We are considering using the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter for development. We will be using it as an I2C slave device -- we have some questions:

1. Can the Aardvark adapter accept the I2C signal driven from the I2C client driver of an embedded device on a development board running Linux? What is the hardware connection from the development board to the Aardvark adapter?
2. What is the I2C address of the Aardvark adapter?
3. Would a Level Shifter Board be needed when using the Aardvark adapter as a slave?

Thanks for your questions! Here is the information for you and your colleagues:

1. 1. As an I2C slave, the Aardvark can be connected to any I2C master that follows the I2C standard; connecting to an embedded development board running Linux should be no problem. For additional information about I2C standards, please refer to the Total Phase knowledge base article I2C Background as well as www.dmoz.org. For information about the Aardvark adapter pinouts and connectors, please refer to section 2.1 of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual.
      Figure 1: Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter

1. The Aardvark I2C slave address can be assigned to any 7-bit I2C slave address that follows the I2C standard using any of our software tools: Control Center Serial Software, Flash Center Software, or Aardvark Software API. If you are using multiple Aardvark adapters as slave, you may find it useful to obtain the unique ID of the Aardvark adapter; you can do this through the  Aardvark Software API command aa_unique_id for the serial number of the Aardvark adapter. This can be useful should you run a project that uses multiple Aardvark adapters, and you need to identify the data sources. For details about API, please refer to section 5 of the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host.
2. The Aardvark adapter logic level is 3.3V. The Level Shifter Board is beneficial when interfacing with other logic levels from 1.2V to 3.3V. For more information please refer to this article that explains interfacing the level shifter board with the Aardvark adapter:  Programing I2C EEPROM Using Aardvark Adapter, Level Shifter Board and Control Center.

   For built-in level shifter capability, as well as greater speed, providing power to the target device, Ethernet connectivity and  many other advanced features, we recommend the Promira Serial Platform  with the I2C Active - Level 1 Application. The Promira platform features will continue to advance, as we are continuously developing and providing more advanced Active-Level applications for I2C as well as SPI protocols.

Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter Quick Start Guide
• Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter User Manual
• Control Center Serial Software User Manual
• Flash  Center Software User Manual
• Aardvark API Documentation
• Level Shifter Board User Manual
• Promira Serial Platform User Manual
• I2C Background

We hope this answers your questions. If you have other questions about our host adapters or other Total Phase products, feel free to email us at sales@totalphase.com, or if you already own one of our devices and have a technical question, please submit a request for technical support.