The RS-232 Standard

The RS 232 Standard is a serial connection that supports both asynchronous and synchronous connections. The RS-232 Standard has gone through several revisions. The DB25 connector is defined by RS-232C, the most common (on PCs, etc.) DE9 connector is defined by EIA/TIA 574 (a less common DE9 pintout was defined by EIA/TIA 232 and was used on older MicroVAX systems, some printers, etc.), and the RJ45 connector is defined by RS-232D.

DB 25 RS-232C Pinout

Pin

Signal

Abbreviation

DTE

DCE

1

Shield/Frame (Earth) Ground

GND

-

-

2

Transmit Data

TxD

Out

In

3

Receive Data

RxD

In

Out

4

Request to Send

RTS

Out

In

5

Clear to Send

CTS

In

Out

6

Data Set Ready

DSR

In

Out

7

Signal Ground

SGND

-

-

8

Data Carrier Detect

DCD

In

Out

9

Test Voltage +Vdc

+V

In

Out

10

Test Voltage -Vdc

-V

In

Out

11

Unassigned

-

-

-

12

Secondary DCD

SDCD

In

Out

13

Secondary CTS

SCTS

In

Out

14

Secondary TxD

STxD

Out

In

15

Transmitted Signal Element Timing

-

In

Out

16

Secondary RxD

SRxD

In

Out

17

Received Signal Element Timing

-

In

Out

18

Local Loopback

LL

Out

In

19

Secondary RTS

SRTS

Out

In

20

Data Terminal Ready

DTR

Out

In

21

Remote LL / Signal Quality Detection

RL/SQ

Out/In

In/Out

22

Ring Indicator

RI

In

Out

23

Data Signal Rate Selector

CH/CI

Out/In

In/Out

24

Transmit Signal Element Timing

-

Out

In

25

Test Mode

-

In

Out

DE9 EIA/TIA 574 Pinout

Pin

Signal

Abbreviation

DTE

DCE

1

Data Carrier Detect

DCD

In

Out

2

Received Data

RxD

In

Out

3

Transmitted Data

TxD

Out

In

4

Data Terminal Ready

DTR

Out

In

5

Signal Ground

SGND

-

-

6

Data Set Ready

DSR

In

Out

7

Request to Send

RTS

Out

In

8

Clear to Send

CTS

In

Out

9

Ring Indicator

RI

In

Out

DE9 EIA/TIA 232 Pinout

Pin

Signal

Abbreviation

DTE

DCE

1

Shield/Frame (Earth) Ground

GND

-

-

2

Transmitted Data

TxD

Out

In

3

Received Data

RxD

In

Out

4

Request To Send

RTS

Out

In

5

Data Terminal Ready

DTR

Out

In

6

Data Set Ready

DSR

In

Out

7

Signal Ground

SGND

-

-

8

Clear to Send (?)

CTS(?)

In

Out

9

Data Carrier Detect (?)

DCD(?)

In

Out

RS-232D RJ 45 Pinout

Pin

Signal

Abbreviation

DTE

DCE

1

DCE Ready, Ring Indicator

DSR/RI

In

Out

2

Data Carrier Detect

DCD

In

Out

3

DTE Ready

DTR

Out

In

4

Signal Ground

SGND

-

-

5

Received Data

RxD

In

Out

6

Transmitted Data

TxD

Out

In

7

Clear to Send

CTS

In

Out

8

Request to Send

RTS

Out

In