tinyFPGA AX2 or BX stock? - Page 1
Forum section: electronics / general

author: DeepLink
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2022, 11:42:53 am
content: I want to start playing with FPGA and what to buy some tinyFPGA boardsBut where? Seems to be "sold out" everywherePreferably in Europe/Hans

author: josuah
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2022, 02:52:11 pm
content: It made a long time since I have seen any stock for the TinyFPGAs. My advise is start getting [something else](https://joelw.id.au/FPGA/CheapFPGADevelopmentBoards) while keeping an eye on the TinyFPGA stock refuel.SparkFun, AdaFruit, DFrobot, SeeedStudio, Tindie, LectronZ, Octopart (including but not limited to: mouser, digikey, farnell, ...)... Not a single board around.The only places where you *might* find any are unofficial distributors who might also play with the price:https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33018968177.html("only 1 in stock" while I checked).What were your criterion for choosing that board?Another way to search is start by seeing what could do the job among what there is in stock.

author: bingo600
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2022, 04:16:21 pm
content: Does it have to be a tinyFPGA ?I can't find ANY at all in eBayEuropeEU.Does it have to be Lattice ?Remember you usually have to get a (jtag) programmer also.There's an Arty board on DBAhttps://www.dba.dk/andet-digilent-arty-a7-35t/id-1089524368/https://digilent.com/reference/programmable-logic/arty-a7/startAnd an Altera IV on ebay (incl programmer)https://www.ebay.de/itm/363817954876This one seems to be based on the Lattice ICE40 , like the tiny (US based)https://www.tindie.com/products/tinyvision_ai/upduino-v31-low-cost-lattice-ice40-fpga-board/EU VAT Paidhttps://lectronz.com/stores/tinyvision-ai-storehttps://lectronz.com/products/upduino-v3-1-low-cost-lattice-ice40-fpga-board/Bingo

author: ralphrmartin
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2022, 05:09:47 pm
content: There's one on eBay UK at the moment:https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/114724026780

author: mon2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 18, 2022, 06:30:14 pm
content: Is ICE40UL1K of interest ? This is our ICEPIK & ICETRAY.We have built up 8 pin PDIP footprint PCBs and programmers to support this - no stock of the programmer at this time but can be made available. We build these in-house. Received very nice feedback from Facebook and others who are using these tools.

author: DeepLink
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2022, 06:30:57 am
content: Thank you for your responsesI wanted to find something ready to play with, small and cheapJust for a start, a project to put some 30 74xxx chips into a FPGAWould like to be able to solder it at home, so the Lattice XO2-1200 (tinyFPGA AX2) chip was perfectBGA is out of the questionAlso would be able to use the complete board, thats why the BX is also a candidateThe Xilinx Arty boards are just to bigAgain this is for a beginner, looking at the Xilinx Vivado it is just to big to get startedNo, not married to Lattice, but they were the only one I could find offering small FPGA'a in a solderable footprint/Hans

author: josuah
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2022, 12:41:19 pm
content: The Upduino v3.1 has some caps and voltage regulators at the bottom side.The Sipeed Tang nano does not seem to have anything?https://www.electronics-lab.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Hd99d1aff15484ac0892d50f205ba1135H-e1629456248682-1029x2048.pngIt is supported by Yosys and NextPNR if that mattershttps://github.com/YosysHQ/apicula/Is 4k enough? The 9k version has some stuff on the bottom side and support by apicula is a WIP.Otherwise, if that does not matter, it is still possible for all boards to place headers to make the junction with another bigger PCB even with small things on the bottom.

author: josuah
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2022, 12:45:02 pm
content: http://axxon.io/icepik/That is some small board you got there!

author: pcprogrammer
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2022, 01:27:08 pm
content: Quote from: DeepLink on May 19, 2022, 06:30:57 am30 74xxx chips is not that much and might also fit in a CPLD. These come in more easy to handle packages like QFN, QFP and PLCC then FPGA's. The question is also how many pins you need connected to the rest of the system.Xilinx FPGA's are mostly BGA but Altera (Intel) and others do have LQFP144 packages which can be hand soldered with a bit of effort. Anlogic might be a contender.https://nl.aliexpress.com/item/1005001774923333.htmlfor instance.Their software can be downloaded fromhttp://dl.sipeed.com/shareURL/TANG/Premier/IDE

author: DeepLink
author_rank: Regular Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2022, 01:38:52 pm
content: Quote from: josuah on May 19, 2022, 12:45:02 pmIndeed small :-)But to few I/O's

author: mon2
author_rank: Frequent Contributor
timestamp: May 19, 2022, 02:58:54 pm
content: QuoteThanks. Yes, indeed. Inspired by the project started by Antti Lukatshttps://hackaday.io/project/6592-dipsyBut was completed independently with a fresh PCB layout and brought to reality. We wanted to test the capability of our SMT line so selected this project. In the future wish to use 0201 / 01005 components to shrink down the PCB.Same pinout and features. The ICE40UL1K is popular due to the high current LED drivers. Lattice noted that they sell 1M+ / day of this device.

author: SiliconWizard
author_rank: Super Contributor
timestamp: May 21, 2022, 12:47:10 am
content: If a small feather-like board with a modest FPGA is alright with you, you could consider an Upduino 3.1 instead. They are available on Tindie.https://www.tindie.com/products/tinyvision_ai/upduino-v31-low-cost-lattice-ice40-fpga-board/

author: shpeter
author_rank: Newbie
timestamp: May 29, 2022, 04:14:23 am
content: I've designed some similar more tiny fpga boards with USB334xx + LCMXO2-1200HC-xSG32C + BLE combined.The TinyFPGA AX2 is a open source hardware, you can do it by yourself!The chip LCMXO2-1200HC-6SG32C will be available soon.PS:https://github.com/tinyfpga/TinyFPGA-A-Serieshttps://www.mouser.com/ProductDetail/Lattice/LCMXO2-1200HC-6SG32C?qs=Zwj7mHVHPHS1MM1mj2fd4A%3D%3D