[chbot] Kickstart in FPGA course...

hamster hamster at snap.net.nz
Tue Feb 15 02:16:53 GMT 2011


Hi Mark,

Just had a look at that... seems to be much like my Nexys2 board, give or
take a bit of flash, RAM or a few switches here or there. It is also a bit
cheaper too.

I like the SD socket, and the 12bit video (mine is only 8). Is that
plastic cover any good? Does it need to be wall powered all the time or can
it run form USB? What is the speed on the RAM & Flash? Mine is 75ns - slow
enough to be annoying.

I quite like the Digilent "PMOD" expansion ports. Although I've never
squired any of the PMOD modulesas I just solder wires directly onto the
tail end of PCB header strips that fit the socket. The Digilent modules
look quite good for simple interfacing (such things as h-bridges, DACs,
amps and so on), and they have a pretty good add-on bread-board
(http://www.digilentinc.com/Products/Detail.cfm?NavPath=2,648,561&Prod=FX2BB).


The text book I learnt VHDL from is targeted to Altera - if you find
yourself with a few days free do you want to swap for a while? 

Mike

PS. I hope I don't convert to the other camp - I don't fancy on throwing
away all the data sheets that I've printed out! :-)


On Mon, 14 Feb 2011 16:50:41 +1300, Mark Atherton <markaren1 at xtra.co.nz>
wrote:
> 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
>> > >
> 
> 
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