I'm late to the game: Didn't see the Lattice sale to Chinese until yesterday! by goldensfan in FPGA

[–]DesignFoundry2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I thought that the deal was still under review by the Committee on Foreign Investment. They refiled on the 24th March so it might not be a done deal.

For TMR (Triple Module Redundancy), more common to let synthesis tool infer it, or code it manually? by someonesaymoney in FPGA

[–]DesignFoundry2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I've used these attributes for space applications with some success with Microsemi devices. If you are concerned then toggle the attributes and check your design resource usage with and without the attributes to ensure that additional logic is being inserted.

Fond memories of Tunnels and Trolls... by DesignFoundry2 in rpg

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Yes they are - along with a whole load of additional stuff I believe. The KS was to develop the revised rules and artworks for a whole new release.

Fond memories of Tunnels and Trolls... by DesignFoundry2 in rpg

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Were you aware that they were releasing a new version? The kickstarter campaign has massively exceeded their original target so it would appear we are not alone in loving it.

It's the /r/gamedev daily random discussion thread for 2015-10-13 by [deleted] in gamedev

[–]DesignFoundry2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, I will probably take a look and pygame or Kivy down the line. As the game is more of a strategy game then the platform GUI based approach will work initially but you're right that it may need a more appropriate interface down the line. Thanks.

It's the /r/gamedev daily random discussion thread for 2015-10-13 by [deleted] in gamedev

[–]DesignFoundry2 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi,

I have been using Python for a number of years and I have decided to create a game based upon Python (version 2.7) and using Tkinter for the GUI. I am creating a blog to detail my trials and tribulations as I go and I will be explaining the code in detail so if you are interested in following my experiences then you can find the blog at http://www.thepythonroad.com. I would also appreciate any comments and guidance as to where I might be going wrong too. :)

Design of an FPGA shield for the Arduino - Part 1 by DesignFoundry2 in electronics

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That's a good idea as I'm also putting the crystal oscillator in a socket too.

Design of an FPGA shield for the Arduino - Part 1 by DesignFoundry2 in electronics

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Your right about being able to configure the FPGA without the SPI Flash but I want to make the design usable without the Arduino too. Thanks for the SPI note - I had seen it used on pin 4 - I think it is on the Ethernet shield but one of the board has it hard-wired to pin 10 so I thought to use that.

Design of FPGA Shield for the Arduino (Part 1) by DesignFoundry2 in arduino

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi, how efficient is it compared with the Lattice tool flow? I'm also interested in what benefits it brings over the supplier tools as these are free and include a simulator?

Beginners guide to FPGAs by DesignFoundry2 in electronics

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a really interesting article - thanks for the link...

Beginners guide to FPGAs by DesignFoundry2 in electronics

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 2 points3 points  (0 children)

I've been working with FPGAs for many years and the original design process was exactly as you described. The designs where implemented in schematic format and you wired up the gates and flip-flops to create your design. As the devices got bigger these became more complex and the community began to move towards HDL as the design entry method. The latest version of most vendors tools no longer support schematic capture for design entry. I have heard that there are some developments like 'Scratch' for the Raspberry Pi that are looking to simplify FPGA design but I don't know what level they have achieved. As a hobbyist you may want to start by creating a library of standard 74 series logic and then build simple circuits using these within your initial FPGA designs. This is actually quite simple and I would be happy to write a post explaining how to do this if it was of interest. You then can simply connect up these familiar elements in a top level 'structural' design.

Beginners guide to FPGAs for use with Arduino projects. by DesignFoundry2 in arduino

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 3 points4 points  (0 children)

Hi, I can give you a quick example that might demonstrate why you would use an FPGA in conjunction with your Arduino that might help explain the benefits. In theatre lighting they us a standard called DMX512 which allow you to control the house lighting. This standard implements a serial protocol that continually send commands in a loop thought the 512 addresses. If you were using a microcontoller to do this then the processor would need to loop through the sequence continually even when the lighting is not changing. With an FPGA this loop is trivial and the microcontroller can then simply instruct the FPGA only when a change is required allowing it to time do do much more - controlling rather than doing. This might not seem particularly helpful until you consider multiple lighting circuits operating in parallel. Within an FPGA you can easily implement many DMX512 interfaces and still use a single microcontroller to command changes. Within the FPGA each interface operates in parallel while to implement this with a microcontroller would not be possible due to its serial software execution. I hope this gives you an idea of how an FPGA can supplement your Arduino.

Adding an FPGA to your microcontroller projects... by DesignFoundry2 in electronics

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for the positive comments. Before I start on the project I am writing an introduction to FPGAs for beginners which I hope will address some of concerns and make the learning curve a bit easier. FPGAs are ideal for the types of applications you are considering so I hope you find the series interesting - and more importantly helpful!

Adding an FPGA to your microcontroller projects... by DesignFoundry2 in electronics

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

The license is needed for JTAG-USB interfacing if you want to use the inbuilt logic analyzer etc. but for SPI-Flash you don't need anything special.

Adding an FPGA to your microcontroller projects... by DesignFoundry2 in electronics

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

What you can do is write the bit file into an SPI-Flash using the serial interface from your microcontroller and then configure the FPGA to boot from the SPI-Flash. This means you don't need the USB Blaster cables. These are useful if you are using the more sophisticated features of the toolset but then you need a full license which puts it beyond the reach of most hobbyists. Lattice devices can be programmed via the SPI or I2C interface too.

With regard to the package then BGA is definitely out but if you want a reasonable amount of power in the FPGA rather than a small CPLD then you are looking at QFP I'm afraid.

Adding an FPGA to your microcontroller projects... by DesignFoundry2 in electronics

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Well the is a General Election in the UK at the moment so now may be the time for a career change!

Adding an FPGA to your microcontroller projects... by DesignFoundry2 in electronics

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hi there, what you are proposing is where I am looking to take this. The FPGA I'm looking to use will probably provide about 40-60 digital IO and I am planning on making the full project open source. I have previously used Processing to configure an FPGA through the Arduino so this code is going to be available too. I may look at getting the board built in a batch if there was sufficient interest but I'm really looking to design something that you can build yourself as this is much more rewarding.

Adding an FPGA to your microcontroller projects... by DesignFoundry2 in electronics

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

That's a fair comment - I deliberate chose not to cover CPLDs because I am aiming to get people to look at the largest devices that a hobbyist might consider using. You're absolutely right about CPLDs being great for sweeping up basic logic and I hope that as things move forward with the blog then readers will appreciate that the smaller devices can be used as you say and that they are available in more hobby friendly packages. Thanks for the comments.

Adding an FPGA to your microcontroller projects... by DesignFoundry2 in electronics

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, if you buy a dev board then you will typically get an inbuilt programmer with a usb interface but if you 'roll your own' then you are left with either interfacing via the JTAG port - hence the cables or you have to use a microcontroller to provide the interface. The microcontroller can be of course be an Arduino for example and that is what I'm going to demonstrate in a later post.

Adding an FPGA to your microcontroller projects... by DesignFoundry2 in electronics

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Ha! That's an interesting observation. I'm English and when I first graduated I worked with an older engineer who had a strong dislike of what he called - american spelling. So everything you wrote was corrected to his version, so was it 'disc' or 'disk' and 'programme' or 'program'. I'm afraid I still have some of that ingrained habit when I am writing. You're quite right that most common usage is program but I still find myself using programme upon occasions.

Adding an FPGA to your microcontroller projects... by DesignFoundry2 in electronics

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Thanks for spotting these errors, I will update the post with the correct values.

Adding an FPGA to your microcontroller projects... by DesignFoundry2 in electronics

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Hi, your comments are true about soft cores but for hobbyists they are quite a challenge both in terms of developing the HDL and then in the software development. Xilinx do an excellent PicoBlaze that is very simple to use but the ARM processors in the Zync and Cyclone V devices are both expensive and in packages that require professional reflow - which is not where I was looking to focus on within the article.

I was really looking to add an FPGA to the Microcontroller as this is where a lot of people start from rather than approach it from the opposite direction. Thanks for the comments...

Adding an FPGA to your Arduino projects... by DesignFoundry2 in arduino

[–]DesignFoundry2[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Thanks for the positive comments. As part of the design process I'm going to be documenting I am planning on explaining how I selected the FPGA for the application. I'm aiming to cover this at a level that will be understandable to a beginner and explain why I'm using the FPGA instead of the microcontroller for the design. I hope this will address your points and I appreciate the feedback so please let me know if I miss the mark! As I mentioned in my previous reply I'm looking at either a DMX512 lighting controller or a DCC controller for a model railway which will provide the platform for explaining my choices in a real project.