Socket Boxes provide outlets for connecting Econet Stations to a network. Boxes are wired together internally with suitable network cable to form the network. Stations are attached to Econet sockets on the boxes with 5-pin DIN leads. As an alternative, T-pieces can be used in place of socket boxes.

Acorn Socket Boxes are small black boxes with two Econet sockets on the front to allow two stations or a clock to be connected.

The socket box has a very simple circuit board inside it with two DIN sockets mounted on the front. There is a single set of white connectors for taking the network cable through the box. The cable must be stripped at the point it goes into the socket box.

There are two plastic grips for securing the network cable and cut-out sections in the casing for where the cable enters and exits the box. The circuit is in fact identical to the one used inside the Acorn Terminator Boxes except that the terminating resistors and capacitor are not present. Underneath the circuit is a piece of compressed foam. The back of the case has two small holes for mounting the box on a wall.

SJ Research Socket Boxes are the same size as the Acorn ones. They are almost identical from the outside except for the SJ Research branding. They are sometimes known as Twin Socket Boxes because they provide two outlets for stations.

Inside, they are quite different from the Acorn Socket Boxes. There are two sets of connectors to take the network cable. Although SJ Research recommended that the cable not be cut, in which case it is taken through the middle two connectors, this allows the cable to be cut at the socket box. Here you would attach one end to the left-hand set of connectors and the other part of the cable to the right hand set. This is how my network is wired together.

The small circuit board is supported by a piece of polystyrene. At the back of the box is a cut out section to allow the network cable to pass through and two small holes to enable the box to be mounted.

Split Socket Boxes are a variation on the usual twin socket box. They still provide the two sockets but the two sets of connectors inside are not joined together, hence the term "split". There are two very short leads coming out of the top of a split socket box with Econet plugs at the end.

The split socket box is intended to be connected in the centre of a network with the network clock attached to the two short leads. This separates the two halves of the network with a clock signal being generated for each half.

T-pieces are an alternative to socket boxes. The advantage is that no fiddly wiring with yards of cable is required as they connect together using standard Econet leads. The disadvantage is that each T-piece can only support one station so twice as many T-pieces are needed as socket boxes. In addition, they cannot be mounted like socket boxes so they are likely to trail about on the floor gathering dust if used in a real network application.

Nonetheless, they can be very handy for small networks. One T-piece is used for each station. The one-socket end of the T-piece takes an Econet lead to the station and as many pieces as needed are connected together using the two-socket ends. The clock is connected to the one-socket end so two T-pieces are required for a clock.

So far I have discovered two different types of T-piece, one slightly larger than the other. The smaller type appear to be more common than the others. I think T-pieces were made by Acorn and came as part of the 10-station starter kit.

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