What is this thing? Not computer related, but...

[Alzarius]

Ok, I was digging in a bag and came up with this unusual item. It looks like a standard power plug. You know the type, big oversized thing(the type with the transformer IN the plug itself) However, there's no power cord coming out of it. There's a cable jack and it already had a cable extension screwed onto it. I thought it might be a signal amplifier, but there's only one outlet and I can't really figure out what this thing is supposed to plug into(the cable line) I'd figure if it was an amplifier it would either have an in and out jack or something. Does anyone have a clue what this thing is and how I can use it? It's got standard AC specs on the information label. Ac Adapter, Model #AEC-3512, Input 120vac, 60hz, 6w, Output, 12vdc, 50ma, Class 2, yada yada yada Made by viewsonics... Anyone have a clue? Or two?

[Todd Beck]

Could it be to transmit the cable signal throughout the house via the electrical wiring? That way you wouldn't have to run new cable. I'd think you'd need another one for the receiving end. Nifty gadget if that's what it does.

[Dave_H]

The specs you listed would be for a transformer (120vac to 12vdc). I have no Idea why it would have a cable jack. Is the connection threaded like a cable jack or smooth like a stero jack? I have a viewsonic monitor, but it didn't come with anything like that.
Dave

[Alzarius]

Well, it appears to be cable related. I know this is from my old house and I almost think it was installed by Selkirk/Comcast because of a poor signal. But... Yes, it's a regular cable jack. Even has a cable line screwed into it. I think I just "swiped" all this stuff from my old house when I moved, but I can't figure out what to do with this thing. Hmmm, lemme turn my scanner on and scan this thing. Maybe a visual would help. I'll post a link once it's up.

[Alzarius]

Here we go. I doubled the size of the plug so it's easier to look at. The blurry parts on the scan are the plug prongs and the cable jack. Maybe it'll be more recognizable with a picture now.
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Labyrinth/1348/plug.gif
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Labyrinth/1348/plug2.gif

[Dave_H]

Alzarius,
Your right, goes to a cable amplifier.

I saw your picture, and knew i'd seen one.
I got one in my building here at work.

It has two parts, the part in your picture is the transformer, yes the low voltage does indeed use a coax cable.

The one I have here is the same but it is 9VDC instead of 12VDC like yours. Mine says made by Lindsay mod 350-9-150. There is a second part about 3" x 4" and has three cable connections. One marked "cable in",
one marked "cable out", and one marked 9volts
DC.
The box says Linsay LSA-15
Equalization-0
Bandwidth-1000
Reverse path 5-42Mhz
I can also see that the cable people connected the dedicated cable line for my computer BEFORE the amp, the amplified line going out goes to all the T.V.'s and the Stereo.

I remember now, that the cable company was trying to improve some part of the signal for my neighbor. I can't remember if it was for the low freq. or the high end.(He wanted better reception for the elevator music that is brodcasted thru the cable). If it improved the T.V. signal here, I really don't remember.

Nice pic, I wish I had a site to upload to,
some of the members here do some real cool things with it.

Dave

[Alzarius]

Is this the item you are referring to?
http://www.geocities.com/TimesSquare/Labyrinth/1348/amp.gif

It's got 3 cable jacks. Apparently 2 are in and outs. I thought it was a really big splitter at first. And that third jack never seemed to work, so I thought it was broken. But now after realizing both pieces are Viewsonic, I suppose this is an amp. Hmmm, maybe I should hook it up!

Gee, it says amp on it. Uh, huh, huh do ya think it's a SatCom uplink module? Ugh, you'd think I could have looked at this thing first. Heh.



[This message has been edited by Alzarius (edited 12-17-1999).]

[Dave_H]

Yup,
Thats what it is alright. Of course mine looks different because its a different brand. I may be wrong, but I don't think it would work for a cable modem at all because the cable modem needs signals going both ways
and you can't run a signal "backwards" thru an amp.
Now if your a real curious person (like me)
you could try it on something like a T.V. or stereo.
A T.V. signal has a high and low end of the frequency, I can't remember whitch way it goes but I think channel 2 is the low end and channel 13 (or higher)is the high end.
for some reason it seems like the lower channels are the harder ones to get with a poor cable signal.
On a stereo, the same thing with the way the numbers work, low end and high end.

My wife has problems getting some of her favorite radio stations and we got a antenna amp. (not cable)that boosts the signal in a similar way, It really worked.

All this would depend on your cable signal now, you may not need any help at all.
Check the quality of your T.V. reception between low and high channels and see if there is any noticeable difference in the
picture.

Disclamer- Hey Alzarius, don't hold me responsible if that thing is broken and blows up your new $13,000 flat screen
system with dolby surround sound. LOL

Dave