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7 pin DIN Plug numbering system?

T

tezza

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This is something I've been Googling today and I can't find an answer.

How are 7 Pin DIN plugs numbered? I want to build an extension cable for my Spectravideo SV 318 which will connect the cassette cable to my PC soundcard. The idea is to use the PC as a cassette (WAV) file server for the SV 318, in the same way I've done for some of my other machines.

The manual specifies what functions go with what pins, but there is no diagram to show just how these pins are numbered. I know from my work on 5 pin DINS that it's not sequential as you move around. Does anyone know what numbers correspond to what pins?
 
carlsson said:
I believe if you don't want the remote function, only three (?) pins need to be connected, but you'd better check the pinout.
Click to expand...

Yes, only three SEEMED to be needed, but I think I need more. I tried building a cable from the cassette DIN to my PC and tried to fool my SV into thinking it was talking to a cassette recorder. It didn't seem to respond to the incoming data. I'm sure I had the right pins wired up. I rather suspect I will need that remote pin after all. Apparently it is used to send a signal to the SV that the play button is depressed. Perhaps it doesn't start listening for data unless it gets that signal?

If this is that case, would simply earthing the remote pin accomplish this? Would the computer then think that the Motor is on? Or is that too simplistic?
 
Last edited:
Perhaps, I don't have any experience of the SVI series. However remember to crank up the volume on your PC quite loud, much more than you normally would expect. My recent experience with vintage computer tapes is that the louder, the more likely the computer will pick up the signal.
 
No, it seems to be more than just volume.

I took a look at port 98H, which has the bit (bit 7) for read cassette data. When the PC (or a standard tape recorder through the EAR output) is plugged into the cassette port via my special cable (which only has the cassette read pin), the bit is always set high (1). It's also set high when there is nothing plugged in. However, when it's plugged into the data cassette, even at rest, it always comes back set low (0).

There must be some circuitry in the data cassette player which does things I don't know about. Certainy the READY bit (bit 6 on the same port) is set low whenever the play button is depressed. Plugged into a standard tape recorder or my PC always comes back as high. This no suprise of course.

I'd better stop now or I'm going to blow something up. :)

It's a shame because my BBC, TRS-80 M1, TRS-80 M100, Colour Genie and ZX-Spectrum all have tape archives in WAV form I can store and use directly from a PC via the soundcard.

All of these systems have conventional audio I/O however.
 
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