Hi, I would like to create a project with FPGA. You can imagine it as a debug board that need to communicate to other systems with defined protocols and standards... I would like to begin with a starter kit, not too expensive,
Do you know how to design logic? By logic I mean using digital functional elements like registers, gates, multiplexors and the like. If not, you will have a bit more trouble learning an HDL than a hardware person. The problem most people have learning HDL who have experience with software is understanding the differences. In an HDL nearly everything runs in parallel in the real sense. Only small parts of HDL code are interpreted sequentially and even that has to be translated into logic.
Before you buy any hardware, you should plan your project, download some tools and try your hand with an HDL and the simulator. It is *much* easier to debug an FPGA design in the simulator than it is on the bench, at least for most of the bugs. Everything is at your fingertips in a simulation. On the bench you have to bring out to pins any signal you want to view.
You don't need to rush into the actual hardware until you have a design debugged in the simulator and you are ready to test it on the bench.
-- Rick
Thank you Ric, I can already program in Verilog. My fpga will degub "on field" an asic I developed with others. I have some years experience on it. Any suggestion for the hardware?
Thank you
Ok, I see all my advice was of no value, lol.
No, I don't normally buy eval boards for FPGAs. I'm not aware of any FPGAs that support 1.2 volt I/Os, but then I seldom go swimming in the shallow end of that pool. My favorite parts are from Lattice and use flash or non-volatile memory for configuration storage. The XO3 series seems to support 1.2 volt I/Os. I don't see a good board for it unless you are looking for barebones. They have a "breakout" board that provides a USB interface for programming and not a lot else other than SMA connector positions, not sure what they are for. Looks like you can run the entire chip off of a single 1.2 volt PSU if you want 1.2 volt I/O.
If there is something in particular you would like from an eval board I would be interested in making one. Are you in a big hurry?
-- Rick
Hi,
I have used a "Papilio Pro" (Spartan 6 LX 9) as monitor for 1.8 V (not
1.2V) logic. Configuring inputs for lower logic level works (to my understanding) by setting it in the constraints file. To drive signals at the lower voltage, the FPGA needs a different reference voltage.An "FMC carrier S6" board (Digilent) should be able to drive 1.2 V. It's a bit more expensive, though. The number of accessible IOs is limited so you may either need to hand-solder to a FMC connector (which is cheap, < $10) or buy Xilinx' FMC debug board for $150+.
The manual is here:
The schematic is here:
The built-in JTAG interface of the S6 board seemed quite clumsy (the Papilio upload takes less than a second).
I'd probably go for open-source xc3sprog with an external JTAG interface if the work with the S6 board requires regular re-builds.
The abovementioned boards don't require paying for a development kit license, download Xilinx ISE 14.x.
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an alternative is to use external level shifters
and any FPGA board you like. The abovementioned "Papilio Pro" is probably the first one I'd take out of the box for a "swiss army knife" type of problem, but basically any board will do. I'd avoid externally powered boards and too low reference oscillator frequencies (i.e. 12M on Spartan 6 rules out some PLL configurations, 32/50/100M simply avoid the problem).
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Thank you to all, I like the idea of level shifter, I'll use it. So now I'll concentrate to other details ( memory needed, speed, number of Ios ... ). Thank you to all for your answers, I appreciate.
On Saturday, November 8, 2014 7:06:34 PM UTC-8, snipped-for-privacy@gmail.com wrote :
One option is to use Xilinx 7 series FPGAs. And especially if you have expe rience with microcontrollers, Zynq is an excellent choice. It gives you dua l ARM cores and FPGA on the same chip with 1.2V IO thrown in. Try the following for inexpensive options:
Take a look at one of these starter kits:
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