Radio frequency tap unit which can be reconfigured with minimal

Abstract

A modular cable television tap unit includes a base module which receives a cable television signal having an operational power signal component from a cable distribution network. The base unit includes circuitry for separating radio frequency (RF) components and the operational power signal component from the cable television signal. The separated operational power signal is passed through the base module to another cable in the network. The base module includes a set of connectors for receiving a removable directional coupler module and a single connector for receiving a removable addressable signal splitter module. The signal splitter module includes connectors for providing the RF components of the cable television signal to subscribers. The connection for the directional coupler module provides only the RF component of the cable television signal. The connection for the signal splitter module provides a compound signal which includes an RF signal provided by the directional coupler module and the operational power signal component of the cable television signal for operating the addressable tap circuitry. A relatively large number of different types of tap units having different tap loss values and different numbers of subscriber connections may be made from a relatively small number of different module types.