How to program Xilinx 3ADSP1800 ?

[madmaiden]

Hello,

I just bought a Spartan 3ADSP1800 development board, and i realised that i have nothing to program it with (I did not order the Paralell cable 4...and io really don't want to spend another 200 bucks for that). So, my question is if I could program the FPGA though a standard JTAG cable!?

Thank you.

 

[benradu]

Re: Xilinx 3Adsp1800

you can build yourself the parallel cable 3
find the sch here
**broken link removed**
in page 74 (or B-2)

 

[madmaiden]

Xilinx 3Adsp1800

Yes, I know i can build myself a paralell cable 3...but can I program with this one the Spartan 3DSP1800A, wich on the Xilinx website is sad to be programmable through the paralell cable 4?
My question is if i can write programs on the fpga using the jtag standard, or if the jtag standard is used only for debugging.

thanks.

 

[echo47]

Xilinx 3Adsp1800

Exactly which development board do you have? I can't find models 3ADSP1800 or 3DSP1800A.

I'm not sure what you mean by "standard" JTAG. The Xilinx Parallel Cable III and Parallel Cable IV both use JTAG to configure and debug the FPGA. The Xilinx Platform Cable USB is another good JTAG cable, but it's $200 too.

The old Parallel Cable III uses long flying wires which sometimes cause signal integrity problems. Even Xilinx recommends not using it anymore. It is also much slower than the Parallel Cable IV or Platform Cable USB.

The Digilent JTAG3 cable is a good inexpensive alternative to the Parallel Cable III. It has a 6-pin connector, so you may need to build a 14-pin adapter, depending on your board's connector type. The JTAG3 is slow like the Parallel Cable III.
http://www.digilentinc.com/Products/Catalog.cfm?Cat=Cable

By the way, getting full performance with Parallel Cable IV or Platform Cable USB requires Xilinx software, not third-party software.

 

[madmaiden]

Xilinx 3Adsp1800

This one:
**broken link removed**
I am new in this are, but i have experience with micrcontroller programming. I nkow from there that ther programming is done through SPI, or some other interface, and JTAG is used only for debugging.
I am a little confused, because if this chip can be programmed and verified with JTAG, what is the difference between this and Paralell Cable 4.

Sorry for my childish questions.
Thanks.

 

[echo47]

Xilinx 3Adsp1800

That looks like a nice development board. It provides several methods for configuring the FPGA, including both 6-pin and 14-pin JTAG connectors. See "Configuration" in the User Guide:
http://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/boards_and_kits/ug454_sp3a_dsp_start_ug.pdf

The Parallel Cable IV is a JTAG interface cable. It can be used to configure and debug your FPGA through the board's 14-pin JTAG connector. (It also provides a couple other interface modes that you probably don't need.) Here's the data sheet:
**broken link removed**

The inexpensive Digilent JTAG3 cable would plug directly into the board's 6-pin JTAG connector. This cable, like the Parallel Cable III, runs slowly compared to the Parallel Cable IV and Platform Cable USB. Configuring the FPGA takes longer. I don't know if debugging works properly with such a slow cable, I haven't tried it.