RS232 Communication Configuration
IBM PC IBM AT Pin 25-Pin Signal (DTE) Pin 9-Pin Signal (DTE) 1 Chassis Ground (GND) 1 Carrier Detect (CD) 2 Transmit Data (TD) 2 Receive Data (RD) 3 Receive Data (RD) 3 Transmit Data (TD) 4 Request to Send (RTS) 4 Data Terminal Ready (DTR) 5 Clear to Send (CTS) 5 Signal Ground (SG) 6 Data Set Ready (DSR) 6 Data Set Ready (DSR) 7 Signal Ground (SG) 7 Request to Send (RTS) 8 Carrier Detect (CD) 8 Clear to Send (CTS) 9-19 (not used) 9 Ring Indicator (RI) 20 Data Terminal Ready (DTR) 22 Ring Indicator (RI) There are two general cable configurations used with the RS-232C Communications Standard: Data Terminal Equipment (DTE): IBM PC's, printers, plotters, etc Data Communication Equipment (DCE): modems, multiplexors, etc DCE to DTE requires all lines run straight through DTE to DTE usually requires swapping of the following lines RD and TD RD and TD RTS and CTS or RTS,CTS and DCD DTR and DSR DCD and RTS,CTS Signal Functions GND Ground protective safety ground TD Transmit Data DTE output data RD Receive Data DTE input data RTS Request To Send DTE output, DTE would like to transmit CTS Clear To Send DTE input, DCE is ready to transmit DSR Data Set Ready DTE input, DCE is ready to communicate SG Signal Ground provides a Zero reference voltage DCD Data Carrier Detect DTE input, data link established, also known as Receive Line Signal Detect (RLSD) DTR Data Terminal Ready DTE output, device ready RI Ring Indicator DTE input, announces incoming call - RTS/CTS is used for half duplex line turn around - in half duplex DCD is asserted only by the receiving device - full duplex modems tie CTS & DCD together (no CTS/RTS handshaking) - most modems require DTR to be present to respond to commands - maximum voltages are between -15 volts and +15 volts - binary outputs are between +5 to +15 volts and -5 to -15 volts - binary inputs are between +3 to +15 volts and -3 to -15 volts - input voltages between -3 to +3 are undefined while output voltages between -5 and +5 are undefined - positive voltages indicate ON or SPACE, negative voltages indicate OFF or MARK