RS422 serial information
- Introduction to RS422
- Differential balanced signals with RS422
- Electrical characteristics of RS422
- Network topology with RS422
- RS422 support forum New
Introduction to RS422
Serial communication methods to transfer information between equipment have been defined by standards for nearly half a century. The oldest and best known standard is RS232, a standard which defines the communication between DTE, data terminal equipment, and DCE, data communication equipment. The relatively short distances and low speed the RS232 serial interface can handle demanded for newer standards like RS422, RS423 and RS485. In this document, I will focus on the RS422 interface for serial balanced differential communications.Differential balanced signals with RS422
Serial, balanced and differential are the keywords for the RS422 interface standard. Serial means, that the information is sent bit by bit on a single transmission line, just like with RS232. Balanced differential is what makes RS422 different from RS232. On RS232 interfaces, the signals are send on lines which share a common zero. With RS422, each signal line consists of two wires, preferably twisted to reduce noise. The voltage- difference between the two lines is an indication of the signal value, rather than the voltage- level. Looking at voltage differences with RS422 rather than levels eliminates a lot of noice induced by external sources and allows for higher data rates and cable lengths compated to RS232. You can see the differences in speed and cable length between RS422 and other commonly used serial interface standards like RS232, RS423 and RS485 in the interface comparison table.Twisting the lines helps to reduce the noise. The noise currents induced by an external source are reversed in every twist. Instead of amplifying each other as in a straight line, the reversed noice currents reduce each others influence. The figure explains this in more detail.