Adafruit RS232 DE9-M Breakout Board

Description

If you want to interface with telco, retro, or industrial equipment, you’ll probably run into RS-232 interfaces. The Adafruit RS232 Full-Pinout Breakout with 8 Channels of UART to RS-232 Level Shifters is your friend in such cases. It provides 5 input and 3 output channels of level shifting and handles high/negative voltage generation all in a low-cost breakout board.

We use the trusted MAX3243 from TI, a classic chip part of the MAX232 lineage, ensuring reliable operation for all RS-232 needs, up to 250Kbps.

RS-232 is a legacy communication standard with 9- or 25-pin D-Sub connectors used for devices like mice, modems, barcode scanners, and teletypes. This board features a DE9-M ‘male’ pin connector soldered in, suitable for direct connection to compatible devices or cables.

This breakout translates between microcontroller UART (0-3.3V or 0-5V logic) and RS-232 signal levels (±6 to ±10V) which require negative voltages. The board operates at 3.3V power and logic levels and can control all 8 data pins with flow control signals such as RTS, CTS, DTR, DSR, DCD, and RI.

Additional pins include ‘Valid’ which signals when a device connection is detected and ‘Off’ which tri-states all pins for power saving.

The breakout is fully assembled with UART side headers for logic level connections and a DE-9M RS-232 side for device connections. Headers are included for easy soldering onto breadboards.

Key Features:

• 8 Channels of UART to RS-232 level shifting
• Uses MAX3243 chip for reliable RS-232 interface
• Operates with 3.3V to 5.5V supply voltage
• Supports data rates up to 250 kbps
• Valid and Off lines for connection status and power management
• Fully assembled with DE-9M connector and header pins

Technical Details:

• Max3243 Features: Operates with 3-5.5V supply, ±15 kV ESD protection, meets TIA/EIA-232-F & ITU V.28 standards
• Three drivers and five receivers
• Low active current: 300 μA typical
• Low standby current: 1 μA typical
• Accepts 5V logic input with 3.3V supply

Dimensions: 33.7mm x 31.8mm x 14.2mm (1.3″ x 1.3″ x 0.6″)

Weight: 11.0g (0.4oz)

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