DIN connector

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The DIN connector is an electrical signal connector that was standardized by the Deutsches Institut für Normung (DIN), the German Institute for Standards, in the mid 1950s, initially with three pins for mono, but when stereo connections and gear appeared in the late 1950s, versions with five pins or more were made. The male DIN connectors (plugs) feature a 13.2 mm diameter metal shield with a notch that sets the orientation in which plug and socket can mate.^[1] The range of DIN connectors, different only in the configuration of the pins, has 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°).^[2]

In consumer electronics, the cylindrical connectors were adopted for analog audio signals.^[3] Some DIN connectors have been used in analog video applications, for power connections, and for digital interfaces, such as the MIDI (DIN 41524), the IBM PC keyboard and the IBM AT keyboard 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.^[4]