Free DINs

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ecc83

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Had a bit of a sort out and come across a handful of weird DIN plugs including some nice all metal 8 pin jobbies. IIRC the Ferrograph ser 7 used an 8 pin?

If DINs are your thing PM me with what you are looking for and an Addy and I shall jiffy them over.

Dave.
 
i dont even know what DINs are but i like free stuff, i respect you man :D
 
DINs are what people see labelled as MIDI, but come in many different pin configurations from 2 (which we popular on loudspeakers to 8. Some have a central pin, some don't. Pins spread 180 degrees, or 270 degrees around the circle. The were/are annoyingly tiny to solder, and had very odd connections - like inputs on pins 1 and 4, or outputs on pins 3 and 5, but nobody got the hang of did they mean input cable plug, or output chassis socket, so connecting things was a major pain. Ground was on pin 2, so in mono days, they were spaced around 180 degrees with the out opposite the in, with ground between. Then stereo came along and they squeezed in two more pins. The Germans were the designers and pioneers, with Grundig and Telfunken spreading them wide and far.

Ferrograph series 7 was a 7 pin (I thought), but there may have been a centre pin too - memory too dim on this now!

They often carried low voltage power too - and many device were fried by wrongly applied plugs! The Japanese pioneered the phono connector and gradually the DIN system vanished from domestic and semi-pro/pro kit.
 
Goes back a bit further Rob!
The DIN audio connection system is more sinned against than sinning but that is because most people are ignorant of its origins and that is valves.

The cheaper valved hi fi and tape recorders had simple "high Z" outputs since an extra valve (cathode follower) or transformer was expensive. Thus they came up with a "current source" system of signal exchange. Modern stuff uses (more or less well!) constant voltage.
Thus a valve tape out stage would use a 1meg feed resistor to drive a very low impedance input and thus cable capacitance was not a problem (do the math. If you don't know how, trust me, I am an old valve guy!) .

The pin arrangement was perfectly logical. Pin 1 input, pin 3 out and pin 2 common. Mono of course. When stereo arrived pins 4 and 5 were inserted to cope with the right hand channels. Of course amplifiers and tape recorders had to be a mirror image so that you could use a standard "pin for pin" cable. Snag came if you wanted to go tape to tape for duping. THEN you needed the infamous "crossed over cable"!

DINs are really no more trouble to solder than many audio connectors, tried 1/8" stereo jack plugs? If you Really want tricky, 15 pin VGA!

Come the transistor manufacturers should have abandoned constant current working and gone CV, properly with emitter followers or chips...But NOooooo! Because most of them did not understand the DIN regime (in Japan and the US) they produce a 1/2 hearted/half assed mix between the two and for years nobody was ever sure which bit of kit could exchange signals with which without noise, low signal or overload!

DINs have at least two advantages over RCA. Neater, one wire not 4 and the earth pin does NOT have to go directly to chassis.

BTW found at least one use for 8pinners! "Sega Master Systems /Mega drive (Genesis) " to SCART. No! I do not know what the first bit is either!

Dave.
 
Heh, timing.
Just recently I went through a DIN adaptor search after scoring a mint DM800 and tiny Atari monitor for it. There are dozens of DIN configurations...I didn't realize there were so many...and how expensive solutions can get due to numerous proprietary designs...some with 100pins and up. Don't even want to think about having to solder those.

Interesting note about the MD/Genesis connection. I remember having a cable for my Genesis that looked like MIDI male that split into 5 male RCAs on the other end. Red White Yellow Green Black. Y+RW gave standard video and 2 ch component audio to the TV but I cant recall using the other 2...or knowing their purpose for that matter.
 
Probably everyone knows this, but DIN is Deutsche Industrie Norm. When I lived in Germany, everything connected using DIN plugs, TV to satellite, VCRs, Speakers to stereo. It is another standard like Military Standard (Mil-Std), which was adopted by many during and after WWII. A good example of the MIL-STD are battery sizes. Those all conform to MIL-STD. Also another standard is SAE.

Most of those standards are being replaced by ISO standard. I know TMI, but interesting to some.
 
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