Relay-Version: version B 2.10 5/3/83; site utzoo.UUCP Posting-Version: version B 2.10.2 9/18/84; site emacs.UUCP Path: utzoo!watmath!clyde!burl!ulysses!allegra!mit-eddie!think!harvard!seismo!lll-crg!lll-lcc!vecpyr!amd!pesnta!pyramid!decwrl!decvax!cca!emacs!pz From: pz@emacs.UUCP (Paul Czarnecki) Newsgroups: net.info-terms Subject: Re: New Idea for RS-232 term.s Message-ID: <117@emacs.UUCP> Date: Thu, 14-Nov-85 09:18:11 EST Article-I.D.: emacs.117 Posted: Thu Nov 14 09:18:11 1985 Date-Received: Wed, 20-Nov-85 21:20:19 EST References: <319@weitek.UUCP> <3003@brl-tgr.ARPA> Reply-To: pz@emacs.UUCP (Paul Czarnecki) Organization: Uniworks Inc., Wellesley, MA Lines: 35 Keywords: RS232, cables Summary: The world is not perfect In article <3003@brl-tgr.ARPA> gwyn@brl-tgr.ARPA (Doug Gwyn ) writes: >> What I want is a reversing switch. Just one simple cheap switch on the back >> of the terminal that would swap pins 2 and 3. > >Terminals should conform to the specs for DTE. >Why are some of your terminals messed up? Doug, After having maintained a large number (> 150) of RS232 links that were all haphazardly installed and mis- or un-labeled, you could better appreciate the simple request that the original poster made. If you have to install a new terminal or relocate an old one, you quite often have no idea what is up there in the ceiling. You just don't know if 2&3 are switched or not. The could be switched many times. The signal might pass though home brew adaptors and patch panels that simply weren't built correctly. And you have to live with this situation. The bean counters don't want you to spend lots of money to fix it plus the users dont want the n weeks of downtime. I little switch like this, although unessessary in the perfect world, would be a great boon in the imperfect world. Thank God for break-out boxes. Solution? Move to a new site. Really! That's what my old company did! pZ -- -- Flushed from the bathroom of your heart. Paul Czarnecki Uniworks, Inc. decvax!{cca,wanginst!infinet}!emacs!pz 20 William Street emacs!pz@cca-unix.ARPA Wellesley, MA 02181 (617) 235-2600