Optical Converter

Optical Converters for Extending Copper Runs

A media converter bridges the 100 m copper limit one link at a time: Ethernet in, fibre out, and back again at the far end. Cheaper than a fibre switch when only one camera or one outbuilding is out of reach.

Single-mode or multi-mode

Multi-mode reaches 550 m and suits links inside a site; single-mode reaches 20 km and is the only choice between buildings. Match the wavelength pair and connector on both ends, and keep a spare converter on site — it is the part that fails after a surge.

Where a converter beats a switch

A single camera 300 m down a driveway, a gate intercom, or a retrofit where the existing switch has no SFP slot. PoE versions pass power to the far end, so the remote device still needs no local supply.

Common parts: RS1001G-1S gigabit single-mode pair and RS1001KP-1S when the far end also needs PoE.