Author Topic: DIN connector pin wiring question  (Read 1080 times)

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Offline richierich33Topic starter

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DIN connector pin wiring question
« on: October 28, 2016, 04:11:40 am »
Hi - I have a quick question about DIN connectors and common wiring practice.

I have a 120VAC AC-AC 12VAC wallwart power supply (for a laboratory balance) that uses a 5-pin male 180 degree DIN connector - but from my examination only the center pin (Pin 3) is connected to the 'hot' wire, with the shield being used as the neutral/ground.

Is it common for companies to use 5-pin DIN connectors but only use a single pin for power? I assumed there would be several taps on the wallwart/tranformer with various voltages for each pin - but I cannot see any evidence of this. The other 4 pins have no connection that I can see. Is it possible that these other 4 pins are used as some sort of 'floating ground'?

 

Offline NottheDan

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Re: DIN connector pin wiring question
« Reply #1 on: October 28, 2016, 04:53:36 am »
Are you sure there it's more to it than the DIN being their standard connector and them not needing more pins on this particular application?
 

Offline Brumby

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Re: DIN connector pin wiring question
« Reply #2 on: October 28, 2016, 05:25:32 am »
Often, pin allocations are subject to the whim of the manufacturer - but it could be that a multiple pin connector could have different voltages on different pins.

Equipment could be designed with different power requirements and by using the one connector set, the manufacturer could save on the cost of these through bulk purchase.  It would have the advantage that, if your device needed 12V and you had a supply for some other product that provided a number of voltages, but provided that voltage on the correct pin, it would still work.

Another possibility is that they got those connectors really cheap and just used them to do an undemanding job.
 


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