Moxa ISD-1210-T Industrial RS-232 Surge Protector

Overview

The Moxa ISD-1210-T is a plug-and-play industrial-grade RS-232 data-line surge protector providing IEC 61643-21 Class C2 20 kV surge protection for serial data lines in industrial environments. It is designed to protect downstream equipment – modems, PLCs, instrumentation, terminals, field-bus nodes – from surge events propagating along the serial cable. The device is passive: no drivers, no firmware, no configuration, no external power. Installs on a standard 35 mm DIN rail in an industrial cabinet, with screw-terminal connections for both the host and field sides of the RS-232 link. The full metal housing and DIN-rail form factor suit panel-mounted applications where desktop-style dongles are not appropriate.

Key Features

• IEC 61643-21 Class C2 surge protection rated to 20 kV on the data line
• Serial standards supported: RS-232
• Baudrates from 50 bps to 921.6 kbps – no throttling of the protected link
• Plug and play – no drivers, no firmware, no configuration
• Passive inline design with no external power requirement
• Industrial-grade metal housing, IP30 rated, DIN-rail mountable
• Wide operating temperature range: -40 to 85 deg C (-40 to 185 deg F)
• Safety listed to EN 60950-1 / IEC 60950-1
• Environmental and vibration testing to IEC 60068-2-1/-2/-3/-6
• Telcordia (Bellcore) / GB MTBF: 62,642,538 hrs
• Screw-terminal connections for both host and field sides of the protected link

Applications

• Industrial cabinets housing PLCs, HMIs, and remote I/O with serial field connections
• Building-entry protection for serial cables run between structures or to outdoor equipment
• Process plants with significant lightning exposure or heavy-machinery switching activity
• RS-485 multi-drop bus protection at cabinet or site boundary (ISD-1230-T)
• SCADA telemetry links where field-cable surge events threaten central equipment
• Long serial runs on shared cable trays where cross-talk surge coupling is a risk
• Pump stations, substations, and utility sites where 20 kV-class protection is specified

Signal Path

RS-232 signals are limited to TxD, RxD, RTS, CTS, and GND. Hardware flow control using RTS/CTS is supported. Full modem-control signalling (DTR, DSR, DCD) is not carried through the protector – use the entry-level ISD-1110-T with DB9 male if full 8-wire RS-232 with modem-control signals is required. The protector is transparent to the serial data link and does not appear as a network node, a host device, or a configuration target. Once installed it requires no ongoing intervention.

What’s Included

• 1 x ISD-1210-T industrial serial data-line surge protector
• 1 x quick installation guide
• 1 x warranty card

Installation

The ISD-12xx-T housing ships ready for 35 mm DIN-rail mounting. Typical placement is inside an industrial cabinet near the cable entry point, fitted inline between the protected equipment and the field cable. Both the host side and the field side use screw-terminal connections – no crimping or factory assembly is required on the cable. The metal housing provides mechanical robustness appropriate for plant-floor and utility-site installations.