Cyclone I Fpga Stand Alone

[Altera_Forum]

Hello, 

 I am wondering if i can buy the Cyclone I fpga chip for 10euros only and do my next projects with this instead of paying some complete boards with 60+euros.  It is difficult to program-configure a stand alone chip like this? or i will need manyy side components....  I already own an Pluto II board which i program it via Serial. Maybe i can use it to programm my next FPGs.  Thank you.

[Altera_Forum]

you should really put together a bill of materials for spinning your own board and compare it with the off the shelf board cost 

 on the other hand it can be a good learning experience and can allow you to do more complicated designs creating a custom board

[Altera_Forum]

nice, i am willing to to this, but where can i find the instructions and the handbook to do this.

[Altera_Forum]

well you first should consider whether you really want to design with Cyclone I. you might be better off with CII or CIII 

 next you'll need to choose a configuration scheme. active serial with an EPCS (or some kind of compatible SPI, search the forum) is the easiest option. you'll also need an oscillator and power supplies at a minimum  if you use CIII you can use Altera's schematic review worksheets and pin connection guidelines. even if you don't use CIII you can still get an idea of important things to check on your schematic:  http://www.altera.com/download/board-layout-test/schematic-review-ws/srw-index.jsp  you can also take a look at Altera's schemetics for boards, maybe try the CIII Starter Kit by installing the kit and looking at the board design files

[Altera_Forum]

thank you, you were very helpful!!!!!