RS 232 Standard Then Signal State Voltage Assignments - Voltages of -3v to -25v with respect to signal ground (pin 7) are considered logic '1' (the marking condition), whereas voltages of +3v to +25v are considered logic '0' (the spacing condition). The range of voltages between -3v and +3v is considered a transition region for which a signal state is not assigned.

Logic states are assigned to the voltage ranges shown here. Note that this is a "negative logic" convention, which is the reverse of that used in most modern digital designs.

Now RS232 data is bi-polar TO +12(25) volts indicates an "ON or 0-state (SPACE) condition" while A -3 to -12(25) volts indicates an "OFF" 1-state (MARK) condition.... Modern computer equipment ignores the negative level and accepts a zero voltage level as the "OFF" state. In fact, the "ON" state may be achieved with lesser positive potential. This means circuits powered by 5 VDC are capable of driving RS232 circuits directly, however, the overall range that the RS232 signal may be transmitted/received may be dramatically reduced.

Name Address IRQ COM 13F84 COM 22F83 COM 33E84 COM 42E83

Another device is the MAX-232. It includes a Charge Pump, which generates +10V and -10V from a single 5v supply. This I.C. also includes two receivers and two transmitters in the same package. This is handy in many cases when you only want to use the Transmit and Receive data Lines. You don't need to use two chips, one for the receive line and one for the transmit. However all this convenience comes at a price, but compared with the price of designing a new power supply it is very cheap.