Editing DIN connector (section)

== Circular connectors ==
[[File:Розетка ОНЦ-ВГ-4-5.jpg|thumb|left|Circular connectors]]
{{ multiple image|perrow=3|total_width=400
| image1    = DIN-3 Diagram.svg
| caption1  = DIN 41524 / IEC/DIN EN 60130-9 types IEC-01 and IEC-02: three-pin, 90°, 180°
| image2    = DIN-4 Diagram.svg
| caption2  = IEC/DIN EN 60130-9 types IEC-30 and IEC-31: four-pin, 72°, 216°
| image3    = DIN-5b Diagram.svg
| caption3  = DIN 45327 / IEC/DIN EN 60130-9 types IEC-14, IEC-15, and IEC-15a: five-pin, 90°, cube, domino, 270°/360°
| image4    = DIN-5c Diagram.svg
| caption4  = DIN 45322: five-pin, 60°, 240°
| image5    = DIN-5 Diagram.svg
| caption5  = DIN 41524 / IEC/DIN EN 60130-9 types IEC-03 and IEC-04: five-pin, 45°, 180°
| image6    = DIN-6 Diagram.svg
| caption6  = DIN 45322 / IEC/DIN EN 60130-9 types IEC-16, IEC-17, IEC-18, and IEC-19: six-pin, 60°, 240°
<!-- add this when available:
| image7    = DIN-6 ??? Diagram.svg
| caption7  = DIN 45523: six-pin -->
| image8    = DIN-7 Diagram.svg
| caption8  = DIN 45329 / IEC/DIN EN 60130-9 types IEC-10, IEC-11, IEC-12, and IEC-13: seven-pin, 45°, 270°
<!-- add this when available:
| image9    = DIN-7 ??? Diagram.svg
| caption9  = seven-pin, 60°, 300°/360° -->
| image10   = DIN-8 Diagram.svg
| caption10 = DIN 45326 / IEC/DIN EN 60130-9 types IEC-20 and IEC-21: eight-pin, 45°, 270°
| image11   = DIN-8 262 Diagram.svg
| caption11 = DIN IEC 60574-18: eight-pin, 45°/41°, 262°
<!-- add this when available:
| image12   = DIN-14 Diagram.svg
| caption12 = DIN 45351 / IEC/DIN EN 60130-9 types IEC-26, IEC-27, IEC-28, and IEC-29: fourteen-pin -->
}}

The plugs consist of a circular shielding metal skirt protecting a number of straight round pins. The pins are 1.45&nbsp;mm in diameter and equally spaced (at 90°, 72°, 60° or 45° angles) in a 7.0&nbsp;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,{{citation needed|date=April 2019}} 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.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.hmarkstrom.se/kablar.htm|title=Kablar|last=Markström|first=Håkan|date=2017-11-18|access-date=2019-04-02|language=sv}}</ref>

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-specification equipment used seven-pin connectors where the outer two carried digital system data;<ref>{{ cite web | url = http://soundsheavenly.co.uk/faq.htm | title = Sounds Heavenly - Help and Advice | access-date = 2009-03-19 }}</ref> if the connected equipment was incompatible, the outer two pins could be unscrewed from the 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 [[Mini-DIN]], 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)&mdash;the left and right channels would not be transposed, as the plug was wired such that each headphone or speaker was connected "top left&ndash;bottom right" and "top right&ndash;bottom left".<ref>I{{who|date=September 2021}} have a Philips tape recorder which has a "domino" headphone socket; the headphone plug has a cut-out in the body thus allowing the external speakers to remain active or not as required.</ref> Note that when rotating a DIN headphone connector 180 degrees the polarity will be reversed. This generally doesn't affect the audio but if an adapter with a DIN headphone male connector and most other types of female headphone connector is used, the negative connection for both channels will be joined resulting in the audio being stereo with the DIN connector inserted one way and mono when inserted the other way. To avoid this and still be able to use a pair of headphones both with equipment that has a DIN headphone connector and also use it with other equipment, it is suggested to permanently mount a DIN connector on the headphones and make an adapter to use other devices with headphones that has a DIN connector. 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).<ref>{{cite web|url=http://stardot.org.uk/forums/viewtopic.php?t=12966 |title=Why are domino plugs reversible |publisher=stardot.org.uk |access-date=2017-05-10}}</ref>

Screw-locking versions of this connector have also been used in instrumentation, process control, and professional audio.<ref>IEC 60268-11</ref>  In North America, this variant is often called a "small Tuchel" connector after one of the major manufacturers, now a division of [[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 (brand)|Uher]] 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]] B series connector.  This connector was commonly referred to as the "Bleecon",<ref name="Bleecon">{{cite web|url=http://www.blue-room.org.uk/wiki/Bleecon|title=Bleecon|publisher=www.blue-room.org.uk|access-date=2017-05-09|archive-date=2019-04-03|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20190403051351/http://www.blue-room.org.uk/wiki/Bleecon|url-status=dead}}</ref> an example of its use being the Strand Tempus range of theatrical lighting dimmers and control desks.<ref name="Bleecon" />  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.

[[File:DIN connector pinout.svg|thumb|DIN Connectors with correct pin-out]]