In what way is a Craft Port different from a conventional RS-232 Port? It seems to be similar. Are there any interface or other important differences? Does craft port imply a higher level protocol on top of RS-232 as well?
Electronic – In what way is a Craft Port different from a conventional RS-232 Port
rs232
Best Answer
Quick search reveals that it may be essentially a marketing term for Analog Devices series of RS-232 transceivers meant for low-power portable applications. This web page seems to corroborate: http://forum.wordreference.com/showthread.php?t=1944943
Here is a datasheet for one of their CraftPort devices: http://www.analog.com/static/imported-files/data_sheets/ADM101E.pdf
So in short, it doesn't seem to be a protocol, but instead the name of the transceiver line. Shouldn't be any different from regular RS-232. I guess people like the sound of the name and use it on their products.
Ah, one edit: It seems that the output voltage levels are +/4.2V and it allows full +/-15V input. Some 'RS-232' transceivers don't like the full +/-15V range and only produce 0-5V output. This is a step above those in terms of compatibility with the true RS-232 standard, which is not often completely met nowadays in terms of input/output voltages.