cable Prep Tools

Prices captured 25 Aug 2026. Amazon pricing moves, so confirm at checkout.

Item	What it does	Price	Link
4-10mm Transverse Armoured Cable Stripping Knife	Scores the steel spiral armor so it can be flexed off without nicking the fiber underneath. Sized for the 5.0mm cable.	$32.99	View on Amazon →
VIJEI ACS-2 armored slitter, `4-10mm`, alternative Alternative	Same job, heavier build	$65.00	View on Amazon →
TAWAA ACS-2 armored slitter, `4-10mm`, alternative Alternative	Same job	$39.90	View on Amazon →
Jonard TK-350 Fiber Stripper and Kevlar Cutting Kit	Buffer stripper plus aramid shears in one buy. Covers two needs.	$65.95	View on Amazon →
Jonard JIC-375 three hole stripper, if buying separately If buying separately	Strips 1.6-3.0mm jacket, 600-900um buffer, 250um coating	$31.95	View on Amazon →
Jonard JIC-186 Kevlar cutter, if buying separately If buying separately	Aramid strength members destroy ordinary scissors	$16.95	View on Amazon →

Critical sizing warning. Almost every armored cable slitter sold is rated 8-28.6mm, including the widely recommended ACS-1 at $39.90 and the Jonard AST-200 at $142.16. This cable is 5.0mm. Those tools do not fit it. Buy a 4-10mm unit or the tool will be useless on arrival.

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Inspect and Clean

Prices captured 25 Aug 2026. Amazon pricing moves, so confirm at checkout.

Dirt you cannot see is the number one cause of fiber problems, which is why the scope and the cleaner come out before anything else, every time.

Item	What it does	Price	Link
400x Fiber Optic Inspection Microscope, SC/LC/FC, LED	Look at the glass tip before plugging anything in	$49.98	View on Amazon →
Jonard FIM-400, premium alternative Premium alternative	Same job, trade grade	$178.50	View on Amazon →
2-Pack One-Click Cleaner Set, 1.25mm LC/MU and 2.5mm SC/FC/ST	One click wipes the ferrule. Small end fits LC, big end fits older gear.	$18.99	View on Amazon →
trueCABLE Dual Position Pen Click Cleaner, LC/MU, 800+ cleans Alternative	Alternative	$18.89	View on Amazon →
99% isopropyl alcohol and lint free wipes	Cleaning, and swabbing the splicer's V-grooves	~$20 est	View on Amazon →

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Consumables

Prices captured 25 Aug 2026. Amazon pricing moves, so confirm at checkout.

Item	What it does	Price	Link
100pcs Fusion Splice Sleeves, 60mm x 2.6mm	Heat shrink with a steel rod that armors a finished splice. Slide it on before you splice, not after.	$4.47	View on Amazon →
120pcs color coded splice sleeve kit, alternative Alternative	Colour coding helps on multi strand work	$19.00	View on Amazon →
12 Strand Multi-Mode LC OM3 Pigtails for fusion splicing	Factory plug on one end, bare glass on the other. One strand per fiber, so a duplex repair uses two of twelve.	$43.99	View on Amazon →
6 strand LC OM3 pigtails, smaller pack Smaller pack	Same, fewer	$27.49	View on Amazon →
Cable Matters 6-Pack LC to LC UPC Duplex OM3/OM4 Couplers	Joins two plugs end to end. Cheapest and most useful thing in the kit. Lets a damaged cable end land once and never be touched again.	$9.99	View on Amazon →
6 Pack 2M LC to LC OM3 Patch Cables	Coupler to equipment, and your known good test cable	$22.99	View on Amazon →
Dust caps	Cap every unplugged end. An uncapped tip in a dusty enclosure is the contamination the scope exists to catch.	~$10 est	View on Amazon →

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Connector Repair

Prices captured 25 Aug 2026. Amazon pricing moves, so confirm at checkout.

With a fusion splicer, a failed connector end is repaired either by splicing on a factory pigtail, or with a splice-on connector that puts a fresh LC directly on the cut end with integrated strain relief.

Item	What it does	Price	Link
Optix America Universal and Reusable LC/SC splice-on connectors, OM3/OM4 Splice-on	Claims universal fit across splicers	check listing	View on Amazon →
AFL FUSEConnect LC-PC OM3 splice-on connectors, 6 pack Splice-on	Trade standard splice-on	$162.00	View on Amazon →
Ultra Spec Field Installable LC-UPC Multimode OM3 connector, 0.9mm, 10 pack Mechanical	Mechanical, not splice-on. No splicer needed, higher loss.	$69.00	View on Amazon →
10pcs LC 50/125 multimode fast connector Mechanical	Mechanical, cheapest option	$24.99	View on Amazon →

Blocker. Splice-on connectors require a splicer-specific SOC holder, and no Signal Fire AI-6A+ holder appears on Amazon. Contact Signal Fire directly or check AliExpress before committing to the splice-on path. If no holder exists for that machine, the fallback is splicing factory pigtails, which needs nothing extra beyond the pigtails already on this list.

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Mid-Span Repair

Prices captured 25 Aug 2026. Amazon pricing moves, so confirm at checkout.

For when a backhoe goes through a buried run.

Item	What it does	Price	Link
Aerial and Direct Burial Fiber Optic Cable Enclosure with splice tray and sleeves, 60mm	Houses and protects the splices. A splice left in free air fails.	$99.28	View on Amazon →

The thing nobody tells you: you cannot splice without slack. A dig strike leaves two cut ends in a trench with zero spare cable. You need enough length to pull both ends up into a work area, which in practice means splicing in a replacement section with a closure at each end, so four splices instead of two.

Change the install practice now and this gets much easier later. Leave a coiled slack loop of 15 to 25 feet in a handhole or a marked spot at each end, and ideally mid-run, on every future pull. It costs a few dollars of cable and converts a two-closure repair into a one-closure repair.

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What This Costs

Prices captured 25 Aug 2026. Amazon pricing moves, so confirm at checkout.

Tier	Includes	Running total
Tier 1 minimum to splice and terminate	AI-6A+ $549.99, TK-350 $65.95, 4-10mm armor slitter $32.99, 400x scope $49.98, cleaner 2-pack $18.99, splice sleeves $4.47, 12-strand pigtails $43.99, couplers $9.99, patch cords $22.99, alcohol and wipes ~$20, dust caps ~$10	About $829
Tier 2 add connector repair capability	Tier 1 plus mechanical field connectors at $69.00, or splice-on at $162.00 if the SOC holder question resolves	About $898 to $991
Tier 3 add mid-span dig-strike repair	Tier 2 plus the splice closure $99.28	About $997 to $1,090

Optional upgrade, only if the bundled cleaver fails the scrap test: Jonard FC-500, plus $249.95.

Capability versus consumables

One-time capability: splicer, cleaver, armor slitter, stripper kit, inspection scope, splice closure.

Consumables to restock: splice sleeves, pigtails, cleaner cartridges, alcohol, wipes, dust caps.