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Altera_Forum's avatar
Altera_Forum
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20 years ago

Stratix II Seven Seg Display [RESOLVED]

Hi,

Recently, I was able to successfully build, and download, a kernel project to run from RAM on a Nios II Development Kit (Stratix II edition). However, after the download was complete, and the JTAG UART was started, the seven-segment LED display did not start incrementing like it did with the v1.3 kernel (2.6.9) after the “Nios 2” login message appeared.

I found this “I’m alive” indication helpful for determining that the kernel was downloaded correctly and was running. Is there something additional that needs to be configured for the v1.4 kernel in order for the seven-segment LED display to automatically start incrementing? Was there a reason this was taken out of the default v1.4 kernel?

I just recently upgraded my Quartus II, Nios II, and uCLinux toolsets to 5.0 (SP1), 5.0, and uClinux distribution 1.4 (2.6.11 kernel) respectively.

Any information would be helpful.

Sincerely,

Brad S.

5 Replies

  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    20 years ago

    That feature is still enabled by default. Can you take a peek at your configuration?

    The following option needs to be turned on:

    Processor type and features

    -> Enable leds, seven segment display

    Which hardware design are you using with the kernel?
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    20 years ago

    Hi ken,

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

    --- Quote Start ---

    That feature is still enabled by default. Can you take a peek at your configuration?

    The following option needs to be turned on:

    Processor type and features

    -> Enable leds, seven segment display

    Which hardware design are you using with the kernel?[/b]

    --- Quote End ---

    Currently, I&#39;m using the standard.sof design with the 2.6.9 kernel. I used this same hardware design with the 2.6.11 kernel and everything seemed to be fine.

    I don&#39;t think I changed the kernel configuration default that came with v1.4 of the distribution. The only change I made was to ensure that the Altera Stratix II platform was selected. I will check to see if that option got turned off by mistake.

    Thanks for the info.

    Brad.
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    20 years ago

    Hello again Ken,

    <div class='quotetop'>QUOTE </div>

    --- Quote Start ---

    That feature is still enabled by default. Can you take a peek at your configuration?

    The following option needs to be turned on:

    Processor type and features

    -> Enable leds, seven segment display

    Which hardware design are you using with the kernel?[/b]

    --- Quote End ---

    I just checked my 2.6.11 kernel configuration and the "Enable leds, seven segment display" option is not listed under "Processor type and features --->".

    Does this mean the LED&#39;s and seven-segment display should be active all the time or is there something I&#39;m missing?

    I look forward to your response.

    Thanks,

    Brad.
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
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    20 years ago

    Hi, I took a look at "arch/nios2nommu/Kconfig" and I noticed that the PIO_DEVICES option that you turn on can only be used if you select one of the following platforms:

    Altera Stratix

    Altera Stratix Pro

    Altera Cyclone

    It&#39;s an oversight on our part. There are one of two things you can do:

    (1) Select one of the above platforms for your configuration. It should be safe unless you&#39;ve made modifications to the kernel that depend on the platform option for the Stratix II

    (2) Modify the arch/nios2nommu/Kconfig file so that the PIO devices can be turned on for the Altera Stratix II.

    To do step (2):

    Open up the following file: 

    ...altera/kits/nios2/bin/eclipse/plugins/com.microtronix.nios2linux.kernel_1.4.0/linux-2.6.x/arch/nios2nommu/Kconfig

    Look for the following lines: 

    config PIO_DEVICES
    bool "Enable leds, seven segment display"
    default y
    depends on (ALTERA_STRATIX || ALTERA_STRATIX_PRO || ALTERA_CYCLONE)
...

    and modify it so that it looks like: 

    config PIO_DEVICES
    bool "Enable leds, seven segment display"
    default y
    depends on (ALTERA_STRATIX || ALTERA_STRATIX_PRO || ALTERA_STRATIX_II || ALTERA_CYCLONE)
...

    Notice the addition of the "ALTERA_STRATIX_II" symbol in the last line.

    After you made the above modification, try running menuconfig and the option should appear. Enable it, re-build, re-upload, and the leds should come alive.
  • Altera_Forum's avatar
    Altera_Forum
    Icon for Honored Contributor rankHonored Contributor
    20 years ago

    Ken,

    I made the specified modification to Kconfig, enabled the seven-segment display option, rebuilt the kernel, and now all is well again.

    Thanks for your help.

    Brad.