Speaking serial out RJ-45 jack

[Dave Smith]

Nicholas Leippe wrote:
> On Mon Mar 30 2009 10:40:41 Dave Smith wrote:
>   
>> Nicholas Leippe wrote:
>>     
>>>> However, in theory I can just tell my computer to speak serial out my
>>>> ethernet port.
>>>>         
>>> No, in theory and in practice, you can't. They are totally different
>>> electrical specifications.
>>>       
>> Just to clarify, the reason Nicholas is right is because of the Ethernet
>> MAC and PHY on your computer, which can't speak RS-232.
>>     
>
> It was wrong of me to say that it can't be done in theory, because in theory 
> you could create a chip that could switch modes. Since the practical use is so 
> small I doubt anyone would ever do so.
>
> Some serial chips, however, can switch between many various modes--rs-232, 
> rs-422, hdlc, sdlc, T1 (with all the various framings and encodings), etc. 
> Perhaps this is where you got the idea.

And of course, there are boxes that do use an RJ-45 form factor for 
sending out RS-232 signals, like the Cyclades ACS units for example.

--Dave