The SN75196 combines five drivers and three receivers from the trade-standard SN75188 and SN75189 bipolar quadruple drivers and receivers, respectively. The flow-through design of the SN75196 decreases the part count, reduces the board space required, and allows easy interconnection of the UART and serial-port connector. The all-bipolar circuits and processing of the SN75196 provide a rugged, low-cost solution for this function.

The SN75196 complies with the requirements of TIA/EIA-232-F and ITU (formerly CCITT) V.28 standards. These standards are for data interchange between a host computer and peripheral at signal rates of up to 20 kbit/s. The switching speeds of the SN75196 are fast enough to support rates of up to 120 kbit/s with lower capacitive loads (shorter cables).