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rajborra / LED-Device

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Electronics/Schematic Review #1

Open rajborra opened 6 years ago

rajborra commented 6 years ago

I'm still a little unclear about how I should separate the FPGA and programmer when designing my board(s). Should the FPGA chip be on the same board as the LED and button, or is there a header that connects the button/LED board to the FPGA and programmer?

mlp6 commented 6 years ago

I would pop this all on the same board... no reason to separate them. What programmer do you plan to use. I think that Matt should have some sockets to allow the chip to be removed from the board to program. Lets add Matt B. as a Collaborator on this project to chime in.

I'm not commenting on your FPGA code. ;)

rajborra commented 6 years ago

I'm usually have a JTAG to USB cable to program the FPGA, which would require a 10 pin JTAG header on the board with the FPGA on it. Does this mean that I would place both of these on the EDA schematic / PCB file?

(also, what is Matt Brown's username so that I can add him as a Collaborator?)

mlp6 commented 6 years ago

@sphaerobolus

mlp6 commented 6 years ago

You only need to include the programmer if you're going to hardwire the FPGA, which would make re-programming it more challenging. If you go with a socket, you could re-flash the device with an external programmer if necessary, which would reduce the complexity of your board.

sphaerobolus commented 6 years ago

Not knowing which package/footprint your FPGA uses, I'm unable to suggest much. knowing what little I know about FPGA, I bet you will not be able to put it in a socket. I think you will need both the FPGA footprint and the JTAG connector on your board. So they'll both need to be in the schematic and PCB artwork.

rajborra commented 6 years ago

Sounds good. Do I have the option of choosing any cheap FPGA I find on Mouser/DigiKey (provided it meets my specifications), and placing it's footprint and the JTAG connector on my board?

sphaerobolus commented 6 years ago

I can order inexpensive parts--$10 or less. Finding the right footprint and programming is on you.