Canon DC Coupler DR-400 Pinout
The Canon DC Coupler DR-400 came with my Canon EOS D30 digital SLR camera. It is also the standard accessory cable for the recent D60, 10D, and 20D EOS SLR cameras. This equipment connects the digital camera body to the Canon Compact Power Adapter CA-PS400 (the dual BP-511 battery charger), which then connects to the AC outlet to power the camera. The DR-400 connects to the camera body via a fake BP-511 battery pack at one end of the cable. Ever since I had the D30 camera, I have thought of hacking this cable to serve a purpose (to be disclosed in a future article). In order to do so, we need to understand the pin-out for all of the connectors and contacts.
The picture above is the connector at one end of the DR-400 cable. It connects to the Canon Compact Power Adapter CA-PS400. As you can see it is a proprietary connector that I have never seen before. If you know where to get replacement connectors and receptors for this connector, please let us know.
The picture above is the fake BP-511 battery pack that is at the other end of the DR-400 cable. It contains three contacts (D, -, and +); just one less contact than the BP-511 battery pack (B, D, -, +). It was fairly easy to determine which how the contacts and pins are associated, because Canon imprinted the pins on the cable (see picture below).
As one can see from the picture, the middle pin is the positive (+) signal, while the outer contact is the negative (-) ground. However, the fake BP-511 battery pack contains one additional contact D. I used a digital multi-meter to determine that this contact is also connected to the negative (-) ground contact.
What connectors are actually used?
The Canon BP-511 battery pack actually has four connectors: B, D, -, +. But from the Canon BG-ED3 battery grip, we can see that the camera only uses the + and - connector. I have no idea what the connectors B and D are for. The Canon CA-PS400 charger also charges the battery through the + and - connector. You can see these findings in the following pictures.
Update 2004-11-28: B and D connector schemetic and specification found. See "Comments & Discussion" for details.
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Canon Battery Pack BP-511 contacts. |
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Canon Battery Grip BG-ED3 contacts. |
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Canon Compact Power Adapter CS-PS400 contacts. |
Related Links
- Batteries - The inside of a BP-511.
- Canon U.S.A.
- Canon BP511 1100mAh Lithium Ion Battery Pack for the EOS 20D, 10D, D60, D30, Pro90 IS, G1, G2, G3 and G5 - Amazon User Reviews
- Canon CA-PS400 Compact Power Adapter for D-30, D60, 10D, 20D, & Dedicated charger for Lithium-Ion Battery Pack BP-511 - Amazon User Reviews
- Canon EOS 20D 8.2MP Digital SLR Camera - Amazon User Reviews
- Canon EOS 20D 8.2MP Digital SLR Camera with EF-S 18-55mm f/3.5-5.6 Lens - Amazon User Reviews
- GPVCL002 Data Sheet - Equivalent to BP-511
- Lenmar LIC-511 (Canon BP-511 Battery Equivalent) - Amazon User Reviews
- Lithium Ion Technical Handbook
- My External Power Source for the Canon EOS 10D
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