would wrong connection for Max232 TX pins damage the IC

rifo

Other Parts Discussed in Thread: MAX232

Hello,

This may be a corner case but what happens when I accidentally connect the TX pins of 2 MAX232 together. So insted of TX<->RX conection, I have TX<->TX

hence both MAX232s try to tranmist data.

Would this damage the IC?

thanks

rifo

over 10 years ago

0 Ron Michallick over 10 years ago

TI__Guru**** 172426 points

Rifo,

This mis-wire is a common occurrence in RS232 cabling. All RS232 drivers come with protection against this occurrence.
The protection comes from output impedance or current limits. MAX232 uses output impedance as I remember.

0 rifo over 10 years ago in reply to Ron Michallick

Expert 1105 points

Hello Ronald,

Thanks for your answer. Between, I am wondering something else,
is there some cheap way of flipping the RX,TX lines by using an extra IC that isn't too expensive?

0 Ron Michallick over 10 years ago in reply to rifo

TI__Guru**** 172426 points

Rifo,

To flip line, I suggest a "null modem cable" or a "null modem adapter"

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would wrong connection for Max232 TX pins damage the IC