I'm building a simple serial monitor (sniffer?) that's comprised of a PIC and an OLED display to monitor the TX or RX line of another project. Do I need to buffer the signal, or will feeding it directly to the appropriate PIC input not cause any trouble?
It shouldn't cause any trouble, it's simply a high impedance CMOS input - a series resistor to limit the voltage (with the internal diodes) is all that's needed.
I've had a number of simple RS232 'monitors' over the years - they connected between the end of the RS232 cable and one of the items, and crudely stick LED's directly across the data and handshakes lines - so apply a HEAVY load to the lines, but always worked perfectly well with them in-circuit.
Oh, I should have pointed out that I'm monitoring the TX/RX lines of another uC project. I was worried about loading those lines, since they're probably very low current.
Oh, I should have pointed out that I'm monitoring the TX/RX lines of another uC project. I was worried about loading those lines, since they're probably very low current.
Like I said, the input of a PIC is VERY high impedance, and the output of a PIC is quite a LOW impedance - feeding two PIC inputs from one PIC output is of no consequence whatsoever, you could feed thousands.