The SN75172N is a quad RS-422/RS-485 driver — it has 4 drivers and 0 receivers, so it is a pure transmit-side part, not a transceiver. Use it when you need to drive multiple differential signal lines from a 5V logic system without the receive path. Supply range is 4.75V to 5.25V, which matches legacy 5V TTL/CMOS rails. The 16-DIP (0.300-inch, 7.62mm) through-hole package is breadboard-friendly and easy to rework, but takes more board area than an SOIC or SSOP. The supplier device package is 16-PDIP.
It is ROHS3 compliant.
Through-hole 16-DIP (0.300-inch body width, 7.62mm lead pitch) — the leads are on 0.100-inch centers. The PDIP package is socket-friendly; a standard 16-pin DIP socket or solder-in to plated through-holes works. No exposed thermal pad — the package relies on the leads and board copper for heat dissipation. For high-duty-cycle continuous drive, consider the thermal rise in still air.