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What are the differences between I2C and RS485 ?

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saurabh17g

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i want to know the difference between RS485 and I2C. I want to compare the two protocols in terms of advantages/disadvantages, datarate, robustness since both are 2 wire.
How about implementing /communicating devices using an Ethernet cable. I am planning to use PIC 24fj 64 family of microcontrollers
 

Re: I2C vs RS485

Hi,

I2C (IIC) stands for Inter-Integrated Circuit, so itss designed for data exchange between two integrated circuits (e.g. microcontroller <--> eeprom) which are quite close (normally same PCB). Speed can go up to 400 kHz. Synchronous protocol: Clock + Data.

RS-485 is designed for long distance between two devices. Max distance is about 1 km but depends on baud rate. RS485 is asynchronous, no clock signal is used. Very used in electrically "noisy" environments (industrial environments).

Regards.
 
Re: I2C vs RS485

I2C is a protocol and a physical layer, so you just need it, and there is no need for lever conversion. RS-485 is just a physical layer so you have to create your own protocol, and you need an externa tranceiver for lever conversion. RS-485 can go much faster than I2C and probably your bottlenec would be your UART speed (if you are using UART). Ethernet would be protocol and physical layer, but there are many ethernet options. Ethernet would be more suitable for bigger packages of data and no Real Time.

CYa
 

Re: I2C vs RS485

Thank you all!!

Ethernet would be more suitable for bigger packages of data and no Real Time. Would you please elaborate on this.
 

Re: I2C vs RS485

the higher data, the slower is the transfer
 

Re: I2C vs RS485

Well, just to explain, the real meaning of Real Time is not about how fast is your connection, but how deterministic it is. On real time connection you know the max time some transaction is going to take. At Ethernet it is impossible to predict that as there is no master or arbitration, so at a worst case scenario you could have data collision for ever. At a CAN network as an example there is no master too, but there is data arbitration, where the packages with lowest index are dominant over the others. On a RS-485, usually there is a master (it is up to your protocol), so usually a slave will just put package on the network if the master request, thefore there is no chance of data collision.

Cya
 

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