3 Connectors

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3.1 ADAPTER and ANALYZER

There are two boxed connectors on the right side (Adapter/Analyzer side) of the Level Shifter Board (Figure 2) which are used to connect the board to an Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter, Cheetah SPI Host Adapter, and/or Beagle I2C/SPI/MDIO Protocol Analyzer. These two connectors are cross-connected, so it does not matter which one is used. In most cases, you will only want to connect a single adapter to the Level Shifter Board at a time.

Figure 2: Two boxed connectors for connecting an adapter and/or analyzer to the Level Shifter Board .

The second connector may be used to connect a second host adapter. Examples of these situations are in order to have more slaves or to create a multi-master situation. Alternatively, the second connector can be used to connect a protocol analyzer. For example, an Aardvark adapter or a Cheetah adapter can be connected to the board through the ADAPTER connector to program a low voltage memory chip. At the same time, a Beagle I2C/SPI/MDIO Protocol Analyzer can be attached to the ANALYZER connector to monitor the bus while the chip is being programmed to ensure that the data on the bus is correct.

The pinout of the two connectors is described in Figure 3.

Figure 3: The pinout for the two boxed connectors on the Adapter/Analyzer side of the Level Shifter Board .

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3.2 TARGET1 and TARGET2

There are two boxed connectors on the left side (Target side) of the Level Shifter Board (Figure 4) which are used to connect the target bus to the level shifter. The signal lines on these connectors are operating at the voltage levels specified by the user. This level can either be specified on the board through the use of the jumper connectors, or can be determined by the downstream system. These two connectors are cross-connected, so it does not matter which one is used.

Figure 4: Two boxed connectors for connecting the Level Shifter Board to one or more target buses.

These two boxed connectors have an almost identical pinout to the ADAPTER and ANALYZER connector. The only difference is that the 5.0 V pins will have the target’s voltage level instead.

The pinout of the two connectors is described in Figure 5.

Figure 5: The pinout for the two boxed connectors on the Target side of the Level Shifter Board .

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3.3 EXT 3.3V and EXT TGT

All the bus and power signals on the board are also available through two 16-pin headers on the board (Figure 6). The EXT 3.3V connector provides the bus signals at the standard signaling levels employed by Total Phase’s I2C , SPI, and MDIO products. The EXT TGT connector provides the bus and power signals of the downstream device and will be at the voltage level defined by the user. All connections are labeled for the user’s convenience.

Figure 6: The External Connectors provides the developer with a quick and easy way to interface or monitor any or all of the Level Shifter Board signals on either the Adapter/Analyzer side or the target side.

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3.4 Powering the Level Shifter Board 

In order to function properly, both sides of the board must be powered. The Adapter/Analyzer side (the high voltage side) must be powered with 5 V. This can easily be accomplished by using the target power feature of Total Phase’s I2C, SPI, or MDIO products when it is connected to the Adapter/Analyzer side of the board. Target power can be enabled via the Rosetta Language Bindings, the Flash Center software, the Aardvark Control Center Software, the Beagle Data Center software, or the Cheetah GUI Software.

When powered-on, the board’s green POWER LED will be lit.

The Target side (the low voltage side) can optionally be powered by the power already supplied to the Level Shifter Board or by the target device. If powering the Target side by the target device, simply connect the device’s power to the TPWR pin on the EXT TGT or either one of the TARGET boxed connectors (Figure 7).

Figure 7: When powering the Target side of the Level Shifter Board , power needs to be supplied to one of these Target power pins.

If powering the Target side by the power already supplied on the board, then a jumper must be placed to enable this feature (Figure 8). Refer to Section 4 for more details.

Figure 8: When supplying power from the Level Shifter Board to the target, a jumper needs to be place on TPWR.

When the Target side is properly powered, the board’s amber TARGET LED will be lit.

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3.5 Cross Connecting Aardvark Adapters and/or Cheetah Adapters

When cross connecting two adapters, the board must be powered on. Otherwise, results may be unpredictable. If you experience problems, please make sure that the POWER LED on the board is lit.