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Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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14 years ago

need help in interfacing

hey guys!!

i am a neophyte in embedded systems. i want to start working with fpga's but i have a no idea how to proceed with the interfacing..can anyone give me a general idea of how to proceed or perhaps refer me some good research material. any kind of help will be highly appreciated.. thanks!!!

8 Replies

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    you can interface to and FPGA pretty much anyway way you want. SPI, I2C, Ethernet, Serial IO, JTAG, DMA, PCI, PCIe. All you do is connect the pins and put the IP core into the FPGA to handle the interface. You can either buy the IP, download them from opencores.org or write one yourself.

    So your question is very open. What kind of interface were you after?
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    Hi, I have the same problem here...

    I'm starting with de Cyclone II now and have no idea on how to get input data, from the keyboard for instance and how to take the output data, for instance to a vga monitor...

    If someone can help me, I appreciate!
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    --- Quote Start ---

    I'm starting with de Cyclone II now and have no idea on how to get input data, from the keyboard for instance and how to take the output data, for instance to a vga monitor...

    --- Quote End ---

    What Cyclone II board do you have? They generally come with a lot of examples.

    Cheers,

    Dave
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    Hi, tnks for answer!

    I have a Cyclone II EP2C20F484C7, and have only the user guide, can you please tell me where can I get this kind of exemple with interfacing to input and output of data?
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    --- Quote Start ---

    I have a Cyclone II EP2C20F484C7, and have only the user guide, can you please tell me where can I get this kind of exemple with interfacing to input and output of data?

    --- Quote End ---

    Can you please clarify - do you only have a chip, not a board?

    You should really start with a development board. Look at the boards by Terasic, they are all very nice, and lots of the people on this forum use them, eg., the DE0-nano is $79.

    http://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-bin/page/archive.pl?language=english&categoryno=139&no=593

    or the DE0 for $119

    http://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-bin/page/archive.pl?language=english&categoryno=56&no=364

    Once you understand how to use these boards, then you will understand how to design your own.

    Cheers,

    Dave
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    I am an undergraduate student. I am currently working on a project on implementing a fft core on an fpga and using it to do the calculations for a microcontroller 8051. The problem i am facing is that i have no clue how to go with the interfacing of the 8051 with altera de1( this is the fpga i am using).

    Any kind of suggestion or reference to some reading material will be highly appreciated. thank you...

    shaheel
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    --- Quote Start ---

    I am an undergraduate student. I am currently working on a project on implementing a fft core on an fpga and using it to do the calculations for a microcontroller 8051. The problem i am facing is that i have no clue how to go with the interfacing of the 8051 with altera de1( this is the fpga i am using).

    Any kind of suggestion or reference to some reading material will be highly appreciated. thank you...

    --- Quote End ---

    There are a couple of options;

    1. Use the UART on the 8051 to talk to a UART on the DE1 board. If the DE1 has RS232 transceivers, then you can attach a DB9 serial cable between the boards. If neither board has RS232 transceivers, then you can connect 3.3V logic level UART signals together. If the 8051 is 5V output, then you need to check whether the FPGA signals have 5V protection.

    2. Use an SPI interface. The 8051 would be the SPI master, while the FPGA would be the slave. Again, you need to check that the 8051 output voltages are compatible with the FPGA.

    Cheers,

    Dave