Carrier-current systems use the power mains to transfer information between remote locations. This bipolar carriercurrent chip performs as a power line interface for half-duplex (bi-directional) communication of serial bit streams of virtually any coding. In transmission, a sinusoidal carrier is FSK modulated and impressed on most any power line via a rugged on-chip driver. In reception, a PLL-based demodulator and impulse noise filter combine to give maximum range. A complete system may consist of the LM1893, a COPSTM controller, and discrete components.