Shop OBEX P1 Docs P2 Docs Learn Events
FPGA programming board on Kickstarter. — Parallax Forums

FPGA programming board on Kickstarter.

GadgetmanGadgetman Posts: 2,436
edited 2013-04-07 00:32 in General Discussion
Found this 'Mojo board' that lets you program a Spartan 6 XC6SLX9 FPGA

http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1106670630/mojo-digital-design-for-the-hobbyist

Looks nifty... :-)

Comments

  • frank freedmanfrank freedman Posts: 1,983
    edited 2013-03-10 16:49
    This device looks interesting. Only question I have though is this: They mention that these FPGA devices become whatever they are at runtime, implying that the CPU on the board must boot up, program the device to become whatever it is to be each and every time power is cycled. Are there any similar devices that are OTP and will hold their programming once programmed and put on a shelf / in a box for later use in whatever they have been designed for? Would hate to buy one of these boards each time i had a different project. Also, how current is the chip shown here?
  • LeonLeon Posts: 7,620
    edited 2013-03-10 17:01
    It doesn't seem to have any RAM, apart from what is on the FPGA.
  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,173
    edited 2013-03-10 17:32
    frank freedman wrote: »
    This device looks interesting. Only question I have though is this: They mention that these FPGA devices become whatever they are at runtime, implying that the CPU on the board must boot up, program the device to become whatever it is to be each and every time power is cycled.

    Yes, FPGAs like this are RAM based, and load from a external Memory.
    They say they use a cheaper generic FLASH, and use the uC to load the FPGA.
    The Mojo features a basic serial port (similar to an Arduino) that can be used to program a new bit file into on-board flash memory. When the board is powered on, a microcontroller reads the flash memory and configures the FPGA automatically.

    Are there any similar devices that are OTP and will hold their programming once programmed and put on a shelf / in a box for later use in whatever they have been designed for?

    It depends on size. Some FPGA have Flash chips inside the package, but they still do a 'boot' step.
    For moderate sized devices, you could look at the Lattice MachXO2 series (CPLD/FPGA) ?
  • rod1963rod1963 Posts: 752
    edited 2013-03-10 17:44
    It seems limited if not crippled design. There is no external RAM or flash which means it's loses it's mind so to speak every time you cycle power and has to be reloaded via the USB connection. IOW this is not a board you can put into a project box and say stick in a robot and expect to work without being connected to a PC, it won't.

    IMO it's a ripoff. There are plenty of other boards that aren't crippled but still affordable for hobbyists like the Xula-200 Spartan 3A from Xess that sells for $55.00 that is more than adequate

    Link:
    http://www.xess.com/prods/prod048.php
  • Peter KG6LSEPeter KG6LSE Posts: 1,383
    edited 2013-03-10 17:52
    I have a SPARTAN-6 AVNET board here and Its not a bad FPGA as far as the Chip goes ! ,

    And BTW the chip has NO EEPROM .so its RAM based .


    Peter


    EDIT : I think I spent like 99 USD on mine ish .
  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,173
    edited 2013-03-10 18:50
    rod1963 wrote: »
    It seems limited if not crippled design. There is no external RAM or flash ...

    Not quite - there is flash, loaded using the uC to allow cheaper SPI Flash to be used.
    rod1963 wrote: »
    IMO it's a ripoff. There are plenty of other boards that aren't crippled but still affordable for hobbyists like the Xula-200 Spartan 3A from Xess that sells for $55.00 that is more than adequate

    I'd agree it is not great bang for the buck.

    Another reference point is the Lattice MaxHXO2 breakout board, which has just bumped to the MachXO2-7000, for $29.90
    http://www.latticesemi.com/products/developmenthardware/developmentkits/machxo2breakoutboard.cfm

    I see the bigger device they now use, LCMXO2-7000HE-4TG144C, lists at $14.45 for the chip alone.
  • AleAle Posts: 2,363
    edited 2013-03-16 10:03
    jmg: I have two of those MachXO2-1200ZE breakout boards, they are great !, they just work. I should have waited a bit if I had known that they would bring a 7000 version... I have decided that I'll get a DE0-nano... but maybe I'd go with one of these MachXO2-7000. I like Lattice software. But be aware that at least the 1200 I have is quite slow, I mean slower than a Spartan2... I'd like to know how fast those 7000HE are... I'll order one anyways :)... more cogs will fit in !
  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,173
    edited 2013-03-16 12:13
    Ale wrote: »
    But be aware that at least the 1200 I have is quite slow, I mean slower than a Spartan2... I'd like to know how fast those 7000HE are... I'll order one anyways :)... more cogs will fit in !

    How much were you able to fit into a 1200 ?
  • AleAle Posts: 2,363
    edited 2013-03-16 12:20
    A cascaded eight bit multiplier needs some 10%. The simple cog of the other threads leaves some 15% free. It is equvalent to a 50kgates spartan2/3 more or less, but it doesn't have any embedded multipliers :(. The 7000 for 30$ is quite agood deal. All pins are available in .1" headers.
    If you have some test in mind, I can try it, to see if it fits.
  • graynomadgraynomad Posts: 6
    edited 2013-04-07 00:32
    Hi Guys,

    I see a lot of references here to Lattice devices and I am particularly interested in the MachX02 versions.

    However I see that the Lattice forums are dead in the water and in fact will be shut down shortly, for someone who will presumably need a lot of community support at first this is not very comforting.

    Trouble is I really like the features of the MachX02 but if there's no support that may be a problem.

    Any thoughts on this?
    Should I move to the "big two" (Altera or Xilinx)?
    How does Lattice stack up against them WRT hardware/support/tools?
    I'm a very experiences hardware designer, will I even need much support?

    EDIT: Don't mind me, I think I dropped this in the wrong thread :)

    ______
    Rob
Sign In or Register to comment.