FTDI Community

General Category => Discussion - Hardware => Topic started by: kahlenberg on September 19, 2018, 01:23:12 PM

Title: UART and SPI in the same chip?
Post by: kahlenberg on September 19, 2018, 01:23:12 PM

Hi,
Is there any FTDI chip that handles UART and SPI in one chip?
I need UART and SPI in my project and I don't want to employ two chips.

Title: Re: UART and SPI in the same chip?
Post by: FTDI Community on September 21, 2018, 02:23:08 PM

Hello,

Yes, please consider our FT2232H (https://www.ftdichip.com/Products/ICs/FT2232H.html) (2 channel) or FT4232H (https://www.ftdichip.com/Products/ICs/FT4232H.htm) (4 channel) ICs.

So you could have one channel for UART and the other for SPI.
Note the SPI is a master only.
By default the channel is UART, so the other channel would need to be configured for SPI

See FTDI MPSSE Basics (https://www.ftdichip.com/Documents/AppNotes/AN_135_MPSSE_Basics.pdf).
See our existing MPSSE Example projects:

https://www.ftdichip.com/Support/SoftwareExamples/MPSSE.htm (https://www.ftdichip.com/Support/SoftwareExamples/MPSSE.htm)

There are two options to use I2C/SPI modes with the MPSSE engine:

a.            Use LibMPSSE libraries. Example code is provided with the download. Please note that there is a beta version of LibMPSSE: libMPSSE__0_6_Beta.zip (ftp://u45902898-ide:Ftd1$erv@ftp.ftdichip.com/CES/LibMPSSE/libMPSSE__0_6_Beta.zip).
b.            Use D2XX drivers direct. Example code is shown at SPI (https://www.ftdichip.com/Support/SoftwareExamples/MPSSE.htm#SPI). AN_108 Command Processor For MPSSE and MCU Host Bus Emulation Modes  (https://www.ftdichip.com/Support/Documents/AppNotes/AN_108_Command_Processor_for_MPSSE_and_MCU_Host_Bus_Emulation_Modes.pdf)provides the necessary information.

We have hardware available for test and evaluation:

FT2232H Mini-Module (https://www.ftdichip.com/Products/Modules/DevelopmentModules.htm#FT2232H_Mini)
FT2232H-56 Mini-Module (https://www.ftdichip.com/Products/Modules/DevelopmentModules.htm#FT2232H-56_Mini)

The FT2232H-56 Mini-Module is easier to power by just using a jumper. The other module requires some external connections.

Best Regards,
FTDI Community

Title: Re: UART and SPI in the same chip?
Post by: kahlenberg on September 24, 2018, 11:36:10 AM

Ok, thank you very much.