The maximum cable length supported by ST485BN is 1200 meters, but it depends on the baud rate and cable quality.
To ensure signal integrity, use twisted pair cables, keep the transmitter and receiver close to each other, and use a common ground between the transmitter and receiver.
The maximum data rate supported by ST485BN is 10 Mbps, but it can be limited by the cable length and quality.
Yes, ST485BN can be used for half-duplex communication by using the DE (Driver Enable) pin to switch between transmit and receive modes.
To handle bus contention, use a non-return-to-zero (NRZ) encoding scheme and implement a collision detection mechanism to detect and resolve bus contention.