Null Modem Cables

ALSO CALLED: Null-Modem Cable
DEFINITION: A null modem cable allows you to connect your PC to another nearby PC or serial device using its modem protocol. A popular use of null modem cables is for setting up "head-to-head" gaming between two players at different computers in the same room. (A null modem cable is limited to 30 feet in length.)The standard RS-232C serial communications interface defines a signal protocol between a Data Terminal  … 
Definition continues below.

NULL MODEM CABLES DEFINITION (continued): …  Equipment (DTE) - usually your PC - and a Data Communications Equipment (DCE) - or your modem. The signals are transmitted on a set of lines, each of which has a function in the "talk" that the DTE and DCE do back and forth. One line each way is for data; the other lines are for different "statements" that one end of the communication sends to the other. For example, the DTE sends the DCE (usually a modem) a "Request to Send" signal on the RTS line and the DCE replies with a "Clear to Send" signal on the CTS line. After a series of similar exchanges, the DTE sends data on the line devoted … 
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