Brian Kraut wrote:
> I use a few thousand Sipex SP485CS parts a year in something I manufacture.
> This is the equivalent to the Maxim MAX485CPA and the cost is less than half
> of the Maxim part.  I test all of the units before they leave my shop and
> hardly have any that fail right off the bat, but I get about one out of 200
> that fail shortly after delivery.  The rest of them generally run 24 hours a
> day for yeas with no problems.  Does anyone else use the Sipex parts that
> can comment on reliability?  I could increase the cost and go with the Maxim
> part, but I have not used enough of them to tell if they would be any more
> reliable in my device.
>
> Brian Kraut
> Engineering Alternatives, Inc.
> www.engalt.com
>
>
>   
They fail easily in the SIPEX "MAX232A" equivalent inside IDEC PLC's. 
Almost random.

I replace these with ST232A. I NEVER use MAXIM devices, ever.

--Bob
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