《RS-485 3 wires》.pdfVIP

RS485 Cables - Why you need 3 wires for 2 (two) wire RS485 Published by Steven Smethurst April 12th, 2007 in BACnet MSTP and RS485. RS485 needs 3 conductors and a shield. Many people say its a two wire network but it is not. Two conductors are used to carry the RS485 Differential voltage signal. The Shield is connected to earth/ground at one end only and provides shielding against induced noise. So why the 3rd conductor ? The driver sends data by modulating the differential voltage. The receiver must sense and decode the differential. There are limits to the voltages the transmitters and receivers can work with. These limits are specified by the code. They are -7Volts to +12Volts. What happens if you have two devices and a ground potential exists between the two devices of 24 volts ? You can see that one of the devices will be operating outside the specified voltage range. While you might expect that all the electrical equipment in an installation is ultimately connected to the same ground in practice this is rare especially in cold climates where building architecture and frozen ground can conspire against you. That why you need the 3rd conductor - to connect the ground (of each RS485 driver) to the same reference. Now we don’t care about ground potentials. Ever wonder why you blew a 485 device when you connected your laptop or computer ? Its this problem - there is a ground potential. Thats why its good practice to connect your laptop’s 485 ground conductor before you connect the differential conductors. Can you get away with 2 conductors ? Yes. Thats why lab or factory tests suddenly stop working when installed at a site. In your lab or on your desk you can be sure the devices are all commonly grounded. Now if you measure the difference between the ground of a RS485 driver on one device and another device you will find zero volts. Can you get away without the shield? The value of the shield is controversial. If you are using a twisted