What is the maximum distance of the I2C bus?
This depends on the load of the bus and the speed you run at. In typical applications, the length is a few meters (9-12ft). The maximum capacitive load has been specified (see also the electrical Spec’s in the I2C FAQ). Another thing to be taken into account is the amount of noise picked up by long cabling. This noise can disturb the signal transmitted over the bus so badly that it becomes unreadable. The length can be increased significantly by running at a lower clock frequency. One particular application – clocked at about 500Hz – had a bus length of about 100m (300ft). If you are careful in routing your PCB’s and use proper cabling (twisted pair and/or shielded cable), you can also gain some length. If you need to go far at high speed, you can use an active current source instead of a simple pull-up resistor. Philips has a standalone product for this purpose. Using a charge pump also reduces “ghost signals” caused by reflections at the end of the bus lines.
