DIN connector
DIN connector is a colloquial term for round plug-in connections that correspond to the standards DIN 41524 (three and five-pole), 45322 (five-pole with 60 ° spacing), 45326 (eight-pole) and 45329 (seven-pole) (replaced by EN 60130-9 ).
DIN plugs have a round sheet metal or cast housing that ends in a collar with a diameter of 13 mm at the front. This contains an insert with two to 14 contact pins, which up to the eight-pin connector can be arranged on a circle and, with the six- to eight-pin connector, also near the center of the circle. In most designs, a guide punched into the collar also serves as protection against polarity reversal against rotation and is absent in those connectors where rotation by 180 ° is desired. The electrical load capacity can be found in the manufacturer's data sheet and is e.g. B. with MAWI 50 BS DIN 41524 4 A at 34 V AC / DC alternating and direct voltage.
Areas of application
DIN connectors are mainly used in Europe in numerous areas of electrics and electronics for various purposes. In the home electronics sector, DIN connectors were used very frequently to connect audio devices of all kinds with the advent of home tape recorders in the mid-1950s, until they were increasingly replaced by American cinch connectors in the 1980s . In the audio sector they are used for MIDI connections and on PCs for the keyboard .
DIN plugs are widely used in laboratories, for example on hot plates and magnetic stirrers for connecting thermostats.
The version with three pins is used for mono audio devices, while five pins (180 °) are used for stereo audio devices, MIDI connections and PC keyboards. The five and six-pole versions in 240 ° were the predecessors of the SCART socket in Germany as combined connectors for video and audio signals (AV connector, five poles for mono, six for stereo) . In car radios, this version was intended for the connection of external audio sources. Depending on the model, Commodore computers (such as the Commodore 64 home computer ) have a five- or eight-pin version for video and audio signals, a six-pin version for the CBM bus , via which printers and floppy disk drives can be connected, and a seven-pin version for the Power supply.
Four- and five-pole square plugs were used as headphone plugs . The socket has two grooves offset by 180 ° to match the coding of the connector housing. By appropriately inserting the headphone plug (into a switch socket designed for this purpose ), the loudspeakers can either be left on or switched off when the headphones are in use.
In addition to the three variants already mentioned for five-pole plugs, there are also two variants of the seven- and eight-pole DIN plugs that are not mechanically compatible with each other.
For the eight-pole plugs, in which the contact pins 1 to 5 are arranged according to a five-pole 180 ° DIN socket, there is both a standard with a 270 ° opening angle (according to DIN 45326) and a standard with a 262 ° opening angle (horseshoe-shaped according to IEC 60574- 18), which was used, among other things, for the combined audio-video connection on the Commodore 64/128.
There are also DIN connectors with ten contacts, which are used in some video devices, as well as those with twelve and 14 contacts, which are often used in the AV sector to control projectors.
DIN plug connectors are also used in industrial plants, e.g. B. for the control of cell phone antennas. There are variants with a union nut for locking and shielding ( Tuchel connector ), as well as those with bayonet locking ( Renk connector ). These plug connectors are also available as sturdy and even waterproof ( IP68 ) variants. Until the 1970s, Tuchel plugs were mainly used in Germany for professional microphone cabling (three- pin for phantom-powered microphones, six-pin for microphones with tube preamps ), but have since been almost completely replaced by the XLR standard. In the jargon these screw DIN connectors are known as small Tuchel or Kleintuchel . The large Tuchel , which is conceptually opposite to the Kleintuchel , is not compatible with the DIN connectors discussed here. The Renk connector in a DIN-compatible design was primarily used in CB radio , but is now almost impossible to find in audio applications.
DIN connector in East Germany (GDR)
The level and impedances were different from those of the DIN connector in the Federal Republic of Germany . The input had 1 V / 1 MΩ and was therefore suitable for connecting high-resistance crystal pickups (KS22 / KS23) from turntables. For export television sets (Colormat 4000 series), DIN connectors were also provided for connecting video recorders. They are designed with six poles (audio-L, audio-R, video, ground, switching voltage, +12 V), and also bidirectional - when the switching voltage is applied, the outputs become inputs.
DIN connector in West Germany (Federal Republic)
Five- and six-pole DIN connectors with 240 ° (instead of 180 °) were also used as connectors for video recorders. The increasing market share of imported devices forced the German manufacturers to adapt and use cinch and jack connectors instead of DIN connectors. The SCART connector had established itself in the video sector, and a bundle of cinch connectors was occasionally used in its place. The disadvantage of this is that you can easily swap the individual plugs. In the meantime, the analog SCART connector is being replaced by the digital HDMI interface, and HDMI cables can transmit both digital audio and video data.
DIN audio connector
In entertainment electronics, the three-pin DIN socket was used in tube radios and early mono devices in order to be able to make recordings with the emerging home tape recorders regardless of the volume set. The tap of the audio signal after the demodulator ( diode ) occupied pin 1 for recording and led there to the designations diode plug and diode cable . The high-resistance input pin 3 could either be used to play the tape recorder or to connect a turntable with a crystal pickup system.
On stereo devices, the DIN socket has been expanded by two more pins. Compatibility with three-pin mono plugs is basically given, but with stereo devices only the left channel is transmitted in this case.
A special feature of the DIN audio plug is the fact that the lines are not assigned according to the direction of the signal, but rather according to the intended use, which can lead to compatibility problems in certain device constellations, as the pins are wired differently depending on the device type. In principle, pins 3 and 5 are intended for playback, pins 1 and 4 for recording. This means that playback and recording devices such as tape recorders, cassette decks or turntables output the signal at pins 3/5 and await a possible input signal for recording at pins 1/4. Amplifiers and radios with built-in amplifiers use the pins in exactly the same way, i.e. the input is on 3/5 and the output on 1/4. In addition, recording and playback channels work with different levels and impedances. If different hi-fi devices are operated via an amplifier, or, for example, a tape recorder on a radio, there are no problems in this regard, an ordinary DIN cable can be used, in which each contact of one connector is directly connected to the same contact of the other connector is. If there are several DIN sockets on the playback device, the "Radio" socket should be used for this purpose.
If, on the other hand, two tape recorders, for example, are to be connected directly to one another without an intermediate amplifier, a special transfer cable is often required. In this case, not only do the contacts have to be crossed (i.e. pin 3/5 to pin 1/4 of the other connector), resistors also have to be built into the signal lines in order to match the level and impedance of the playback signal to those of the recording signal. However, some devices have an additional high-level input to which a signal can be fed directly to pin 3/5 with the usual level for playback, so that a standard DIN cable can be used for direct transfer. This socket is usually labeled with "Phono", "TA" or a turntable symbol and is purely an input. In some cases, however, both sockets are also combined in one (radio / phono combination socket). In this case, pins 3 and 5 serve as outputs during playback, during recording these are switched to high-level inputs, while pins 1 and 4 are also available as inputs for the usual DIN recording level.
The signal ground is always on pin 2.
Microphone inputs always use pin 3 (L / Mono) and 5 (R) for the signal.
The first generation of stereo turntables used pin 1 on the turntable, which had not been used until then, to play the right channel. Since this resulted in compatibility problems, the assignment 3 + 5 instead of 3 + 1 soon prevailed. Nevertheless, a bridge from pin 1 to pin 5 can be found on many turntable inputs of amplifiers ex works to support both turntable versions.
| Pin code | Radio / amplifier | Playback / recording devices: radio socket |
Playback / recording devices: phono socket |
Playback / recording devices: combination socket |
Microphone connections |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Output mono / left (2mV) | Input mono / left (2mV) | Input mono / left (2mV) | ||
| 2 | Dimensions | Dimensions | Dimensions | Dimensions | Dimensions |
| 3 | Input mono / left (775mV) | Output mono / left (775mV) | Input mono / left (775mV) | Input & output mono / left (775mV) | Signal mono / left |
| 4th | Right output (2mV) | Entrance right (2mV) | Entrance right (2mV) | ||
| 5 | Entrance right (775mV) | Right output (775mV) | Entrance right (775mV) | Right input & output (775mV) | Signal right |
| Stereo plug | Mono plug |
|---|---|
|
|
The graphic shows the view from the outside of a connector ; on the soldering side, the connections are of course mirror-inverted. With many connectors, the numbers are stamped into the plastic on the soldering side, which helps avoid mix-ups.
Compatibility DIN / Cinch
Ready-made adapters are available for connecting devices with DIN and Cinch connections. However, compatibility between the two signals is only given under certain circumstances:
- Device with cinch output to radio / amplifier with DIN input
- Possible - Pins 2 (ground), 3 (left) and 5 (right) on the DIN connector are to be connected
- Playback device with DIN output to any device with cinch input
- Possible - Pins 2 (ground), 3 (left) and 5 (right) on the DIN connector are to be connected
- Device with cinch output to recording device with DIN input
- Possible - however, the wiring of the input used must be observed. If the connection is designed as a phono or combination socket, the signal can be fed in directly via pins 2 (ground), 3 (left) and 5 (right). If it is a radio socket without an additional high-level input, the signal must be connected to pins 1 (left) and 4 (right) via a series resistor of 680 kiloohms.
- Recording device with cinch input to radio / amplifier with DIN output
- Not possible - The output level of the radio / amplifier is too low
Advantages and disadvantages
The advantage of DIN connectors in the audio sector is that they are easy to use, since the assignment of left and right channels as well as recording and playback connections is fixed and all signal lines for a device are combined in one connector and cable. However, this restricts flexibility, since different pin assignments (e.g. crossed connections for direct transfer between two tape devices) can only be implemented using adapters.
A disadvantage is the close proximity of the wires in the stereo cable, which can lead to crosstalk between the two channels of a stereo signal or between the upstream and downstream signals of a tape recorder. The optimal design of pin 1 + 4 inputs in current instead of voltage adaptation also requires different types of input stages . Only then can the noise and crosstalk be optimal. Other solutions also allow the combination with a microphone input. A line level can easily be adapted with a high-ohm output resistance for the DIN connection (to 1 µA or better for full level control). The use of Dolby C or HighCom reduces tape noise so much that the best signal-to-noise ratios can only be achieved with line inputs (Cinch) or optimized DIN recording connections.
One advantage of DIN plugs over cinch plugs is that they can be shielded separately . The separation of signal ground and shielding can help avoid hum loops and general electromagnetic interference , for example . With Cinch, the multiple and geometrically separate ground connections can lead to hum loops (and also crosstalk).
The mechanical stability of DIN plugs and sockets is also limited, at least in the home; apart from expensive ( semi- ) professional designs, they are not step-proof; see on the other hand Tuchel plug . Compared to successor systems such as Mini-DIN , however, they can still be regarded as robust.
Alternatives
In audio equipment, DIN connectors have been almost completely replaced by cinch connectors. The only exceptions are a few British and German manufacturers from the “high-end” segment. In computer keyboards, DIN connectors were replaced by PS / 2 (mini-DIN) with identical signals, and later by USB connections (other signals, different protocol). In a four-pole variant, the smaller mini-DIN connectors are also used for S-video connections, where they are usually called Hosiden connectors after the original manufacturer.
(Mini) jack plugs are used in compact audio devices (such as MP3 players ) and computers .
In audio studio technology, XLR connectors are used, which can practically be seen as larger, more robust DIN connectors suitable for the rough use in everyday life of live performances. They are assigned symmetrical signals depending on their area of application .
Variant loudspeaker connector
The two-pole loudspeaker plug according to DIN 41529 (colloquially "LS plug" or "dash-dot plug") was popular for almost all devices in and around Germany until the 1980s . However, it does not actually belong to the group that is called DIN connector for short . In contrast to the other variants shown, it has a completely different structure, is not shielded and has a noticeable flat contact. This ensures clear polarity, the flat pin is usually connected to ground.
The installation sockets were available in three versions:
- without auxiliary contact
- with auxiliary contact on the round contact, which switches off the internal loudspeaker when a plug is inserted
- with two holes for the round contact, one of which has an auxiliary contact; the internal loudspeaker can optionally be kept in operation by turning the plug
Web links
- hardwarebook.info - pin assignment of common connectors (English)
- elektron-bbs.de - Connection options for various hi-fi devices
- sps-wagner.de - additional information, u. a. to the AV-DIN connector
Individual evidence
- ↑ AISG: AISG Connector Specification AISG C485. (No longer available online.) Antenna Interface Standards Group, archived from the original on March 29, 2018 ; accessed on March 16, 2018 . Info: The archive link was inserted automatically and has not yet been checked. Please check the original and archive link according to the instructions and then remove this notice.
- ↑ http://www.ccw-ka.eu/site/2hifi/hifi_sonst/dinadapter.html 01/29/2019
- ↑ There are hardly any explicit special sources for the DIN connection for recording. A largely optimal design of a DIN recording input can be found in the following two test reports (ASC 6000 in contrast to the Revox B77): Arndt Klingelnberg: ASC 6000. In: HiFi-Stereophonie , 1979, Issue 5 (here special print), test report (PDF ) and Arndt Klingelnberg: ASC 6000 and B77 Dolby-B-NRS. In: HiFi-Stereophonie , 1979, issue 5, especially p. 699, test report (PDF)
