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© National Instruments Corp.
E-1 GPIB-232CT-A for MS-DOS/Windows
Appendix E
Interfacing to a Serial Device
This appendix describes the RS-232 serial port on the GPIB -232CT-A and
explains how to interface a DCE or DTE serial device to the RS-232 serial
port.
The GPIB-232CT-A transfers serial data using the electrical signals,
mechanical connections, data format, and control protocols defined in the
RS-232C standard. The RS-232 port on the GPIB-232CT-A provides an
asynchronous serial communication link to a serial peripheral device.
The RS-232C Standard
The RS-232C standard (international standard CCITT V.24) was formulated
in 1969 largely from the efforts of the Electronic Industries Association
(EIA) and Bell Laboratories. The standard describes the electrical
specifications and arrangement of control and data signals on both sides of a
serial communications interface. Its original intent was to interface
terminals to modems. Many manufacturers of computers and instruments
have adopted the standard for their serial communications needs. For more
information on the RS-232C standard, contact
Global Engineering Documents
7730 Carondelet Avenue, Suite 4007
St. Louis, MO 63105
(800) 854-7179
Description of the RS-232 Port
The RS-232 serial port on the GPIB-232CT-A uses a male 9-pin
D-Subminiature connector with a DTE interface configuration. Table E-1
shows the signal lines supported on the GPIB -232CT-A.