20
Issue 107 June 1999 CIRCUIT CELLAR
®
www.circuitcellar.com
Designing
RS-485 Circuits
FEATURE
ARTICLE
Jan Axelson
w
Jan knows that
RS-485 is perfect for
transferring small
blocks of information
over long distances,
and she finds the
RS-485 standard
extremely flexible.
Here, she shows
us several circuits
for RS-485 networks.
hen a network
needs to transfer
small blocks of informa-
tion over long distances,
RS-485 is often the interface of choice.
The network nodes can be PCs,
microcontrollers, or any devices capable
of asynchronous serial communications.
Compared to Ethernet and other net-
work interfaces, RS-485’s hardware
and protocol requirements are simpler
and cheaper.
The RS-485 standard is flexible
enough to provide a choice of drivers,
receivers, and other components de-
pending on the cable length, data rate,
number of nodes, and the need to
conserve power.
Several vendors offer RS-485 trans-
ceivers with various combinations of
features. Also, there are options for
methods of terminating and biasing
the line and controlling the driver-
enable inputs.
In this article, I show you several
circuits for RS-485 networks. Even if
you use prebuilt cards or converters,
understanding the options will help
you choose the right product and
configure it to get the best results for
your application.
RS-485 IN BRIEF
But first, a quick look at RS-485.
The interface popularly known as RS-
485 is an electrical specification for
multipoint systems that use balanced
lines. RS-485 is similar to RS-422, but
RS-422 allows just one driver with
multiple receivers whereas RS-485
supports multiple drivers and receivers.
The specification document (TIA/
EIA-485-A) defines the electrical char-
acteristics of the line and its drivers
and receivers. There are brief sugges-
tions relating to terminations and
wiring, but there’s no discussion of
connector pinouts or software proto-
cols (as there is for RS-232).
An RS-485 network can have up to
32 unit loads, with one unit load equiva-
lent to an input impedance of 12k. By
using high-impedance receivers, you
can have as many as 256 nodes.
An RS-485 link can extend as far as
4000′ and can transfer data at up to
10 Mbps, but not both at the same
time. At 90 kbps, the maximum cable
length is 4000′, at 1 Mbps it drops to
400′, and at 10 Mbps it drops to 50′.
For more nodes or long distances, you
can use repeaters that regenerate the
signals and begin a new RS-485 line.
Although the RS-485 standard says
nothing about protocols, most RS-485
links use the familiar asynchronous
protocols supported by the UARTs in
PCs and other computers. A transmitted
word consists of a start bit followed by
data bits, an optional parity bit, and a
stop bit.
Two ways to add RS-485 to a PC
are on an expansion card and by at-
taching an RS-485 converter to an
existing port. Converters for RS-232
are widely available and Inside Out
Networks has developed a USB–to–
RS-485 converter, also available from
B&B Electronics. On microcontrollers,
you can connect an RS-485 transceiver