RS-232 transceiver for industrial serial links
250 kbps data rate — what it buys you
At 250 kbps this part comfortably handles 115200 baud with margin, and can push 230400 baud if the cable is short and the loading is light. The 500 mV hysteresis on the receiver inputs helps keep bit errors low when the line picks up coupled noise from nearby motors or switching supplies. If your design needs faster throughput — say 1 Mbps — you would step up to a MAX3223 or a MAX3232 family part, but for the vast majority of RS-232 links (serial console, modem control, industrial sensor polling) 250 kbps is enough.
Supply rail and temperature — where it runs
Lifecycle and compliance — still in production
The base product number MAX232 has been around for decades, and TI continues to manufacture the -EIDWR variant in the wide SOIC package.