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- Newsgroups: comp.sys.hp48
- Path: sparky!uunet!spool.mu.edu!uwm.edu!daffy!uwvax!zazen!doug.cae.wisc.edu!kolstad
- From: kolstad@cae.wisc.edu (Joel Kolstad)
- Subject: Re: Where does the "shield" pin go?
- Organization: U of Wisconsin-Madison College of Engineering
- Date: 24 Dec 92 06:35:26 CST
- Message-ID: <1992Dec24.063526.23394@doug.cae.wisc.edu>
- References: <1hal0bINNi6d@agate.berkeley.edu>
- Lines: 20
-
- In article <1hal0bINNi6d@agate.berkeley.edu> keithk@ocf.berkeley.edu (Keith Kong) writes:
- >I'm trying to make my own cable so I consulted the FAQ. However,
- >I'm not sure where the "shield" pin goes. Can someone tell me
- >where it goes or what the equivalent signal is for "shield" ?
- >Thanks.
-
- Standard DB-25 and DB-9 RS-232 connectors have a shield pin on them. It's
- pin number one on both connectors. (The shield pin should connect to the
- braiding of foil wrapping on your serial cable; EM fields crashing into the
- metal braiding or foil are cancelled before they hit the inner conductors
- and induce noise. Thus, the braiding or foil "shields" your signal from
- noise.)
-
- Inside the HP-48, the shield pin is AC coupled via a capacitor to the
- HP-48's ground. This has to be done because many PCs use the same wire for
- the RS-232 ground and shield, whereas the HP-48 uses it's +4.5V supply for
- it's ground pin. Connecting the two together at DC would make sparks
- fly... :-)
-
- ---Joel Kolstad
-