Even with good prep, you can see strange readings on your optical power meter, but most are easy to fix: a sudden drop usually means dirty or misaligned connectors, so clean and reseat them and check for sharp bends or kinks near the cable; unstable or fluctuating numbers often. Even with good prep, you can see strange readings on your optical power meter, but most are easy to fix: a sudden drop usually means dirty or misaligned connectors, so clean and reseat them and check for sharp bends or kinks near the cable; unstable or fluctuating numbers often. An optical power meter is an essential tool for anyone working with optical networks. You use it to measure the strength of light signals in fiber optic cables. Understanding how this device works helps you achieve accurate and reliable results in your optical power measurement tasks. It is a crucial tool in the field of fiber optics, as it allows technicians and engineers to measure the power at different points along a fiber. Fiber Optic Measurement Units: "dB" and "dBm" Whenever tests are performed on fiber optic networks, the results are displayed on a power meter, OLTS or OTDR readout in units of “dB. However, getting accurate readings can be tricky, especially if you're new to using this equipment.