How To Solder DIN Plugs - Commodore 64 Power Supply

[@emmettturner9452]

I can’t recall if I got this idea from someone else or not, but for several years now my trick has been to slice the end off a potato to make a flat side, then stand the potato up and jam the DIN pins into it. Makes a really solid holder that keeps the pins from moving around in the plastic when they get hot. I first did something like this after struggling with “helping hands” (alligator clip stand) to make my Atari 800 Y/C monitor cable back in 2016. Of course, I clean the pins before final assembly but that extra step is totally worth it.

[@MindFlareRetro]

Ah, yes, never any fun soldering DIN plugs, but you did a good job. My only constructive criticism is that I think I would suggest not cutting away any of the copper strands and perhaps soldering a portion in the cup and the remaining ones on the outside of the cup-it's easy for me to be an armchair quarterback; I should probably give that soldering challenge a try, myself. However, the soldered portition of wire was much shorted when you remade the connection, so I imagine there will be no noticeable issue with trimming the wires short. I do like the REAN brand connectors-I have several in my arsenal of parts, as well. That said, I enjoyed, as always. Great work!

[@pukebucket5360]

Dude, that's awesome. I just bought my first solder iron kit and getting ready to fix a $300.00 medical cable for my customer. The end is like $5. I'm gonna look like a stud if I can do it.

[@frankiii9165]

Came across this video to get some inspiration, as I had to make a null-modem cable changing the DE-9 end to a DIN 5 end for an apple IIc, I used the crappy DIN type with the holes instead the bevels, and with the help of those clamps and a magnifying glass finally managed to do it! So many thanks, now I can fully enjoy the machine!

[@Inisfad]

Wow, thank you for this. I’ve been researching a 3/90º din plug for a golf trolley, and have been unable to find any videos or info about replacing it. I found you. Very informative and helpful. Plus, I love the noise that filing that tiny screw for safekeeping makes. Very funny!!

[@RetroRecipes]

Glad to help! 👍

[@PhoenixZ80]

Oooohhhhh, that slow motion action replay of the wire going in to the din pin was ever so slightly satisfying 😁. Seriously, nice vid. You've given me confidence to try soldering myself.

[@RetroRecipes]

Blake Brett That was the aim so that means a lot. Thank you!

[@trendyfunandgames4759]

There's nothing that something being inserted in slow motion

[@MS-ho9wq]

With all those broken glass sound effects, you could say you made quite a DIN!

[@RetroRecipes]

That's so bad it's good.

[@mordekaiser_1312]

as a non native english speaker, closed captions are a bless

[@RacerX-]

Great video, as always! These are indeed a pain in the neck to solder. I hate DIN plugs! mini DIN are even worse!! Whenever I solder those cheap ones I always end up melting the stinking plastic the pins are molded into. Then I found the same connector you are using and what a joy! Even better I found some DINS that have solder eyes that you can actually loop the wire around and they are by far the easiest. My only nitpick would be to use some heat shrink tubing on all the connections so there is no bare wire exposed when you put the shield back on.

[@RetroRecipes]

Racer X I'm glad you like it! In the description I did mention insulating from the plug metal grip, which is the main concern. I'll check out those eye loops, thanks!

[@JustinianPrvni]

Exactly! The cheap ones are everywhere, but completely useless. There is no opening for the solder and by the time solder actually adheres to the pins, they're melting the plastic and moving around. I just ordered two of the ones used in this video and I imagine it'll be much better.

[@natgrant1364]

Connectors can be a pain. My worst experience was making a connector for a Sega Saturn. I used some bits of paper clips for the pins, for the round shield, I used a piece of the RF shielding from some dead device (I think it was a CD drive,) an old S-Video cable, some stereo RCA cables, and some casting resin to hold the connector together. It's ugly as sin but it works. Having said that, I've worked with the DIN connectors as well and frankly, I'd rather be flensed.

[@rvaughan74]

The only thing I can think of would be to use one of the helping hands to hold the wire to be soldered in place next to the pin. It's certainly less painful touching the iron to one of those than to precious fingers.

[@TheLOUIVY]

Thanks for the video.

[@EsaKarjalainen]

I just finished soldering a Commodore Composite cable. It was horrible. First, the DIN connector was the cheap type. Then, half of the RCA cable I was using turned out to be broken. No matter, I could at least test without Audio.... And now I realized I did the whole thing mirrored, and now I have a RCA cable connected to Audio In instead of Composite video, so I'll have to do the whole thing again.

[@XXLAUTAROXX]

I think i lose 5 years of life each time i make one of these cables

[@RetroRecipes]

Thanks for watching! I'm no expert, but what did you think of my technique? Will you be trying this? And what are your phobias?! Let me know below!

[@brycelynch2138]

Will be trying it shortly, I'm building the same PSU right now. Doing it a bit differently because I'm not re-using my old PSU's cable but we'll see what happens.

[@brycelynch2138]

Total failure. I think the connector pins weren't made right because there was no room for solder, let alone tips of wires. I'm falling back to plan b - I ordered a cable with the right kind of connectors on both ends and I'm going to chop it in half and splice right onto the wires. Thank you for your video, though, it really helped.

[@TheDigitalAura]

Glad to see you did it over. I don't think it would have lasted too long if you'd left it as it was.

[@RetroRecipes]

Agreed! 👍🕹️

[@deborahberi3249]

Great video! I found the Rean 7 pin Din for approx. $1.35 Pounds here in Canada...paid nearly the same for some of the garbage connectors. -Mark.

[@RetroRecipes]

Deborah Beri Thank you! You're lucky. Mouser postage costs here make it as expensive as Amazon. Maybe you could go into business exporting them!

[@deborahberi3249]

Sorry, my wife's Gmail is logged in so it's posting as Deborah but regardless I've enjoyed all of your videos specifically...you keep it light and humerous and somjetimes that's missing from many videos. Anyhow, my Brother-in-Law travels from the UK to Canada several times per year, maybe he'll be my Expoprt Agent? Lol.

[@RetroRecipes]

Deborah Beri Thanks for your very kind words Deborah! 😉😉 (I guess I have 2 new subscribers now!)

[@deborahberi3249]

Whoops, forgot to mention we have 13% HST (our VAT!) taxes. Too bad they don't ship these connectors in cool Colours! Regards, Mark.

[@glaura1581]

Thank you for your tutorial and well-thought-out steps. but someone wants to buy DIN connectors, i think maybe he can buy elecbee DIN connectors, there are also many other products like IC series.thanks.

[@Anonymous-it5jw]

Thanks for the tips. Have to solder one of these things in the morning. I see why they sell these things in 2-packs. For those who are as uncoordinated as I am, and who may possibly heat things up too much, causing the plug to deform (i.e. melt) and the pins to go askew, try plugging the DIN plug into a socket while soldering the pins - that keeps the pins aligned.

[@RetroRecipes]

Careful you don't melt the socket though with the heat transfer 👍🕹️

[@emmettturner9452]

To tin the cables you either need to add fresh solder directly (awkward) or you need to add flux. Just putting enough heat into them to transfer solder from your iron tip is not going to cut it, especially since the fresh solder in the DIN cups has already activated and released the flux core. Dipping the stripped ends into gel flux would’ve got much better solder wetting at a lower temp allowing shorter exposed bits without melting insulation. Yeah, DINs are a nightmare and require a lot of technique and finesse to solder. Maybe crimping is the way to go!

[@gabojill19]

How would you even crimp DIN pins? Serious question here.

[@emmettturner9452]

@@gabojill19 some manufacturers sell them with pins that require a special crimp tool before you individually insert each one into the DIN connector. I’ve never used one but I’ve seen them. I have a crimp tool that can crimp many different kinds of pins but I don’t know if it will do those. I use it mostly for KK, DuPont, Molex, JST, and JST-XH pins/connectors. I believe Teaching Tech (or was it Maker’s Muse?) has a good video on these as they relate to the various connectors on 3D printers. I know RadioShack and Fry’s Electronics used to sell D-sub connectors with crimp pins but I never knew what kind of crimp tool to use and they didn’t seem to sell one. I recently found a bunch of new-old stock RadioShack connectors at a salvage store. I went ahead and bought them since I bet the crimper I have could do it (the one suggested in the video I mentioned). Unlike the butt splice connectors you find at the hardware store, most of these pins/receptacles crimp each piece twice, with one set holding onto the wire’s insulation and the smaller one grabbing into the wire itself. Crimping actually makes a better connection than soldering and doesn’t make stranded wire more brittle/breakable where the solder ends… so it’s considered more reliable. I see some people always crimp AND solder but that’s sometimes a bad idea.

[@jmboyd78]

Thank you for the video, very helpful!

[@CB3ROB-CyberBunker]

would be more practical to know 'where to buy a machine that solders din plugs by itself and molds the connector around it' as we most definately don't just want to produce 2 or 3 of the things. :P the same goes for everything associated with the manufacture of all the custom chips in it, as in a whole production line. :P

[@SomePotato]

7 pin DIN? That's cute! Try a fricking 9 pin Mini-DIN! But big thanks, after some searching, this was the first video giving me an idea on how to solder that stupid little connector for my VGA pass-through cable for my Voodoo 2. Why couldn't Miro just use VGA to VGA like any sane manufacturer?

[@mertuckan]

I love these videos, they're great. so are music tracks... but the volume of the music tracks are a bit too high. you see I generally watch these at night while my wife and kid are asleep. when the music starts I put my finger over the phones speaker but it doesn't always work. waking my wife with these nerdy videos is not a good idea. maybe we can do something about this, what do you say? :)

[@RetroRecipes]

I actually addressed this in more recent videos. Thank you for your kind words and feedback. Sorry about waking the kid 😉🕹️

[@tobeypeters]

I would've used heat shrink on each wire and connector. After testing voltages and such.

[@LeftyLabs]

I would love to see a similar video but making an audio/video DIN. I’ve got to wire one up today for a DIN13 connector. I need to solder Composite, Chroma, Luma and Audio, plus a common ground to them all. THAT is the part that worries me. I have no realistic idea how to wire the common ground to all those separate RCA jacks. Ugh.

[@soundpixel9867]

You forgot heatshrink tubing over each wire/terminal

[@e5frog]

Nice video, I have a few details that annoyed me a bit, being an instructional video. How did you get the shell on You have a good size cable and you choke the current by cutting away strands... that's not "the correct way to do it". The wire gauge is needed to be able to transport maximum current. If cutting away part of it you risk heating it up where it's thinner, maybe so much that the solder gets soft. There is more than one 5V pin and GND pin so cable ends could be split and soldered on more than one pin. There's no rule that the cable has to be inserted in the hole of the pin (if the wire is thin enough - sure). Soldering it on the outside is a perfectly good solution. It's easy to short something in the Rean connector with the metal cover (I have soldered a few), some insulation (shrink tubing perhaps) tube to cover all the pins inside is a good idea. - Nicely made video as always.

[@RetroRecipes]

e5frog Thanks for your feedback. There seems to be no current choke in the multimeter that I can see. No warmth in the plug either. That cable is far too thick for 5V/9V if you compare it to today's alternatives. Remember I have modern adaptors on the other end (see my PSU video.) Not sure where there are 5V or GND cups? In the description I do describe insulation to avoid shorts 😊 Thanks again.

[@e5frog]

If you have some more equipment drawing more current there could be a problem, I was looking at it today as someone asked about it on Lemon64 and it seems AWG22 or 20 should be good enough to run 2A for any multicore strand amount listed. I guess they used a little extra on the one you use, but better a little extra than too little. ;-) Nice to see that you tidied up the soldering. *thumbs up* I have watched the PSU-video, very nice, looks very nice, would be hard to do the same with European equipment, would need a much bigger box. Have never seen a double ended connector like that (European standard). Simple, handy and should be easy for anyone to do. You have 5V on the other side of the usual GND-pin as well (on all motherboard revisions than one IIRC), the other pins that aren't 5V or 9VAC are connected to GND. So with DIN numbering standard 1, 2, 3 is GND; 6,7 is 9VAC and 5V on 4 and 5 - 4 may be Not Connected as mentioned a simple resistance check on the computer will reveal if there's double 5V or not. ;-) ist.uwaterloo.ca/~schepers/MJK/pics/power.gif

[@RetroRecipes]

How interesting. In your diagram (and most) pin 4 is not connected. I have heard of C64s with the 5V only on pin 4, but never seen one, nor with both. Peculiar! Some DINs have the other pins removed, only 4 pins in place. Either way, it works, current is good, no warmth on the DIN. That's all I can ask 👍😉🤞

[@e5frog]

Perifractic's Retro Recipes I'm sure Commodore saved millions by just populating the connectors with four pins. ;-) If you have the time you could check your motherboard. When Ms Kent and myself built the saV64 over voltage protection we had to jumper the two 5V pins as some later PSUs (for C64C) instead uses the other pin (N/C in the schematic), these are also often fully populated.

[@deborahberi3249]

Just how tiny is the Diameter of the Solder you manage to easily insert into the Solder Cup/Pins of the Connector cuase even 0.5mm is technically too big if I'm not mistaken. -Mark.

[@RetroRecipes]

Deborah Beri 0.71mm but it fits ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

[@deborahberi3249]

What diameter solder wire are you using? Appears to be higher than what I'm using (0.8mm). -Mark.

[@RetroRecipes]

0.71mm 😊

[@DigitalArtDeco]

Hi, why you are not using Kynar inside the DIN conneactor to protect the wires from each other?

[@RetroRecipes]

Because it does not need it and works perfectly. This video is nearly two years old and it's still my daily power supply. As long as you position the wires correctly it is not necessary

[@homestar92]

I just cheat and buy a DIN cable, hack it in half and do wire splices. It doesn't look as nice but damn is it easier.

[@adventurerready3114]

Hello! Great video, thanks for sharing the tips and insight. However, when I was welding a DIN 5 to a 3.5 mm audio mono, I noticed that the tin wire is wider than the DIN sockets so I couldn't apply the method you demonstrate at 7:31>

[@Jack-fs2im]

Give yrself a pat on the back,no way Could I do such a thing,a steady hand and a good eye is needed ,perhaps you would make a good surgeon?ha.well done

[@BenjaminVestergaard]

Why put it inside the conductor, and then cut, and then melt it? Seems like double work to me... what's wrong with putting it in, use the solder iron to "cut" the tin, then heat it until it's settled? Edit: that brings me to another thing that my electronics teacher always warned me, which I've seen a lot of retro repairs violate... when you violently cut a leg, after soldering, you better re-heat your solder point, because the mechanical shock may be enough to disconnect a PCB trace. Is that just a myth of the bad quality home made boards? ... I've soldered, cut and reheated a LOT of boards because of this. Edit2: you should really put an effort into twisting your copper before pre-tinning.. and you leave way too much copper exposed, unless you're generous with shrink wrap.

[@karolwojtyla3047]

Unnecessarily you are thinning this wires, making them weak, just twist them strong and apply to the DIN pins and then solder. ;)

[@stevenshelor581]

Music was a little loud sometimes. Otherwise awesome! I have a Question. Are the hot and neutral always in the same place in a 4 pin , 9v 2A din plug

[@RetroRecipes]

Should be AFAIK

[@gabrielemonti6695]

I severely burned my finger doing a din cable

[@ralphmalone8337]

Lol gurgle is actually a website !! guess what they sell.. baby stuff haha.. anyways..

[@brycelynch2138]

Google Plus?

[@RetroRecipes]

RIP

[@LasseHuhtala]

Practice makes... semi-acceptable? :-)

[@kduhtdkzrt]

I’m sorry to say it, but that didn’t look too good at all. You can do better. Don’t strip the cables that long, Tin the cables, not the connector. If the strands don’t fit in the pins, strip away only as many as you absolutely have to. But most of all I‘m worried the long blank wires will touch each other or the shield. Honestly, this thing to me looks like an accident waiting to happen.

[@RetroRecipes]

Did you see take 2?

[@kduhtdkzrt]

Perifractic's Retro Recipes Take 2?

[@RetroRecipes]

I redo the job near the end as I'm not happy with it...