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NEWS | May 22, 2020

Shadow: Cable Turn-in and Maintenance

An unmanned aerial system maintainer inspects a Shadow before launch
Photo by Spc. Sinthia Rosario
 
Maintainers,

Taking care of your Shadow cables begins with turning in unserviceable cables, regardless of the SMR code.

All Shadow units need to turn cables in to their supporting contractor logistics support (CLS) office or log point. If your unit is not co-located, contact the­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­­ field service representative (FSR) hub lead to get a return label. The CLS log point will update non-mission capable (NMC) status in Catalog Ordering Logistic Tracking System (COLTS), and the item managers will direct the CLS log point on shipping instructions to the Regional Support Command (RSC) for repair induction.

Here’s a list of Shadow cable components that need turn in.
 
Nomenclature NSN PN SMR
TFOCA-II-Green (W2) 5995-01-633-2000 39593-95610-112 PAOOO
Cable assy fiber opt (500 m) 6020-01-630-7983 39593-95610-112 PAODD
UGDT CX (W6) CB ASM-RF 5995-01-630-5950 39593-95610-212 PAOOO
UGDT CX (W7) CB ASM-RF 5995-01-630-5945 39593-95610-213 PAOOO
UGDT CX (W9) CB ASM-RF 5995-01-630-6244 39593-95610-317 PAOOO
UGDT CX (W13) CB ASM-RF 5995-01-630-5919 39593-95610-317 PAOOO
W3 cable assy   39593-44802-10  
Fo lan cable assy   39489-44305-10  
Grounding cable   39489-90300-1  
W2 cable assy   39593-44803-10  
Fan ext cable assy 9999-01-624-3374 39489-44215-10 PAODD
 
Cable Care

When it comes to cable care on your Shadow, a lot more attention must be placed on protecting cables while setting up your Shadow UAS for flight operations. Poor preventive maintenance can reduce readiness and increase accident and sustainment costs. So inspect your Shadow cables daily like it says in TM 1-1550-1689-PMD (Apr 20).

 Follow the cable maintenance and care guidance in TM 1-1500-323-24-4 (Aug 12). And pay attention to the caution in WP 008-02.  It says:

Inspect, clean and re-inspect after cleaning a connector terminus ferrule and mating instrument adapter/interfaces immediately before each mating to ensure accurate and reproducible results.

The number one cause of signal loss for the Shadow is a poorly-mated connection. You can avoid that if you:
  • Never bend a fiber optic cable in excess of the minimum bend diameter.
  • Keep in mind that a 1.5-in radius is the max bend of Shadow fiber cables.
 
Max cable bend
Max cable bend

If the max bend is exceeded, cable damage and loss of light signal will result. For the correct cable bend, heed these tips. 
  • Don’t clean cable connectors without performing a post cleaning inspection.
  • Don’t expose cabling to sharp edges, crush or kink hazards.                             
  • Don’t allow cables to lay in water.
Don’t strew cables aboutDon’t strew cables about
Don’t strew cables about
 
Proper cable handling, correct installation, good repair practices and careful TM following will set up your Shadow unit for success.  
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