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16
UNDERST
ANDING RS232 CONNECTION & SIGNALS
RS-232 Connections
A straight-through cable should be used to connect a DTE (e.g. computer) to a DCE (e.g. AMP, matrix or modem), with
all signals from one side connected to the corresponding signals on the other side in a one-to-one basis.
A crossover (null-modem) cable can be used to connect two DTE directly, without a modem in between to cross
transmit and receive data signals between the two sides. There are numerous variations on how control signals are
wired:
RS-232 Logic Waveform (8N1)
The graphic above illustrates a typical RS-232 logic waveform (Data format: 1 Start bit, 8 Data bits, No Parity, 1 Stop
bit). The data transmission starts with a Start bit, followed by the data bits (LSB sent first and MSB sent last), and ends
with a “Stop” bit.
The voltage of Logic “1” (Mark) is between -3VDC to -15VDC, while the Logic “0” (Space) is b3VDC to
+15VDC.
RS-232 connects the Ground of 2 different devices together, which is the so-called “Unbalanced” connection. An
unbalanced connection is more susceptible to noise, and has a distance limitation of 15m/49ft.
Straight-through (DB-9
(DTE)
(DCE)
1
DCD ------- DCD 1
2
RxD
------- TxD
2
3
TxD
------- RxD
3
4
DTR ------- DSR 4
5
GND ------- GND 5
6
DSR ------- DTR
6
7
RTS
------- CTS
7
8
CTS
------- RTS
8
9
RI
------- RI
9
Crossover (Null-Modern) (DB-9
(DTE)
(DCE)
1
DCD ------- DCD 1
2
RxD
------- TxD
3
3
TxD
------- RxD
2
4
DTR ------- DSR 6
5
GND ------- GND 5
6
DSR ------- DTR
4
7
RTS
------- CTS
8
8
CTS
------- RTS
7
9
RI
RI
9
0
3
6
1
4
7
2
5
stop
start
LSB
MSB
Mark (1)
-12v
space (0)
+12v
DTE Pin Assignment (DB-9)
DCE Pin Assignment (DB-9)
1
DCD Data Carrier Detect
1
DCD Data Carrier Detect
2
RxD
Receive Data
2
TxD
Transmit Data
3
TxD
Transmit Data
3
RxD
Receive Data
4
DTR Data Terminal Ready
4
DSR Data Set Ready
5
GND Ground (Signal)
5
GND Ground (Signal)
6
DSR Data Set Ready
6
DTR Data Terminal Ready
7
RTS
Request to Send
7
CTS
Clear to Send
8
CTS
Clear to Send
8
RTS
Request to Send
9
RI
Ring Indicator
9
RI
Ring Indicator