will Cyclone III work with unconected VCCA PLL ??

Hello,

who ever experienced Cyclone II PLL problems due to SSO effects knows that the internal PLL supply regulator introduced with Cyclone III is an important improvement. It can be reason enough to start a redesign. When you read the manual thoroughly, there should be no doubt how to connect power supplies. Reference or evaluation board designs are usually a good starting point for a new design.

I think, most confusion with Cyclone III "unexpected innovations" has arised for developers experienced to Cyclone II. They thought to know how to migrate but didn't read the manual exactly. E. g. when migrating an existing design, just change the pin assignments in CAD part and in Quartus. This ends up in an almost functional design - except for VCCA connected to 1V2.

I can't see from Epis' board photo if it's a just a homemade evaluation board or if the design serves a purpose that can't be satisfied by an evaluation tool. To my opinion, 10 mils PCB technology is somewhat coarse, but it may work for low to medium pin count designs. Possible SI qualities can't be judged without seeing the backside.

Regards,

Frank