CoolRunner-ll: Xilinx CPLD Development Kit （1）

Published:2011/7/28 21:43:00 Author:Li xiao na From:SeekIC

By Paul Goossens

Here’s a brief article about an attractive development kit from our friends at Xilinx, which is not only rich in contents but also affordable for the hobbyist! The board is supplied ready-built and comes with two CD-ROMs crammed with software.

PALs and GALs never really made it into the world of hobby electronics, despite the fact that these components are instrumental in vast component count reductions, even accepting changes to their contents and so obviating the need to build yet another version of the circuit. Apparently, in the eyes of many hobbyists these advantages do not justify the cost of a suitable programmer, the associated design software and a pile of data books.

CPLDs and FPGAs on the other hand are increasingly found, not only in professional designs but also in hobbyist’s projects sent to us for evaluation and eventual publication in Elektoi Electronics. As we see it, this is not only due to the fact that these components offer far more possibilities than PALs and GALs, but also that nearly all FPGAs and CPLDs are programmable, the relevant manufacturers put free development software at your disposal and — last but not least — Elektor Electronics is and remains way ahead of its competitors. Admittedly, a disadvantage of these new chips is that they are usually supplied in SMD cases only.

An extensive package

The one disadvantage we just mentioned is of no consequence if you decide to go for the new development kit from Xilinx. What is called a ’development board’ actually comprises of the following elements:

- printed circuit board with a CPLD ready fitted
- parallel cable for programming
- development software (ISE Web-pack) on CD
- resource CD-ROM crammed with information
- Programmable Logic Guide
- battery holder

However, the most remarkable thing about this kit is not its contents but its price of just 50 US dollars plus shipping, which means that it should be possible to have one delivered to your doorstep in the UK for about 65 pounds. This price, we feel, really defeats almost any attempt at home construction (just consider the cost and effort that goes into making the board...).

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