I need help identifying a vintage connector..
does anyone have an idea what this 12-pin plug is called, or can provide me with a link to the appropriate counterpart (or even have one at hand to sell me)?
This is on a Siemens paper tape reader, ca. 1960, originally meant to be connected to a Gretag Tape Sender.
Boosts appreciated :-)
@RueNahcMohr yes. some of the mil-spec communications connectors seem to fit visually, but none of them come in a 12-pin variant (mostly 10 or 13)..
I've just dug through my crate of NVA surplus electro stuff, and somehow those military connectors all seem to have either <10 pins or >30.. the army doesn't know a good medium number of pins for their plugs.
@WooShell Early (1960s to 1990s) high precision measurement amplifiers for strain gauges by hbm.com used a similar type of this connectors. But they were screwed in while yours got a bayonet. I know that HBM bought these connectors somewhere to sell them together with their sensors, but I don't know the manufacturer. HBM calls them "Greenline".
Not sure if that helps.
@realSiegfried sadly their datasheets don't have any useful info on the connector name or type, and their new website tells you to "contact service" for more or less *anything*.
@WooShell oh i think this is like some military shit
@WooShell sorry nvm pattern is wrong
Jul 15, 2026, 5:40 PM@WooShell It looks like the military MIL-DTL-5015 standard (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/MIL-DTL-5015) in terms of pin arrangement, but then it looks like it has a bayonet mount instead of a screw mount?? Maybe some IBM mainframe sorta thing derived from the military standard
@nytpu Some military standard was my first suspicion.. but MIL-DTL-5015 (which is identical to a German mil-comm standard of the correct era) has the pins in straight lines, while the socket I have has a few "crooked" pins. I have already compared the arrangements, and sadly it's quite a bit off -.-
@icetroll hmm. M23-12 looks quite close from the pin arrangement.. they come threaded instead of twist-lock, but I could maybe cnc-mill my own plug cover as replacement. I'll see to get one of those to try out.
@WooShell is it a 12-pin Tuchel connector?
@WooShell one thing I can think of is to find some vintage catalogs on the web archive and try to identify through those. It will be a German make which helps narrow it down a little.
Jul 15, 2026, 7:09 PM@WooShell@chaosfurs.social Looks like it could go with a Siemens 12 pole cable..
Jul 15, 2026, 7:14 PM@WooShell@chaosfurs.social I would reach out to Siemens via mail and ask about it. Someone can probably answer..
Jul 15, 2026, 7:19 PM@WooShell@chaosfurs.social Best i can find in works ERP system would be a "6fx 13mm Standard Rundstreckverbinder Buchse kabel"
Considering i have seen some of the same markings on your picture. And i've seen it on some ancient Siemens vvs equipment stuff we still have stored.
@WooShell hirose I believe. hmmm now I think it's not.
Jul 15, 2026, 7:16 PM@WooShell I know a guy in Germany who might well know. I'll ask 'im.
@WooShell hi, das dürfte ein 12-poliger Kleintuchel-Einbaustecker (Serie T3637) von Amphenol sein den Du suchst.
https://www.amphenol-industrial.de/produkte/c091/c091-a/geratestecker-12-polig-t3637001u
@Tom die Pin-Anordnung liegt leider deutlich daneben.. Tuchel und die zugehörige Mil-Spec sind deutlich ringförmiger orientiert. 😞
@WooShell hast Du Recht, sry, war ich wohl zu schnell oder blind. Kannst Du das Gerät öffnen? Oft ist an der Innenseite eine Bezeichnung an der Buchse zu finden. Oder es liegt einfach mal ein Bauplan drinnen. Das hatte ich bei Tonbänder und TV öfter Mal gesehen. Vielleicht hast Du ja Glück.
Jul 15, 2026, 7:21 PM@WooShell this is what Claude tells me:
The alphabetic pin-lettering (skipping easily-confused letters like I and O) combined with the bayonet coupling and blue dielectric insert is a strong signature of a MIL-spec style circular connector — this family (often seen as MIL-DTL-26482 / "MS" series, or equivalent commercial versions from Amphenol, Souriau, ITT Cannon, Fischer, or Tuchel) is very common on vintage test gear, avionics, and lab/medical instruments from roughly the 1960s–90s.
@MvB19 sadly, 12-pin variants are quite rare in those Mil Specs.. they seem to prefer 10 and 13 pin variants..
@WooShell something German. Something like an m-12
@WooShell
Just guessing, no idea. This one seems similar, but it hasn't bayonette fixing.
https://de.rs-online.com/web/p/industrie-automation-steckverbinder/2403211
@WooShell it looks like a veam connector. Haven't found something quite like it with a quick search, but what i can say is that both geometry of the pins as well as their wire configuration can be important. A fitting plug does not necessarily guarantee functionality.
@feeblu I have tried finding documentation on the tape reader, but there seems to be none. Siemens tape readers are well documented in the Tsend series, but no others.. and Gretag only comes up with their rather popular crypto telex machine, to which this device here does not belong. I have also looked through tons of books about the Siemens T10/T100/T200 telex series in the hopes that one of them would allow for an external tape reader, but this also lead nowhere.
@feeblu well, for connecting this paper tape reader to an ongoing project (I'm trying to boot an ESP32 from tape). I had hoped this to be a lot easier than it turned out.. I guess the easier way will be to replace the connector with a known type.
@feeblu I got that reader from a garage sale for a few coins.. no documents, no idea where it's from or whether it was even working, but I just can't not buy such a thing ;-)
Replacing the connector isn't that hard, there's quite a lot of space inside. I would just have preferred to leave it original.. but if that prevents me from using it, i'll at least go the least invasive route.
@WooShell maybe something for @avavsystems ?
Jul 15, 2026, 7:55 PM@yngmar sadly not.. ring-oriented pin layout, quite a bit different from the one my plug has.. (compatible to MIL-DTL-26482 which is German VG 95319).
I've already tried all the mil-types, and none of them are close. Also, the three-start twist lock seems to be incredibly rare..
Jul 15, 2026, 8:12 PM@WooShell Ah well. Siemens loved cooking their own standards back then. Quite possibly one of them.
Just stick pins in through some release wax and then cast them into epoxy to make your own plug :)
The twist lock ring might be a bit fiddly to craft.
@WooShell I don't recognize that particular pin arrangement but similar connectors are commonly called "Bendix", "aero" or "mil-spec" connectors.
@WooShell
In a noted pdf file, DIN 43651 is mentioned.
Jul 15, 2026, 8:08 PM@WooShell my first thought was amphenol tuchel ... but unfortunately, they exist in about EVERY possible combination of locking mechanisms - threaded, bayonet, pin count and pin type (round/blade). but i think the general type is around amphenol‑tuchel C091 B - check here: https://docs.rs-online.com/4cf6/0900766b80255d97.pdf
i didnt read the entire thing, but did you check:
https://cache.industry.siemens.com/dl/files/306/22096306/att_39251/v1/75_3_Techn_Descr_Punched_Tape_Readers_Sys_3_5_6_7_8.pdf
@WooShell
Dieser vielleicht?
@33dBm leider nein, das ist auch ein weiterer MIL-DTL-26482 kompatibler mit ringförmiger Pin-Anordnung..
@WooShell
Ok. Habe geboostet.
Jul 15, 2026, 8:45 PM@WooShell Looks a bit like a MIL connector - D38999 is the standard. But without further information like diameter I'm lost - there are countless connectors and every company invented its own "standard"
@WooShell Mich erinnert das an eine der tausend Varianten der Lemo-Stecker, normalerweise mit 3 Rastnasen und einem roten Punkt auf Stecker und Buchse für die richtige Ausrichtung.
@WooShell Any chance of a pic 45° to the top of the connector to see the locking pattern on the side?
Interesting side note that may help identify it: Pins are labelled A thru N, skipping G and I.
@WooShell proprietary siemens rundstecker
Jul 15, 2026, 11:20 PM@WooShell It at least superficially resembles a 12-pin circular DIN connector such as one of these: https://www.mouser.com/en/c/connectors/circular-connectors/?number%20of%20contacts=12%20Contact&standard=DIN
Jul 16, 2026, 12:41 AM@WooShell https://connectorbook.com/identification.html?Q might help you find it?
-F
@WooShell Do you already have a clear idea of what comes after the connector (pinout, cable)? Or is it enough for you to just have the right connector?
You could try inserting pins into a blank board and making the “connector” yourself.
