BQ78350-R1: Recommendation for connecting A PC to the chip?

Richard Cooke

Part Number: BQ78350-R1
Other Parts Discussed in Thread: BQ76920, EV2400, BQSTUDIO

Hi Folks,

I've looked at the TI site for a recommended way to connect the BQ78350-R1 chip to a PC without success. I do have a USB->I2C dongle which I'd love to be able to use but I'm a newbie when it comes to the SMBus used by the chip.

Any advice?

Thanks,

Richard

over 5 years ago

0 David Hien over 5 years ago

TI__Genius 10830 points

Hi Richard,
The BQ78350-R1 gauge is used on the BQ76920 EVM. The BQ76920 EVM user guide lists in the section 1.4 the required equipment for connecting your EVM to a PC.

0 Richard Cooke over 5 years ago in reply to David Hien

Expert 1530 points

Thanks David.

Is there any alternatives to the EV2400 module? It's $206 at Mouser and money is a bit tight for this project. Do you happen to know if a USB - > I2C dongle would be able to communicate with the BQ78350-R1 SMB port?

Thanks,

Richard

0 Matt Sunna over 5 years ago

TI__Guru* 81034 points

Hi Richard,

I highly recommend using an EV2400 and BQStudio for this. I don't know if you'll be able to do this successfully with your USB->I2C dongle. While I2C and SMBus are very similar, this may not work. You can see the steps to set these up in the EVM User Guide: http://www.ti.com/lit/pdf/slvu925

http://ti.com/tool/EV2400

http://www.ti.com/tool/BQSTUDIO

Of course, there are other ways to do this directly by using a host controller, but it is much easier to start with these tools until you learn the device.

Also, the EV2400 board files are available if you want to try to spin your own: http://www.ti.com/lit/zip/sluc674

Best regards,

Matt

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BQ78350-R1: Recommendation for connecting A PC to the chip?