Programmable Communication Interface 16550

Programmable communication interface 16550

RS 232 signal definition •

In RS232-C, a value of 1 is called a Mark and a value of 0 is called a Space. When a communication line is idle, the line is said to be “Marking”, or transmitting continuous 1 values.

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The Start bit always has a value of 0 (a Space). The Stop Bit always has a value of 1 (a Mark). This means that there will always be a Mark (1) to Space (0) transition on the line at the start of every word, even when multiple word are transmitted back to back. This guarantees that sender and receiver can resynchronize their clocks regardless of the content of the data bits that are being transmitted.

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The idle time between Stop and Start bits does not have to be an exact multiple (including zero) of the bit rate of the communication link, but most UARTs are designed this way for simplicity.

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In RS232-C, the "Marking" signal (a 1) is represented by a voltage between -2 VDC and -12 VDC, and a "Spacing" signal (a 0) is represented by a voltage between 0 and +12 VDC. The transmitter is supposed to send +12 VDC or -12 VDC, and the receiver is supposed to allow for some voltage loss in long cables. Some transmitters in low power devices (like portable computers) sometimes use only +5 VDC and -5 VDC, but these values are still acceptable to a RS232-C receiver, provided that the cable lengths are short.