November 2022

Andrew talked about a current loop version of RS232 over 2 wires (bell wire).

RS232 RANT

The best thing about RS-232 is there were so many standards to choose from!

I loved it when an input was marked Tx or Tx In! Why couldn't they just call it Rx? Or D25, D9 converters.

Gender benders.

Cross-over cables since DTE can't connect directly to another DTE, same goes for DCE-DCE. DTE-DCE is OK! 7 bit, 8bit, 9bit, stpo bit, parity or no parity.

Did the world settle on 8,N,1? What does this mean?

RS232 caused lots of confusion and caused extra work & kept engineers employed - paid their mortgages for years, and it's still in use since 1962.

Andrew also mentioned there are some interesting videos on youtube about animals & mirrors, it is interesting to see which animals recognise themselves and other reactions.

Steve talked about flux used with soldering.

Although flux is incorporated into most solder wires, additional flux is often helpful especially with SMD component soldering.

Some flux is corrosive and must be washed off or it will eat into you circuit board & components. Try and use No Clean Flux which is mild.

Youtube has many videos explaining how to solder SMD components.

Also showed how to modify a syringe and needle to become a safe flux dispenser. Flux tubes commonly available through ebay, Ali etc.