FPGA Papilio Open Source FPGA Hardware

[Amigamia]

Could this be the next AMIGA in FPGA?

http://papilio.cc/index.php?n=Papilio.Papilio

And it's only $84.95

[yakumo9275]

the spartan3e core on it is very tiny and it has only a usb plug, with 48io lines you might hack some kind of display module up.

[Amigamia]

the spartan3e core on it is very tiny and it has only a usb plug, with 48io lines you might hack some kind of display module up.

There is already a piggyback module called the Papilio Arcade MegaWing which adds VGA, PS/2 K/M, 2 Joysticks ports, sound, and other stuff

http://papilio.cc/index.php?n=Papilio.ArcadeMegaWing

[AJCopland]

More importantly there's also the PapilioPro with a Spartan6 LX9 and 8MiB of ram.

http://papilio.cc/index.php?n=Papilio.PapilioPro

That's the one that costs $84.99 and can also take the ArcadeMegaWing.

[mikej]

Putting together a board is pretty easy, there are a lot of them. The large amount of work is in the software/firmware. I note that all the arcade games are direct from my fpgaarcade site...

[bloodline]

This board does look quite nice for someone like me, who has used Arduinos and other uC dev boards in the past but would like to try FPGAs....

This one does seem a bit limited, but the price is good!

Actually MikeJ, perhaps you could develop an FPGA hobby board, for first time devs who want to get their feet wet

[ChaosLord]

Its Junk.

VGA Port - DB15 Female VGA connector capable of generating 4096 colors.

It is missing 16.7 MILLION of the stock Amiga 1200's colors.

[AJCopland]

@ChaosLord
You're right the existing VGA "Wing" won't drive a decent colour range, but there's almsot nothing stopping you making an HDMI / DVI-D based one.

The whole thing is open source and there are other boards based on it like the Pipstrello (http://pipistrello.saanlima.com/index.php?title=Welcome_to_Pipistrello) featured on HackADay a while back. Larger FPGA options, more ram and onboard HDMI connector.

@MikeJ
By the way don't think I'm saying these are an alternative to your boards, there's no port of the MiniMig or anything near it for example, but as hobby/development boards they seem quite interesting.

Andy

[freqmax]

Jeri Ellsworth takes a look at the Papilio One and recommends it for FPGA beginners.

Soap spam next?

I must say one has to really be a detective to figure out the technical data which is essential. And the FPGA doesn't look 680x0+AGA capable.

[Amigamia]

Soap spam next?

I must say one has to really be a detective to figure out the technical data which is essential. And the FPGA doesn't look 680x0+AGA capable.

What about the Papilio Pro?

" The Papilio Pro (Spartan 6) has direct TMDS I/O support which means that DVI and HDMI interfaces can be implemented without any extra chips. "

[freqmax]

What about the Papilio Pro?

" The Papilio Pro (Spartan 6) has direct TMDS I/O support which means that DVI and HDMI interfaces can be implemented without any extra chips. "

It's the speed and electrical signal standard that determines if HDMI is possible. RocketPort should be sufficient.

Xilinx Spartan 6 - probably has enough capacity.

Again hard data lacks..
(specific chip and package, specific Mbit/s rate, specific electrical standard etc)

DVI is completely free to implement (asfaik). With HDMI there's even a fee on having the chip mounted or the specific connector.

[billt]

Again hard data lacks..
(specific chip and package, specific Mbit/s rate, specific electrical standard etc)

From the product webpage: Spartan 6 LX9 FPGA

In the datasheet they link to, there is only one LX9, XC6SLX9

While I'm not at my Eagle computer right now, I'm sure the Eagle layout/board file will show which package they used. The UCF gives you an idea of clock speed:
NET CLK            LOC="P94"  | IOSTANDARD=LVTTL | PERIOD=31.25ns;               # CLK

Methinks the detective in you didn't try very hard...

The other board someone linked to, Pipistrello, says 324BGA with LX9, LX16, LX25 or LX45 options. I suppose that's simply a list of chips in that same 324BGA package.

[AJCopland]

The LX9 used is the largest Spartan 6 in TQFP format/package, after that it's 324 BGA upto the LX45. Apparently the PapilioPro went with the LX9 because the guy who makes them has had trouble with bringing BGA to market before. The Pipistrello is made independently by someone else entirely.

As for the HDMI/DVI thing there's a thread where someone has made HDMI adapter already and supplied the schematic.

Like I say, might be a nice hobby board for learning/prototyping on for those who are interested in it.

[freqmax]

NET CLK            LOC="P94"  | IOSTANDARD=LVTTL | PERIOD=31.25ns;               # CLK

32 Mbit/s = insufficient by magnitudes.

Just to make a simple comparision: 640*480 12-bpp 25-fps = 92 Mbit/s

Methinks the detective in you didn't try very hard...

The webpage in question is messy.

[Fats]

NET CLK            LOC="P94"  | IOSTANDARD=LVTTL | PERIOD=31.25ns;               # CLK

Be aware that the external clock to a FPGA does not say anything on the clock used internally or for the I/Os. FPGAs have flexible internal clock generators.