IBM 3101 Dip Switches Configuration

There is absolutely no such thing as a "normal" serial cable. System designers and engineers always seemed to play foot loose and fancy free with RS-232, determining which signals to implement, etc. Even with a "complete" implementation, you still have the issue of DTE-DCE or DT/CE to DT/CE, etc. I guess the closest one could come to defining a "normal" serial cable is all 25 signals, wired "straight through". This cable only typically works with DTE to DCE connections, or most commonly, a terminal to a modem. I would say this approaches "normal", only because RS-232 was designed for going from a DTE to a DCE, and anything else - was "home brew". I have seen some awfully creative ways to defeat the DTE to DCE design when hooking up devices of the same type. Forcing signals high from the test voltage pins, etc. RS-232 is such a mongrel. Jay West