Forum Discussion

Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
13 years ago

Flex 10K50 question

I'm trying to program a 403 pin flex 10K50 (10K50G403) however I am unable to find it in any version of Quartus II. I have tried Quartus 9.0 SP2, but I am not seeing it listed. Does anyone know which version I need to use or how to use the software with this particular FPGA?

Thank you for any help

11 Replies

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    13 years ago

    I think that you need a really old version of the Altera tools. I used the Flex 10K10 a long time ago, but I can't remember the version I used.

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    13 years ago

    I would have thought Quartus 9.0SP2 was the correct version for you to use - its certainly the version I use for FLEX10K10A and FLEX10K100E device designs.

    I just checked the Devices menu and can confirm that the 10K50G part is not mentioned.

    I recall that you can provide a part that is not listed using the Tcl command

    set_global_assignment -name DEVICE "EPF10K50RC240-3"

    where in this case, I've used a valid part number. I tried '240 without the -3 speed grade and its not a valid part number, so the part number you provided is incomplete as far as this Tcl command is concerned. Try entering the full part number including speed grade using this Tcl command.

    Alternatively, file a SR with Altera directly.

    Cheers,

    Dave
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    13 years ago

    Thanks for you replies. I tried using 

    set_global_assignment -name DEVICE "EPF10K50GC403-4"

    and it worked until I went to the devices menu, where it said it was an illegal device.

    I sent a service request, but it is saying my email hasn't been confirmed, and I don't know how to fix that unfortunately. Hopefully I get a reply.

    Thank you for your help
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    13 years ago

    --- Quote Start ---

    Thanks for you replies. I tried using 

    set_global_assignment -name DEVICE "EPF10K50GC403-4"

    and it worked until I went to the devices menu, where it said it was an illegal device.

    --- Quote End ---

    Try synthesizing a design by first setting this Tcl value (which will always succeed, no matter what you set it to), and then click the "Play" menu. Its only then that Quartus will check that its a valid value.

    Its possible the same check occurs when you go to the devices menu. You may was well give this alternative a try :)

    I guess you could also try downloading some older versions of Quartus and trying them. Older versions are available here:

    ftp://ftp.altera.com/outgoing/release/

    Cheers,

    Dave
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    13 years ago

    I have had this before - it will be listed as illegal because it is an unsupported legacy device but should still compile. But the problem with Quartus 2 is it forbids some things that Max Plus 2 let you get away with (and I guess these "illegal" things were essential in an old design I worked with).

    You may have to install max plus 2 and fight your way through that software.
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    13 years ago

    --- Quote Start ---

    I have had this before - it will be listed as illegal because it is an unsupported legacy device but should still compile. But the problem with Quartus 2 is it forbids some things that Max Plus 2 let you get away with (and I guess these "illegal" things were essential in an old design I worked with).

    You may have to install max plus 2 and fight your way through that software.

    --- Quote End ---

    Unfortunately, I can't get the Max Plus II software installer to start on my computer. Hopefully, I can find an older version of Quartus that can do what I need
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    13 years ago

    --- Quote Start ---

    Unfortunately, I can't get the Max Plus II software installer to start on my computer. Hopefully, I can find an older version of Quartus that can do what I need

    --- Quote End ---

    What OS?

    Personally I would do the following;

    1. Install Virtualbox (virtual machine manager)

    2. Create a virtual machine and install Windows XP SR3 (and then run Windows update ...)

    3. Install MAX+Plus II

    and then you should be good-to-go.

    I have numerous virtual machines with various operating systems and versions of Quartus installed. Its a nice way of having old tools available when you need them. The VM images can live on a USB hard-drive, so there is no wasting space on your development laptop.

    Cheers,

    Dave
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    13 years ago

    I am currently running Windows 7. I'll try to get that running and see if MAX+Plus II has what I need.

    Thank you
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    13 years ago

    I really am sorry for being such a pest, but I installed Max+PLUS II 10.2 and there is no version of the 10k50 of any type. Anyone have a solution?

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    13 years ago

    I just looked at a couple of old FLEX10K series data sheets.

    * dsf10k.pdf (Flex10K datasheet) - mentions 10K50 and 10K50V, with the 10K50 available in 403-pin BGA

    * dsf10ke.pdf (Flex10KE datasheet) - mentions 10K50E and 10K50S - no mention of a 403-pin BGA

    I suspect you really just have a 10K50 device. There is not a "magic decoder ring" in the data sheet for decoding package markings, so I can't tell if the G you see indicates a device feature, eg., ClockLock or ClockBoost.

    The data sheet mentions Quartus and MAX+Plus II, so the devices were supported in both software packages.

    Try this - connect a USB-Blaster (or ByteBlaster) to your board and get Quartus or MAX+Plus II to autodetect your device. You cannot do this from within the MAX+Plus II VM when running from a Windows 7 host, since the host won't release the USB-Blaster to be used by the VM (Windows XP and Linux VM hosts work fine though).

    Cheers,

    Dave