Xilinx Xact software for XC2018 Logic Cell Array

These devices are not worth your time and energy to try to use. Get a low cost Spartan-3A board and use the free ISE Webpack software.

Ed McGettigan

-- Xilinx Inc.

I'd second Ed's opinion. These devices were released circa 20-25 years ago and their only useful place now is a museum. Almost anyone that does have software for these will have a reason like long term product maintainence and they are unlikely to let go the software.

John Adair Enterpo> I bought a few of these on ebay but I cant find Xilinx Xact software

Id like to build a board around these chips (simple projects to aid the learning process - which is not limited to hdl digital design but board manufacturing as well).

More "modern" fpgas come in formfactors that make it all but impossible to solder at home.

The xc2xxx and xc3xxx chips come in plcc68/84 arrangements. I can buy plcc to dip sockets cheap from many online electronic retailers as well as ebay.

I did something like these for the xc9xxxx CPLD's which are still supported in xilinx webpack software

Listen, it would really help if I can buy XACT. I dont need support, just the software. If its reached end-of-life, I assume you guys would post it AS IS on some ftp server link right?

For what its worth future projects that advance past what am working on would benefit from the spartan series ...

There are plenty of FPGA DIP modules out there.

I'd suggest you'll get very little education on modern board fabrication from producing a through-hole board. You actually *want* to use surface mount caps, resistors, and hand-solderable TQFP devices. And you'll want to lose the 5V unless you're doing analog and/or RF.

The XC2000 series reached end-of-life around 2000. You're a DECADE past that point. There is no point.

Well you are looking at small FPGA/large CPLD then for HDL language, get yourself afew schmart boards which make TQFP and similar easier for hobby or learning process that suit the available PLD/FPGA devices you can get.

Use the available software Xilinx/Altera/Lattice/.......

There are variants in TQFP, that can be hand soldered using Schmart boards or get a demo board.

More devices are available in TQFP.

Then get the Spartan demo board now and don't waste your money on dead ends.

Schmart boards are easy to find, hust do a google search.

--
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Seems hobbyists are no market in these days. Sure, they maybe only buy

10 pieces, but if this is done by many people then this my become still a big quantity. I really would like to see a FPGA in PLCC84 package with 5 V I/O voltage (and maybe an additional smaller core voltage). There are still much older TTL gates so why shouldn't there also be a XC3195 (including the developement software).

I really can understand you, but it's not so simple to get a working Viewlogic/XACT system. You will need a DOS-PC (a real DOS, not a DOS box in Windows) a graphics card which provides the graphic mode Viewlogic needs and a three button V24 mouse. And then you need the original software because both, Viewlogic and XACT use a parallel port dongle (but this should be the smallest problems, because they seem to be simple passive dongles of the first generation). But on the other side you will get a professional system (ok, Viewlogic was quite expensive compared to the free Webpack). We still have a laboratory course were we use Vielogic/XACT using a XC3195 FPGA. And we have saved a few old PCs and V24 mouses as a replacement because the course will die when we run out of old hardware. And we can't convert it to the actual ISE software, because then we would need twice the time for the course which simple isn't available.

We have converted a simpler course (implementation of an extremely simple CPU in about 10 hours) using a DARNAW1 board and ISI9 (schematic entry, not VHDL). This design is so simple that you nearly can't make any design error, but still the students now need at least 50% more time to finish the course. But at least this can be used as a good example what happens if you let software engineers develop software. The Viewlogic system seems was written by hardware engineers to support their daily work. When the system become popular (despite it's prices), software engineers where hired and that seems was the end of Vielogic (I installed the Windows version of Vielogic, but removed it immediately). Every software engineer should be forced to work whit his product for a few month, then we would have much better software.

When I first knew about FPGAs, about 15 years ago, XC2000 devices were still in the book, but no-one I knew used them.

I believe that Xilinx still has software for XC4000 devices on their web site, and I might even believe that some would still use them. If you want a hobbyist device, go for XC4000 series.

-- glen

I completely agree. I have done a lot of projects, some I have sold, some I have given away. Its great to be able to design/develop without a HUGE investment in manufacturing tools (for smd parts)

This is another reason I maintain a large stock of 22v10 in dip and plcc form along with an assorted collection of 8bit micros in dip form as well.

Lately I have been trying to get a hold of the xc95xxx CPLD's and the Altera EPM71XX parts.

Guess Ill have to dump these xc2018/30xx parts ;(

I disagree with the suggestion to use an XC4000. HDL support for this family (and the Spartan/SpartanXL) ended 5+ years ago. And by ended, I mean that there is no legal way of obtaining the necessary software.

RK

Depending on what you want to achieve there are ways to make boards simple by using modules like our previously mentioned Darnaw1. There are also the DIL format Craignell1

and Craignell2 modules. These modules allow you to develop your own carrier board but handle the complex and costly BGA bit for you.

There are other low cost products like our Polmaddie series

offer ways into FPGA and CPLD technology at not a lot of cost. These particular boards sell 1 off at GBP 40 (approx USD 60, Euro 50) in one off and you get a free programming cable (parallel port) for that money. Club together with a couple of friends and you can get free worldwide shipping on our web shop if you can get the order over GBP 100.

All of these products are bought by hobby engineers. Tools for all of the above are free to download. We also use 0.1 inch/ 2.54mm pitch headers/sockets a lot to facilitate hobby and student markets with many customers even building their add ons with simple stripboard.

John Adair Enterpo> > Seems hobbyists are no market in these days. Sure, they maybe only buy

s t

I'll third that opinion. Also the XC4000 series is much more expensive than many newer, larger, faster devices. If you want 5V tolerance, look into Spartan 2, also long in the tooth but supported by ISE 10.1 and available in VQ and TQ package types.

Regards, Gabor

There's also lots of Xilinx XC95 series available in PLCC 44 and 84 packages. With some trivial adapters, they can be wire-wrapped or soldered on tenth inch centers.

In comp.arch.fpga d_s_klein wrote: (snip, I wrote)

I meant it in the sense that one shouldn't go farther back than that.

I thought the software was on the "Classic" section of the Xilinx web site, but didn't try actually installing it.

-- glen

s

I'm still running version 4.1 of the Xilinx tools, but the "Foundation" not "ISE" version. You can still get ISE 4.1, but it doesn't include synthesis or schematics, so you'd need some third party tools to make up the gap. Xilinx no longer offers the original Foundation versions, since they don't own the third party (Aldec) content. The Alliance tools, by the way also required additional third party tools for synthesis or schematics. Definitely not on a hobbyists budget.

Regards, Gabor

The other problem you get with old software is the OS. I keep some machines with NT for times I need to run my old version software.

John Adair Enterpoint Ltd.

his

d,

.

Take a look at 'vmware' or 'virtualbox'. I have been able to run antique OS's (and applications) on modern hardware using both.

RK

This is definitely a sensible way to go.

OTOH it is not very difficult to put a TQFP100 or PQ208 on a board with a simple soldering iron.

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[...]

Seconded. The Drigmorn2 is a lovely little board -- 32MiB SDRAM, onboard SPI flash, switches, HD44780 LCD, and a ton of LEDs. Debugging it is a DREAM, especially when you can just plug a Harwin pin header into the LHS/ RHS headers, wire in a logic analyser pod and watch as closely as you like.

The only thing I don't like about it is the ISSI SDRAM -- the refresh rate figures in the datasheet are incorrect. Use 4096 cycles per 32ms (the refresh rate for the "Industrial" spec part) and it's fine, use 4096- in-64ms (the "Commercial" spec rating) and you get random data corruption issues. I suspect the section on Auto Refresh has been copy-pasted from a datasheet for a different part and not checked against the tested specification... but that's just conjecture.

The other possibility is that the part on my DM2 is a mis-marked Ind Temp part, but the laser-markings say it *should* be a -7BL, or a 7ns part in Pb-free BGA... if it was ind-spec it *should* have been marked "-7BLI"...

Yeah, tack down a few pins at a corner, then coat the pins in paste flux and drag-solder. Clean up with solder wick and you're done. If you're not a fan of manual labour you can use solder paste and a hot-air reflow station, but drag soldering is usually quicker... not to mention more reliable :)

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