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Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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18 years ago

DeVry eSoc Max 7000

I have an eSOC developement board from DeVry with an Altera Max 7000 series

CPLD chip on it.

The EPM7128SLC84-15 to be exact...

I left school & never ended up taking the course for which I bought it (this was several years ago now) & I'm trying to teach myselfto use it now but I cannot seem to get Altera's MaxPlusII software to see/recognize the chip/board.

DeVry's site for the board is www.devry.edu/esoc

(Note: It's the older one linked to down in the bottom right-hand corner)

The MaxPlus program seems to want it to be an xxxxxx-6 (not xxxx-15). Any

time I try to connect, program, erase, et cetera the chip, I get an error

message about not recognizing the device or no device in the socket. Also,

SUPPOSEDLY there is a test program preinstalled on the chip but it does not

seem to work.

I added the chip as noted in Altera's documention to the system hardware

(it's a win2k driver, but they always seem fine in XP anyway).

The Win2k driver is installed fine. I actually uninstalled MaxPlus II & got the Quartus II Web Ed instead. It seems easier to use but, when I try to do a "blank check," I am still getting the error:

Error: JTAG ID code specified in JEDEC STAPL Format File does not match any valid JTAG ID codes for device

If I auto-detect it changes the device to a similar one but not the exact one on the board. This is supposed to be programmable in-circuit (well, for this board) as I said using the ByteBlaster Parallel interface.

I have the test program downloaded & I just want to figure out how to get it on the chip... I'll pick up the rest later.

Am I just an idiot who doesn't know what he's doing or should I maybe

assume the chip is bad & try the whole process again after replacing it?

Thanks in advance for any help or suggestions.

-JD

5 Replies

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    18 years ago

    In Quartus, I see the EPM7128S84-15 available the last two digits are the speed grade. If you built the project with the -6 speed grade this may be the problem.

    In Quartus, go to Assignments-Device and make sure you you have the -15 part selected. Then re-build your project.

    Since the "built in" program isn't working, your board may have a power supply that's not working, or the chip is just bad. I would make sure you have the 5.0 V at the MAX part as well, just to make sure.

    Pete
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    18 years ago

    I haven't looked at the board specifications, but I would also suggest that you make sure that the CPLD is getting correct power and clock inputs. Also, if there are any jumpers on the board (for configuration purpose), then they are in correct order.

    For recompiling, the Quartus II software supports this device, so you should be able to compile systems for this device as well as program it using the Quartus II.
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    18 years ago

    The speed grade designation on the outside of the part -6 or -15 is not part of the internal device IDCODE. MAX+PLUS II or Quartus cannot tell which speed grade it is and they don't care -- the speed grade doesn't change functionality of the features or of what you program into the part. When you auto-detect, it should only be able to tell you that its a EPM7128S. It won't know the package or the speed grade because those are irrelevant. Quartus will use JTAG IDCODE to determine if its 7128S, 7256S, 7064S, etc.

    For programming step, the ID process is different. There is an ID on the part specifcally for programming identification so the tool knows how to program the part. There have been several die's for 7128S and each would be programmed differently. If the tool can't read this silicon ID or says it is not recognized, either the ID got erased somehow through corruption or the tool does not have the algorithm to program what may be a very old version of the silicon.

    For a device this old, I would rely on MAX+PLUS II. If it can't program it, its possible the device is bad.
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    18 years ago

    Thanks for all the suggestions & help. Hopefully I can get it working now.

    -JD
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    17 years ago

    Please introduce how did you deal with it detailedly.I have gotten the same problem . But till now I can't solve it。I need yours help ,for there is no time i should solve it in sevrral days.

    Thank you .