Lost in the dim reaches of time, long before Hurricane Katrina destroyed my home, Heathkit sold an RS-232 analyzer kit. If I remember correctly, it featured 3 slide switches and a number of LEDs. The analyzer was connected in-line between 2 RS-232 devices, and the slide switches were operated until the maximum number of LEDs were lit. That interconnected the various signal lines for the highest probability of communication between the 2 devices. If the devices did indeed work, the case openings for the slide switches displayed the wiring arrangement, and a custom RS-232 cable could be wired based on that information. The analyzer was then available for another test scenario.

Does anyone have 1) the Heathkit part number of the kit; and/or 2) a copy of the manual for the kit? Google searches for "heath/heathkit rs-232 analyzer" have turned up nothing relevant. I imagine just knowing the part number of the kit would help.

 

There doesn't seem to be much out there but I found a catalog page that sounds like your device. Heath P/N PP-100. It was made by IQ Technologies and shows up on eBay as
Vintage IQ Technologies SC817 Smart Cable RS232 Universal Interface.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-IQ...32-Universal-Interface-Untested-/233668605643

That's all I got.. Hope it helps.

 

There doesn't seem to be much out there but I found a catalog page that sounds like your device. Heath P/N PP-100. It was made by IQ Technologies and shows up on eBay as
Vintage IQ Technologies SC817 Smart Cable RS232 Universal Interface.
https://www.ebay.com/itm/Vintage-IQ...32-Universal-Interface-Untested-/233668605643

That's all I got.. Hope it helps.

JohnInTX -

Thanks for the response, but that's not the device I was seeking. The particular kit I'm looking for had 1 male and 1 female DB-25 connector attached to the circuit board, but no ribbon cable. Other connector configurations were achieved with gender-benders or DB-25-to-DB-9 adapters (not included in the kit). If memory serves, it had three 3-position slide switches, and silk-screened next to the opening for each slide switch was a graphic of the wiring configuration selected by the associated slide switch position. I think the end switches controlled loop-back connections, and the middle switch controlled cross-over functions. I do not recall how many LEDs were used, but the kit that I assembled had a metal cover with grey finish, and contrasting (red? black?) silk-screening. Thanks anyway - I'll continue searching. I am hoping to acquire a copy of the assembly manual so I can replicate the gadget from the schematic. Some of the archives of Heath manuals do not have verbal descriptions - only the catalog number.

-- penguinpete50

 

In the interests of completion and closure, I wish to add one final note to this thread:

Purely by accident, I ran across the exact item I had been seeking on Ebay. Heathkit called it a "Traffic Cop" (for some perverse reason). It was Model SK-204, and the Heath stock number (or SKU, if you refer) was 595-3682. I was able to acquire it for cheap, and was further able to obtain a reproduction of the manual, including schematic, from Vintage Manuals (www.vintagemanuals.com) My thanks to all who offered information and suggestions during my search.