Field Programmable Gatecrasher

RE: Field Programmable Gatecrasher

Fred27 — Sat, 27 Oct 2018 17:04:28 GMT

I'm still flowing along and the older Avnet Speedway course still seems to be in sync - as far as lab 5 at least.There are only a few minor differences between 2017.4 and 2018.2 that I've noticed so far. Even choosing Verilog over the suggested VHDL hasn't thrown a spanner in the works.

The lad instructions all clear enough, but I still get that feeling that when I'm adding an AXI BRAM Controller I have no idea what I'm doing. Sure, I know roughly what it is, but not why it has to be configured how I'm told it should be.

RE: Field Programmable Gatecrasher

avnrdf — Tue, 23 Oct 2018 01:59:44 GMT

I'm following along too, though I'm not exactly in sync with the challengers.

I'm using the Zynq Z-7020 on a Digilent Zybo Z7-20.

I just finished figuring out how to use the Block RAM, and how to link a HDL design in the PL to the PS using the AXI4-Lite bus.

RE: Field Programmable Gatecrasher

Fred27 — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 21:34:23 GMT

So, whilst looking around for Zynq info online, I came across the Avnet Speedway Workshops. This looks fairly similar to the training modules being evaluated here. I assume that Path to Programmable is an updated version of that.

The course is listed on zedboard.org (although you will need to register)

| Zedboard

It's also on Vimeo, but the Zynq ones don't seem to be grouped together into a neat collection.

https://vimeo.com/251689281

RE: Field Programmable Gatecrasher

shabaz — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 20:30:29 GMT

Hi David,

I thought it was just me, mistyping it so many times.. Also the part number letter ordering changes slightly in Vivado compared to the actual part numbers of the Zynqs. Minor but it was noticeable!

I started a bit late but just completed the first few labs by last night - there are various things currently fresh in my mind that certainly as near-complete beginner are things to be aware of (but not difficult), so I'll concentrate and record that down in the next few hours while it is still in my head.

RE: Field Programmable Gatecrasher

Fred27 — Mon, 22 Oct 2018 18:22:32 GMT

I'm enjoying reading all the blog posts and finding them informative. The applicants seem to be doing a great job evaluating the Path to Programmable course, which apparently may become public at a later date.

These blog posts don't regurgitate the training course (and they're not supposed to) so it is a little tricky to follow along with them. So, I'm also finding other source material to find my way around the MiniZed.

There's the MiniZed Getting Started Guide, although this just fucuses on using the installed PetaLinux on the board.
The Zynq Embedded Design Tutorial (UG1165) in the Documentation Navigator looks like it broadly follows the initial Labs but it's based on the ZC702 and an older version of Vivado than I have installed, so it gets a little confusing.
I've also found a free PDF download of the Zynq book which I've just started looking at too.

What really doesn't help is that my fingers seem to automatically type "Zync" with a C and that doesn't help when searching for things!

RE: Field Programmable Gatecrasher

shabaz — Fri, 19 Oct 2018 15:09:37 GMT

Hi David,

This is great that you'll also be working on this!! I'll definitely keep it in mind that there are others like me who are beginners while writing up things.

I was excited to see [mention:4f1ca8255f8742cd8649c704f7ea3bc3:e9ed411860ed4f2ba0265705b8793d05] MiniZed enclosure that you kindly 3D-printed, it arrived today and looks really nice! I'm looking forward to using it tonight : )

I hoped to use VHDL unless the course material mandates Verilog, but I'll aim to write examples for both if I can figure them out.