The DIN connector is an electrical connector that was standardized by the ' (DIN), the German Institute for Standards, in the early 1970s. The male DIN connectors (plugs) feature a 13.2 mm diameter metal shield with a notch that limits the orientation in which plug and socket can mate. The range of DIN connectors, different only in the configuration of the pins, have been standardized as DIN 41524 / IEC/DIN EN 60130-9 (3-pin at 90° and 5-pin at 45°); DIN 45322 (5-pin and 6-pin at 60°); DIN 45329 / IEC/DIN EN 60130–9 (7-pin at 45°); and DIN 45326 / IEC/DIN EN 60130-9 (8-pin at 45°).
In
consumer electronics
Consumer electronics or home electronics are electronic (analog or digital) equipment intended for everyday use, typically in private homes. Consumer electronics include devices used for entertainment, communications and recreation. Usually r ...
, the term "DIN connector" identifies types of cylindrical connectors that the German Institute for Standards (DIN) had initially standardised for analog audio signals. Some DIN connectors have been used in analog video applications, for power connections, and for digital interfaces, such as the
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
(DIN 41524), the
IBM PC keyboard
The keyboard for IBM PC-compatible computers is standardized. However, during the more than 30 years of PC architecture being frequently updated, many keyboard layout variations have been developed.
A well-known class of IBM PC keyboards is the Mo ...
and the
IBM AT keyboard
The Model F was a series of computer keyboards produced mainly from 1981–1985 and in reduced volume until 1994 by IBM and later Lexmark. Its mechanical-key design consisted of a buckling spring over a capacitive PCB, similar to the later Model M ...
connectors (DIN 41524). The original, technical standards for these models of DIN connector are unavailable, and were replaced with equivalent connectors, such as the international standard IEC 60130-9.
Standards
The term "DIN connector" alone does not unambiguously identify any particular type of connector unless the document number of the relevant DIN standard is added (e.g., "''DIN 45322'' connector"). Some DIN connector standards are:
* DIN 41524, for circular connectors often used for audio signals or some digital signals like
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
*
DIN 41612
DIN 41612 was a DIN standard for electrical connectors that are widely used in rack based electrical systems. Standardisation of the connectors is a pre-requisite for open systems, where users expect components from different suppliers to operat ...
, rectangular connectors used to connect plug-in cards to a back plane or motherboard
* DIN 41652
D-subminiature
The D-subminiature or D-sub is a common type of electrical connector. They are named for their characteristic D-shaped metal shield. When they were introduced, D-subs were among the smallest connectors used on computer systems.
Description, n ...
connectors used for computer data and video
*
DIN 41585
A Motorola connector also known as a motorola antenna plug, a male DIN 41585, or simply a DIN connector, is a common coaxial cable RF connector used primarily in the automotive industry for connecting the coaxial feedline from the antenna to the ...
automotive coaxial connectors
Circular connectors
The plugs consist of a circular shielding metal skirt protecting a number of straight round pins. The pins are 1.45 mm in diameter and equally spaced (at 90°, 72°, 60° or 45° angles) in a 7.0 mm diameter circle. The skirt is keyed to ensure that the plug is inserted with the correct orientation, and to prevent damage to the pins. The basic design also ensures that the shielding is connected between socket and plug prior to any signal path connection being made.
There are seven common patterns, with any number of pins from three to eight. Three different five-pin connectors exist, known as 180°, 240°, and domino/360°/270° after the angle of the arc swept between the first and last pin. There are also two variations of the six-pin, seven-pin (one where the outer pins form 300° or 360° and one where they form 270°), and eight-pin (one where the outer pins form 270° and one where they form 262°) connectors.
There is some limited compatibility; for example, a three-pin connector will fit any 180° five-pin socket, engaging three of the pins and leaving the other two unconnected; and a three-pin or 180° five-pin connector will also fit a 270° seven-pin or either eight-pin socket.
In addition to these connectors, there are also connectors with 10, 12, and 14 pins. Some high-range equipment used seven-pin connectors where the outer two carried digital system data: if the connected equipment was incompatible, the outer two pins could be unscrewed from plugs so that they fitted into standard five-pin 180° sockets without data connections.
As the keying is consistent across all connectors, it does not completely prevent incompatible connectors from mating, which can lead to damage; this is changed in
Hosiden
is a Japanese electronics company. It manufactures electronic components and devices and has a strong presence in the telecommunication and automotive industries prior to the consumer markets. It is headquartered in Yao, Osaka and has over 19 ...
type, wrongly called
Mini-DIN
The mini-DIN connectors are a family of multi-pin electrical connectors used in a variety of applications. Mini-DIN is similar to the larger, older DIN connector.
Design
Mini-DIN connectors are in diameter and come in seven patterns, wit ...
, which keys different connectors.
Some "domino" five-pin connectors had a keyway on opposing sides of the socket, allowing it to be reversed. If used as a headphone connector, the plug sometimes had a cut-out in the body that, depending on which way the plug was inserted, would either allow (e.g.) external speakers to be switched off or not as required: inserting the plug one way would activate a switch on the periphery of the socket (thus switching off the speakers), whereas inserting the plug in the opposite orientation would not activate the switch (due to the cut-out in the plug body)—the left and right channels would not be transposed, as the plug was wired such that each headphone speaker was connected "top left–bottom right" and "top right–bottom left". If used as a serial data connection, the transmit and receive lines could be crossed (although the pinout adopted by Acorn did not allow for this).
Screw-locking versions of this connector have also been used in instrumentation, process control, and professional audio. In North America, this variant is often called a "small Tuchel" connector after one of the major manufacturers, now a division of
Amphenol
Amphenol Corporation is a major producer of electronic and fiber optic connectors, cable and interconnect systems such as coaxial cables. Amphenol is a portmanteau from the corporation's original name, American Phenolic Corp.
History
Amphenol ...
. Additional configurations up to 24 pins are also offered in the same shell size. A version with a bayonet locking ring was used on portable tape recorders, dictation machines, and lighting dimmers and controls through from the 1960s to the 1980s, an example being the microphone input connector and some others on the "Report" family of
Uher Uher may refer to:
* Uher (village), a village in Poland
* Uher (brand), a German brand of electronic equipment
People
*Karel Uher (born 1983), Czech curler
* Rudolf Uher, Canadian psychiatrist
*Štefan Uher
Štefan Uher (4 July 1930 – 29 M ...
tape recorders. The bayonet locking version is sometimes referred to by the trade name Preh. Belling Lee offered a version with a sprung-loaded collar which latched on insertion but required the collar to be pulled back to release the connector, similar to the
LEMO
LEMO is an electronic and fiber optic connector manufacturer, based in Écublens, Switzerland. It is known for producing the push-pull connectors. LEMO connectors are used in medical, industrial, audio/visual, telecommunications, military, sc ...
B series connector. This connector was commonly referred to as the "Bleecon",
an example of its use being the Strand Tempus range of theatrical lighting dimmers and control desks.
A version with a pushbutton latch similar to that on an XLR cable mounted socket was also available. Female connectors with screw-locking, Bleecon, or bayonet latching features are compatible with standard DIN plugs.
Applications
Analog audio
The 3/180° and 5/180° connectors were originally standardized and widely used in European countries for interconnecting analog audio equipment. For example, a
stereo
Stereophonic sound, or more commonly stereo, is a method of sound reproduction that recreates a multi-directional, 3-dimensional audible perspective. This is usually achieved by using two independent audio channels through a configuration ...
tape recorder could connect to a stereo amplifier using the five pins for the four signal connections plus ground. The connectors on the cord are connected pin for pin, (pin 1 to pin 1, etc.). Pins on male connectors are numbered (from right to left, viewed from outside of the connector, with the five pins upwards, and facing them): 1–4–2–5–3. Holes on female connectors are also numbered 1-4-2-5-3, but from left to right (facing the holes). The three pins that make contact with a 3 pin DIN connector will have the same pin numbering both in the three-pin and the five-pin connector. A four-conductor cord wired in this way is sometimes called a ''DIN cord'', a ''DIN lead'' or a ''DIN cable''. For
mono
Mono may refer to:
Common meanings
* Infectious mononucleosis, "the kissing disease"
* Monaural, monophonic sound reproduction, often shortened to mono
* Mono-, a numerical prefix representing anything single
Music Performers
* Mono (Japanese b ...
interconnections, the 3/180° plugs are sufficient. When a mono plug is inserted into a stereo socket, it mates with the left channel. For playback only interconnections, the 3/180° plugs are sufficient, with pin 1 and 3 used for the stereo channels and pin 2 as signal ground. Five-pin DIN inputs for record players and auxiliary signal sources commonly join pin 1 and 5 in order to be compatible both with the 3/180° and 5/180° pinouts. This generally works fine. However the join of pin 1 and 5 on adapters between DIN and RCA connectors can cause problems if used with a five-pin DIN connector tape connector on an amplifier or receiver, as it will join the left record with right playback signal. The other way around is usually not a problem as sending the right playback out of a tape recorder back in to the left record input usually imposes no problem in playback mode.
The signal levels are generally in the low range of line levels for playback/reproduction signals. The levels for recording can be considerably lower, more like microphone levels in some cases.
Some manufacturers, like Philips, Uher and others, did use the connector slightly differently for tape recorders. Pin 2 (signal ground) was the same as others, and in playback mode pin 3 and 5 were used for left and right line level output as others. However in record mode all pins were active inputs, with pin 1 and 4 for low-level signals like microphone levels, while pin 3 and 5 were used for line-level signals. On all these recorders the output signals were only active in play mode, not in stop, record, rewind, fast forward or any other mode. The main benefits with this usage is that tape copying can be done with the regular pin-to-pin connected cables commonly used to connect tape recorders to amplifiers/receivers. An additional benefit is that several tape recorders can be connected in parallel, and can also be connected to an amplifier/receiver. Copying is done simply by pressing play on the playback recorder, rec on any recorders used for recording, and the amplifier/receiver is either switched off or set to the tape position. Recording of radio broadcasts or records is equally simple, just press record on any recorder and do not set any other recorder to playback mode. This eliminates the need for any switch boxes otherwise commonly used to connect more than one tape recorder to a single tape recorder connector on an amplifier/receiver. The drawbacks were that connecting any mono recorder with pin 1 joined to 4 and pin 5 joined to 3 (a common practice to make mono recorders record both channels in parallel and reproduce in both channels) would make all tape sounds mono. Also any tape recorder with three heads, used for monitoring while recording, needs an extra lead between the recorder and the amplifier to be able to monitor the recording through the amplifier and speakers. On Philips amplifiers/receivers and three head recorders that extra socket is labeled Monitor while the regular socket is labeled Tape. Another drawback is the possible confusion when interconnecting with other equipment, where a person sometimes would use a straight pin-to-pin cable and sometimes use a special "copying" cable with pin 1 swapped with pin 3 and pin 4 swapped with pin 5. Sometimes a person would also need to lower the signal to make a line output fit a microphone level input.
This interface was rare outside products for the European market, and has progressively disappeared on new equipment, both in Europe and worldwide, since the 1980s, in favour of
RCA connectors
The RCA connector is a type of electrical connector commonly used to carry audio and video signals. The name ''RCA'' derives from the company Radio Corporation of America, which introduced the design in the 1930s. The connectors male plug an ...
.
Other uses
![Eight-pin DIN connector](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/2e/Eight-pin_DIN_connector.jpg)
The 5/180° connectors are commonly used for:
*
SYNC or
MIDI
MIDI (; Musical Instrument Digital Interface) is a technical standard that describes a communications protocol, digital interface, and electrical connectors that connect a wide variety of electronic musical instruments, computers, and re ...
interface for
electronic musical instrument
An electronic musical instrument or electrophone is a musical instrument that produces sound using electronic circuitry. Such an instrument sounds by outputting an electrical, electronic or digital audio signal that ultimately is plugged into ...
* Peripherals or power connectors for personal computers from the 1980s
* Audio in the original HME wireless communicators (It is the headset connector for inbound and outbound audio for drive-through restaurants.)
* Controlling tilt of
UMTS
The Universal Mobile Telecommunications System (UMTS) is a third generation mobile cellular system for networks based on the GSM standard. Developed and maintained by the 3GPP (3rd Generation Partnership Project), UMTS is a component of the Inte ...
antennas (Antenna Interface Standards Group)
* Connecting two controllers for
radio controlled model aircraft together for training purposes
The DIN connector saw several other uses apart from audio. It was particularly popular as a connector for various home computers and video game consoles.
Analogue theatrical lighting control (pre-dating the more recent digital control protocols such as DMX) commonly used the 8-pin (45°) DIN connector, six of the pins being 0–10V control signals for six separate dimmer circuits, and the other two a 0V reference and a DC source for powering simple circuitry in rudimentary lighting desks. Pinouts vary between manufacturers: Zero 88, Anytronics, Lightprocessor and Strand have the control signals on pins 1–6, 0V on pin 8 and power on pin 7 and Pulsar and Clay Paky have power on pin 1, 0V on pin 2 and channel outputs on pins 3 to 8. The polarity of the power supply and control signals relative to ground also varies, with Strand having negative voltages, but most other brands having positive voltages.
Other designs
left, Speaker DIN line socket (left) and plug (right)
A polarised two-pin unshielded connector, designed for connecting a
loudspeaker
A loudspeaker (commonly referred to as a speaker or speaker driver) is an electroacoustic transducer that converts an electrical audio signal into a corresponding sound. A ''speaker system'', also often simply referred to as a "speaker" or " ...
to a
power amplifier
An audio power amplifier (or power amp) is an electronic amplifier that amplifies low-power electronic audio signals, such as the signal from a radio receiver or an electric guitar pickup, to a level that is high enough for driving loudspea ...
(or other device; many of the earlier shoebox style tape recorders used them), is known as the DIN 41529 loudspeaker connector. It exists as a panel-mounting female version, and line-mounted male and female versions. The male version has a central flat pin, and circular pin mounted off-centre. The circular pin is connected to the positive line (red) while the spade is connected to the negative line (black).
The panel-mounting female version is available with or without an auxiliary contact that disconnects the internal speaker of the device if an external speaker connector is inserted. Most common is a three-hole female connector with one circular hole on either side of the spade hole, one of them with an aux contact and one without, which provides the option to leave the internal speaker connected by inserting the plug twisted by 180°.
It is now mainly found on older equipment, such as 16 mm movie projectors. The
Becker
Becker () is one of the German-language surnames, along with Bäcker and Baecker, that derive from the root, which refers to baking. The surname began as a name for a baker (and thus his family). In northern Germany it can also derive from the ...
radio found in many
Mercedes-Benz
Mercedes-Benz (), commonly referred to as Mercedes and sometimes as Benz, is a German luxury and commercial vehicle automotive brand established in 1926. Mercedes-Benz AG (a Mercedes-Benz Group subsidiary established in 2019) is headquartere ...
automobiles uses this connector. The same connector is used on some
LED lamp
An LED lamp or LED light bulb is an electric light that produces light using light-emitting diodes (LEDs). LED lamps are significantly more energy-efficient than equivalent incandescent lamps
and can be significantly more efficient than mos ...
s and
halogen lamp
A halogen lamp (also called tungsten halogen, quartz-halogen, and quartz iodine lamp) is an incandescent lamp consisting of a tungsten filament sealed in a compact transparent envelope that is filled with a mixture of an inert gas and a small ...
s to connect the bulb to the power supply. The two-pin DIN plug lacks the outer metal shell, so far less force is required to disconnect the plug accidentally. There are also three- and four-pin versions of this loudspeaker connector, used for example by
Bang & Olufsen
Bang & Olufsen (B&O) is a Danish high-end consumer electronics company that designs and manufactures audio products, television sets, and telephones. It was founded in 1925 by Peter Bang and Svend Olufsen, who designed a radio to work with alt ...
.
See also
*
DIN sync
DIN sync, also called Sync24, is a synchronization interface for electronic musical instruments. It was introduced in the early 1980s by Roland Corporation and has been superseded by MIDI.
Definition and history
DIN sync was introduced in t ...
*
Hosiden
is a Japanese electronics company. It manufactures electronic components and devices and has a strong presence in the telecommunication and automotive industries prior to the consumer markets. It is headquartered in Yao, Osaka and has over 19 ...
*
Mini-DIN connector
The mini-DIN connectors are a family of multi-pin electrical connectors used in a variety of applications. Mini-DIN is similar to the larger, older DIN connector.
Design
Mini-DIN connectors are in diameter and come in seven patterns, wit ...
*
IBM PC keyboard#Connection
*
PS/2 connector
The PS/2 port is a 6-pin mini-DIN connector used for connecting keyboards and mice to a PC compatible computer system. Its name comes from the IBM Personal System/2 series of personal computers, with which it was introduced in 1987. The PS/2 ...
*
XLR connector
The XLR connector is a type of electrical connector primarily used in professional audio, video, and stage lighting equipment. XLR connectors are cylindical in design, and have three to seven connector pins, and are often employed for analog b ...
Notes
References
DIN Connectors* IEC 60574-3: Audiovisual, video and television equipment and systems — Part 3: Specification for connectors for the interconnection of equipment in audiovisual systems.
{{Deutsches Institut für Normung
Audiovisual connectors
Surveillance
Deutsches Institut für Normung
DC power connectors
Computer connectors