I have been using your Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter for many projects. For the latest project, I need to set up the Aardvark adapter to communicate with at least three SPI slaves. I have many evaluations to run  – I don’t want to change the wiring of my setup for each project.  If I used Aardvark API Software, would it be possible to program the I2C pins as additional Slave Select (SS) pins?

Thanks for your question! The I2C pins of an Aardvark adapter cannot be programmed as SPI Slave Select signals. However, we have two options for you: the Cheetah SPI Host Adapter and the Promira Serial Platform. The Cheetah SPI Host Adapter provides three Slave Select signals.

For larger setups, we suggest the Promira Serial Platform, which can provide up to eight Slave Select signals, depending on which level of application you use:

• SPI Active – Level 3 Application: eight Slave Select signals
• SPI Active – Level 2 Application: three Slave Select signals
• SPI Active – Level 1 Application: one Slave Select signal

Note: To use Level 2 or Level 3 applications, the previous level(s) of application must first be licensed and installed.

If you have been using the API software with the Aardvark adapter, you can also use our Promira Aardvark Wrapper Software API to continue using those programs with the Promira platform. However, to maximize using Promira platform capabilities, such as signal leveling, communicating with multiple SPI slaves and programming GPIO pins, you will need to use Promira Software API I2C/SPI Active.

We hope this answers your question. Additional resources that you may find helpful include the following:

• Promira Serial Platform I2C/SPI Active User Manual
• Promira API Documentation
• Cheetah SPI Host Adapter User Manual

More questions? More projects? You can contact us and request a demo that applies to your application, as well as ask questions about the Promira Serial Platform and other Total Phase products.

Request a Demo