How to interface Arduino to a 12-bit serial DAC

After a quick peek at the data sheet, it looks like the shiftout command will do the job.

You'll have to handle the CS lead yourself. Just assign it to any convenient output pin, drop it, shift your data to the DAC, then raise CS again.

The Arduino help pages explain the use of the shiftout routine.

Good luck!

Tom

Tom,

Thanks so much, that helps a lot - can I tie Vin and REF to +5v? Or does REF need to be different?

Dave

You sure can, Dave.

And, like the AVdd input to your Arduino, make sure that the REF pin is well bypassed. Any noise on this pin will appear on your analog output.

Have fun!

Tom

Bypass? Hmmm...

This is a capacitor between the pin and ground, right? What's a typical value for this cap?

Dave

Well, at the minimum, a 0.1 uF ceramic. See how the output sounds and looks. Add a tantalum if you need more. Also, bypass the rest of your chips with, at the minimum, a 0.1 uF ceramic.

Good luck!

Tom