A method for a fiber optic device to conserve power includes turning off components in the fiber optic device and turning them back on when a detection signal is at a specified level. A method for a laser system to adjust a threshold level for signal detection includes generating a digital gain signal, amplifying at least one data signal with a gain based on the gain signal, comparing the at least one amplified data signal with a reference signal, and generating a signal based on the comparison. A method for a laser system to set error warnings includes receiving control bits that indicate if a host desires to be notified of certain error conditions and generating at least one signal based on the control bits to indicate at least one error condition.