On 30 Jun 2000, at 9:17, Alan B. Pearce wrote:

> Someone recently was making mutterings about possible problems using
> the ICD at 3V, but the max232 is only spec'd for 5V. Maxim have a 3 to
> 5.5V replacement chip which is pin compatible to the MAX232, and so
> should drop into the ICD without any trouble. The only gotcha would
> seem to be to take care with the capacitor values in the voltage
> multiplying section of the chip - see the data sheet. The maxim part
> number is MAX3232E. Maxim web site at http://www.maxim-ic.com
>
Yes, and I remember someone who posted that he had talked to a
microchip guy at a seminar who told him that the max chip was the
first thing in the ICD to crap out at about 3 volts, so apparently
they'll run with less than 5V. I ordered my parts from Jamco, who
dont have the 3232, so I'll end up using a 232, but I noticed that
they were pin compatible so maybe I can swap them out some
day. I also dont under stand the caps, they call for 1uF for the 232
and .1uF for the 232A. One would think there would be a range of
cap values, perhaps with a tradeoff curve to indicate maybe less
ouput drive capability or something. They sure seem to have
minimalist data sheets :)