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How can I program Altera EPM7160E and Xilinx XC7354

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FoxyRick

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epm7160e programming

I want to learn about CPLD's without spending too much money (I'm a teacher, I don't have much money to waste) and have seen a bunch of Altera Max EPM7160ELC84-15 and Xilinx XC7354 for sale.

Can I program these with a simple adapter, like byteblaster, or do they need a serious programmer (that I can't afford)?

I have been trying to get information on them but the xilinx search engine is not working, Google has not found much and the sale ends in a few hours. I don't want to miss them if I can use them, or waste money if I can't.

Cheers,
FoxyRick.
 

Hello FoxyRick,

both CPLDs can be programmed with a very simple parallel port adapter.

Altera -> ByteBlaster
Xilinx -> Parallel Download Cable

Bye,
cube007
 

Hi Cube007,

Thanks for the reply. Please excuse me, but I'm not sure you are right. I have been searching *all day* for info, and this is what I have found so far:

The Xilinx XC7354 is, firstly, EPROM, so unless it is windowed (the ones for sale are not) it can't be reprogrammed. Also, the datasheets I have found for it do not show any jtag or other programming pins. I can only assume it needs external programming - I have found *nothing* to indicate anything else.

The Altera part is at least EEPROM. However, from reading its datasheet and compatiibilty sheets for the various programming cables, it seems that it also needs external programming. The datasheets lists varients of the 7160 with 'E' and 'S' suffixes and states that the 'S' parts only are in-circuit programmable, not the 'E' parts.

I am still looking for more information on the Altera parts, maybe the programming is not too difficult and I could build a stand-alone programmer. Information on programming them seems hard to find. I certainly can't afford to buy a commercial device programmer for it, there are plenty but cost 100's or 1000's of $.

Anyway, thanks again for your response. If I am wrong and you know more, please tell me!

Cheers,
FoxyRick.
 

@FoxyRick;

I believe that the internal programming of the @ltera board you can't reprogram.

I'm student and we played with an eval board. We use byteblaster to program what we needed to implement. Since we weren't taught VHDL, we had to use the graphic interfacing (schematic draw) to program. In my discovery, There is something that has something to do with (I guess the hard programming/internal archaceture) a program the chip, but I got an error message saying that the device couldn't be modified.
If I had to guess on your question, I'd think about (internal) operation as hard programmed like HC11- BUFFLO inside, but you have to tell them where in memory you want it.

About tech support? well we had to leard the hard way ,but we could e-mail @ltera and also post problems to see if others had problems and see what they did to solve them.

I believe cube007 is right, To program, you use what the manufacturer's give you, but you can make your implementations, test, and troubleshoot your design. Since these are temp programs, and can be modified, they go into the implementation part of the device.

I'm sorry if this doesn't help, but I too have limited knowledge if the internal operation of @ltera. But we did gain some experience (graphically) programming them.

WA
 

Hello FoxyRick,

it seems that these old devices are very special compared to today’s standard devices. Why don’t you buy new devices from Altera or Xilinx which are EEPROM based? Small and slow devices are cheap (some $) and you don’t have to spend money for a big programmer. Take a look at Digikey or other Distributors. Also eBay is sometimes a good source.
BTW testing you code with EEPROM based devices is cheaper than doing this with EPROM based devices.

Bye,
cube007
 

I have used the MAX 7000S, and Flex 8000 devices from altera, and they both work quite fine with byteblaster II cable (since they're both 5V devices, I do not have any LV programming problems).
 

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