[Coco] I took the plunge on a DE-1... now what?

[Mark McDougall]

On 29/02/2012 10:45 PM, T. Franklin wrote:

> Hey all. I don't post much but I need a little guidance. I just took the
> plunge on a DE-1 and need some help on setting up the FPGA CoCo3 on it.

Unfortunately, AFAIK there's no 'from out-of-the-box to Coco3' instructions 
available online atm. I vaguely recall someone talking about writing some 
up, but I'm not aware of that document/site if it exists.

There are two main areas of confusion with the DE1:

(i) How to program the flash contents with Coco ROM(s) and
(ii) Programming the configuration device vs programming the FPGA.

The former requires programming the FPGA with the (supplied) TerASIC DE1 
Software first, and running the DE1 client software on your Windows-based 
machine. AFAIK there is no Linux client available for it. That offers a GUI 
that allows you to then program the flash contents on the DE1 board with 
your chosen Coco ROM image(s).

The second is a choice you, as end user, can make. If you choose to program 
the FPGA directly (with a COCO3 .SOF file) then you will need to do so again 
after each power-cycle of the board. If, however, you choose to program the 
configuration device (using a .POF file) then the DE1 will power up as a 
[COCO3] each time you turn it on. Instructions on how to do either are 
included in the DE1 user documentation.

Of course none of the above is permanent and may be changed/overridden at 
any time you choose. For instance, I choose to have my DE1 configuration 
device programmed with the TerASIC DE1 software, but then again I use it for 
a lot more than Coco3, and regularly change the flash contents.

Aside from that, the Coco3FPGA documentation (from yahoo groups files area) 
describes how to use the switches, drivewire etc for the Coco3.

Note that the DE1 is not limited to the Coco3 - there's a bunch of classic 
arcade games and microcomputer emulations for it, including the Amiga 500.

Have fun!

Regards,

-- 
|              Mark McDougall                | "Electrical Engineers do it
|  <http://members.iinet.net.au/~msmcdoug>   |   with less resistance!"