<communications> (tap) A passive device used in cable
systems to divide and combine radio frequency signals. A
directional coupler has at least three ports: line in, line
out, and the tap. The signal passes between line in and line
out ports with loss referred to as the insertion loss. A
small portion of the signal power applied to the line in port
passes to the tap port. A signal applied to the tap port is
passed to the line in port less the tap attenuation value.
The tap signals are isolated from the line out port to prevent
reflections. A signal applied to the line out port passes to
the line in port and is isolated from the tap port. Some
devices provide more than one tap output line (multi-taps).
(1995-12-23)
Nearby terms:
Directed Oc « directed set « Direct Inward Dialing « directional coupler » Directly Executable Test Oriented Language » direct mapped cache » Direct Memory Access
