1. MAX488ECSA+ Substitution Conclusion The MAX488ECSA+ cannot serve as a direct replacement for the SN65LBC179AD, primarily due to fundamental differences in their key performance parameters. The core distinction lies in the data rate (250 kbps for the MAX488 versus 30 Mbps for the SN65LBC179AD). This means that if the original design operates at high‑speed megabit‑rate communication, substituting with the MAX488 would lead to severe signal integrity degradation or complete communication failure. Secondly, the difference in receiver hysteresis (70 mV for the MAX488 compared to 50 mV for the SN65LBC179AD) indicates that the MAX488 offers stronger noise immunity, but this comes at the cost of reduced signal edge speed, which may not be suitable in high‑speed applications. Although both devices are pin‑compatible and share the same supply voltage, the performance gap places them in distinctly different application domains (low‑speed, high‑noise environments versus high‑speed, typical environments). Therefore, direct substitution is not feasible.