RoadTest: PYNQ-Z2 Dev Board: Python Productivity for Zynq®
Author: gsgill112
Creation date:
Evaluation Type: Development Boards & Tools
Did you receive all parts the manufacturer stated would be included in the package?: True
What other parts do you consider comparable to this product?: Avenet Mini Zed Starter Kit
What were the biggest problems encountered?:
Detailed Review:
First of all, Thank You Element 14 Community to give me this awesome opportunity to RoadTest yet another awesome piece of hardware. This indeed was an exciting Roadtest and a solid product from TUL ans PYNQ.
NOTE : I am a Newbie in the field of FPGA and am still under process learning Zynq platform. So As of NOW I will review this kit from a Hardware and Design prospective and a Newbie prospective of programmable logic systems. I will try to get into FPGA/ Zynq and will blog my journey of implementing a ML Model in future.
That being said, Let's dive deeper.
1. Unboxing
As expected from Element 14, kit came packed very well and with NO Damage during the transit. One thing I noted was the kit was a BASIC KIT and NOT the Advanced kit that the Roadtest page mentioned, But It had everything to get me started with the board so no worries there
The actual PYNQ-Z2 Board was enclosed in the lovely Pink Box and it had the board introduction Out Of The Box (quite literally)
{gallery} Board pictures |
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Board Front BoX |
Board Front |
Board Back BoX |
Board Back |
The package also included a AC-DC SMPS adapter, a 16GB uSD card with Pynq2.3 pre installed, an ethernet cable and a USB Type A to MicroUsb
{gallery} Kit Assy Pictures |
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Power Adapter Box |
Switching Power Adapter with Assy |
Switching Power Adapter Ratings |
Straight CAT 6 Eth Cable |
USB High Speed 2.0 Cable with Choke |
Memory Card 16 GB Class 10 |
2. Getting
{gallery} Geting Started |
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Finding the Board on Router |
First Introduction : By the Way the default password is "Xilinx" |
Main Page |
Base Overlay Page |
Common Overlay Page |
Logictools Overlay Page |
Getting Started Sub Menu |
3. Python and Jupiter Notebook
Getting Sample Code Installed is the most easiest thing to do ( This kit is designed for Ease of Use definitely) Just get the git repo and clone it
Once you start using Jupiter it will be really clear as on why Xilinx and the Pynq community choose it. it is Kinna the way we were taught in Primary Schooling And it is really effective way to learn. This approach also promotes documenting the code simultaneously
4. Demos
This was one of the kit where I found that though it had plenty of demos I felt a lack of demos specially for the RPi, PMOD and Arduino I/F ( I hope to contribute in that regard once I understand the software better ) nonetheless the provided Jupiter notebooks are simply detailed and quite understandable. Xilinx and the PYNQ community also even added and introduction to Jupiter Notebook, Sweet.
I will try and do a video review on few demos and tabulate it for better space management
5. Few Issues I faced (or maybe didn't understand properly)
(a) Booting the kit. So the first issue I faced was when ever I took out the board from its Pink box and plugged it to the wall supply it NEVER booted right away (Only the Done LED glows and nothing else) I had to remove the sd card, re insert the SD card and re-power the board at least once to get it to load the bin file.
(b) Loading Bit File every time.
(c) Power board from HDMI OUT port.
6. Conclusion I would like to conclude by saying that I was just able to scratch the surface and this is the Titanic of PS/PL systems and there's yet a ton to learn. I would also like you to please correct me if I may have made any mistake on understanding the concept or might have simply drifted away. I am still a Newbie to PL/PS and passionate to learn . Finally the kit is really a kit designed for people like me to getting started and make me feel quite comfortable handling the kit rather than staring at it all day long .
Finally I would like to thank Element 14, The Community members and rscasny for giving me a chance to explore this domain, moreover letting me take some more time to do this quite challenging review.
I Know, I have missed on couple of interesting things like How to create your own Overlays and Libraries and obviously some preliminary RISC V and ML/AL stuff so, I am planning to cover that in future blog posts as my journey learning the system better.
Thanks for reading through the Review
Regards,
GS Gill
Top Comments
Nice road test report.
I too would be disturbed to find that the HDMI connector can power the board.
I suspect that it was a design oversight, but it does open up the board for noise and power spikes.
If…
In the VGA days the +5v line from the source device was normally there so as it can power the PROM on the sink (display) device so as it can obtain the EDID display information from the sink device over…
Hi DAB Thanks for the comments,
Unfortunately I do not own an Oscilloscope. Have to start Saving for the same
Regards,