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Path: xanth!john
From: john@xanth.UUCP (John Owens)
Newsgroups: mod.telecom
Subject: Re: Using RJ-11 connectors for RS-232 lines
Summary: use different size jacks
Message-ID: <517@xanth.UUCP>
Date: 9 Feb 87 19:34:08 GMT
References: <8702020437.AA03157@starfish.Convergent.COM> <8702010550.AA07252@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>
Organization: Old Dominion University, Norfolk Va.
Lines: 24

In article <8702010550.AA07252@ucbvax.Berkeley.EDU>, rdsnyder@MIT-CCC.UUCP writes:
- I am very disturbed about one message I read.  The person proposed to
- use modular telephone connectors for connecting RS-232 serial lines.
- I think this is a BAD IDEA.
- -Ross (rdsnyder%ccc@eddie.mit.edu)

I agree with the dangers of confusing the lines, but there is a
solution.  At the last place that I worked, they wanted to have a
telephone and RS-232 connection at each engineer's desk and other
locations, with over 500 such pairs of connections.  The solution was
to have an RJ-11 4-wire connector for the telephone lines, and to have
a modular connector that was 6-wire, and therefore wider, for the
RS-232 connection.  These were mounted in a two-jack plate at each
station, and both the telephone and serial lines were wired on the
same patch panel.  I don't know if these 6-wire jacks and plugs are
standard items, but they certainly had enough there.  The support
people kept a drawer full of 3-foot cables with the modular connectors
on one end and male and female DB-25 connectors on the others.  (Also
some DB-9s for the IBM AT serial cards.)  It worked very well.

-- 
John Owens		Old Dominion University - Norfolk, Virginia, USA
john@ODU.EDU		old arpa: john%odu.edu@RELAY.CS.NET
+1 804 440 3915		old uucp: {seismo,decuac,cbosgd,uvacs}!xanth!john