In embedded systems, devices communicate by sending and receiving messages often via cables and wires.  The type of cable/wire and communication varies based on the specific application being used. In this article we will discuss the differences between two common modes of communication: serial and parallel.

I am using the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter to imitate a temperature sensor on an I2C bus and am experiencing problems with request replies. I am using the Python API to reply to I2C requests. Everything seems to work fine until I decrease the delay between the requests to 1 ms.

Signal de-emphasis is a signal-enhancing technique often used to improve the quality of electrical signals transmitting at gigabit rates over devices including PCBs and long cables. Signal degradation can be due to a variety of reasons, including long transmission lines and jitter, so this technique helps negate these issues by decreasing the low frequency data to minimize signal loss. Learn how de-emphasis works and how it is used to improve signal integrity issues.

I am writing a program to detect multiple Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapters and connect to them.

The design and development process for embedded systems is uniquely challenging. This is, at least in part, due to the complexity of systems that involve both hardware and software operating within tight resource and timing constraints. In truth, the need to operate within these constraints while reliably delivering functionality over long periods of time is exactly why embedded systems design is such an important process.

I am streaming 5.56 MHz SPI data over the MOSI line. I am using the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter as the slave device in SPI + GPIO mode with the Control Center Serial Software. My problem is I do not see data at either 4 MHz or 8 MHz in the transaction log window.  I see that the master sends out data every 1ms. The setup for both views:

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 provides the cable characteristics including the cable length, the maximum supported current and voltage, the type of USB signal, the vendor and product ID, any alternate mode support, and much more. An E-Marker is required on all USB Type-C cables that support 5 amps and/or exceed 60 watts of power carrying capability. USB Type-C cables that are expected to have data transfer rates above 480 Mbps, or High-speed USB 2.0, are also required to have an E-Marker chip embedded in the connectors of the cables. Applications that exceed 480 Mbps fall in the USB 3.1 realm, meaning any USB 3.1 cable is going to, with very minimal exceptions, be required, by the USB-IF community, to include an E-Marker in the Type-C cable.

I am starting to use the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter and I have some questions about the GPIO pins, including how to program them with your software. I am using the Aardvark adapter with an I2C device.