Which device picks off the DC injected into CAT-5e by the injector and makes it available to powered equipment through its DC jack?

• A. A PoE switch.
• B. A power conditioner.
• C. A data repeater.
• D. A DC picker or tap.

Answer: (D)

Power over Ethernet injects DC onto the Ethernet cable so that powered devices can be fed from the network. When you’re using a device that expects its power on a separate DC jack, you need something that can take that DC off the CAT-5e cable and present it to a traditional power input. A DC picker or tap does exactly that: it taps into the line to extract the injected DC and provides it on its own DC output for the powered equipment. This is different from a PoE switch, which is used to supply PoE power to devices, a power conditioner, which handles power quality but not how PoE power is delivered, or a data repeater, which only extends the signal. The tap-based approach is what makes the DC power usable through a separate DC jack.