It handles 10 Mbps signaling, placing it in the fast RS-485 tier — suitable for Profibus, DMX512, or motor-drive encoder links where the bus cycle time matters. The 35 mV receiver hysteresis cleans up noise on long cable runs without external filtering.
Texas Instruments has ended production, and the part is no longer available through the factory or authorized distribution. For new builds, the design should migrate to a current-production RS-485 transceiver — TI's SN65HVD11 family includes active DIP-package variants worth evaluating for pin compatibility.
PDIP package — legacy through-hole fit
The 8-PDIP (0.300", 7.62 mm) through-hole package suits prototype boards, legacy equipment repairs, or designs where wave solder is preferred over reflow. The 1/1 driver/receiver count covers a single RS-485 node. No external bias resistors are needed if the bus uses the standard fail-safe biasing scheme — the 35 mV hysteresis handles idle-bus noise.