74HC4050 - Buffer on SD
Posted:
Fri May 03, 2013 1:04 pmby ohararp
David, what is the story on the buffer chip for the SD card for the SD shields? I have not had to use one of these before and was curious why you included this when both the Pic and the SD card are running at 3.3V
Re: 74HC4050 - Buffer on SD
Posted:
Fri May 03, 2013 1:11 pmby David John Barker
That's a very good question! You are quite right, running at 3.3v there would not normally be any need for a level shifter chip. However, all of the Firewing shields are compatible with Arduino, which runs at 5v. You will see this chip a lot in boards designed for Arduino.
In summary, Firewing shields are pin and voltage compatible with Arduino.