[Coco] Cheap alternative to the DE-1?

[Zippster]

It is a DAC, the simplest kind.

<http://www.analog.com/media/en/training-seminars/tutorials/MT-015.pdf <http://www.analog.com/media/en/training-seminars/tutorials/MT-015.pdf>>

- Ed


> On Oct 28, 2015, at 1:39 PM, tim franklinlabs.com <tim at franklinlabs.com> wrote:
> 
>   LOL well, I consider the resisters a form of a DAC.
>   As for the USB Blaster, I have two of them. I also have two DE-1's. I
>   just saw this and thought it might be an inexpensive alternative for
>   those on a budget.
> 
>     On October 28, 2015 at 12:51 PM Dave Philipsen <dave at davebiz.com>
>     wrote:
>     Well, the DE-1 doesn't have a DAC either, just a resistor network.
>     You
>     could probably hack that board though to get more colors if you
>     wanted.
>     Another thing you'd have to consider on this board is that it
>     doesn't
>     have the built in USB Blaster like the DE1. You'd have to buy a
>     blaster
>     on eBay or somewhere. If you are patient you can sometimes find a
>     DE1
>     on eBay that will go for around $90 or so. I even saw one go for
>     around
>     $55 bucks once. My experience finds that they are usually in
>     excellent
>     condition.
>     Dave
>     On 2015-10-28 12:32, tim franklinlabs.com wrote:
>> Yeah, you're probably right. I found another problem too. I found
>     the
>> schematic for it and they limit the video to 8 colors. Not DAC to
>> the
>> VGA connector. Just logic.
>> Manual: [1]http://www.dukelanovic.com/A-C8V4%20MANUAL.pdf
>> 
>> Schematic:
>> 
>> 
>     [2]http://d1.amobbs.com/bbs_upload782111/files_44/ourdev_671042EUF7C
>     8.p
>> df
>> 
>> Shorter links too LOL!
>> 
>> On October 28, 2015 at 12:23 PM Dave Philipsen <dave at davebiz.com>
>> wrote:
>> FWIW, I think Gary's project uses north of 9,000 LEs which means
>> that
>> even if you can trim it down to fit you won't have a lot of extra
>> space
>> for future expansion/additions. Not trying to be negative...I hope
>> you
>> get it working...would be an interesting project.
>> Dave Philipsen
>> On 2015-10-28 07:23, tim franklinlabs.com wrote:
>>> I ran across this while surfing E-Pray this morning. It looks
>>> interesting. For those, like me, who are interested in FPGA's,
>> this
>>> $70.00 unit seems to have everything needed to port Gary Beckers
>>> CoCoFPGA to it:
>>> 
>>> 
>>> 
>> 
>> 
>     [1]http://www.ebay.com/itm/Altera-Cyclone-NIOS-II-SOPC-FPGA-Developm
>> ent
>>> 
>>> 
>> 
>> 
>     -Learning-Board-EP2C8Q208C8N-LCD1602/272020523309?_trksid=p2054897.c
>> 100
>>> 
>>> 
>> 
>> 
>     204.m3164&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D2
>> 014
>>> 
>>> 
>> 
>> 
>     0407115239%26meid%3D8d211755ec994eff8913982e805be0c8%26pid%3D100204%
>> 26r
>>> k%3D12%26rkt%3D21%26sd%3D261661704545
>>> 
>>> It uses a smaller FPGA so there may be a limit here. I'm not
>> sure
>>> how
>>> many LE's Gary's code uses.
>>> 
>>> This board: EP2C8 8,256 LE's
>>> DE-1: EP2C20 18,752 LE's
>>> 
>>> Also, there are only 2 PLL's and I'm not sure if both are
>> connected
>>> to
>>> clocks. I bought a small FPGA that had 4 clock inputs with 2
>> PLL's.
>>> The
>>> moron who designed the board connected the clock to one of the
>> CLK
>>> pins
>>> not connected to the PLL's.
>>> 
>>> This board: 2 PLL's This assumes there are clocks connected to
>>> both.
>>> DE-1: 4 PLL's DE-1 uses only 3 (one connected to the
>>> external clock)
>>> 
>>> Since Gary posted an "almost" up to date project of his 3.0 FPGA
>>> code,
>>> i went ahead and bought one to see if I can port it. It comes
>> from
>>> China, so it wont arrive for a while (slow boat from china joke
>> in
>>> real
>>> life). I'll keep everyone posted.
>>> 
>>> References
>>> 
>>> 1.
>>> 
>> 
>> 
>     http://www.ebay.com/itm/Altera-Cyclone-NIOS-II-SOPC-FPGA-Development
>> 
>> 
>     -Learning-Board-EP2C8Q208C8N-LCD1602/272020523309?_trksid=p2054897.c
>> 
>> 
>     100204.m3164&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%
>> 
>> 
>     3D20140407115239%26meid%3D8d211755ec994eff8913982e805be0c8%26pid%3D1
>> 00204%26rk%3D12%26rkt%3D21%26sd%3D261661704545
>> --
>> Coco mailing list
>> Coco at maltedmedia.com
>> https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
>> 
>> References
>> 
>> 1. http://www.dukelanovic.com/A-C8V4%20MANUAL.pdf
>> 2.
>> 
>     http://d1.amobbs.com/bbs_upload782111/files_44/ourdev_671042EUF7C8.p
>     df
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> 
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