D-subminiature Connectors

D-subminiature (D-sub) connectors were invented by Canon ITT in 1952 and are now in common use on a plethora of IT equipment. They have 2, 3 or 4 rows of pins (male) or sockets (female) surrounded by an elongated D-shaped metallic shell. The shell provides mechanical support and electrical screening and it's D-shape ensures correct plug and socket orientation. Connector contacts are spaced 2.74 mm   apart with the rows spaced 2.84 mm apart.

Nomenclature       The correct format to specify a D-sub connector is shown below. The initial letter D (for D-subminiature) is followed by a letter denoting the shell size (A, B, C, D or E). A hyphen then preceeds two  or three digits that are used to denote the number of pins. The final character is  either P (plug) or S (socket) to denote the gender.

There are numerous examples of misused nomenclature in everyday use such as the DE-09 connector being commonly (and erroniously) being called a DB-9. Also, the final character is often  either M (Male) or F (Female) instead of P or S. The hypen is often omitted.

D-subminiature connectors are divided into three groups; Standard Density, High Density and Double Density. The following tables show the correct names and the commonly-used names for all D-subminiature connectors.

Clicking on a pinout drawing will provide additional information about that particular connector.

D-subminiature (D-sub) Standard Density Connectors

Shell	Pinout	Correct Name	Common Name	Pins	Rows
DA		DA-15	DB-15	15	2
DB		DB-25	DB-25	25	2
DC		DC-37	DB-37	37	2
DD		DD-50	DB-50	50	3
DE		DE-09	DB-9	9	2

D-subminiature (D-sub) High Density Connectors

Shell	Pinout	Correct Name	Common Name	Pins	Rows
DA		DA-26	DB-26HD, HD-26	26	3
DB		DB-44	DB-44HD, HD-44	44	3
DC		DC-62	DB-62HD, HD-62	62	3
DD		DD-78	DB-78HD, HD-78	78	4
DE		DE-15	DB-15HD, HD-15	15	3

D-subminiature (D-sub) Double Density Connectors

Shell	Pinout	Correct Name	Common Name	Pins	Rows
DA		DA-31	DB-31DD, DD-31	31	3
DB		DB-52	DB-52DD, DD-52	52	3
DC		DC-79	DB-79DD, DD-79	79	3
DD		DD-100	DB-100DD, DD-100	100	4
DE		DE-19	DB-19DD, DD-19	19	3

               Note: The P or S final character has been omitted from the above tables.