Electrical Connectors

• Electrical connectors are electro-mechanical devices used to join electrical circuits via manual assembly. While there are hundreds of varieties of electrical connectors, three-pin mini connectors are connected to lengths of cable or wire that allow an electrical current to flow through once connected. Three-pin connectors rely on a process called keying, which is a specific layout of the pins and connectors that is specially designed to prevent incorrect connection. Your appliance will not work until the pins are correctly aligned with the socket.
  
  

Mini-DIN Connectors

• Mini-DIN connectors are a series of multi-pen connectors that can have anywhere from three to nine connecting pins. The DIN stands for Deutsches Institut für Normung, the German body that sets standards for electrical connectors. Three-pin mini-DIN connectors are made to fit in a universal socket that allows correct alignment with any number of pins. However, the three-pin mini-DIN connector aligns with the universal socket in just one correct fashion, so the user doesn't need to worry about incorrect installation. Mini-DIN connectors are used in Apple LocalTalk products, VESA Stereo systems and Behringer audio system components.
  
  

XLR Connectors

• XLR connectors are used in professional audiovisual equipment for recording and playback purposes. They support both analog and digital audio signals as well. XLR3 connectors are the three-pin variety of this type of electrical connector. James Cannon, who founded Cannon Electric, a Los Angeles-based corporation, first designed the XLR connector. XLR connectors can have three, four, five, six or seven pins. While they appear similar to the mini-DIN connectors, XLR and DIN connection systems are not compatible with one another.
  
  

Thermocouple Connectors

• Thermocouple connectors are another type of three-pin mini connectors, used to control and measure temperature by producing a voltage that depends on differences in temperature. Constructed with three prongs in a horizontal or vertical alignment, three-pin thermocouple connectors look markedly different from both XLR and mini-DIN connectors. Thermocouple connectors are used to gauge and control the temperature of diesel engines, gas turbine exhaust, pottery and wood kilns as well as other industrial processes.