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Serial Cable Construction / Termination

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DM2

Mechanical
Oct 20, 2007
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Is there a standard (military or otherwise) for the construction of a serial cable or more accurately, how to terminate the cable at each end?. Something on RS232 or RS485?

I've been working on a technical document for panel assembly. The panels are based on PLC's. While most of the assembly is common sense there are industrial standards for such things as grounding, wire size, etc (UL 508A as an example). I'm trying to provide technical references as to why parts should be assembled in a give way to lend some validity to the document.

We use shielded cable for all of our serial connections. The cable has a drain wire, and I've always had the panel shop solder the drain wire to the metal DE9 connector. The thought is that it would aid in draining noise, etc. I'm not sure how smart this is? I'm also thinking that we should advise our customers that the drain for the shielded cable they're installing from our equipment to theirs, should be floated at the other end.

Regards,
DM

"Real world Knowledge isn't dropped from a parachute in the sky but rather acquired in tiny increments from a variety of sources including panic and curiosity."
 
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