BASICS OF SERIAL
COMMUNICATION -RS232
Standards
• An interfacing standard RS232 was set by the Electronics Industries
Association (EIA) in 1960.
• The standard was set long before the advent of the TTL logic family,
its input and output voltage levels are not TTL compatible.
• In RS232, a 1 is represented by -3 ~ -25 V,
while a 0 bit is +3 ~ +25 V, making -3 to +3 undefined.
• Since not all pins are used in PC cables, IBM introduced the DB-9
version of the serial I/O standard
• Current terminology classifies data communication equipment as
• DTE (data terminal equipment) refers to terminal and computers that send
and receive data DCE (data communication equipment) refers to
communication equipment.
• The simplest connection between a PC and microcontroller requires a
minimum of three pins, TxD, RxD, and ground such as modems.
DTR (data terminal ready)
• When terminal is turned on, it sends out signal DTR to indicate that it is
ready for communication
DSR (data set ready)
• When DCE is turned on and has gone through the self-test, it assert DSR
to indicate that it is ready to communicate
RTS (request to send)
• When the DTE device has byte to transmit, it assert RTS to signal the
modem that it has a byte of data to transmit.
CTS (clear to send)
• When the modem has room for storing the data it is to receive, it sends
out signal CTS to DTE -to indicate that it can receive the data now
• DCD (data carrier detect)
• The modem asserts signal DCD to inform the DTE that a valid carrier
has been detected and that contact between it and the other modem
is established.
• RI (ring indicator)
• An output from the modem and an input to a PC indicates that the
telephone is ringing.
• It goes on and off in synchronous with the ringing sound.
8051 Connection to RS232
• A line driver such as the MAX232 chip is required to convert RS232
voltage levels to TTL levels, and vice versa.
• 8051 has two pins that are used specifically for transferring and
receiving data serially.
• These two pins are called TxD and RxD and are part of the port 3
group (P3.0 and P3.1).
• These pins are TTL compatible; therefore, they require a line driver to
make them RS232 compatible.
MAX 232
• We need a line driver (voltage converter) to convert the R232’s signals
to TTL voltage levels that will be acceptable to 8051’s TxD and RxD pins
Max 233
• To save board space, some designers use MAX233 chip from Maxim
• MAX233 performs the same job as MAX232 but eliminates the need
for capacitors
• Notice that MAX233 and MAX232 are not pin compatible.
