Interactive Connector Diagram
Click or tap any pin in the diagram below to inspect its signal assignment, electrical specification, and wire colour standard.
Click any pin to view its signal assignment, electrical spec, and wire colour.
Used in Retro Machine Hubs
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Connector Specifications
Connector Standard
DIN 45326 (8-Pin 262° Horseshoe) & DIN 41524 (5-Pin 180°)
Video Signals
Composite CVBS (1 Vpp 75 Ω) + S-Video Luma (Pin 1) & Chroma (Pin 6)
Audio Signal
Mono Line-Level Out (Pin 3, ~1 Vpp) + External Audio Mix In (Pin 5)
Chroma Attenuator
300 Ω series resistor on Pin 6 (Chroma) recommended for modern LCD/upscalers
Full Pin Assignment & Wiring Reference
| Pin | Signal Name | Direction | Electrical Spec / Role | Wire Colour / SCART / Adapter Target |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | LUMA (Y) | Out | Luminance + Sync (S-Video Y) — Note: on VIC-20 Pin 1 is +6–9V RF power! | S-Video Pin 3 (Y) / White |
| 2 | GND | GND | 0 V Common Video & Audio Ground Shield | Black / Shield (All Grounds) |
| 3 | AUDIO OUT | Out | Mono Audio Output from SID (C64/128), TED (Plus/4/C16) or VIC (VIC-20) | White & Red RCA Audio |
| 4 | VIDEO (CVBS) | Out | Composite Video Out (1 Vpp into 75 Ω) | Yellow RCA Composite / SCART Pin 20 |
| 5 | AUDIO IN | In | External Audio Input into SID Filter (or Video High on VIC-20) | Grey (Leave NC in standard cables) |
| 6 | CHROMA (C) | Out | Chrominance Output (S-Video C — 8-Pin DIN models only) | S-Video Pin 4 (C) via 300 Ω resistor |
| 7 | NC (+5V SX-64) | NC | Unconnected on C64/Plus/4 (+5 V orSync on specific monitors) | Leave Unconnected |
| 8 | NC | NC | Unconnected | Leave Unconnected |
Building a Low-Noise C64 / C128 / Plus/4 S-Video or SCART Cable
Early Commodore 64s (silver-label ASSY 326298) and the VIC-20 use a 5-pin 180-degree DIN socket carrying Luminance, Composite Video, and Audio. All later C64 breadbins, C64C, SX-64, C128, Plus/4, C16, and C116 use an 8-pin 262-degree horseshoe DIN socket (backward-compatible with 5-pin plugs!) that adds separated Chrominance on Pin 6 for S-Video.
- For S-Video (RetroTINK 2X/5X/4K or Commodore 1702/1084): Connect DIN Pin 1 (Luma) to S-Video Pin 3 (Y), DIN Pin 6 (Chroma) through a 300 Ω 1/4W metal-film resistor in series to S-Video Pin 4 (C), and DIN Pin 2 (GND) to S-Video Pins 1 & 2.
- Why the 300 Ω Chroma resistor matters: The VIC-II and TED drive Chrominance slightly hotter than the 75 Ω S-Video standard expects; a 300 Ω series resistor eliminates colour checkerboard artifacts.
- Audio hum reduction: Bridge DIN Pin 3 (Audio Out) to both the Left (White) and Right (Red) RCA plugs, and keep the audio shield separate from the video coax shield until they meet at DIN Pin 2.
- VIC-20 5-Pin DIN difference: On the VIC-20, Pin 1 is +6–9 V DC power for the external RF modulator, Pin 4 is Video Low, and Pin 5 is Video High!