Forum Discussion
Honored ContributorEP330PC-15 information needed
Ok, trying to repair an old ISA board that has an EP330PC-15 on it. I'd appreciate any information about this device.Yes, kinda old( 20 years) but this is alegacy device that must be maintained.
Altera website came up empty.. Thanks Jay14 Replies
Altera_Forumthanks for the info. I downloaded the 320 info, maybe the 330 is a 'windowless' equal to the 320 ?
Jay- Altera_Forum
As far as I remember, EP330 has basically the same pin structure as EP320 (and also the popular 20 pin GAL/PALCE devices, as I already mentioned). That means, pin 12 to 19 are optional bidirectional pins. Pin 1 is a dedicated clock 2 to 9 and 11 are inputs.
There's a fair chance that PALCE16V8, that is still available, can be used as a pin compatible replacement. - Altera_Forum
The quest is to replace the 'end-of-life' EP330s with new chips.It should simply involve desoldering the existing chips and replacing them with new ones(or equals) that have the same 'program' in them.
IF I had the pinout of the EP330 at least I'd KNOW which are inputs and outputs...it'd be a start. Since it's a 20 year old chip it can't be that complicated! I've thought about using a simple breadboard to toggle inputs and observe the outputs...once I have the pinout... I do know that pin 2..9 are tied low,pin 1 has a 12MHz clock to it, and 11,13..16 go 'somewhere'..at least there's scope 'action'. I do not have ANY information aside from what I've decoded in a quick rev-eng session to see what it's connected to.Can't 'read' it if security has been set so my 'breadboard' test should give me what I need to know...once I know the pinout.. I'm beginning to figure out I should NOT have tossed out an entire wall of databooks a couple of years ago. I know I had Atera books....sigh.. It's looking like I have to rev-eng the EP330 which should take less than a month or two if all goes well.I could speed that up by 1/2 if I had the pinout.Sure hate to lose the contract as originally I'd thought maybe 1 month to do the whole job.Great coins to time ratio..... - Altera_Forum
You didn't yet tell about the exact nature of the intended maintenance respectively upgrade.
- replacement of defective parts - rebuild the original board - redesign the board with a functional equivalent logic device Do you have a binary (*.jed are whatsover) programming file, or are you able to readout the original programming, knowing that the security bit isn't set? Or do you have A+PLUS project files? Without some of this data, even original EP330 devices won't help much. - Altera_Forum
Well it's a damn site friendlier and more forthcoming with information about Altera products than anyone in Altera is. I still haven't seen anything from Altera about this chip and need to find a replacement ASAP.According to info posted here,it's 20 year lifespan is almost up. I've got 500 units to 'upgrade' at $1,500 per unit. You do the math and you'll see why I'm not happy about the level of 'support' I've gotten so far.
- Altera_Forum
In many cases, a PALCE16V8 should be able to replace the EP330 device, but there are some restrictions with output feedback, that's only available for 6 of 8 macro cells.
- Altera_Forum
Thanks Pete for the data...at least it's a start. It'd be nice to get the real info though.I've been 'stung' by similar devices only to find out the Enable pin have been inverted. That was a real head scratcher!
I've got most of the rev-eng done but coming up with what's 'inside' ther EP330PC-15 will be the big challenge. I'm kinda surprised Google didn't find it......oh well, the quest continues as I may have 500 piece to upgrade. - Altera_Forum
The closest datasheet I could find was for the EP320. (Same family, but different device).
I Don't work for Altera however. I'm sure they have it in an old databook somewhere. Attached is a PDF for the EP320 with a 20 pin pinout. I would assume the EP330 has a similar pinout, but I could be wrong. However since they are all just Clocks/Input or IO, the actual functionality you would still have to reverse engineer. Pete - Altera_Forum
I remember that all HILO programmers (e.g. ALL-03, ALL-07) have been supporting EP330 and similar Altera devices.
- Altera_Forum
That's not very nice customer support...
For a device of that vintage, a few conventions MIGHT hold true: - Pin 10 is GND and pin 20 is VCC. - The array inputs are in one side of the package, while the outputs are on the other side. - There is a programming pin somewhere, arround to pin 1, 10, 11 or 20.
