We are using a 3-port 1394 transceiver TSB41AB3 and recently have been experiencing failures in the field. We believe these failures have been caused by improper insertion of the cable preventing first mate of the Vp/Vg pins, or possibly by shorting Vp pin 1 to data pin 3. TI application note SLEA072A addresses this issue by recommending tying the shield to digital ground thereby providing an early ground reference. They also recommend using low capacitance clamp diodes on the four data lines tied to a common zener clamp plus a ferrite filter on Vp.
Has anyone tried this? With what success? Any info is welcome before we go through the trouble and expense of re-spinning our board. Thanks.
