NI USB 8451 communication with multiple devices of the same type

[vedsoni1996]

Is it correct that a NI USB-8451 can communicate with 8 slaves simultaneously using I2C protocol? Currently, I am using it to communicate with 2 slaves simultaneously. One of these 2 slaves is a TI battery charger EVM and another is a TI fuel gauge. For communication with these, I have to specify the slave address in LabVIEW using the I2C configuration property node. These slave addresses have been provided by TI in their datasheet, and are different for both these devices. So, basically, I'm able to communicate with these 2 slaves simultaneously. 

Now, I want to communicate with four of each of these 2 slaves, i.e. 4 battery chargers and 4 fuel gauges, thus total 8 slaves. Since four of them have the same address, how do I distinguish between them while communication?

P.S.: I'll attach a sample VI of communication with the fuel gauge.

[bseguin · Accepted solution]

You cannot communicate with slaves if they have the same address on the same bus. The I2C allows you to communicate with a maximum of 128 different device address. The problem is that most of manufacturer has 3 bit configurable to change the base address. Read the data sheet again to see if you have a possibility to change their base address.

Benoit