Oops - output voltage swing not big enough
The ADC-DAC Pi Zero is a 2 Channel ADC and 2 Channel DAC for the Raspberry Pi
30/05/2018
Posted by:
enovikoff
After I ordered the ADC DAC Pi Zero card, I realized its output swing wasn't enough to control the fan speed on the fan I need to control, which requires 0-3.8v as a speed control signal. I made the mistake of reading the DAC chip's specs instead of the card specs, which limit its supply to 3.3v. Are familiar with any known ways to increase the swing? Such as maybe an op-amp circuit based on a single-supply chip? Or should I just order a Expander Pi?
30/05/2018
Posted by:
andrew
You have a couple of options for increasing the output range of the DAC chip.
You could use an op-amp to amplify the output voltage.
The second option, if you don't mind having the ADC DAC Pi separate from the Raspberry Pi is to use a buffer on the SPI bus and run the ADC DAC Pi at 5V. On the Expander Pi, we use a 74HC4050 buffer powered by the 3.3V supply on the Raspberry Pi. The inputs on the 74HC4050 are tolerant of voltages up to 15V so you can power the ADC DAC Pi from the 5V rail on the Pi and the 74HC4050 will act as a level shifter for the SPI bus. The Expander Pi schematic shows which pins need to be connected on the 74HC4050 to the SPI pins.
You could use an op-amp to amplify the output voltage.
The second option, if you don't mind having the ADC DAC Pi separate from the Raspberry Pi is to use a buffer on the SPI bus and run the ADC DAC Pi at 5V. On the Expander Pi, we use a 74HC4050 buffer powered by the 3.3V supply on the Raspberry Pi. The inputs on the 74HC4050 are tolerant of voltages up to 15V so you can power the ADC DAC Pi from the 5V rail on the Pi and the 74HC4050 will act as a level shifter for the SPI bus. The Expander Pi schematic shows which pins need to be connected on the 74HC4050 to the SPI pins.
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