Coaxial power connector

Connector construction and terminology

The connector pairs for barrel connectors are defined in terms of 'plugs' and 'receptacles'; receptacles are more commonly called 'sockets' (UK) or 'jacks' (US). Receptacles may be panel-mounted or circuit board-mounted. Plugs are on cables. Some 'in-line' receptacles are also cable-mounted.

There is a long history in electrical engineering of referring to such power plugs--that is to say, plugs with holes instead of prongs--as female, particularly regarding coaxial transmission of electricity. Type N connectors, and all EC_60320#Appliance_couplers IEC 60320 "appliance coupler" plugs are examples of this. That said, while IEC 60320 provides gender-based standards for higher-voltage plugs (such as the cable plugged into a standard computer power supply), they have not yet defined gender-based standards for low-voltage coaxial power connectors such as those discussed herein; I.E., which component is "male" and which "female." As a result, there are varying opinions in this regard. Many industrial suppliers avoid gender terminology but many do not. Similarly, some people view the corded plug as female and some perceive it as male. Some, after consideration and surveys, found that user perception of which was male and which female was evenly split.

Power is generally supplied by a plug to a receptacle. Cables are available with one in-line receptacle fanning out to a number of plugs, so that many devices may be supplied by one supply. As the use of a plug implies a cable, even a short stub, some power supplies carry panel-mounted receptacles instead to avoid this cable, i.e. the normal convention of power from plug to receptacle is reversed. Cables for such cases are available with a plug at each end, although cables or adapters with two receptacles are not widely available.

Plug (Female)

On the female plug, the outer body is metallic and cylindrical in shape, and comprises one of the two contacts. The second, inside contact is a hollow metallic cylinder constructed to accept insertion of the pin in the corresponding male connector. The inner and outer barrels are separated by an insulating layer. The outer contact is generally called the barrel, sleeve or ring, and the inner contact is called the tip.

Receptacle (Male)

There is typically a single spring-loaded contact at the side of the male connector and a pin in the center corresponding to the intended female plug.

Connector sizes

There are many different sizes of coaxial power connectors (see table at end of this article).

Contact ratings commonly vary from unspecified up to 5 amperes (11 amperes for special high-power versions). Voltage is often unspecified, but may be up to 48V with 12V typical. The smaller types usually have lower current and voltage ratings.

It is quite possible that new sizes will continue to appear and disappear. One possible reason that a particular manufacturer may use a new size is to discourage use of third-party power supplies, either for technical reasons or to force use of their own accessories, or both.

The sizes and shapes of connectors do not consistently correspond to the same power specifications across manufacturers and models. Two connectors from different manufacturers with different sizes could potentially be attached to power supplies with the same voltage and current. Alternatively, connectors of the same size can be part of power supplies with different voltages and currents. Use of the wrong power supply may cause severe equipment damage, or even fire.

Common sizes and interchangeability

Generic plugs are often described by their inside diameter, such as 2.1mm DC plugs and 2.5mm DC plugs.

After the two common 5.5mm OD plugs, the next-most common size is 3.5mm OD with a 1.3mm ID, usually about 9.5mm in length, although both longer and shorter versions also exist. These 3.5mm OD plugs are normally used for lower voltages and currents.

Locking and retention features

A ring-shaped 'locking detent' or 'high-retention feature', present on the barrel of some DC coaxial connectors, is a feature intended to prevent accidental disconnection. Typically, this feature is a conical cut-back section of the tip, just behind the insulator that separates the inner from outer contact surfaces.

'lock-ring DC coaxial connector' uses a captive threaded ring or collar to secure the connection between the plug and jack. This design offers strong resistance to unplugging when used properly.

'lock-tab DC coaxial connector' (also called 'bayonet lock') offers a compromise that resists unplugging, but which will disengage when pulled hard enough. This connector uses small metal tab protrusions on the connector barrel to lock the plug in place, requiring a special push-and-rotate motion to engage the locks.

Standards

There are several standards in existence, such as IEC, EIAJ in Japan and DIN in Germany. More recently, some manufacturers appear to have implemented their own system correlating voltage and plug size. In addition, there appears to be a trend to standardize DC connector to negative barrel (or sleeve) of a coaxial power connector.

IEC 60130-10

IEC 60130-10:1971 defines five DC power connectors.

EIAJ power connectors

Five plug and matching socket or jack designs are defined by the EIAJ standard RC-5320A (also called JEITA RC-5320A). Each of these plugs is used with a specified voltage range. Most manufacturers use a yellow insulating material to distinguish these plugs from other similar-looking DC plugs.

EIAJ-04 and 05 have an internal male pin in the plug. The 01 through 03 sizes do not and are similar to the generic plugs in structure. These five EIAJ plugs are 9.5 mm in length and have a current rating of 2A.

There are two other, less common, connectors defined by EIAJ; RC-5321 and RC-5322. The latter is designed for both 12 V and 24 V automotive applications.

DIN 45323

The German national standards organization DIN (Deutsches Institut für Normung — German Institute for Standardization) issued DIN 45323, which defines two DC power plug and jack (respectively) sizes. At least one of these sizes has a maximum rating of 34 V and 3 A. The information here is inferred from catalog references, as the German standard has not been translated into English yet.

Listing of DC coaxial connectors

This list attempts to show all known sizes, and is annotated with some manufacturers producing selected types, since each manufacturer makes its own unique subset of the known types. Note that the example part numbers given may have different connector barrel (sleeve) lengths, and are not necessarily exact equivalents. There are many more design variants than can be listed in this table, so only a small sampling of part numbers is given.

Connector size is often listed in the format OD (outer diameter) x ID (inner diameter) x L (length of barrel and expressed in millimeters). Designations may vary between manufacturers.

Coaxial plugs that have a male center pin will have another measurement, Center Pin Diameter (CPD). These plugs are often used for higher power applications such as portable computers.

There are a number of sizes listed below that appear to be quite similar, and while the tolerances of these connectors are typically indicated as ±0.05 or ±0.03 mm by the manufacturers, there is still ambiguity as to whether two sizes differing by only 0.05 mm (or where the specification is only given to the nearest 0.10 mm) warrants listing them separately here.

RadioShack Adaptaplug

RadioShack sold a line of adapter plugs for universal AC adapters. Each "Adaptaplug" had a single-letter code, but did not provide any other official designation, nor did RadioShack publish the complete specifications and tolerances on barrel and pin dimensions. RadioShack's web site listed the diameters to the nearest 0.1 mm, and sometimes differs slightly from the official EIAJ RC-5320A standard dimensions. This list may include some parts RadioShack has discontinued but are retained here for completeness.