Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter

TP240141

The Aardvark™ I2C/SPI Host Adapter is a fast and powerful I2C bus and SPI bus host adapter. It allows developers to interface a Windows, Linux, or Mac OS X PC via USB to a downstream embedded system environment and transfer serial messages using the I2C and SPI protocols.

I2C
  • Operates in master or slave mode
  • True 800 kbps† performance over higher bandwidth USB
  • Supports standard mode (100 kbps) and fast (400 kbps) mode as well as various speeds ranging from 1 kHz to 800 kHz†
  • Supports multi-master and inter-bit and inter-byte clock stretching
  • Master transmit and receive
  • Asynchronous slave transmit and receive
  • Software configurable I2C pull-up resistors
  • Software configurable target power pins to power downstream devices
  • Repeated start, 10-bit slave addressing, and combined format transactions
    † Actual system bus speed may vary as a function of capacitance.
SPI
  • Operates in master or slave mode
  • Up to 8 Mbps master signaling rate
  • Up to 4 Mbps slave signaling rate
  • Full duplex master transmit/receive
  • Asynchronous slave transmit/receive
  • Software configurable target power pins to power downstream devices
  • Software configurable Slave Select (SS) polarity in master mode
GPIO
  • Repurpose I2C and SPI pins for more general use as custom signals on target systems
  • Combine GPIOs with I2C or SPI to interact with your target system
  • GPIO configuration is cached internally to preserve settings between operational modes

Prototyping I2C Systems with an I2C Host Adapter and Protocol Analyzer

This video demonstrates how the Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter and the Beagle I2C/SPI Protocol Analyzer can be used to quickly evaluate and prototype an I2C-based system that uses a 3-axis accelerometer.

Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter Unboxing and Quick Start

In this video, we will be unboxing the Aardvark™ I2C/SPI Host Adapter and showing how to quickly get started using this tool, including setting up I2C and SPI master and slave modes.

I2C/SPI Product Guide

Image Image Image Image
Part Number TP240141 TP280121 TP500110 TP320121
User Manual HTML HTML HTML HTML
Datasheet PDF PDF PDF PDF
RoHS Compliant RoHS Compliant RoHS Compliant RoHS Compliant RoHS Compliant
I2C Master Image
Up to 800 kHz 1
Image
Up to 3.4 MHz
I2C Slave Image
Up to 800 kHz 1
Image
Up to 3.4 MHz
SPI Master Image
Up to 8 MHz 2
Image
up to 40 MHz+ 3
Image
Up to 80 MHz
SPI Slave Image
Up to 4 MHz 2
Image
Up to 20 MHz
GPIO Image Image
Up to 16
I2C Monitor Image
up to 4 MHz
SPI Monitor Image
up to 24 MHz
Windows, Linux & Mac OS X Image Image Image Image
USB Bus Powered Device Image
Full-Speed
Image
High-Speed
Image
High-Speed
Image
High-Speed
Software GUI Image Image Image Image
Development API / DLL Image Image Image Image
LabVIEW Driver Image Image Image Image
Dimensions L: 3.5″ (8.9 cm)
W: 1.6″ (4.1 cm)
D: 0.9″ (2.2 cm)
L: 3.5″ (8.9 cm)
W: 1.6″ (4.1 cm)
D: 0.9″ (2.2 cm)
L: 4.55″ 11.6 cm)
W: 3.05″ (7.7 cm)
D: 1.15″ (2.9 cm)
L: 4.6″ (11.7 cm)
W: 2.75″ (7.0 cm)
D: 1.1″ (2.8 cm)

1Actual system bus speed may vary as a function of capacitance.

2The quoted values are intra-byte speeds. Please refer to the datasheet for timing restrictions.

3Customers have successfully over-clocked the Cheetah SPI adapter to 50MHz.

Total Phase also has a number of accessories that can be used in conjunction with the products above.

aardvark i2cspi logo hl Telos

Connii MM *

Telos

Tracii 400 *

MCC

iPort/AFM *

MCC

iPort/USB *

USB checkmark hl checkmark checkmark RS-232 checkmark
Bus Powered checkmark hl checkmark no no no
I2C Master checkmark hl

800 kHz 2

checkmark

400 kHz

checkmark

400+ kHz

checkmark

400 kHz 1

checkmark

400 kHz 1

I2C Slave checkmark hl

800 kHz 2

no checkmark checkmark checkmark
I2C Extended Features 3 checkmark hl checkmark checkmark some some
SPI checkmark hl no no no no
GPIO checkmark hl

I2C and SPI lines

no no checkmark

I2C lines

no
Windows Support checkmark hl checkmark checkmark checkmark checkmark
Linux Support checkmark hl no checkmark RS-232

(no API)

no
Mac OS X Support checkmark hl no no no no
Software GUI checkmark hl checkmark checkmark checkmark checkmark
Development API / DLL checkmark hl checkmark + $299 + $225 + $225
LabVIEW Driver checkmark hl checkmark + $370 + $750 + $750
Base Price $330 $433 $903 $425 $425
Final Price $330 $433 $2137 $1400 $1400

Final Price is the total cost for a host adapter (where applicable), bus monitor (where applicable), software, development API, and LabVIEW driver. An exchange rate of 1.3 was used to convert prices from Euros to US Dollars.

(*) All competing products were researched from the websites and specification notes of their respective companies. Features and prices may have changed since this comparison was made. Please refer to the respective product websites and datasheets before making a final decision.

1 Bitrate is quoted at 400 kHz, but maximum average bitrate is limited to 115.2 kbps by the published specifications.

2 Actual system bus speed may vary as a function of capacitance.

3 I2C extended features include repeated start, multi-master, 10-bit addressing, combined format, and general call addressing. Telos Conii includes repeated start and 10-bit addressing. MCC iPort/AFM includes repeated start, multi-master, and general call addressing.

All product and company names mentioned on this page may be trademarks of their respective owners. Total Phase bears no affiliation with any of these other products and companies.

Tech Specs

Bit Rate
  • I2C Master: 1 kHz – 800 kHz
  • SPI Master: 125 kHz – 8 MHz
  • SPI Slave: 0.1 MHz – 4 MHz
Target Bus Interface
  • I2C Master/Slave
  • SPI Master/Slave
  • Up to 6 GPIO pins
Target Bus Cable
  • 10-pin ribbon cable
  • 1.27 mm (0.05″) pitch
  • 130.175 mm (5 1/8″) length
Host Bus Interface
  • USB 1.1/Full-speed
  • Standard-B receptacle
Target Bus Connector
  • Type: 2×5 IDC female, 2.54 mm (0.10″) pitch
  • Pinout
    • Power Pins: GND (Pins 2, 10), NC/+5V (Pins 4,6)
    • I2C Pins: SCL (Pin 1), SDA (Pin 3)
    • SPI Pins: MISO (Pin 5), SCLK (Pin 7), MOSI (Pin 8), SS (Pin 9)
    • GPIO Pins: 1, 3, 5, 7, 8, 9
DC Characteristics
  • Target Power: +5V, 25 mA max
  • I2C/SPI Signal: 3.3V, 10 mA
Operating Temperatures
  • 10 to 35oC (50 to 95oF)
Compatible
  • Display Data Channel (DDC)
  • System Management Bus (SMBus)
  • Power Management Bus (PMBus)
  • Smart Battery Bus (SBBus)
  • Intelligent Platform Management Interface (IPMI)
  • Two-Wire Interface (TWI)
Hardware
  • Aardvark I2C/SPI Host Adapter
  • 6 ft USB-A to USB-B Cable
  • One Year Warranty
Software (web downloads)
  • Control Center Serial Software
  • Flash Center Software
  • Aardvark Software API
  • Aardvark LabVIEW Driver
  • USB Drivers
  • Linux USB Hot Plug Configuration files
Minimum Hardware Requirements
  • Intel or AMD processor operating at 2 GHz or faster
  • 1 GB physical RAM (32-bit) or 2 GB RAM (64-bit)
  • 2 GB or more available hard disk space
  • Full-speed USB port
  • VGA capable of 1024 x 768 or higher screen resolution
  • Internet access is helpful
Available Software
  • Control Center Serial Software
  • Flash Center Software
  • Aardvark Software API
  • Aardvark LabVIEW Driver
Required Software (Windows & Linux)
  • USB Drivers
PC Requirements & Supported Operating Systems
  • Windows: 7, 8, 8.1, 10
  • Linux: Red Hat, SuSE, Ubuntu, Fedora
  • Mac OS X: 10.7 – 10.14
Dimensions and Weight
  • Dimensions: 55.6 mm x 22.2 mm x 89 mm (2.19″ x 0.87″ x 3.5″)
  • Weight: 64 g (0.14 lbs)
Quality
  • CE
  • RoHS
  • One Year Warranty
  • Manufacturing
    • ISO 9001
    • ISO 13485
    • ITAR