Starting out with a miniSpartan6+ FPGA board. - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: hamster_nz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: January 02, 2015, 10:21:00 am
content: My miniSpartan6+ FPGA board from Scarab Hardware's Kickstarter arrived while I was away (yes, I paid for it, and yes they delivered a little late, as one expects with KS).Documentation for getting started with the board is very sparse, so I've documented my first design and how I got it working under Windows athttp://hamsterworks.co.nz/mediawiki/index.php/MiniSpartan6%2B_bringupHopefully it will help some other owners get started with minimal head scratching and web searching...

author: leppie
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2015, 03:23:44 pm
content: Just got mine yesterday and documentation and examples are still scarce. Seems they have given up software side...

author: JohnnyBerg
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2015, 03:41:18 pm
content: Every time I look at a Kickstarter project I get this strange brainwave about a guy trying to fund some kind of hobby project. Or a sneaky way to sell some boards really expensive.I think my perception of what a Kickstarter is, is completely wrong. But hey, I know that it's just me having those strange thoughts

author: Dongulus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2015, 04:14:27 pm
content: I've never heard of the miniSpartan6+ until now. Have you tried the IDE yet and is it usable?I looked through the schematic and I didn't see any configuration PROM. Is that right? That means you have to reprogram the board every time it loses power or is reset.

author: hamster_nz
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2015, 05:59:19 pm
content: I haven't tried the IDE - I don't know how you feel about it, but ISE isn't that bad that it needs to be replaced....The board does have a configuration flash - here's how to use it:http://hamsterworks.co.nz/mediawiki/index.php/MiniSpartan6%2B_SPI_Programming

author: Mechanical Menace
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2015, 06:00:54 pm
content: Quote from: Dongulus on March 19, 2015, 04:14:27 pmIsn't that what the SPI flash is for?Quote from: hamster_nz on March 19, 2015, 05:59:19 pmLol, beat me to it. Very nice website you've got there btw.

author: Dongulus
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: March 19, 2015, 11:17:31 pm
content: Quote from: hamster_nz on March 19, 2015, 05:59:19 pmAh, my mistake. I saw that there was SPI flash listed in the features, but it was lumped in with the other memory devices so I thought it was just for general use and not configuration.

author: diyaudio
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2015, 10:32:33 am
content: Quote from: hamster_nz on January 02, 2015, 10:21:00 amHow does a board like this compared to existing Chinese Ebay FPGA boards ? I too want a getting started board for doing high volume real-time data processing. but first I need to be initiated by blinking an LED.

author: Mechanical Menace
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2015, 02:08:21 pm
content: Quote from: diyaudio on March 20, 2015, 10:32:33 amDo you mean the Waveshare ones? Newer, larger fpga, some ram, and you don't need a (rather expensive) Xilinx platform cable to use it.

author: diyaudio
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2015, 03:17:53 pm
content: Quote from: Mechanical Menace on March 20, 2015, 02:08:21 pmI mean the miniSpartan6? but I appreciate the recommendation on the Waveshare never looked at them yet, I'm looking for a small form factor board for image processing..none of the microcontrollers except a blackfin 609 and (maybe 533) seems to be able to handle image processing data rates.

author: Mechanical Menace
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: March 20, 2015, 03:26:50 pm
content: Quote from: diyaudio on March 20, 2015, 03:17:53 pmSorry, I meant are the Waveshare ones the Chinese ones you've seen on Ebay?What I said was what the miniSpartan6 has they don't lol