What is an E-Marker

An E-Marker (electronic marker) is a chip that is used in the latest USB connector iteration, USB Type-C, to communicate between power source and power sink devices. The chip is used to communicate with connected devices to ensure safe data and power delivery to and from the source and sink. The E-Marker prov...

The USB Protocol

The USB protocol was introduced in 1996 as a way to institutionalize a more widespread, uniform cable and connector that could be used across a multitude of different devices. The idea was to simplify the connection of devices to and from a host computer. The protocol is currently maintained and regulated by the USB Implemen...

What is the SPI protocol?

Overview of SPI

The SPI protocol was developed by Motorola in the mid 1980s to provide a language for electronic devices to communicate. The communication typically happens over short distances used on a circuit board or in a small electronic device. SPI is a simple protocol in nature used in application...

What is the I2C protocol?

History of I2C

When connecting multiple devices to a microcontroller, the address and data lines of each device were conventionally connected individually. This would take up precious pins on the microcontroller, result in a lot of traces on the PCB, and require more components to connect everything togeth...

The Control Center Serial Software is one of the free GUI applications offered by Total Phase.  It is designed specifically to work with our host adapter products allowing users to emulate a master or slave by quickly issuing Read and Write commands over an I2C or SPI bus.  This easy-to-use software tool can perform a variety of funct...

USB Type-C – One Cable to Rule Them All

USB Type-C was created to bring faster speeds and compatibility across all varieties of electronic devices. The idea was to create one cable and one specification that manufacturers would adopt for all new devices (you may have noticed every new phone being introduced to the market has a USB-C port o...