What is this dome-shaped accessory that plugs into an iPhone headphone jack?

[EnumaElish]

Does anyone happen to recognize the phone or pc accessory displayed in the attached pics? It looks like a mini domed-camera or a glass bead, tethered to a cord. On its flat side there's a peel-off sticker, like a piece of two-sided tape, to mount the thing on a flat surface. The cord plugs into an iphone's earphone port, but I don't know what it does, if anything. Thanks for any & all responses.

P.S. Yes, I am alive. Glad you are, too, old timers :)

 

[jedishrfu]

telephone handset pickup mic to record phone conversations.

 

[Greg Bernhardt]

telephone handset pickup mic to record phone conversations.

How would you mount that though? Stick it to the back of the phone?

 

[rcgldr]

Decades ago, a device like that could be also be stuck on a specific spot on an acoustic modem that didn't have a speaker, in order to be able to hear the modem sounds.

 

[russ_watters]

Are you sure it is a PC/phone accessory? Looks like a temperature sensor to me. It's a bad pic, so I don't see if it has a hole in it (without one would preclude it from being a mic).

 

[collinsmark]

The OP picture looks to have what looks like a 1/8 inch stereo plug. The fact that it's stereo is evidence that it might be an audio device, such as some sort of microphone, as others have suggested (even if it is effectively a mono source, it might have a stereo plug to be compatible with stereo, audio jacks).

You might be able to test this out with your computer's Mic-in or Audio-in jacks. Plug it in, enable the input (this might require opening up your computer's sound control and choosing what to use for audio input*), speak or blow into the thing and see if you get a signal.

*(For MS Windows, this is usually something like Control Panel / Hardware and Sound / Sound, then select your default recording device.)

 

[rbelli1]

Infra red receiver.
http://xmhlec.manufacturer.globalso...rared-sensor/1031211991/IR-Receiver-Cable.htm

BoB

 

[jedishrfu]

You know I saw that before but I couldn't recall where and then the audio jack kept me thinking old phone mic.

That make sense now. Good catch.

 

[B0b-A]

The telephone pick-up coil has a mono, TS, ( not stereo , TRS ) plug ...
http://www.amazon.com/dp/B000L1OZG8/?tag=pfamazon01-20