Honored Contributor
Honored ContributorHi James,
--- Quote Start --- I am not exactly sure which device is being used (FT2232 or FT232R for example) but many of the Terasic boards are FTDI controller + Max II CPLD for the on board USB blaster. --- Quote End --- The on-board USB-Blasters are FT245B+MAX II. The BeMicro-SDK uses an FT245R (which has an internal EEPROM). --- Quote Start --- Interestingly enough, the schematics for the DE-Nano, for example, do not show the circuit in schematic detail. Only a higher level block diagram is shown. From what I have looked at on the Terasic dev boards, this is generally true, as well as the recent and new Altera dev boards. --- Quote End --- The schematic is not really that exciting. Its just the FT245R in asynchronous FIFO mode connected to the MAX II :) I've uploaded the BeMicro-SDK schematic, it shows the USB-Blaster circuit. Not very enlightening is it? What is more important is the USB-Blaster protocol. That was reverse-engineered and published a while ago by Kawk http://sourceforge.net/apps/mediawiki/urjtag/index.php?title=cable_altera_usb-blaster --- Quote Start --- The frustrating part to me is the lack of transparency with a proven solution for this approach. --- Quote End --- Yes, it bugs me too. I'm working on a clone ... when it works, I'll write up a tutorial. The latest FTDI direct access driver allow you to access a USB-Blaster ... I'll also write that up shortly. Cheers, Dave
