in accordance with the teachings of the present invention , a fiber - optic cable attenuator is presented . an assembly is presented for encasing a cable and providing an airtight chamber around the fiber - optic cable . the fiber - optic cable is then deflected within the assembly to allow a reading of the deflection point by an optical time domain reflectometer . in one embodiment , the fiber - optic cable is deflected with pressurized air . in another embodiment , the fiber - optic cable is deflected with indenters fitted through the airtight chamber . as a result , initial reference data and cable location may be obtained and found without damaging the cable .