[chbot] Kickstart in FPGA course...

[Mark Atherton]

ISE Webpack mandates Internet access ?

The Altera tools (Quartus 2) are all stand alone, free and appears to 
support Linux, see 
<https://www.altera.com/download/dnl-index.jsp>https://www.altera.com/download/dnl-index.jsp

They also have a full 30 day version also, which includes NIOS (soft 
processor). It took me a day to get my head around enough to get a 
button copy to an LED to run, then another day to build a NIOS target 
and compile a 'Hello World' application in C for the new target.

I have a DE0 demo board available from Digikey US$119 which has 
onboard JTAG programmer. Shipping is free for Digikey orders over 
US$120 (unless that has changed) and the exchange rate is very 
favorable[sic] at the moment.

<http://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-bin/page/archive.pl?Language=English&No=364>http://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-bin/page/archive.pl?Language=English&No=364 


-Mark



At 04:20 p.m. 14/02/2011, you wrote:
>I'm interested too.
>
>No matter what vendor's kit you choose you will end up with a bias 
>and have to
>drink somebody's Kool Aid.
>
>When you're playing with FPGAs etc the bigger question is" What's the deal
>with tools?" Are those free to download or is that a hidden cost? What are
>the limitations? Linux option or Windows only?
>
> From what I've seen here, this board will work with the free ISE Webpack
>software which requires web access (download code to a server to compile)
>which will work with Windows and Linux.
>http://www.xilinx.com/tools/webpack.htm
>
>The board's USB download uses some WIndows software. Pity there isn't a Linux
>version.
>
>-- Charles
>
>
>On Sunday 13 February 2011 18:31:06 Mark Atherton wrote:
> > Yes, interested.
> >
> > You have a Xilinx bias, but don't forget about Altera and the Quartus
> > II environment.
> >
> > Also don't forget Verilog, which is very C like and has a shallower
> > learning curve than VHDL and much simpler, but quite powerful.
> >
> > Diligent have and Academic  price - AU$65.00, would you be willing to
> > inquire about a bulk (5 ?) price purchase for a CHCH based non-profit
> > educational group (this group).
> >
> > I am sure we can scrounge space at Science Alive or the main library
> > for setup...
> >
> > Keep going.
> >
> > Mark
> >
> > At 05:53 p.m. 13/02/2011, hamster wrote:
> > >I haven't seen much traffic on the list, so I don't know if this is
> > >appropriate for the list.
> > >
> > >Is anybody interested in getting a kickstart in learning to use FPGAs?
> > >
> > >I'm toying with the idea of getting four or five people together, putting
> > >a bulk order for development boards, and then arranging somewhere for a
> > >few
> > >evenings to get the basics going. Given the flexibility and power I am
> > >amazed
> > >that these devices seem to be shunned as too hard too use.
> > >
> > >I found that getting started was the hard bit - knowing what board to buy,
> > >  getting the CAD software installed and licensed, getting the first
> > >project running.
> > >
> > >A FPGA board costs under AU$100 for a basic "all-in-one" 100,000 gate
> > >model (eg
> > >http://www.blackboxconsulting.com.au/product-details/basys2-100k.html),
> > >but
> > >it's the shipping that costs if you order one at a time. If $ are tight,
> > >you
> > >could go halves with a mate for a board - a lot of time is spent on your
> > >PC
> > >designing... If anybody wasn't sure if they wanted to buy a board I could
> > >lend them one.
> > >
> > >Larger/faster/feature-rich boards a not much more expensive, but you have
> > >to
> > >take care to ensure that your board is supported with the "free to use"
> > >design tools.
> > >
> > >As for the evenings, I was thinking of putting together a few brief
> > >show & tell  + workshops to do simple projects... an off the top of my
> > >head
> > >topic list would be
> > >- What FPGAs are good at
> > >- Getting the development software installed
> > >- Getting the first project running
> > >- Schematic entry and VHDL design
> > >- An overview of the on-chip resources (clock generators, block RAM etc)
> > >- Using a development board's resources
> > >- Simulation and debugging
> > >- Implementing FSMs
> > >- Interfacing to other devices
> > >- An overview of really advanced stuff (like calibrated sub-nanosecond
> > >delay lines,
> > >
> > >It would just require to
> > >- bring along your own laptop
> > >- have a basic understanding of digital logic
> > >- have an basic understanding of binary numbers
> > >- familiar with a programming language - VHDL is a bit like Cobol in it's
> > >verbosity
> > >- ready for a steep learning curve
> > >- A small fee towards room hire, course material (e.g. a few DVDs, a
> > >little printing), and enough to upgrade my board.
> > >- It would be nice if every board was using the same toolset - (I
> > >currently use Xilinx tools).
> > >
> > >Time line would be to start in 6 weeks, or maybe Easter to
> > >allow for organisation and delivery of the dev kits.
> > >
> > >Anybody interested, or know anybody who would be?
> > >
> > >I wonder if I could get some buy-in from a Community College?... I guess
> > >it is a bit more advanced than "An introduction to digital photography".
> > >
> > >Mike
> > >