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  • Author Author: shabaz
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Time and Space Prize

shabaz

Thanks to the judges and element14, I was able to obtain some bits and pieces that I may not ordinarily have purchased. I took the opportunity to try some new things. This blog post just contains some photos, in case they are of interest.

First off are some items that will allow experimentation with a Renesas GreenPAK part SLG47004V.

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The diagram here shows what’s inside the SLG47004V chip; it contains analog functions such as op-amps and comparators, plus digital functions such as configurable combinatorial logic, flip-flops, and even a digital pattern generator. I don’t know much more about it currently.

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Here’s a close-up of the SLG47004V-EVB board which is mostly blank apart from the single SLG47004V chip installed at the center.

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The SLG4DVKGSD board is used to program it:

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Both the eval board and the programmer board are quite low-cost, which makes it attractive for experimenting. However, the chip is QFN sized : ( so I figured it was worth getting the SLG47004V-SKT board that contains a QFN socket broken out to pin headers. It comes with 20 SLG47004V chips, i.e. plenty for a lot of experimentation (each chip is reprogrammable).

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I also wanted to experiment further with audio DSP, and I selected an Analog Devices DSP board, EVAL-ADAU1467Z. It comes with a separate USB interface board.

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The ADAU1467 is one of the more powerful DSPs in the range.

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These types of DSP chips are extremely easy to use and it doesn’t have to cost a lot; see the following blog post:  Wave Miner: A Pi-controlled Digital Signal Processor 


Close-up of the evaluation board:

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Underside:

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The USB interface board is extremely useful (it can be purchased separately as EVAL-ADUSB2EBZ), but unfortunately, it’s pricey. However, it is possible to work around it and use a Pi partially, but that’s nowhere near as convenient.

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Finally, I also chose an LCTR1002 50-ohm SMA RF terminator and some GC005-LF prototyping boards.

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Thanks for reading.

  • I drew a little breakout board for the GreenPAK chip, but it also supports the SLG47910 FPGA chip too.

    (Note: a normal off-the-shelf QFN adapter PCB isn't the same; the pads are not standard).

    image

    The underside of the board can be used for (say) a decoupling capacitor, or pull-downs, etc.

    The board can be used with pin headers and could also fit a wide DIP24 socket (15.24 mm spacing between rows).

    I've not tested this yet, but it uploads fine onto PCB manufacturer website.

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    Here's the Gerber files in case anyone else wants this:

    export_qfn24_l_3_3_0_4mm_gerbers_rev1.zip

    Ordered from JLC PCB, for a total (including shipping) of £6.65 (qty 20, which is strangely cheaper than qty 10!).

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  • There's a very small FPGA, part code SLG47910 that uses the same Go Configure software too. The dev-kit is about £200 though, but looks worthwhile.

    It's in a 24-pin 0.4 mm pitch package, i.e. identical package to the GreenPAK chip. 

    It doesn't have a lot of capacity, but is definitely more than just glue logic, so it looks useful. It has SPI RAM access for configuration, but also has one-time programmable memory for making things permanent.

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    A downside is that only Verilog is supported not VHDL. However, on the plus side, the software is really straightforward, it could be very easy to get going.

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    The IP is straightforward too; from what I can tell, it directly provides the entire source, not just an interface.

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    Floorplan view:

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    There is a schematic entry method that immediately generates Verilog, so that could initially be a nice learning tool even without the dev-board.

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    I think the SPI interface also allows generating simulated signals, i.e. you can send in logic patterns, and view outputs, but I can't access that part without connecting to a real board, so I'm not 100% sure.

  • in reply to michaelkellett

    Awesome! These do seem to be intriguing/fun things. Looking forward to exploring a bit more with them hopefully at the weekend. 

  • in reply to shabaz

    I've looked at GreenPAK stuff from time to time but not in the last couple of years since Renesas bought them. This chip looks quite fun - I don't have anywhere for it to go right now but I couldn't resist buying the kit and the adaptor !

    MK