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A Wiki For Cable and Connector Pin-Outs

Posted by kdawson on from the admit-it-you-read-pin-ups dept.

Nicola Asuni writes to let us know about a new resource for hardware hackers: a wiki about pinouts — hardware interfaces of modern and obsolete hardware. "Created with the same MediaWiki software that was developed for the Wikipedia project, AllPinouts.org is a wiki that allows users to get and share information about hardware interfaces, including pinouts of ports, expansion slots, and other connectors of computers and different electronic devices (i.e. cellular phones, GPS, PDA, game consoles, etc.). All text is available under the GNU Free Documentation License and may be distributed or linked accordingly. The 'pinout' (or 'pin-out') of a connector identifies each individual pin, which is critical when creating, repairing or hacking cable assemblies and adapters."

72 of 107 comments (clear)

  1. Yay! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Insightful

    About time. I've been hoping someone with some bandwidth to spare would be kind enough to collect all of this information in one place for us hackers. We appreciate it! Thanks!

    Captcha: mischief

    1. Re:Yay! by Spad · · Score: 5, Funny

      ...someone with some bandwidth to spare...

      Not any more, it would appear...

    2. Re:Yay! by morghanphoenix · · Score: 1, Offtopic

      Really, slashdot should mirror sites linked to, so many of them can't handle the extra traffic.

    3. Re:Yay! by Canazza · · Score: 1

      yes, ofcourse, it should mirror an entire wiki...

      --
      It pays to be obvious, especially if you have a reputation for being subtle.
    4. Re:Yay! by morghanphoenix · · Score: 3, Interesting

      Nope, just the front page. How many people click through past that anyway? Probably less than usually RTFA, so there should be no problem, yes?

    5. Re:Yay! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

      They should've just made the pages on wikipedia.

    6. Re:Yay! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 5, Insightful

      Yeah, sure, then they can spend the rest of their time fighting asshats and idiots who keep trying to make incorrect changes, ask for citations on stuff that doesn't fucking need one and attempts to get the articles deleted as "Not notable". I'm sure that'd be fun.

    7. Re:Yay! by memojuez · · Score: 1

      Chrome gave me the option to pull up Google's Cache of the site

      http://74.125.113.132/search?q=cache:http://www.allpinouts.org/

      --
      Signature applied for, Patent Pending
    8. Re:Yay! by AuMatar · · Score: 1

      It would have been deleted as primary research.

      --
      I still have more fans than freaks. WTF is wrong with you people?
  2. Looks promising by atilla+filiz · · Score: 5, Informative

    pinouts.ru was the first place i look for pinouts. this wiki looks promising, as it has long lists of commercial gadgets.

    1. Re:Looks promising by tttonyyy · · Score: 5, Informative

      http://www.hardwarebook.info/ has been around for a very long time and has huge numbers of pinouts and cable diagrams.

      --
      biopowered.co.uk - catalytically cracking triglycerides for home automotive use since 2008. Just say no to big oil!
    2. Re:Looks promising by psergiu · · Score: 4, Informative

      Mod Parent Up

      Debian users can also apt-get install hwb

      --
      1% APY, No fees, Online Bank https://captl1.co/2uIErYq Don't let your $$$ sit in a no-interest acct.
    3. Re:Looks promising by bitsmith · · Score: 1

      Yes, but they did not answer to any of my emails regarding pinout corrections.

      Thus, I greatly welcome our new, wiki-styled pinuot overlord! :-)

      --
      A man without religion is like a fish without a bicycle. -- Ron "Doc" Ferrell
    4. Re:Looks promising by mrchaotica · · Score: 1

      Does it include things other than consumer electronics, too? I'd like to be able to look up stuff like ODB2 (on-board diagnostics, for vehicles).

      --

      "[Regarding the 'cloud,'] ownership was what made America different than Russia." -- Woz

    5. Re:Looks promising by twistedsymphony · · Score: 2, Interesting

      that looks like a nice resource but it has nothing for automotive connectors.... the site in TFA does, which I found to be a pleasant surprise since there is FAR FAR less standardization in the automotive realm than there is with computers, audio equipment or even video game consoles... compound with the fact that most auto guys seem to HATE wiring if and when you do find some information its written by someone who doesnt understand how to document these kinds of things appropriately.

      Not that this wiki has the deepest list of automotive pinouts I've ever seen but it's got a nice list of PCM/ECU pinouts which is a great start.

      --
      Collector's Edition
    6. Re:Looks promising by Hurricane78 · · Score: 1

      ...which will block all relevant pages for everyone but the admins, because of "vandalism" (meaning someone disagrees with the admins' world view.)

      --
      Any sufficiently advanced intelligence is indistinguishable from stupidity.
    7. Re:Looks promising by CarpetShark · · Score: 1

      a) it's called a joke :)

      b) I don't subscribe to the joined first = better thing, but I did have an ~300k account before losing the account details years ago. It wasn't any better than my current account. In fact, my karma's much better in this one.

  3. A couple of points (pins!?) by Linker3000 · · Score: 1

    1) There's been pinout sites for as long as I can remember - I can recall using one a serious amount of time ago to help me interface some kit to a serial multiplexer, but all the merrier I suppose.
    2) How long before some manufacturer claims their pinouts are proprietary/trade secret/patented/act of god and slaps a takedown order on their info?

    --
    AT&ROFLMAO
    1. Re:A couple of points (pins!?) by Techman83 · · Score: 2, Insightful

      They might be other sites around, but I've had difficulty in the past finding pinouts, let alone ones that were correct. Most I found tended to be fairly inconsistent in the way things were laid out. If it proves to be as good a resource as wikipedia it's a step in the right direction IMO.

      --
      # cat /dev/mem | strings | grep -i cat
      Damn, my RAM is full of cats. MEOW!!
    2. Re:A couple of points (pins!?) by adolf · · Score: 5, Insightful

      The real strength of something like this (versus various otherwise-great resources such as pinouts.ru is that once you've accomplished the difficult task of locating, implementing, and verifying a pinout, you can just go ahead and post your results so that the rest of the world doesn't have to duplicate your effort.

      Please don't treat wikis as just a resource to be consumed. Don't assume that someone, somewhere, is tending the light at the end of the tunnel. Contribute what you learn.

      --
      Kid-proof tablet..
    3. Re:A couple of points (pins!?) by Linker3000 · · Score: 1

      That's a very good point.

      --
      AT&ROFLMAO
    4. Re:A couple of points (pins!?) by PuercoPop · · Score: 1

      well http://www.hardwarebook.info/ is a wiki also and already has lots of information...

    5. Re:A couple of points (pins!?) by damien_kane · · Score: 1

      2) How long before some manufacturer claims their pinouts are proprietary/trade secret/patented/act of god and slaps a takedown order on their info?

      What, like Apple's iPod dock connector?
      It's proprietary/trademarked such that they can license the ability for 3rd-party vendors (Belkin, Griffin, etc) to create accessories, instead of everyone and their gecko flooding the market with cheap knock-offs.
      This, of course, hasn't stopped everyone and their gecko [who live in countries which do not accept those patents] from releasing 4th-rate 3rd-party accessories, but the SNR is much lower in this case.

      I'm pretty sure you can find pinout info for the iPod dock anyways (or just reverse engineer it yourself). In the case of the iPod, though, it's not necessarily the pinout that will net you a decent chunk of change, it's the protocol used over the data pins.

  4. Re:/.ed by Greger47 · · Score: 4, Interesting
    You can find plenty of pinouts on http://www.hardwarebook.info/ while you wait for the storm to settle.

    /greger

  5. Re:/.ed by adolf · · Score: 1, Offtopic

    /.ed? Feh. It's still working for me.

    It looks like something that might, someday, become a useful resource. But: I find it annoying that the wiki doesn't allow anonymous edits. Creating a bar which folks must jump over before contributing (even if it's as simple as creating an account) does not foster creativity, nor does it encourage folks who might otherwise feel constrained by NDA to post a particular pinout.

    To whomever it is who is responsible for this wiki (and I know you'll be reading this, once you wake up and your server is on fire after its slashdotting has fully taken hold): Please enable anonymous edits. I fix all kinds of things on Wikipedia anonymously, because I can't be bothered to log in just to reconstruct a difficult-to-read paragraph, fix a simple error, or add a descriptive link. I'd like to think that you'd want folks like me doing this on your pinout wiki.

    --
    Kid-proof tablet..
  6. instantly slashdotted by z_gringo · · Score: 1

    Well that cetainly sounds exciting. However, it was slashdotted as soon as it posted. Something like this would be very useful. I am surprised it wasn't done before now.

    --
    -- -- Warning. Do not stare directly at the sun.
    1. Re:instantly slashdotted by Lisandro · · Score: 1

      It was - someone already mentioned Pinouts.ru, for example. Still, it's a more than welcome adition. Searching for pinouts can be very frustrating sometimes, specially for discontinued hardware/parts.

  7. Advertising by Techman83 · · Score: 1

    Some of the advertising is in slightly annoying locations and I detest "Flashvertising" (flashblock saves my CPU cycles). Not to say I'm against advertising, just prefer it not to get in the way of what I'm trying to do. Marketers will say that it would defeat the purpose of advertising, but personally I'm more inclined to click on a link that is not so in my face then some big flashing neon sign saying I must absolutely try product X. I'll go as saying the subtle targeted advertising in my gmail account has actually pointed me towards products I may never have found or even thought of.

    --
    # cat /dev/mem | strings | grep -i cat
    Damn, my RAM is full of cats. MEOW!!
    1. Re:Advertising by pimp0r · · Score: 1

      Actually text-based or otherwise less "ad-looking" ads are proven to be more effective in every way, but a lot of people with money still seem to think it is completely obvious that the louder their ad screams the more it will sell their product/service.
      Just to not break with tradition and car analogies; Kind of like how another group of people think putting as many huge subwoofers as possible into their cars obviously makes their music system better.

  8. Unreachable.... by tokyoahead · · Score: 5, Funny

    Ethernet plug not properly wired?

    --
    no sig
    1. Re:Unreachable.... by fm6 · · Score: 1

      Notice that the submitter's email address is info@allpinouts.org. Obviously he decided some self-promotion was in order, without considering his server's ability to handle the resulting traffic.

  9. www.hardwarebook.info has been around... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 3, Informative

    ...for about 10 years. (Yes, it moved to .info just recently.)

  10. Re:Why not put this Wikipedia? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    I agree, but ... the deletionists would go ballistic and start screaming "its unencyclopedic".

    Apart from that, wikipedia probably would not accept a reverse engineered pinout, on the basis of lack of sources.

  11. Because Wikipedia is not ... by Norsefire · · Score: 3, Informative

    * an indiscriminate collection of information
    * an Instruction manual
    and everything must be backed up with reliable sources.
    There is also no way to format the information in a Wikipedia-esque fashion that makes it as easy to find like on this site (when it comes up back up).

    1. Re:Because Wikipedia is not ... by Pascal+Sartoretti · · Score: 1

      an indiscriminate collection of information
      an Instruction manual

      I looked at both of these, and none of the (bad) cases they list apply to documenting hardware. I often use Wikipedia's pages on Unicode encoding, do you also mean that they should be removed?

    2. Re:Because Wikipedia is not ... by 7+digits · · Score: 1

      > I looked at both of these, and none of the (bad) cases they list apply to documenting hardware.

      So maybe you should read them again. From the very page linked by the grand-parent:

      Wikipedia is not an indiscriminate collection of information => See Also Notability

      General notability guideline => Topic have "Significant Coverage"

      "Significant coverage" means that sources address the subject directly in detail, and no original research is needed to extract the content. Significant coverage is more than trivial but may be less than exclusive.[1]"

      How can you argue that original research aiming at listing the connections of every obscure hardware connector under the sun should be in wikipedia ?

      Btw, you say "I often use Wikipedia's pages on Unicode encoding, do you also mean that they should be removed?". Well, original poster never said or implied that Unicode had to be removed, and by doing so, you are using Schopenhauer's stratagem 24, the false syllogism (look it up, or read it at http://coolhaus.de/art-of-controversy/erist24.htm ).

    3. Re:Because Wikipedia is not ... by Hognoxious · · Score: 1

      Fight! Fight!

      Sorry, I mean

      Edit war! Edit war"

      --
      Confucius say, "Find worm in apple - bad. Find half a worm - worse."
  12. Re:Why not put this Wikipedia? by Another,+completely · · Score: 4, Interesting

    That's one reason writing content for the internet is more fun than writing it for a company: you don't have to argue about whether it's a good idea. You put it out there, you tell a few people about it, and it either works or it doesn't. If the Wikipedia content works out to be more complete and/or reliable, then I guess allpinouts.com won't last long; if people find it easier to locate the pinout for their vintage graphics tablet, or contributors find less hassle in uploading information, then it will probably become a trusted resource.

    They do need to address scalability though. Still /.ed.

  13. incorrect link by imrehg · · Score: 5, Informative

    It would well worth fixing the link... The article (and google) says www.allpinouts.org, while the link points to www.allpinouts.com... Anyway, it probably it got slashdotted without this already.

  14. Re:Why not put this Wikipedia? by Pascal+Sartoretti · · Score: 2, Funny

    I agree, but ... the deletionists would go ballistic and start screaming "its unencyclopedic".

    There are far worse unencyclopedic things in Wikipedia, e.g. this.

  15. Serial cable pinouts by worip · · Score: 4, Funny

    No matter how many wiki's, handbooks, websites, etc. there are, chances are that I will get the DTE/DCE thing wrong! Probably the most confusing pinout scheme ever invented... Getting your serial cable right first time, requires triple high bio-rhythms and planetary alignmnent!

    --
    A picture is worth exactly 1024 words.
    1. Re:Serial cable pinouts by Mishotaki · · Score: 1

      Then, should i ask my mom to do the wiring for me? she seems to know a lot more about the bio-rhythms and planetary alignments than me...

    2. Re:Serial cable pinouts by Mr+Z · · Score: 1

      Gah. Not only does RS-232 cabling suck, but also the data transfered over that cable sucks as well!

      I remember working briefly at an ISP back in 1995. My favorite thing to love to hate was the fact that Global Village modems for the Mac came with a serial cable that lacked flow control signals. The modem was set to run with software flow control only. The problem is, though, at 14.4kbps and up, the round-trip response time for XOFF to actually stop things was way too long and resulted in bits dropped all over the floor. PCs with deep UART FIFOs may've been fine (I don't know), but every Mac owner that had a GV modem was bound to call us shortly after getting set up.

      It was an absolute blast telling customer after customer to go spend $30 on a "flow control cable" (since that seemed to be the phrase most likely to cause sales droids to get them the right cable, right up there with "Atari tapes"). "Do you have a Global Village modem?" "Why yes! How did you know?" *headdesk*

      --
      Program Intellivision!
  16. Wiki? by lobiusmoop · · Score: 1, Flamebait

    The potential for Evil Genius Anarchy is endless. Missdirection and lies in Wikipedia lead to red faces. Similar shenanigans here could lead to at best magic smoke releases and at worst homes razed and heart-failure. Lovely.

    --
    "I bless every day that I continue to live, for every day is pure profit."
  17. Re:Why not put this Wikipedia? by jamesh · · Score: 1

    I see no reason to have a separate Wiki for this.

    Well up until now, lack of a cite-able source would have been an objection - I don't think you can just add something to wikipedia that you figured out with a multimeter one night.

    Now that we have allpinouts.com though, there is delicious source of sources to cite - put your multimeter derived findings on allpinouts.com, and then add it to wikipedia citing allpinouts.com as a source :)

  18. Re:/.ed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Insightful

    Creating a bar which folks must jump over before contributing...does not foster creativity

    No, but as John Gabriel's Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory shows, and is embodied by places such as 4chan: Anonymous + Audience = Fuckwad. Anonymous edits of a Wiki are a terrible idea, because you will get vandalism. If you can't be bothered to jump the (very low) bar, then it's likely your contribution wouldn't be that great in any case.

    nor does it encourage folks who might otherwise feel constrained by NDA to post a particular pinout.

    They can register an account with untraceable details quite easily.

  19. WikiBooks by krischik · · Score: 1

    WikiBooks would probably more appropriate.

  20. Wikibooks by krischik · · Score: 1

    However there is Wikibooks where Instruction Manuals are permitted and reliable sources are not needed.

  21. Unicode reference is in WikiBooks by krischik · · Score: 1

    You might not have noticed - because of meetly done transparent linking - but most of the unicode reference is on WikiBooks. Wikibooks is far more permissive then Wikipedia.

  22. Coral Cache by jdfox · · Score: 1

    ...is working for this site, but latest cached content is 18 weeks old.

  23. Doh by jdfox · · Score: 1

    No it's not. Wrong site, sorry. And the right URL isn't cached yet.

  24. Third time lucky by jdfox · · Score: 2, Informative

    (Facepalm) Yes, it is Coral Cached, and latest cached content is about a month old.

    And I'm just off to find some caffeine now. That is all, thank you.

  25. Re:/.ed by twistedsymphony · · Score: 1

    it doesn't have any automotive pinouts, which is the aspect that really excites me about the TFA.

    --
    Collector's Edition
  26. Already Exists? by Fear13ss · · Score: 1

    I've always used pinouts.ru, but for some reason it doesn't appear to be available today. Maybe we do need a more reliable location for this type of information.

  27. Re:/.ed by Andy+Dodd · · Score: 2, Informative

    Either the firewall I'm behind doesn't like HWB, or the storm has moved there too.

    --
    retrorocket.o not found, launch anyway?
  28. As opposed to ... by srealm · · Score: 1

    This is, of course, completely separate to wiki-pinups .. which is just pages and pages of semi-nude pictures of Jimmy Wales ... *shudder*.

  29. Wikia is better by Sxerks · · Score: 2, Informative

    If you are going to make a mediawiki site use Wikia.com, all of the extra stuff that "doesn't belong" on wikipedia ends up there.

    these are available:
    pinout.wikia.com
    pinouts.wikia.com
    allpinouts.wikia.com

    and any pagesyou have already made can be easily imported.

  30. Already been done . . . by wooferhound · · Score: 4, Informative

    > been hoping someone with some bandwidth to spare would be kind enough
    > to collect all of this information in one place

    I've been using the pinouts from these 2 websites for too many years
    http://www.hardwarebook.info/Category:Connector
    http://www.allpinouts.org/index.php/Main_Page

    --
    We are Dead Stars looking back Up at the Sky
    1. Re:Already been done . . . by mattack2 · · Score: 1

      allpinouts.org == allpinouts.com, so your second link is the one the submission is about.

    2. Re:Already been done . . . by BillHop · · Score: 1

      Is is too much to say I'm on pins and needles waiting to see which site wins?

  31. I'll help! by sootman · · Score: 1

    Start here. Scroll down to "Pin Assignments", then scroll a bit more to "Composite Video Connector"

    Pin Number 1: LUMA COMPOSITE CHROMA

    *whew* OK, done for now. More to come...

    --
    Dear Slashdot: next time you want to mess with the site, add a rich-text editor for comments.
  32. ROMs by Capt.DrumkenBum · · Score: 1

    There are no ROMs in my car.
    The only chips in my car are in the stereo.
    Yes, my car is probably older than you are.

    Back on topic. Great idea for a site. Already bookmarked for when it is no longer slashdoted.

    --
    If I were God, wouldn't I protect my churches from acts of me?
    1. Re:ROMs by Gordonjcp · · Score: 1

      Mmm, it's possible your car is older than me. Both of my cars are probably older than 90% of Slashdotters, and neither of them have much in the way of electronics. The newer ('88 Citroen CX) gives a nod to modern automotive electronics by having breakerless ignition. There's a digital clock, too, but that doesn't work.

      I've driven my old diesel CX about 30 miles with no functioning electrics of any kind.

    2. Re:ROMs by fast+turtle · · Score: 1

      Heck neither my car or my van even have chips unless you count "paint chips" as both of them have no radio's

      --
      Mod me up/Mod me down: I wont frown as I've no crown
  33. Re:/.ed by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1, Funny

    No, but as John Gabriel's Greater Internet Fuckwad Theory shows, and is embodied by places such as 4chan: Anonymous + Audience = Fuckwad.

    I know you are, but what am I?

  34. That's what Wikia is for by Sxerks · · Score: 2, Interesting

    "Wikia.com" for all the stuff you can't put on Wikipedia. - not an advert for them it's just true.

  35. Sooo.... by cyberfunkr · · Score: 1

    Is it http://www.allpinouts.org/ like it was written in the summary?

    Or is it http://www.allpinouts.com/ as it was linked in the article?

    Both URLs are Slashdotted at this point so I can't check.

  36. Pins & Tech by Tekoneiric · · Score: 1

    I'd rather see a wiki that covers more than pin-outs. Specs on all kinds of tech such as buses, motherboards, drive jumper settings along with how to ID cards.

    --
    *It's not what you can do for the Dark Side but what the Dark Side can do for you!*
  37. Moar 3D pictures please! by hack++slash · · Score: 1

    Whenever someone adds/updates a pinout, please can they include 3D pictures/photos of the plug/socket in question.

    Whenever I have to wire up a new plug or hack an existing plug, especially things like D & scart plugs/sockets, finding a flat 2D picture of the plug can confusing when the plug/socket doesn't have numbers on it, but an isometric 3D style drawing/photo of the plug/socket in question makes identifying which pin is what much much quicker and easier.

    --
    To do something right, you often have to roll up your sleeves and get busy.
  38. old concept by teknosapien · · Score: 2, Informative

    already been done http://pinouts.ru/

    --
    no matter how good it is, it is human nature always wants to make things better
  39. Re:/.ed by adolf · · Score: 1

    Ah, but wait: I got modded down as "flamebait," while you got your anonymous musings modded up. Perhaps, then, anonymous postings do have merit, and you're not a fuckwad afterall.

    So: Allow me to suggest that you're still wrong, and that anonymous posting is considered useful and beneficial by the community.

    --
    Kid-proof tablet..
  40. This is just bad ass by Datamonstar · · Score: 1

    I've been wanting to build my own custom VGA switch box for a work project that I can't spend my own money on and now I can do it thanks to this site that tells me how to re-wire the vga. Now I just gotta learn how to wire. Doh! Oh well. I'ma still try it.

    --
    The eternal struggle of good vs. evil begins within one's self.