Low cost FPGA programming ??

Hi all,

Like 8051/PIC etc, i would like to program simple circuits in FPGA.
[Reason : Want many concurrent operation]
I knew Altera and someother kits are available.

But i wanted to try one program and burn it into chip and make it in a separate board like 8051 projects. Eg: cypress PSOC kit.
I am not fully aware of it.

Does general purpose FPGA ICs exists, are they low cost?
Eg: LED blinking can be made around 100 Rs using 8051, how much would it cost using
FPGA?

Thanks

As far as i know all FPGAs are general purpose. The IC itself cost starting from $15 to lots of money hehe. But you still got to buy a download cable (you can get one for $30 for a clone of the altera one (USB-BLaster) and $60 for a clone of Xilinx one. You could buy a dev kit. How much you got to spend on that?

Yes seems to be heavy cost.
Then what is the low cost alternative way to implement concurrent operation?

I mean i want to run atleast three while/always/process block in my application.

A small FPGA with built-in configuration memory can be used as single-chip solution (excluding clock source and power supply).

But the costs will be considerably higher than for simple uC in any case.

WHat is low cost for you?n How much exatly is 100 Rs in USD? Download cable is just a one time cost.

For learning purposes and dev purposes my advice would be to get a breakoutboard like this one:

**broken link removed**

This one already come with a download cable and all Cyclone II pins routed to PIN headers. Already got a configuration memory , SDRAM, voltage regulators and oscilator. It is ready to use. If you want to spend a few more bucks to learn without making your own board you can get this one:


**broken link removed**

And if you just want to get the download cable here is the link:

**broken link removed**

They are all of the same vendor. It is a very trustful vendor.

But I think FvM can be of help here. I have no idea how to make several small CPU processors inside the same FPGA, it is possible but i have no idea how.

PS: I am not the vendor, actually i am from Brazil and he is from China.