I wrote: > > In PCs the [Maxim] variants without the charge pumps are often used, since > > +/-12V are available. > "Paul B. Webster VK2BZC" > Mmm, these are the 1488 and 1489. No, there are parts from Maxim, LTC, etc. that integrate five EIA-232 receivers and four transmitters on a single chip, and they are available with or without the charge pumps. The w/o parts are commonly found on motherboards these days, because two of those take up a lot less space than the two 1488s and three 1489s that would otherwise be required. > For embedded apps, it would be quite nice. The trouble is > compromises; All parts have compromises; that doesn't prevent them from being made. It just prevents them from being used in the applications for which they are unsuited. Often the manufacturers choose to make multiple variants with different tradeoffs.