I’m new with the Aardvark I2C/SPI host Adapter, and I’m using it in SPI mode. It seems it does not have pins that are dedicated for sending interrupts. Could I use another pin to send interrupt signals to the host computer? I am using four SPI bus lines - the unused pins are SCL, SDA and GND, as well as two power pins.
Is there a way I can use one of those pins to send an interrupt to the host computer?
Thanks for your question! You can use the GPIO feature of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter to send interrupts to the host computer. For details, please refer to the knowledge base article Using the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter GPIO Feature to Support Interrupts. This article includes an example of using Aardvark Software API, which supports several programming languages and operating systems. For information about Software API, please refer to section 5 of the Aardvark Adapter User Manual. For details about the host adapter signal pins, please refer to section 2 of the Aardvark Adapter User Manual.
Figure 1: Aardvark I2C/SPI Host AdapterTo become more familiar with Aardvark adapter GPIO features, the Aardvark API Software and the Control Center Software, we recommend trying out the following:
- Install the Control Center Software.
- Make sure the Aardvark adapter is not connected to your target system; plug the Aardvark adapter into the computer and open the Aardvark Control Center Software.
- Using the Control Center Software GUI, connect to the Aardvark adapter and select the GPIO only mode. Ensure that the I2C Pull-ups are disabled in the Aardvark menu.
- Set all the directions to OUT, and set all the outputs to logical 0. Using a meter, verify that all the pins output 0V.
- Set all the outputs to logical 1, and verify that the pin output 3.3V.
- Do similar testing with the input pins, such as in sending a 3.3V or 0V signal to each input, and then verify if the Aardvark adapter sees the signals properly.
For additional information about the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter and other Total Phase products, please refer to the following documents:
- Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter Quick Start Guide
- Aardvark Adapter User Manual
- Control Center Software User Manual
- Knowledge Base Articles
- Total Phase Products
- Product Selector Guide
We hope this answers your question. If you have other questions about our Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com or submit a request for technical support.