There are few communication protocols in the world of electronics more ubiquitous than I2C and SPI. Almost every single project of mine uses one or the other, and it is superb for a number of purposes, like cutting down on the number of pins required, being able to piggy-back multiple sensors onto a single line, and transmitting data over wired connections without the need to develop your own checksums and the like. One major restriction though has always been how far you can run those wires which carry the communication signal. But with the newly released JARViE Extender, you can now send those signals over twisted pair cables up to 150ft!
The board uses the TI P82B715 buffer IC to be able to transmit I2C, SPI, or GPIO signals over cable and includes an RJ45 connector onboard to make hookup a breeze. The board can also handle bi-directional data transfers and has a dual bi-directional unity-voltage-gain buffer that doesn’t require external direction control, keeping it simple to use. And be sure to visit the product page and see the great work the maker did to document and verify the signal transmission integrity along a variety of lengths of cable. You can even see a live demo and breakdown of the communication board below!
This board is offered by JARViE, based in the United States. Their Tindie store has a number of other smart home and IoT products, like this Mini Powerline Communications board, which lets you communicate between different boards over AC or DC power lines.
