Can Altera GPIO pins read analog values?

[Altera_Forum]

I'm a beginner in electronics so forgive me :D,  

Hi, can Altera GPIO pins read analog output of a light sensor? the light sensor output is analog and I want to tell the Altera whenever the signal of the sensor is greater than a specific value switch the LED ON. Can I do that directly? or I have to connect the output of the sensor to an ADC? and if I can, How? Thanks :)

[Altera_Forum]

What is "analog"? 3.3V or 24V or 4-20 mA? MAX 10 FPGA has integrated ADCs, you should go for it. Other devices need external ADC, for example DE0-Nano board has this feature. From the corresponding schematics you can see how everything is connected together.

[Altera_Forum]

I have Altera DE2-115, I don't think it has integrated ADC :(

[Altera_Forum]

Your topic was already discussed here: http://www.alteraforum.com/forum/showthread.php?t=36131 Search function is a great invention!

[Altera_Forum]

Depending on what you need, a simple analog compare circuit might work for you. No reason do all the complexity of adding a D/A converter if you can compare the input value to a known reference.

[Altera_Forum]

Simple op-amp comparator should work, but you will need to change the reference by hardware if you want to set different threshold. The MAX10 ADC has a function of allowing you to set threshold. So you just change parameter in software. Much easier than hardware modification.