Driver/receiver count and signal integrity
With four drivers and five receivers, the MAX211CWI+ supports a full RS-232 port (TX, RX, plus handshake lines) plus an extra receiver for ring-indicate or secondary data channel monitoring. Operating temperature range is 0°C to 70°C, so it is specified for commercial equipment — not extended industrial or automotive ambient.
Package and supply rail
Housed in a 28-SOIC wide-body (0.295-inch, 7.50 mm width), the MAX211CWI+ uses the standard SOIC-28W footprint with 1.27 mm pitch — the same land pattern as other 28-SOIC RS-232 parts, so a layout swap to a pin-compatible alternate requires no board spin. Single 5 V supply (±10 %) simplifies the power tree — no charge-pump capacitors for a negative rail, though the on-chip charge pump still needs the four external 0.1 µF and 1 µF capacitors per the typical application circuit.