Mode_Fan Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 3 Pin Active, or 5 Pin active, which do I need?? they both have 5 pins but are just wired differently, Please help... thanks. K-OZ Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted April 6, 2006 Share Posted April 6, 2006 Standard MIDI cables require 3 pins to be wired: Pin 1 - n/c Pin 2 - Ground Pin 3 - n/c Pin 4 - "Positive" Pin 5 - "Negative" The pins, when looking at the end of the MIDI cable, are as follows: 1 3 4 5 2It's generally recommended that the other two pins be left unconnected. Also, the connections are pin-to-pin (pin 4 to pin 4, etc.). Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Tomorrow Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 I have an additional question relating to MIDI (sorry for leeching onto this thread) if anyone knows. Can a MIDI cable ever be used for audio. I mainly ask because the synth I just bought on ebay supposedly uses this connector for audio, and I'm a bit confused. Has anyone ever seen this? The synth is Russian made if that helps. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUSSIEKEYS Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 midi cables and audio 5 pin are identical in look i have used audio for midi [not recomended ]in an emergency with no problem. but i dont think its a good idea to use midi cables for audio as not all midi cables are totally wired up on all pins. can anyone confirm this for black tommorrow. these connectors were once industry standard for audio multiwired systems midi just used the connectors for lack of anything else, was always told that audio ones were not to be used for midi....but why...they are wired pin to pin are they not. and is there any difference in the wire itself? i dought it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
AUSSIEKEYS Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 midi cables and audio 5 pin are identical in look i have used audio for midi [not recomended ]in an emergency with no problem. but i dont think its a good idea to use midi cables for audio as not all midi cables are totally wired up on all pins. can anyone confirm this for black tommorrow. these connectors were once industry standard for audio multiwired systems midi just used the connectors for lack of anything else, was always told that audio ones were not to be used for midi....but why...they are wired pin to pin are they not. and is there any difference in the wire itself? i dought it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prague Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 It's more the cable than the connector for audio. MIDI cables may not have a very good shield. They also do not incorporate 75ohm coaxial cable. Not recommended. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Unsound Practices Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 Black - You need to see the jack/socket to be sure. There are 5 pin connectors using XLR shells (some recent Sony and Panasonic pro ENG gear uses them), DIN shells, etc. Once you know exactly what you need it is easy to make the cable if you are handy with a soldering iron. If in doubt, post a pic of the jack/socket and I'm sure one of us will recognize it. "More tools than talent" Motif ES7:Kurzweil PC1x:Electro 2 73:Nord Lead 3:MKS-80:Matrix 1000:Microwave XT Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Byrdman Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 There are also 5 pin connectors that look just like a MIDI connector except the angle between the pins is different. Check an old fashioned computer keyboard for an example. Instead of 180 total degrees its more like 240. So just cos its 5 pin din does not make it mechanically compatible. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob Rinker Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 Originally posted by Byrdman: There are also 5 pin connectors that look just like a MIDI connector except the angle between the pins is different. Check an old fashioned computer keyboard for an example. Instead of 180 total degrees its more like 240. So just cos its 5 pin din does not make it mechanically compatible. The MIDI Standards people adopted the use of a certain specific 5-pin connector that already existed as a standard long before the MIDI specification. There are other such standard connectors around also - "DIN" is an abbreviation for the German standards organization (don't know the exact name). So, anybody who is designing some equipment (audio or otherwise) can choose to use any of these standard connectors in their design. As an example, Motion-Sound uses the same connector to connect their PRO-3 top unit to their Lo-Pro bottom unit as that specified by the MIDI spec. They probably did this so that the widely available "MIDI Cable" that was familiar to musician-types could be used to connect the two. The signals carried by the cable are definitely NOT MIDI signals, however - they are audio and rotor control. As another example, my XK-3 uses another DIN connector for the exp pedal - has the same outer shell as the MIDI one, but with 8 pins. This is just another of the standard DIN connectors. So, you need to be a little careful - not all "MIDI Connectors" necessary carry MIDI signals, and not all DIN connectors are "MIDI connectors." - Bob Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Prague Posted April 8, 2006 Share Posted April 8, 2006 Deutche Industriale Norman (pretty close). German Industrial Standard, basically. Receivers and tape decks used to use a 5pin DIN with audio cabling for the Tape Loop or EQ loop. It's still found on European things, I think. It was simple to connect a tape deck. Just one of theses cables handled stereo In and Out. I still have a Radio Shack adapter that splits a 5pin DIN out to two stereo pairs of audio cable. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Is it just me, or is it frustating to others when a question get answered but the original poster never acknowledges it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dick Ward MP Hall of Fame Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Lol, I know what ya mean there Sven. I get aggrivated too. BTW, you better aknowledge that I answered this question! "...Keytar in a heavy metal band is nothing more than window dressing" - Sven Golly Cursed Eternity - My Band Dick Ward - My Me Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted April 10, 2006 Share Posted April 10, 2006 Originally posted by Dick Ward (Alias: Mr. Pretentious): BTW, you better aknowledge that I answered this question! Acknowledgement made. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Black Tomorrow Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 My apologies everyone for not replying...haven't been able to get online reliably until now. But thanks a bunch for the advice. I will definitely look into it and send a pic of the socket when it gets here. I haven't received it just yet, but I figured I'd ask so I'd know what to do with it when it came in. Once again my apologies, and thank you... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sven Golly Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 Actually, my comment wasn't about you, BT... and good luck with your new (old?) synth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Hammodel AV Posted April 12, 2006 Share Posted April 12, 2006 DIN audio 5-pin has a approx 180 degree spread versus the 5-pin power/CB radio mic connector of 240 degrees. I call all of it DIN, though (with connectors of 4, 5, 6 , 7, 8 etc.). Marshall amps footswitches use a DIN-style, for example. Hammond T-582A, Casio WK6600, Behringer D Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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