This One Has Me Baffled

MESDA6

Member
Jun 2, 2010
920
Central IL and PHX
just saw this on EBay. A Whelen cadet with an antenna connector being used for power. Not sure if this belongs to anyone here on the board, but this sort of made me scratch my head. Anyone ever seen this used for 12vdc?
 
Last edited by a moderator:

MESDA6

Member
Jun 2, 2010
920
Central IL and PHX
dmathieu said:
First time far me, but it will work.

I knew it would work when I looked at it. I guess my question is - "Why?" And I think the ultimate answer is, "Because it will work..." :D


It sort of reminds me of the old days when the 1/4' microphone plugs were used.
 

Turd Ferguson

Member
Jul 3, 2011
2,250
Sumner, Wa
$60 seem a little much these days for a single halogen beacon to anyone else, in this day and age?
 
Jul 14, 2010
1,639
S.W. Ohio USA
Not sure why, buy many years ago, our unmarked dickmobiles had blue Fireballs with headphone plugs. They plugged into a jack in the dashboard, and were controlled by a toggle switch.

$(KGrHqZ,!iIE++MR-KsZBQKRsPz5ug~~60_35.JPG
 

dmathieu

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 20, 2010
8,766
S.W. New Hampshire, USA
crescentstar69 said:
Not sure why, buy many years ago, our unmarked dickmobiles had blue Fireballs with headphone plugs. They plugged into a jack in the dashboard, and were controlled by a toggle switch.

Easier to plug in, and less subject to damage.
 

shues

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 21, 2010
10,276
NW Indiana
crescentstar69 said:
Not sure why, buy many years ago, our unmarked dickmobiles had blue Fireballs with headphone plugs. They plugged into a jack in the dashboard, and were controlled by a toggle switch.

This is not all that uncommon. In fact, the Unitrol 330 switchbox has a phono jack for the purpose of providing auxiliary power:


[Broken External Image]:http://img715.imageshack.us/img715/7855/0722002102.jpg


From the manual, which can be found as an attachment in post 25 of The Manual Thread:

The plug-in jack, located at the far right, it a handy and reliable source of power for a hand-held spotlight, radar unit, tape recorder or other extension accessory. It accepts a standard two-contact "telephone" plug.
 

Skip Goulet

Member
Feb 23, 2011
4,241
Midland, TX
MESDA6 said:
I knew it would work when I looked at it. I guess my question is - "Why?" And I think the ultimate answer is, "Because it will work..." :D

It sort of reminds me of the old days when the 1/4' microphone plugs were used.

That's the first time I've seen a PL259 used like that, but I've seen the mic plugs used a time or two. One of my captains on my VFD in Lubbock drove a late '70s Volvo. He had a mic. plug on his teardrop light and a corresponding socket in the roof of the car. I asked why and he just didn't like having to use the cigarette lighter plug.


Many years ago a funeral home in Junction, TX used a similar setup: this one on a demountable Sireno beacon used on their '57 Ford station wagon ambulance. Instead of drilling a single hole in the roof to use the threaded stud and wing nut to secure the beacon to the roof, along with a prewired source for power, they installed a metal strap on the roof that was slotted. The threaded stud would slide into that slot and then the wing nut would keep the light in place. The power cable on the light had a phono plug on it and a matching socket in the roof of the car. That was a hard one to figure out....so far as the logic was concerned.
 

chief1562

Member
Mar 18, 2011
5,840
Slaterville/NY
MESDA6 said:
I knew it would work when I looked at it. I guess my question is - "Why?" And I think the ultimate answer is, "Because it will work..." :D

It sort of reminds me of the old days when the 1/4' microphone plugs were used.

for everything under the sun.
 

chief1562

Member
Mar 18, 2011
5,840
Slaterville/NY
SeattleSAR said:
$60 seem a little much these days for a single halogen beacon to anyone else, in this day and age?

Well I guess selling mine for just under 45.00 was cheap.


But then again if you want something you'll pay to have it.
 

shues

Lifetime VIP Donor
May 21, 2010
10,276
NW Indiana
Skip Goulet said:
On most of the Unitrols that I 've seen like that, the phono jack was for a separate mic.

ai.imgur.com_YRmGEGs.png


I'm not familiar with any other Unitrol switchboxes. I wonder how many microphones were ruined over the years because of this.
 

Abacus

Member
May 24, 2010
432
Sydney Australia
If you are an audio engineer you know that many plugs are just electrical connectors. For instance an XLR style plug can be used for up to 15 Amps from 3 pins upwards !
 

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