FPGA jtag programmer recommendation - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / beginners

author: steaky1212
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2012, 03:05:23 pm
content: Hi,I've got a 6+ year old spartan3 dev kit collecting dust, and I want to get back into it.Its a raggedstone1 sold by Enterpoint. I'm fairly sure the FPGA is a XC3S400, but I will have to check when I dig it out.As I was a student when I bought it, I went for the parallel port jtag programmer (usb one was £50 plus VAT). I'm in the process of upgrading my home PC, and obviously the LPT1 port has fallen out of fashion.I've ordered the free DVD of xilinx's webpack ISE, but I wont have any way to program my device.The two programmers I've briefly looked at are:DangerousPrototype's Bus Blaster -http://dangerousprototypes.com/docs/Bus_BlasterTioa's Multi-Protocol adapterhttp://www.tiaowiki.com/w/TIAO_USB_Multi_Protocol_Adapter_User's_ManualThey are the same price, although the TIOA includes leads. Neither one is in a case. Both use the FT2232H FTDI chip for usb. Both support xilinx's programming tool iMPACT. I'm not limiting myself to those tools, but I'd rather keep around the £25 (40usd)Which one would you choose and why?

author: olsenn
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2012, 04:17:51 pm
content: This is probably your best bet for a dedicated JTAG programmer for Xilinx/Altera devices:http://www.seeedstudio.com/depot/dsjtag-2-in-1-usb-jtag-cable-for-fpgacpld-p-1040.html?cPath=174However, I think you're honestly better off just buying a new (and much better) FPGA board with a programmer built in. You can get devices from Digilent and Terasic dirt cheap and they will be a MUCH better use of money unless you are trying to program an FPGA incorporated into a specific design (not a dev board).

author: steaky1212
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2012, 06:20:44 pm
content: olsenn,Thanks for that reply.I'm not going to buy a new dev kit anytime soon. I dont really have any project in mind, so I cant really justify the cost. AS the DP and TIOA devices look like they will be multi-purpose I was hoping I'd use them on a greater range of projects.I spent over £200 for this dev board at uni, and wanted to justify me still having it.

author: krenzo
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2012, 09:52:54 pm
content: http://www.digilentinc.com/Products/Detail.cfm?NavPath=2,395,922&Prod=JTAG-HS1

author: krivx
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2012, 10:20:51 pm
content: Have you thought about buying a USB-Parallel port adapter and using the programmer you have? This would probably be the cheapest option by a wide margin.

author: steaky1212
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2012, 11:01:29 pm
content: Krivx - I emailed enterpoint's support team and they were unsure as to if it would work, plus I guess then you are stuck on parallel speeds still.That's not to say it wouldn't work, but if it didn't then I'd be stuck with useless tech. The more general tools like the bus blaster could be used if I wanted to start playing with dd-wrt type stuff.I guess no one recommends the bus blaster or tioa's box of tricks either

author: mikeselectricstuff
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 28, 2012, 11:34:06 pm
content: Quote from: krivx on June 28, 2012, 10:20:51 pmThings like this that are not printers are highly unlikely to work with generic USB-paralell converters.

author: joelby
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 12:45:03 am
content: No, the UBS-parallel port adaptors will almost certainly not work because timing on the JTAG bus is important.I would recommend getting one of the Digilent or Xilinx USB JTAG adaptors. Only these will allow you to use debugging features in the SDK (now free in ISE 14.1), the PicoBlaze JTAG loader, and ChipScope Pro. The Xilinx ones are quite expensive, but you can find cheaper clones on eBay. Digilent adaptors require an extra plugin but are cheaper.The other options will only let you program the FPGA and flash, and will not be compatible with any of the Xilinx tools directly (e.g. iMPACT). I don't think it's worth saving a few dollars if it means losing a big chunk of functionality.

author: steaky1212
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 01:22:29 pm
content: ebay has a xilinx platform usb programmer for £26 so I might go with that one.as an aside - would I be able to use that to jtag other devices, like the chip in my wifi router? or do I need a more general tool for that?

author: T4P
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 01:43:06 pm
content: Quote from: joelby on June 29, 2012, 12:45:03 amI don't recall having UBS on my laptopIs it a new standard?

author: free_electron
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 04:39:27 pm
content: What's a laptop ? My computer is all-vacuum tube and programmed using patchcords ....

author: joelby
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: June 29, 2012, 10:49:40 pm
content: In general, you can't use one manufacturer's JTAG device with any other manufacturer's parts. The home brew JTAG solutions can be applied more generally, but then the software interfaces aren't compatible (usually because the manufacturer software interfaces are proprietary).