I Can't believe you don't sell a [TRUE] MAX232 breakout.

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1

I Can’t believe you don’t sell a MAX232 (or similiar level shifter) breakout.

You sell the chip here:

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc … cts_id=316

But no easy to use ready to go breakout. (Unless I am really bad at searching).

I have started to need a few of these, and I guess i am stuck with building my own, or buying someone else’s breakout.

2

can’t you just install it on a breadboard?

I don’t see the point of breakboards for DIP components.

3

I made my own PCB for a MAX202 with a DB-9 connector on it and three wires for TxD, RxD and ground, that I can connect to anything.

4

Even if you know it’s there, it’s not easy to find. Sparkfun search is really pretty bad. They have so many products now that the search is getting more important.

SMD BOB:

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc … cts_id=449

Kit form:

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc … cts_id=133

5

Wow, you have no idea how long i spent searching because it didn’t make sense to me that they did not have it.

THANK YOU!!

It always seemed to me that the Sparkfun search was flaky, but this confirms it. I’m going to use G0ggle to search products on SparkFun from now on.

6

So, looking at those two boards, they don’t seem to be TRUE Level shifters. They only bring down +/- 12V logic to 5V, but do not go the other way. (No charge pumps to increase 5V to +/- 12V).

This may be ok for connecting a uController to a tolerant PC, but I am trying to connect a uController to a true RS-232 device (an X-10 serial controller). Neither of those boards will work. And shame on sparkfun for not being clear on this. One board does admit it’s only EIA-232, but the other one does not.

So I repeat my initial request for a TRUE MAX232 logic level shifter breakout.

7

It should work with any system with true RS-232.

Leon

8

What about

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc … ucts_id=16

or

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc … ucts_id=16

This one is a 3.3v version

http://www.sparkfun.com/commerce/produc … ts_id=9082

/mike

9

I too just spent a little while searching for this… problem I guess is most of the time people are doing USB=>Serial now so go direct from USB to 5V.

I too have a device I want to interface with that is RS232… and you are right there are no dedicated proper RS232 convertors… only “EIA-232” ones that do basically +/- 5V.

I know it’s slightly naughty to advertise a competitor on a competitors board, but since sparkfun don’t actually sell this product I guess it should be OK.

Here’s someone who has exactly this:

http://www.nkcelectronics.com/rs232-to- … 32335.html

and one with some of the hardware flow control pins:

http://www.nkcelectronics.com/rs232-to- … 32356.html

In my case I’m going to try the sparkfun one first see if it works with this device, I think it will.

10

Thanks Lathiat, I’ll look at those.

n1ist, I don’t want something big and bulky like a pic development board, that last one looks like it is true RS-232, but it was built to sit in a Xbee slot which i have no use for.