Hi all im new here , i have a problem i have a centurion DVD player with 7" screens my problem is my sons mates brothers lost the lead that goes into to 1 screen it's a mini din lead with 8 pins one end and 9 pins the other end ive phone centurion and they don't do them anymore and their not on eBay or the net well i can't find one can someone help me to locate one preferably in the uk please i would put a photo of the lead i have left but don't know how to on here but im sure someone on here will know which lead im on about please help theirs nothing worse than half a system working .
Maplins?
No tried them
I'm not absolutely sure, but I think you are probably looking for a 9 pin S video lead....which is rare , and is going to be very hard to find.
I remember some years ago, some people managed to get a standard 4 pin S video leads to work in these sockets by cutting off the plastic locating lug in the plug, and then carefully plugging in the 4 pin plug to the 9 pin connector.
(The trick is described near the bottom of this page )
The other (now unconnected) pins were used for different things by different manufacturers. ..So if Centurion used these other pins for audio, this won't work of course. But if there are separate audio connections, then it might...
You might still find the right lead of course, but I wouldn't hold your breath...
I've just looked at it and you say you cut off the locating lug at the bottom and carefully plug the 4 pins into the 9 pins female socket which i have ? What about the screen end do i do exactly the same for this cut off locating lug then plug it into the screen ?
I should make it clear that I've never actually tried this myself....I don't think I've ever even seen a 9 pin S-video socket!.... I just recall having heard the 'trick' mentioned before.
I would guess you need to repeat the same exercise at the other end?......Maybe someone else can confirm that.... Or better still, let you know where to find the right lead!
But in the absence of that information, then for the price of a standard 4 pin S-video lead, it might be worth a try, before you decide to bin the unit?
I do know that S video pins are fragile at the best of times. Without the security of the locating lugs, you would need to be very careful to plug the cable in without damaging the pins...and you would need to check the orientation carefully
As I say, it's really only a 'last stand' option, if no correct lead is forthcoming...
There might not be a 9 to 8 pin s-video lead on ebay but there are loads of 9 and 8 pin adaptors, just search '8 pin s video' and '9 pin s video'.
Have a look at what there is and you'll probably be able to get a 9 pin adaptor, an 8 pin one then buy a suitable lead to connect them to each other.
Looking at this problem a bit more.... I don't think these 8 and 9 pin Mini Din connectors are called 'S-video' ..it's only the 4 pin ones - which is probably why I've never seen one!
What does seem to be clear is that there is no standard for the use of these multi - MiniDin leads. Every manufacturer uses (or used) them with many different connections...which reduces the chance of that 4 pin 'trick' actually working...
What you do have is a sample lead - which is a good start - so if you can find a friendly local 'tech', you can get him to meter out the connections, and then make you a new lead.
It' probably only got 8 connections, as one end is 8 pin But there is a possibility that there is a screen connection at the 9 pin end only .. that's going to be difficult to establish, unless your tech can find a way to measure whether the cable screen is connected to one of the 9 pin plug pins, and there is no screen connection to any pin at the 8 pin end.
So you could try one of these cables: and then solder one of these at the free end - following the connections on your sample lead.
I say 'you' .. unless you are an experienced solderer, I would recommend you use your 'tech' for that task. Mini Dins are pigs to solder!.....
If there are only 8 connections, then it's probably a bit cheaper to buy an 8 pin lead and a 9 pin plug..... see HERE and HERE for example...
All a bit of a pain of course .. but the actual lead really does seem to be as rare as hen's teeth...
It's unlikely that video in any of the usual forms needs all these pins, so does the cable also carry something else to the monitors? Audio and maybe even DC? If you can't solder, and need to find somebody who can, then it might be sensible (if you really like the player for some reason) to consider modifying it to output these signals on more common connectors, so you can buy cable replacements. Is this a car unit? These often send power and audio so they have just one cable.
If you buy the connectors, you also have to buy suitable multicore cable, and if it carries audio too, finding that will be tricky too! I've never seen it on sale in sizes that will fit the plug! Meter tests won't show which is a screen and which is inside it? This is going to be a mega bodge. I sadly suspect you are stuffed without modifying player and at least one monitor. If it's old enough to have no spares available, then at some point, any one of the three units will kill it when they fail so maybe now is the time to look at replacements.
I would rather keep it mate as its 3 years old and only been used twice second time in my present car i can also plug the ps3 and ps4 through it and yes the audio power and picture dose come through the lead to the screen hence why i might try the 4 pin plug as i don't use the sound on the monitor as i have an fm transmitter .
If you buy the connectors, you also have to buy suitable multicore cable, and if it carries audio too, finding that will be tricky too! I've never seen it on sale in sizes that will fit the plug! Meter tests won't show which is a screen and which is inside it? This is going to be a mega bodge ....
I think the words 'mega bodge' are perhaps a little harsh for a perfectly logical suggestion on how to try and help out with this problem....
I'm assuming you have some technical knowledge here?.... so you will already be aware that most Mini Din (and certainly standard S video cables) will have the overall cable screen connected to the connector shrouds at both ends. A meter test will confirm whether any of the other pins are also connected to this screen ... or whether the 8 pin to 9 pin cable configuration is designed purely for orientation.
As to finding suitable cable, I would suggest that the link I made in my earlier post - to the cable already fitted with a 9 pin connector at one end - is probably supplied with an appropriate cable ?...
As to whether any of the internal cables are additionally individually screened cables or pairs, I would have my doubts. These cables are not going to be used at excessive lengths, or for balanced low level audio, so unlikely, I would suggest. In any case, I think it might be worth a try before throwing the unit away.....
Not ideal I admit, but do I think 'mega bodge' is a bit strong. It's certainly less of a 'bodge' than trying to physically modify the player and screen connectors themselves, IMHO!
To the OP --- if DC is carried down the cable - as I think it it must be - then I doubt the 4 pin cable 'trick' will work...
there is a unit on ebay at the moment for £25.
if it is the same, I'd buy it.
I would also try ICE shops as they may have a better understanding of what they need than on here
Well, I'd happily disagree here. Most of the Mini DINs have different pin layouts - attempting to make Mini DIN cables up is a total pain, unless you're good with surface mount devices, and micro soldering with a fine tip iron, and most people don't even own one. It's fairly easy to source the cables, perhaps not from RS, though, as you need to buy more of the connectors than you want - beware the multipack items - but the components are not the problem. Maybe you and I could make a decent job of making these up Rog, but for some people a jack plug is fiddly - preparing the cable end is also quite hard - as some of the connectors have staggered length terminals inside - often the longer ones, which although easier to put on, having more space, need fanned and trimmed conductors.
I do agree that for these short lengths, screening probably isn't that important, but I'd rather spend the time putting in some proper output sockets if I was doing it.
With a meter it is indeed simple enough to work out what goes where. The real bodge is trying to persuade a 4 pin plug to fit because the pin spacings in the Mini DIN connectors are quite different. Staggered rows in the multi pin versions, rather than a simple square in the Y/C ones.
In fact, I suspect that the bodge I would personally do would be to buy a cheap 8 pin and 9 pin to bare ends lead, and then join those up in a small project box! Far, far easier than soldering a load of cables to a 8 or 9 pin connector.
If i knew someone where i live that could make me one up i would get ask them too .
I'm in birmingham
Rog yes the dc power is carried down the cable to the screens rs components are a waste of time and not very helpful world leaders i very much doubt given my phone call experience with them .
How do you upload photos on here and ill show you lead i have left ?
Upload them to photobucket or similar, then link :)
RS components are an electronics components company and expect you to be a professional who knows what you want.
You wouldn't wander into a Travis perkins and ask for "a thingie that fits on a boiler, I don't know what size pipe, or what it is called"
It seems to be a chinese made unit. Perhaps ICE has a protocol, but chinese things have a habit of weird connections.
they have a habit of not sticking to conventional wiring, and you can sometimes find two items that seem identical but are different
" />
" />
" />
" />" />" />" />Dave m please don't make me out to be stupid when i most certainly am not i told them exactly what i wanted and what it was for and did .
And this is the lead i need and yes some photos are up twice it wouldn't let me delete some .
Much shorter than I figured. I'll stick with my 'get two cables with bare end tales, meter them out against that one, and then insulate and seal the joint. I've been soldering for more than 40 years, and I reckon I'd still melt one of those plugs soldering them on. 4 pins are not too bad, but 8 or 9 in a plug the size of a biro????
Paulears make me 1 or 2 of them and ill pay you for them ?
I know which is the power pin to the screens but that's it im rubbish at soldering and would mess it up .
It's the cost that worries me. The plugs to open ends are what, getting close to ten quid each with VAT and postage, a small box big enough to take the two soldered fan ends will be around a fiver, and if you do it properly, a small gland for each end - so that's about thirty quid. If you forget the box, and simply solder and tape up - best bodge, you are still spending twenty quid. Just seems too much money. A bodge wouldn't take too long to do, but even then it's twenty quid, without any money spent on actually doing it. If you are dead set on doing it, then you could source the two cables, and then send them to me with the one cable you have left, and I could meter it out and make a matching one, with either nice or bodged join - if you can't find anyone local.
What I would suggest you do is seek out your local radio ham club. The older members will be pretty handy at soldering and might make it up for a pint if you take them the bits. Most radio clubs like challenges, or at least have the odd member who does. They're used to working at circuit board level, and the skill level available can be quite high. That's how I first got started in 1980, and some of the people I met taught me some quite delicate stuff. Eyesights less good now, but there's nothing really hard about this - it's just fiddly. However, I do know that soldering on the actual plugs is a nightmare - and needs a magnifying glass and patience! So that's enough to make me want to source a moulded cable for the project!
Thanks for the quick response paulears , i can buy the 9 pin and the 8 pin male mini din plugs on ebay for £6 dunno about the cable i can't find that
As for a ham radio place i have one in westheath birmingham i didn't know they did stuff like this ?
Hi rob thanks for that post , but i would still have the same problem with mine their is nothing at all wrong with mine apart from the one missing lead , also that system on ebay only has one of the leads like me it's missing one andi know what you will say make one system out of the 2 but that would be too much kit to have and not have working either .