5 PIN XLR

Hans Engstrom · November 30, 2005

Does anyone know what pin is + and what is - on 5 pin XLR. Im going to build some battery packs and the powercable that connects to the camera (16BL) have a 5 pin XLR in the battery end. I´m going to use 1 sealed lead/acid cell 12V, 4ah per battery (thats enough or do i need more ampere?).

Tim Carroll · November 30, 2005

Does anyone know what pin is + and what is - on 5 pin XLR. Im going to build some battery packs and the powercable that connects to the camera (16BL) have a 5 pin XLR in the battery end. I´m going to use 1 sealed lead/acid cell 12V, 4ah per battery (thats enough or do i need more ampere?).

Hans,

Not quite clear from your post. Are you saying you already have the 5-pin XLR cable and it came with the camera? The reason I ask is that I just bought an Arri 16S and it came with a 5-pin XLR cable as well. I had never seen one before. I am the second owner of the camera and I am not sure if the original owner made the cable up himself or if it was a store bought item. Anyway, it is best to just use a continuity tester to test for yourself which pin is + and which pin is -, because it would depend on how the person who wired the cable set it up. I could tell you how mine is set up, but since it looks like a home made job, I would not trust it as some kind of 5-pin XLR standard.

-Tim Carroll

Charles MacDonald · November 30, 2005

Does anyone know what pin is + and what is - on 5 pin XLR..

TO broaden the question out, is their a book that one can get on wiring for cameras?

Tonight I received a 110 volt motor for the filmo, and I was surprised to find that it uses an XLR-3 connector for power. I am used to only seeing an XLR used as a microphone connector.

This means I will have to do some circuit tracing before I can even try to see if this motor runs. (and then I have to rig a braket as my FIlmo is a DL..

Having a reference to what connects to what and what connectors they need might be very handy if one is "in the field" and a cable goes south.

Hans Engstrom · December 1, 2005

Yes I got it with the camera. I´m thinking about changing the connector to a 3 pin XLR. Just checked and pin 1 and 4 are the ones that are connected for me. Have to wait untill the weekend to check + and - polarity (I lent my multimeter to a friend.) I would also like to change the 9 pin connector at the camera as that limits me heavy when it comes to using powercables. It´s allways nice to have some extra powercables on the set as they don´t last forever. Anyone here that has done that, changed the 9 pin connector on a 16BL?

Clive Tobin · December 1, 2005

... Anyone here that has done that, changed the 9 pin connector on a 16BL?

A few people have replaced the Amphenol/Bendix 165 series connectors on a 16BL, but they or someone else have lived to deeply regret it. All 9 pins are needed if you are going to connect a crystal control unit to the BL, such as our TXM-27, and keep the other capabilities. Rewiring the BL to restore the 9-pin can run into a lot of money and most techs will not even attempt it. Many of the wires are the same color and not marked and are not long enough to re-solder. The 9-pin male connectors need to be specially machined into an arch shape to fit the original housing, if the housing has not been lost, which is another big if.

It would make sense to make a short pigtail to say XLR 4-pin, leaving the 9-pin always plugged in.

(Or buy our TXM-27, on which the built-in power inlet is an XLR 4-pin.)

Lav Bodnaruk · December 1, 2005

A few people have replaced the Amphenol/Bendix 165 series connectors on a 16BL, but they or someone else have lived to deeply regret it. All 9 pins are needed if you are going to connect a crystal control unit to the BL, such as our TXM-27, and keep the other capabilities. Rewiring the BL to restore the 9-pin can run into a lot of money and most techs will not even attempt it. Many of the wires are the same color and not marked and are not long enough to re-solder. The 9-pin male connectors need to be specially machined into an arch shape to fit the original housing, if the housing has not been lost, which is another big if.

It would make sense to make a short pigtail to say XLR 4-pin, leaving the 9-pin always plugged in.

(Or buy our TXM-27, on which the built-in power inlet is an XLR 4-pin.)

good plug Mr Clive, but one behind i stand too! I am definitely saving up for TXM-27 25fps one... soon you will be hearing from me, i hope...

I have seriously broken about 3 different Amphenol pins on my 16BL, not me, just ACs that help out... and each time its harder and harder to fix... now i have 'jerk' cable hanging out of it all the time, so not to even remove it - rather plug the minilock or jensen in.

If anyone knows where i could get some Amphenol/Bendix 165 connectors, please let me know. I'd like to get a couple.

Cheers,

December 1, 2005

Hello,

The 5 pin XLR connector was the Arri standard at one time. The 4 pin is more common now. Pin 1 is (-) , Pin 4 is (+). I would swap the 5 pin for the more common 4 pin. Most batteries are 4 pin. I have made several batteries for Arri BLs and Eclairs. The lead acid cell is low in cost and works fine. Be sure to include an inline fuse. When the lead acid cell fails the volt/amp hr can spike or drop a great deal.

-R.Skates

Lav Bodnaruk · December 2, 2005

Hello,
The 5 pin XLR connector was the Arri standard at one time. The 4 pin is more common now. Pin 1 is (-) , Pin 4 is (+). I would swap the 5 pin for the more common 4 pin. Most batteries are 4 pin. I have made several batteries for Arri BLs and Eclairs. The lead acid cell is low in cost and works fine. Be sure to include an inline fuse. When the lead acid cell fails the volt/amp hr can spike or drop a great deal.

-R.Skates

just a quick note on making your own batteries, I had my battery and 2 Panavision batteries PLAY UP on me in the middle of the shoot earlier this year, for it was too cold! The BL freaked out and gave crazy speeds and lots of flicker. IF only I padded them down nicely - needless to say, the Panavision batteries were in the metal casing as well... this is what conducted the coldness through so well... Lead Acid Batteries, pad them down, dress them in cloths, even wear them under your jackets if you are doing shoots in the middle of night where desert temparatures strike!

Clive Tobin · December 2, 2005

If anyone knows where i could get some Amphenol/Bendix 165 connectors, please let me know. I'd like to get a couple. Cheers,

I would go to the Amphenol website and see if there are distributors in Australia. Failing that, Allied Electronics has them in stock, as does Newark, but Allied is a bit cheaper.

165-14 is Allied 714-5529 at US$76.71 and 165-15 is Allied 714-5532 at $41.01 and their export department email is (oddly enough) export@alliedelec.com and they can charge to your credit card.