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PCM1863: Addressing lots of PCM1863 via I2C

Part Number: PCM1863

It isn't possible to address more than two PMCM1863 devices on one I2C bus because there is only one address line - so two devices are possible but no more.

However, there is another option:

In SPI mode the address input for I2C mode is the select input which is high for de-selected so if 3 out of 4 devices had this pin connected high they would respond to I2C on the higher address - however, it should then be possible to set the 4th device (let's call it the master), the one with address 0, to output three of its GPIO pins to the mode pins of the other 3 devices, the ones that have the address pin high in SPI mode.

If the GPIO output pin goes low then the device with the mode pin now set to zero will respond to I2C on the higher address - but no other.

Can someone confirm if the mode can be changed on the fly?

If so there is no limit to the number of devices one can use on the same I2C bus :o)

  • Hi, Chris,

    The method you are proposing is an interesting approach but unfortunately, the digital control mode for the PCM186x devices cannot be changed on the fly. In I²C mode, only two PCM186x devices can share the same bus, so an I²C switch might be required to use more than two devices in the bus.

    Best Regards,

      -Diego Meléndez López
       Audio Applications Engineer

  • Hi Diego,

    Thank you for your reply.

    May I ask how you know this? It's not in the data sheet and neither is there any documentation that says you can or can't change the I2C address on the fly - however changing the I2C address on the fly is possible, I know this from experiment.

    Maybe you tried it?

    Kind regards

    Chris
  • Hi, Chris,

    I referred to the device control mode, changing between I²C and SPI control modes is not recommended. Changing the I²C address might be possible  but it is not a commonly used scenario for this device, I recall trying this before as well for a specific test I had to do. In general, hardware configurations like the control mode are read by the device during startup and should not be changed dynamically as the part could not interpret the changes correctly.

    Best Regards,

      -Diego Meléndez López
       Audio Applications Engineer