New I2C I/O expander AD5593

[Skarden]

Hi all,
maybe many of you are not aware that there is a new component from AD, the AD5593.
It's an I2C I/O expander but with the possibility to free configure each of its 8 I/O pins as Digital Input, Digital Output, Analog Input or Analog Output.

"The AD5593R has eight input/output (I/O) pins, which can be
independently configured as digital-to-analog converter (DAC)
outputs, analog-to-digital converter (ADC) inputs, digital outputs,
or digital inputs. When an I/O pin is configured as an analog
output, it is driven by a 12-bit DAC. "

I think it's worth a try.

http://www.analog.com/en/analog-to-digital-converters/ad-converters/ad5593r/products/product.html

[metal]

this is expensive, STM32F051 ARM MCU with 12 bit ADC/DAC is less than half this IC's price, this is insane.. the same goes for MAX7221 which is fake on ebay, and someone I know says it turned out to be an MCU that was programmed by some chinese to imitate its functions..

[wild]

I found it interesting: to me the price is not too high, especially if I need to produce only 10-20 pieces of a particular device.
Especially if you have only few pins (I2C) available this can be really useful.
Some other similar chips I have already used: PCA9535PW PCA9685PW

[CocaCola]

someone I know says it turned out to be an MCU that was programmed by some chinese to imitate its functions..

With the price that some of these 'dedicated' ICs go for nowadays vs low cost micros, it's no wonder that clones are being made on micros...  I know that in many instances I find it easier and more cost effective to just code 'clone' firmware on a micro vs ordering and waiting for a dedicated chip that cost twice as much as the micro sitting in the parts bin, plus you can build in or use the mirco to do a bit more if need be...

[metal]

I found it interesting: to me the price is not too high, especially if I need to produce only 10-20 pieces of a particular device.
Especially if you have only few pins (I2C) available this can be really useful.
Some other similar chips I have already used: PCA9535PW PCA9685PW

the part I mentioned has a 12-bit adc/dac with 16 adc inputs and 1 dac output which you can multiplex and use buffers to hold the actual analogue value, the whole sum is cheaper than this IC.. this IC is interesting to me as well, but using the brain to avoid such an IC might render some people relentless about using it. also many designers are unable to do the math using a single dac and few opamps to extract an additional signal. suppose you wanted to operate two LEDs from 5V, and one LED receives the dac output, while the other LED receives 5V-dac_out, I assure you that you would not need that IC. In case you wanted an I/O device like the one used for home automation purposes which has multiple analog outputs, then I can tell you that there are other ways to do it and I've seen big 'names' schematics doing it already and for cheap, so you are still able to avoid the cost, unless your customers are the type who pays whatever price... nevertheless, I like the IC but we are trying to discuss how to avoid it, rather than paying more..

[wild]

I will use pwm...

[metal]

well known solution, you are not using the dac, leaving this IC useless