CPLD dev-boards arriving now

The CPLD development boards are starting to arrive worldwide. jbeale took the XC2C64A board for a spin:

Very happy to report that my first try at a Coolrunner II CPLD project works! This is the 16-bit timer with start / stop pulse inputs. It is only tested so far up to 4 MHz, using the Bus Pirate as a signal generator (and also doubling as a JTAG programmer- handy tool!). The timing report claims it can go a bit further :-). Thanks DP for the help and the nice CPLD board!

Download the schematic, pinout, simulation, and XSVF files in the forum.

You can get the  CoolRunner-II dev-board for $15, Bus Pirate for $30, and a Bus Blaster v2 for $34.95 at Seeed Studio.

Logic Sniffer client v0.9.4 RC2

Jawi made another release candidate of the Logic Sniffer client :

It is finally available: the second Release Candidate (RC) of the 0.9.4 version!

Implemented features and issues solved in this release:

  • VCD exports ignore selected channel groups
  • Verify frequency measurement with RLE captures
  • Support OLS-device profiles for BP, regular OLS and SUMP
  • Add icon to window/application
  • 200MHz capture fails halfway
  • Add warning message about highest channel icw RLE
  • When RLE is enabled the first value rendered is always low
  • Is it possible to disable DTR when opening the serial
  • No menu entry for ‘capture’ functions
  • Preferences in Edit/Preferences dialog are not saved
  • Stop button now always enabled
  • RLE channel group issue with 0.9.4-b1
  • I2C decoder produces invalid address
  • Add “Jump to Marker” buttons for remaining cursors

Five additional bugs were fixed, and some additional regression tests were added. I expect this RC will become the final release…

A call to all beta testers: grab an archive and test away using the testing charter:

* ZIP (Windows);
* TAR.GZ (Linux/Solaris);
* DMG (Mac OS X).

All issues found should be reported as issue on GitHub and can be discussed in this topic.

If tested, could you post a message in this topic stating the platforms (operating system + version, 32/64-bit, and used hardware) on which you’ve tested it, and possibly the issue numbers verified?

Get a Logic Sniffer for $50, with free worldwide shipping.

Microsoft demos a Kinect-driven armchair


Microsoft demoed a Kinect-driven armchair at the MIX11 conference in Las Vegas. This proof of concept device controls a motorized platform armchair using hand gestures.

The source code for this project will reportedly be made available with Microsoft’s release this Spring of its Kinect for Windows SDK which will open up development using Visual Basic, C++, C#. Unconfirmed reports indicate that a limited number of free Kinect devices will be given away to eligible developers.

Via Crunchgear and WinRumors.

Arduino lightpen 1.0

Paul Bishop has developed a simple light pen input device for use with the Arduino (Atmega328). The hardware consists of a CDS photocell connected between +5 volts and Analog 0, and the code uses the TVout library for video output through several resistors to an RCA plug.

To increase the pen’s sensitivity or adjust response, a simple voltage divider could be created by adding a variable resistance between Analog 0 and Ground with the light sensor.

Via MAKE.

Arduino: more LUFA hacks

LUFA (Lightweight USB Framework for AVRs) is an open-source complete USB stack for the USB-enabled Atmel AT90USBxxxx and ATMEGAxxUx AVR microcontroller series, released under the MIT License.

Darran from Arduino Hacking has released the source, hex files, and sample sketches for his Arduino LUFA hacks for Keyboard HID, Mouse HID, and USB MIDI drivers for the UNO and Mega2560.

He states:

I’ve added MIDI IN support to the USB MIDI driver so now the UNO can send and receive MIDI messages from the host PC. The format of the data is the same as that described in the earlier post for the MIDI firmware.

Via Arduino blog.

New signal display component for Logic Sniffer client

Jawi released a preview of the new display component for the Logic Sniffer client:

I’ve been working on an improved component for the display of captured signal data from the Logic Sniffer for some time now, and wanted to share the current results with you guys. Reasons for rewriting the component can be found on this Wiki page.

FEATURES

  • Cursors can be snapped to signal edges/transitions while dragging them (hold SHIFT key while dragging)
  • Signal transitions follow timeline ticks
  • Improved timeline component
  • Inline measurement of signal pulses, periods
  • Channel reordering with drag and drop

Get a Logic Sniffer for $50, with free worldwide shipping.

CPLD development board package v1.1

Package v1.1 for the CPLD development boards is now available for download.  It includes:

Programming instructions for the Bus Pirate and Bus Blaster have been freshened. An updated ISE (X)SVF export tutorial will help you get started with your own projects.

Get the CoolRunner-II development board for $15 and XC9572XL dev-board  for $15.

Get a Bus Blaster v2 for $34.95 only at Seeed Studio. Hurry, the first batch is nearly gone!

Get the Bus Pirate for $30, including world-wide shipping. Also available from our friendly distributors.

Microchip’s RE46C190 programmable photoelectric smoke-detector IC

Microchip has announced that its RE46C190 smoke detector IC has received UL certification.

According to the datasheet:

The RE46C190 is a low power, low voltage CMOS
photoelectric type smoke detector IC. With minimal
external components, this circuit will provide all the
required features for a photoelectric-type smoke
detector. The design incorporates a gain-selectable photo
amplifier for use with an infrared emitter/detector pair.
An internal oscillator strobes power to the smoke
detection circuitry every 10 seconds, to keep the
standby current to a minimum. If smoke is sensed, the
detection rate is increased to verify an Alarm condition.
A high gain mode is available for push button chamber
testing. 

Microchip packages the chip in a 16-pin SOIC package, and indicates samples are available.

Architecture of FPGAs and CPLDs: a tutorial

Stephen Brown and Jonathan Rose of the Department of Electrical and Computer Engineering, University of Toronto, authored this paper providing a tutorial survey of architectures of commercially available high-capacity field-programmable devices (FPDs). They first define the relevant terminology in the field and then describe the evolution of FPDs.

The three main categories of FPDs are delineated: Simple PLDs (SPLDs), Complex PLDs (CPLDs) and Field-Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs). Details are provided on the architectures of commonly available chips, with examples of applications for each type of device.

Though it appears to be produced in the late 1990s, the background material on the development of these devices makes it worth a read.

JeeLabs JeeNode combines Arduino, RF

JeeLabs has a product known as the JeeNode v5, which is essentially a miniature Arduino (Atmega328p) board with an onboard RFM12B wireless module. Boards are available with the serial interface (shown above) as well as USB.

You can buy the kit directly from JeeLabs, or build your own using the schematic and documentation provided.

While it’s not an Xbee compatible RF unit, the RFM12B has its own RF12 library of functions which should help you accomplish many control and data transfer tasks.

International Traffic in Arms Regulations for hackers

NBitWonder writes:

I was exploring building a project the other day, when I came up with some questions about the legal basis for doing so. With that in mind I did some research, and wrote up a legal tutorial for US makers on International Traffic in Arms Regulations (ITAR). The tutorial is supposed to give makers a good basic understanding of the law, which is especially helpful for those people working on advanced projects.

Via the contact form.

Arduino Dynamic DNS updater

Boris shared  his Arduino DDNS (Dynamic DNS):

…This device captures the IP address of your network and it publish on site DynDNS.com. All without PC. It allow a remote access to your LAN even if the IP address of the connections changes. If you don’t want to use the software provided by DynDNS, and then leave the PC switched on continuously, the solution is this project. Our device queries the site to know the IP currently used for the connection, and then publish your free account to DynDNS.com instead of the computer acquired the new IP. Such a device therefore allows to locate a LAN connected to the Internet via a router or modem network. All schematics file, pcb, and arduino sketch on Open-electronics

Via the contact form.

NEW PROTOTYPE: Bus Blaster v2

It’s finally here! The Bus Blaster v2 JTAG debugger is now in stock and shipping at Seeed Studio.

Read the full hardware design article

There’s a ton of JTAG debuggers out there, what makes the Bus Blaster v2 so special? V2 has a reprogrammable logic chip (CPLD) that sits between the FT2232H USB chip and the JTAG output header. The pinout and buffer logic can be updated on the fly.

Have an app that’s only compatible with a simple JTAGkey-type debugger? Program the JTAGkey buffer logic. Want to try the proposed Serial Wide Debug support in OpenOCD and urJTAG? Program the KT-link-type buffer. If a new programmer type becomes popular, we can release new buffer logic for it too.

The design is so flexible and fun, we can’t believe it wasn’t the standard FT2232 JTAG debugger design already. It’s a JTAG debugger that can clone many other debuggers, and it’s an all-in-one CPLD development board. And it’s cheap!

A patch that supports v2’s self-programming feature was accepted by urJTAG and will be included in the next release. Until then, we have a patched nightly compile that can be used to switch buffer logic.

At a glance:

  • Based on FT2232H with high-speed USB 2.0
  • Buffered interface works with 3.3volt to 1.2volt targets
  • Reprogrammable buffer is compatible with multiple debugger types
  • Compatible with ‘jtagkey’, ‘KT-link’ programmer settings in OpenOCD, urJTAG, and more
  • Should support Serial Wire Debug when available
  • Mini-CPLD development board: self programmable, extra CPLD pins to header
  • Open source (CC-BY-SA)

 

The Bus Blaster is used to program and debug devices with a JTAG interface like ARM processors, CPLDs, flash memory, and more.

A FT2232H USB chip gives us two high-speed JTAG interfaces. The 16 pins of the primary interface are connected to a CoolRunner-II CPLD. The CPLD is a programmable buffer that translates between the FT2232H at 3.3volts, and a 1.2volt to 3.3volt target.

Many JTAG debuggers use the FT2232 chips, but they have slightly different buffers. The CPLD can be programmed to imitate many of them, so it works out of the box with our favorite open source debugging apps. Updates are done over USB using the second JTAG interface on the FT2232H.

This project was developed in a public forum, and progress was documented on a wiki.

Resources

You can get a Bus Blaster v2 for $34.95 only at Seeed Studio.

FCC launches beta of new website

The FCC has launched the beta version of its newly redesigned website. New tools for exploring spectrum allocation, radio frequency licenses, rules and more.

According to their press release:

This beta launch isn’t a beta in a traditional sense. FCC.gov will change again — and quickly. It’s an approach that’s fairly foreign to the way most agencies work on the Web. But we’ll build this new experience on a solid, future-ready platform; we’re taking a page from the online entreprenuer’s playbook, releasing products quickly and often, and letting the many eyes of the Web drive the continuous improvement we hope FCC.gov will come to embody.

The FCC wants your comments on their new site. Let them know what you think!