What are these sockets?
 

Hi,
Does anyone have any idea as to what these rather tatty-looking sockets are?

Colin.

Re: What are these sockets?
 

Looks to me as though they might be dual purpose, designed to accept either an American plug with two flat pins or a plug with two round pins.

Re: What are these sockets?
 

Something looking very much like that was sold in the mid-1980s as a 'no-break' connector for 10Base2 Thinwire Ethernet.

Re: What are these sockets?
 

They look a lot like french telephone plugs. I assume they are not however in France?

Re: What are these sockets?
 

Where are these plugs located - i.e. country?

Mike

Re: What are these sockets?
 

I'm afraid I don't know, it is a crop from a larger photo. However, I suspect it may be from Eastern Europe, Russia or a former Soviet State :shrug:

Colin.

Re: What are these sockets?
 

I'd say they are too short for French telephone....

Re: What are these sockets?
 

Looks like French telephone sockets to me.

Peter

Re: What are these sockets?
 

I was thinking Electrak but not so sure now.

Re: What are these sockets?
 

I thought they could be 'no-break' Ethernet sockets, but in retrospect I was wrong.

[see https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/EAD_socket for what I mistook them for]

Re: What are these sockets?
 

I like the dual plug idea from broadgage.

Re: What are these sockets?
 

If you think of each pair of slots as a socket then a US flat pin plug would fit in the long rectangular slots and a European round pin plug would fit in the rounded ends of the slots.
Why you would want to that beats me.

Peter

Oops broadgage has already had that idea.

Re: What are these sockets?
 

The style of the faceplates seems American to me, don't think it would be telephone related though as having three telephone outlets together seems a bit strange.

Re: What are these sockets?
 

The common (West) German telephone socket (TAE connector) was often installed in a set of 3

Re: What are these sockets?
 

Those are neither a U.S. power outlet (Flat blades parallel on most, but no angled ones that look like that; nor are they a U.S. telephone jack. Most of the old jacks were 4 pin, as our phones used 4 wires, and 2 pins of the 4 had closer spacing.

Re: What are these sockets?
 

I could understand if they were in a hotel room to fit both US & European 2 pin plugs.

Re: What are these sockets?
 

I agree that the location might be a hotel room, but that beggars the question of the differing voltages between the US and Europe, doesn't it?

Colin.

Re: What are these sockets?
 

Hello gentlemen,

these sockets are definitely not (West) German TAE sockets. Such were rectangular shaped, not keyhole shape.

I am puzzled because the slots are in a strange angle within the frames.

Joe

Re: What are these sockets?
 

If, as seems likely, these are designed for either US flat-pin plugs or European round-pin ones, then presumably one or the other would have to be at an angle to enable the correct spacing between each.

Re: What are these sockets?
 

Could they be a non standard socket in another country, like the Walsall Gauge plugs and sockets are in this country?

Have a look at the www.plugsocketmuseum.nl website.