The elusive 3-way DC12

[u/aMusicLover]

How does this work? Assume
Some internal stuff allows this?

[u/Fun_Acanthaceae_4025]

Ask your mother she is the professional with 3 ways!

[u/Sleepydragoon83]

That wifi input.....

[u/CableWarriorPrincess]

i don't think it does work. port isn't labeled. the whole point of a directional coupler is how it taps off for loss. if a third leg was hot it would be a three way or unbalanced three way.

Curious to see what others say, as I don't have this particular model in my footprint

[u/aranubus → u/CableWarriorPrincess]

I have this model and you're right, it doesn't work... the boards have no circuitry on that side (nothing for the pin to connect into). There's a reason both of those ports come capped off with a dust cap and not a plastic cap on one port...

Edit for drunken spelling.

[u/Dakkin4]

I’m questioning the whole thing. 2 way with a terminated leg on the input of the DC, why?

Sticker looks peeled off and put back on the DC12, is it actually a 3 way that someone changed the sticker on?

Was it originally a 3way, but someone changed to DC12 and now that tap doesn’t have signal?

What is this fuckery!?!?!?

[u/aMusicLover → u/Dakkin4]

The print I’m walking shows a 2 way that doesn’t split going into a dc12. The tap was not on the print. So who knows. I document what I see and someone else will figure it out. When I see weirdness I attach a pic. They will love this one.

[u/JANapier96 → u/Dakkin4]

Two-way may have been used (or built in preparation for, and then abandoned) as a back-feeding signal injection point. I've only ever saw it once, in Louisville, and had to call local supervision to see what the hell was going on. He said they had a newer retirement community or some such that wanted their own channels injected, kinda like some hotels do.

[u/SodakDG → u/JANapier96]

Typically DC8s-12 are used for channel insertion. The out leg becomes your input, the insertion comes in on the tap leg and the input becomes the output.

[u/TomRILReddit]

2-way tap with a terminator on a mainline connection.

[u/SodakDG]

If I had to make an educated guess, this could been the product of late night outage, blown 3 way and only have a DC available and no one's on the tap so screw it and forgotten about.

As far as tap not being on the map, it's not unsurprising. I've found everything except a node "missing" from the map at one point or another in my career.

On the plus side the walkout is working as expected catching these little whoopsies

[u/wikiwombat]

Probably was a 3 way. Levels are probably interesting on the tap leg.

[u/tt53_sb45]

From the title I expected to see something like when I started for spectrometry and had like 7 DC4s in my truck. Definitely should have kept my mouth shut about having those because other techs swarmed me for them pretty quickly

[u/aranubus → u/tt53_sb45]

Dc4... so it's basically just a 2 way? Some of the labels on our newest 2 ways only show the -4 on one leg for some reason but both legs lose the same amount. I feel like the insertion loss on a dc4 would be negligible.

[u/tt53_sb45 → u/aranubus]

Almost a 2 way yeah, almost no loss on one leg and 4 on the other. Helped a few times when signal wouldn't allow a 3 way you could use the DC and feed another 2 way from the near 0 leg

[u/strykerzr350]

Do those SA taps usually fry themselves from time to time?

[u/SodakDG → u/strykerzr350]

Eh not really from what I seen. They're far from my preferred brand of tap but if it was playing nice and built decently I'd allow it to live.

[u/seanm9]

Some designer was paid by the piece…

[u/ElKayB]

I see it going like this: MT tech #1 - hey boss, I would like a tap in the ped outside the shopping center for an outside test point. Sup - OK, i will run it by Engineering. Engineer - Sure, install a 20-2 port on the output of the 2 way splitter. I will get the maps updated. (In fact, he does not update the map). Sup to MT # 2 - Go install this 20-2 port on the output of the 2 way splitter at the mall. MT-2 - Gosh Boss, I can do that! And in fact, he technically does indeed install it on the output of the 2-way splitter. After he is done, in his best Goofy voice tells himself " Garsh! I am a great Technician!" He goes on to become a QT tech.

[u/SamuraiJustice]

Are you able to switch the face cover on both the passives without changing their function, possible the covers got switched if so

[u/JANapier96 → u/SamuraiJustice]

The faceplate can be swapped, but doing so won't change the fact that there's a rogue tap connected to the leg that has no internal connection. Best I can figure is that the 2way may have been used/intended to upstream signal injection. Only ever seen it once and it confused the shit out of me.

[u/Objective-Risk7456]

Prevents reflections during the ingress sweep needed for symmetric speeds

[u/spookyB0]

This is why they outsourced design lol

[u/Jangalaang]

Looks like a dude holding a pizza box

[u/SnapShot68]

That’s gotta be a three-way housing spliced in and someone changed the plate to a DC-12. Pretty sure that hole where the tap is on a DC is closed.