Quick fit: Choose this four-tip kit when you already have—or can verify—a supported host deployment and need configured-criteria automated end-face grading, saved images, and reportable inspection evidence. Skip it if you want a self-contained screen or a tool you can deploy without checking the legacy PC/software path.
The buyer decision is not “which microscope has the bigger view?” It is whether a technician needs a host-based workflow that captures, analyzes, and grades an end face against configured criteria, then preserves evidence for a report. VIAVI describes the P5000i as able to “Instantly capture, analyze, and grade fiber end face images and obtain a PASS/FAIL result according to pre-configured criteria setting.”[1]
What the FBP-SD101 package changes
The FBP-SD101 bundles a P5000i with four inspection tips—FBPT-U12M, FBPT-U25M, FBPT-LC, and FBPT-SC.[2] The standalone one-tip FBP-P5000i and seven-tip FBP-MTS-101 are different packages. Tip selection is part of the workflow: choose the tip that matches the connector and side being inspected, then use the corresponding optical setting.
This is a USB-powered probe, not an integrated inspection display.[2] The PC/laptop path requires a supported existing deployment, and the maker’s current FiberChekPRO listing identifies version 2.5.0.6936, released October 2023, with no licensing requirement listed; its stated prerequisites include Windows 7 or Windows 10, USB 2.0, and .NET 4.0.[4] That does not establish Windows 11 or Mac support. Ask VIAVI or your IT team to confirm the supported host, driver, software, and deployment path before purchase; do not install an unsupported legacy operating system just to make the kit work.
Android activation and cable requirements are separate documented paths, not items to assume are in this box.[2] A host, display, mobile device, activation key, conversion cable, or wireless adapter should be treated as separately verified unless the exact offer says otherwise.
Automated grading versus FI-500 manual viewing
The FI-500 comparison is about evidence, not magnification. The FI-500 feeds its own display and provides autofocus, pause and zoom for a technician’s visual inspection; its maker distinguishes that workflow from an analysis scope.[6] The P5000i instead targets machine-generated PASS/FAIL according to selected criteria, with FiberChekPRO analysis and reporting for a PC/laptop.[1]
That distinction matters when a team needs to apply a named acceptance profile and keep an inspection-image trail.[3] It does not mean the P5000i independently proves connector quality, measured accuracy, optical loss, OTDR results, power, or lifetime connectivity. A PASS/FAIL result is bounded by the selected tip, optical setting, acceptance profile, and the operating workflow. The guide’s instruction is explicit: “From the preconfigured OPTICAL SETTING drop-down list, select the appropriate optical setting for the tip connected to the probe.”[3] Automated analysis is not autofocus; the operator still needs correct mating, focus, settings, and profile selection.
Buy-check before committing
- Host: Confirm a supported PC/laptop or compatible VIAVI host already exists. The P5000i itself does not supply an integrated display.
- Software: Confirm the current supported FiberChekPRO version, Windows compatibility, USB path, .NET requirement, and IT approval before ordering.[4]
- Configuration: Confirm the offer is FBP-SD101 and that the four selected tips fit the connectors you actually inspect.[2]
- Workflow: Confirm who will configure acceptance profiles, select optical settings, focus manually, save images, and generate reports.
- Scope: Keep this as end-face inspection and configured-criteria grading. It is not an OTDR, optical power meter, optical-loss test, or independent standards/accuracy proof.
- Safety: Follow your company’s fiber and laser safety operating procedures. This review is not an endorsement of inspecting active fiber.
Check that the retailer’s model number is FBP-SD101, rather than only P5000i, and confirm the four-tip package before ordering.[5]
Conditional verdict
Buy the FBP-SD101 if you have a supported host deployment and the real requirement is configured-criteria automated end-face grading plus saved, reportable image evidence across the included U12M, U25M, LC, and SC coverage. Skip or pause if you need a self-contained display, have not confirmed Windows/software support, need APC or other specialized connector coverage beyond these four tips, or expect the probe alone to deliver network-performance measurements. Compared with the FI-500’s manual visual display workflow, the reason to choose this kit is the host-based grading-and-record path—not a claim of higher magnification, speed, precision, or independently verified accuracy.
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Sources
- https://www.viavisolutions.com/en-us/products/p5000i-fiber-microscope
- https://www.viavisolutions.com/en-us/literature/p5000i-digital-analysis-microscope-data-sheets-en.pdf
- https://www.viavisolutions.com/en-us/literature/p5000i-digital-analysis-microscope-getting-started-guide-manuals-user-guides-en.pdf
- https://www.viavisolutions.com/en-us/software-download/fiberchekpro-software
- https://www.amazon.com/dp/B00O5HJJII
- https://www.flukenetworks.com/edocs/datasheet-fi-500-fiberinspector-micro-fiber-optic-endface-inspection-scope-with-portbright-illumination