Trenz FPGA Module

I'm interested in the Trenz FPGA Module with the Gowin GW1NR-LV9QN88 on boa rd. The price is a bit high... well, I guess not for FPGA products, but ce rtainly for the size and costs in making the board.

It consists of the FPGA, two power regulators, an FT2232 JTAG/serial port c hip, a 4 Kbit EEPROM chip for the FT2232 and a 64M-bit flash chip for the F PGA, two oscillators and power steering FETs. Not overly complex in any wa y.

I'm wondering if this board can be largely reproduced without exactly copyi ng it and not violate any IP restrictions? If you want to use the FT2232 w ith a Gowin GW1NR-LV9QN88 it would be hard to not duplicate this circuit. I would probably use the -UV version of the chip so only one regulator is n eeded and replace the power steering circuit with something a bit simpler. Otherwise there's not much left that isn't very basic.

Anyone know what is in the Gowin programmer? I'm thinking it is just one o f these FTDI chips. Does the EEPROM need to be programmed before the FTDI chip will function? Or is that just to save working data?

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  Rick C. 

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Rick C
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The schematics of the Gowin dev boards are on their website. I've got the board for the -4 part and it has the FTDI chip - I'll take a look with the FTDI tool and see if it has any special stuff in it.

MK

Reply to
Michael Kellett

FTDI chip looks bog standard, no special stuff in it.

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MK

Reply to
Michael Kellett

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Thanks,

The screen says "No EEPROM detected". Does that mean the EEPROM is blank? The data connection is a bit odd on the Trenz schematic. The prom has DI and DO while the 2232 has a bi-dir data pin. They add a resistor between t he pins on the EEPROM so the 2232 can drive the chip when needed. I guess you don't need to write and read at the same time.

So is the EEPROM not needed? Oh, I see in the Gowin schematic it is not ev en present. So I guess not.

The Trenz board uses a six bit bus from the 2232 pins BDBUS0-6. I can't fi nd any documentation on this... or much else about the board other than the schematics. They also label 8 of the I/Os AIN0-6 and AREF. I wonder if t he intention is for them to be used as part of an ADC design.

I'm just not sure I want to order this board. I guess it's ok, but at $40 it seems a bit over priced. It is about as close as I'm going to get to th e device I'll use on the circuit I'm designing, so I guess a few bucks is n o big deal.

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  Rick C. 

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Rick C

I have some -9 parts in 88 pin QFN on the way so I'll be doing a board for them. Probably won't get round to serious thinking on it for a couple of weeks. I'll probably just make the JTAG pins accessible and use an off board tool - mine or GOWIN's.

MK

Reply to
Michael Kellett

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nk? The data connection is a bit odd on the Trenz schematic. The prom has DI and DO while the 2232 has a bi-dir data pin. They add a resistor betwe en the pins on the EEPROM so the 2232 can drive the chip when needed. I gu ess you don't need to write and read at the same time.

t even present. So I guess not.

t find any documentation on this... or much else about the board other than the schematics. They also label 8 of the I/Os AIN0-6 and AREF. I wonder if the intention is for them to be used as part of an ADC design.

$40 it seems a bit over priced. It is about as close as I'm going to get t o the device I'll use on the circuit I'm designing, so I guess a few bucks is no big deal.

Which JTAG tool do you have? I assume it is a bit cheaper than the Gowin t ool at $80? This project has several people working remote from one anothe r. It's an open source project, so strapped for funds. I'm looking for th e cheapest way to program the parts without going through the MCU which is a reliability issue. The whole point of the FPGA is to eliminate the MCU s oftware from the alarm validation. So my current thinking is to have the J TAG programming adapter on board for prototypes and leave the chip off for production.

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  Rick C. 

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Rick C

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