Are there any I2C E-Blocks?

[Wim]

Hello,
Is there an E-Block that can be used for I2C programming? In notice in Flowcode that there is a I2C device, but which hardware can I use for this?
Or or there any sample schematics, software examples, documentation, etc. for doing I2C transactions with my EB006 E-Block (with PIC16F877A)
regards,
_Wim_

[Sean]

Hello Wim,

The Internet Board (EB-023) is currently the only E-Block that uses I2C. This is quite a complex board and would not be suitable for learning I2C.

There are some postings in the Articles section of the forum that show how to use the Microchip MCP23017 to add parallel ports to a system using the I2C bus. This would probably be a better device to learn about I2c communications.

Another alternative would be the 24xxx series of EEPROM devices.

The only external components required for these components are pull-up resistors for the clock and data lines (10K as starting values), and biasing links for address lines, reset inputs etc.

The MCP23017 and 24xxx devices can be connected using circuits copied directly from their data sheets.

The most common difficulty is the configuration of individual device addresses (several external pins are usually made available to set part of each devices address in hardware). When this is carried out correctly, you should be able to have a wide range of combinations of devices sharing the same bus (including A/D, D/A, Real Time Clock, etc).

[Wim]

Thanks for the answer, pity though that there are no I2C E-blocks. I guess I'll follow your suggestion and take an I2C EEPROM and hook it up. I'd hoped for an E-block, since they come with some examples, like the LCD block.
But thanks anyway,
_Wim_

[KeithSloan]

I have designed a I2C E-Block please see http://www.sloan-home.co.uk/E-Blocks/E-Block.html