Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter

Overview

• I2C master and slave up to 800 kHz†
• I2C multi-master support
• SPI master up to 8 MHz
• SPI slave up to 4 MHz
• GPIO with selectable pins

Detailed technical information about the Aardvark I2C/SPI adapter can be found in the datasheet.

† Actual system bus speed may vary as a function of capacitance.

What is Included

• Aardvark I2C Host Adapter Unit
• 6 foot USB A->B cable
• Software (downloadable from website):
  • Windows USB Drivers
  • Linux USB Hot Plug Configuration files
  • Control Center Software
  • Flash Center Software
  • Aardvark LabVIEW Driver
  • Rosetta Language Bindings: C/C++, Python, Visual Basic
  • Examples
  • Datasheet
  • Documentation

I2C

• True 800 kbps† performance over higher bandwidth USB versus slower RS-232.
• Supports standard mode (100 kbps) and fast (400 kbps) mode as well as various speeds ranging from 1 kHz to 800 kHz†.
• Supports inter-bit and inter-byte clock stretching.
• Supports multi-master.
• Master transmit and receive.
• Asynchronous slave transmit and receive.
• Software configurable I2C pull-up resistors.
• Software configurable target power pins to power downstream devices.
• Repeated Start, 10-bit slave addressing, and Combined Format transactions.

The Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter is compatible with:

• Display Data Channel (DDC)
• System Management Bus (SMBus)
• Power Management Bus (PMBus)
• Smart Battery Bus (SBBus)
• Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI)
• Two-Wire Interface (TWI)

Learn more about I2C in the I2C Background Article.

† Actual system bus speed may vary as a function of capacitance.

SPI

• Operates in master or slave mode.
• Up to 8 Mbps master signaling rate.
• Up to 4 Mbps slave signaling rate.
• Full duplex master transmit/receive.
• Asynchronous slave transmit/receive.
• Software configurable target power pins to power downstream devices.
• Software configurable Slave Select (SS) polarity in master mode.

Learn more about SPI in the SPI Background article.

GPIO - General Purpose IO

• I2C and SPI pins can be repurposed for more general use, allowing them to be used for custom signals on target systems.
• GPIO functionality can also be combined with I2C or SPI to interact with your target system.
• GPIO configuration is cached internally to preserve settings between operational modes.

Low Cost

The Aardvark adapter comes complete with a royalty-free API. There are no yearly support contracts and no fees for software updates.

The low cost makes it affordable for a company to provide every developer with their own interface. The benefits of every developer having their own interface are:

• Less time wasted because developers do not have to share tools or go to the lab to debug simple problems.
• Less wasted time means higher productivity because developers can identify and fix problems quickly and easily with less down-time.
• Higher productivity means shorter development cycles. Projects get done on time and on budget.

By saving just a few hours of engineering time, the Aardvark adapter will have paid for itself.

Future-Proof

The Aardvark adapter is completely field-upgradable via USB. Total Phase is committed to improving the Aardvark adapter and making these improvements available to our customers free of charge. There are no yearly support contracts and no software update fees.

You will never have to worry about being out of step with the latest software features. Software and firmware upgrades are always freely available in the Downloads section of this website.

Here is what some happy Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter customers had to say.

Share your success story too, email us at sales@totalphase.com.

Control Center Software

The Control Center Software is a graphical application that provides an easy way to get developers up and running quickly. The Control Center eliminates the need to write custom software to control your Aardvark adapter and is FREE!

Some features include:

• Full access to all Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter functionality.
• Batch scripting capability with the Aardvark XML Batch Script language.
• Logging of all transactions in and out of the adapter.
• Control of multiple devices simultaneously.

Learn more about the Control Center Software.

Flash Center Software

The Flash Center Software is a free software package that allows engineers to quickly erase, program, and verify I2C- and SPI-based EEPROM and Flash memory chips.

Some features include:

• Extensible XML parts library with built-in support for EEPROMs and Serial Flash chips from major manufacturers
• Gang-programming support for multiple Aardvark adapters
• In-system and stand-alone programming

Learn more about the Flash Center Software.

Aardvark LabVIEW Driver

The Aardvark LabVIEW Driver is a free, open source driver for use with LabVIEW. All Aardvark API functions are supported. The driver comes complete with example I2C, SPI and GPIO applications.

Learn more about the Aardvark LabVIEW Driver.

Rosetta Language Bindings - Development API

• Develop custom solutions in C/C++, C#, VB, .NET, Python
• Clean API is well-documented and easy to integrate
• Fully Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X compatible
• Separate 32-bit and 64-bit versions are available for all three platforms
• Royalty-free API can be used without licensing fees

Learn more about Rosetta Language Bindings and the API.

Compatibility

The Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter was engineered from the very beginning to be a cross-platform device. The software and utilities for the Aardvark Adapter function on Windows, Linux and Mac OS X so that you can develop software for your preferred platform.

Windows

The software is officially supported on Windows XP (SP2 or later, 32-bit and 64-bit), Windows Vista (32-bit and 64-bit), Windows 7 (32-bit and 64-bit), and Windows 8 (32-bit and 64-bit).

Linux

The software has been designed for Red Hat Enterprise Linux 4 and 5 with kernel 2.6. Customers have reported successful operation with SuSE and Ubuntu distributions. Please be aware that there may be significant differences and idiosyncrasies in the way that different distributions of Linux operate. As such, Total Phase may not be able to support your particular distribution of Linux. Support will be offered on a case-by-case basis.

Mac OS X

The software is supported on Intel versions of Mac OS X 10.5 Leopard, 10.6 Snow Leopard, 10.7 Lion, and 10.8 Mountain Lion.

64-bit Support

The graphical software will run on 64-bit Windows, Linux, and Mac OS X systems as a 32-bit application. However, separate 32-bit and 64-bit versions of the API libraries are provided to allow custom applications to be built for either architecture.

Part Number	Description	Quantity	Unit Price
TP240141	Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter - v4.00	1	275.00
		10	261.25
		25	247.50
		50	Call

For a customized quote, please use our automated quote system.

For orders of 50 units or more, please contact us at Total Phase Sales.

Total Phase reserves the right to change the price without notice.

Please note that the price does not include sales tax, importation tariffs, duties, and other taxes. The customer is solely responsible for paying these fees. Your local distributor's price may differ from the suggested retail price because of importation taxes and fees.

I2C Development Kit $605	EEPROM Programming Kit $335	Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer $330
Cheetah SPI Host Adapter $350	Control Center Software	Flash Center Software
Aardvark LabVIEW Driver	Level Shifter Board $75	10-Pin Split Cable $25
10-Pin Grabber Clip Split Cable $60	HDMI DDC Breakout Cable $60	DVI DDC Breakout Cable $60
VGA DDC Breakout Cable $60	EEPROM Socket Board $60	I2C/SPI Activity Board $45