Sales Support & Product Suggestions Request

[Altera_Forum]

Hi, 

 I am just starting with FPGAs and require product suggestions.  We have a project that we would like to "burn?" into a FPGA or CPLD.  What hardware do we need to burn the chips using the Quartus II?  My Web research indicates something called a USB blaster which connects some board to a PC.  Where do I get this board from? Is it a development board? If so do different families of chips have different dev. boards?  Thank you for your support.   Added:  After some more research it seems that the Altium Livedesign might be a good place to start:  http://www.altera.com/products/devkits/partners/kit-alt-live-design.html  Any catches as to why it is so cheap compared to Altera dev. kits?

[Altera_Forum]

Hello, 

 as a first step to a hardware decision, you should have an idea of the approximate design complexity in terms of required I/O pins and internal logical functions. For low to medium complex designs, the MAX II family could be interesting. These CPLD devices are actually FPGAs with internal configuration memory.   USB Blaster is an Altera programming adapter used to download logic configuration to programmable devices and for debugging purposes.  Livedesign evaluation board utilizes a Cyclone EP1C12, which isn't latest technology, missing some feature available with Cyclone II and Cyclone III, so I wouldn't reommend this device family for new designs. But it is powerful anyway and could be used for general evaluation purposes.  Best regards,  Frank

[Altera_Forum]

Hi FvM, 

 Thank you for your help.  So sounds like a MAX II series chip would be ideal.  I tried to see what hardware would be required to program these and the only thing available from the Altera site: http://www.altera.com/buy/buy-index.html  seems to be this:  http://www.buyaltera.com/scripts/partsearch.dll/multisearch?site=altera&lang=en;part=544-2380-nd   What does     --- Quote Start ---  ...begin prototyping a design prior to receiving custom hardware  --- Quote End ---    mean?   Is this all the hardware I need to program/download a design to a/any MAX II chip?  Is there something better?  Please forgive my lack of knowledge.  Again Thank you very much for your support.

[Altera_Forum]

Hello, 

 I think, besides the Altera MAXII delevlopment kit, also the Terasic MAXII micro board could be interesting:  http://www.altera.com/products/devkits/kit-dev_platforms_partner.jsp  You should consult the online documentation of both products to see which better fits your needs. Short-time availability may be an aditional criterion. Each of these is a complete evaluation platform, together with a PC and the Quartus II Web edition.  Best regards,  Frank

[Altera_Forum]

Thanks FvM, 

 With the Terasic MAXII micro, Do I need to purchase the USB blaster seperately?  Can't quite figure it out from the product info but seems like not.:confused:   This is confusing because the Altera USB blaster alone is 6 times the price of the Terasic board.  Many Thanks for the help.

[Altera_Forum]

It appears to me also that the MAXII micro includes the USB blaster - that's what the second MAXII part on the board is there for. And if the price difference is surprising, note that Terasic sells their own USB blaster for $50. The only minor hitch is shipping from Taiwan, but that's not terrible. 

 \c

[Altera_Forum]

Hi chuckbenz, 

 The description on the parent page of the detail page:  http://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-bin/page/archive.pl?language=english&categoryno=39   Reads:    --- Quote Start ---  A complete digital design lab at your fingertips! Equipped with an Altera Max II EPM2210F324C3 device and on-board usb blaster circuit, the MAX II Micro Kit provides users the best and largest CPLD design resource. max ii micro board can also be used as a usb blaster cable (jtag mode programming only) by leveraging its on-board usb blaster circuit.  --- Quote End ---    I am hoping not to have to wait for overseas shipment as they have a distributor in my city. I am still waiting for their distributor to return my call though.

[Altera_Forum]

Hi, 

Here is a quick update. The Terasic website, in the contact us page lists Future Electronics as their (representative?). But Future Electronics does not seem to have any affiliation or any of their products. So it goes back to purchasing through their website only. By itself not a problem but I am starting to wonder if their product might be too good to be true. I am likely gonna go with the altera dev board at: http://www.componentsuperstore.com/store/searchresultkeywords.aspx?keywords=max+ii&searchtype=keywords&categoryname=62400000000&manufacturername=altera  According to the data sheet it does not require a separate blaster which still makes me wonder what is the ~$300 price tag for the blaster cable alone based on.:confused:   Has anyone here used this or any other Terasic products? If so how satisfied have you been with it?  Thanks for all the info.

[Altera_Forum]

I've bought the Terasic USB blaster, and it's been fine, getting plenty of use! 

 I can't guess why the Altera list price is so high for the blaster... they may have just not bothered to reprice it. Most cost sensitive customers will find the Terasic one, and many of the newer development boards have gone to integrating the blaster function.  My reading of the $150 Altera MAXII-DEVKIT-1270 dev board data sheet is that it includes the old Byte Blaster II cable, though. $150 isn't bad for a board that includes PCI connectivity.  \chuck

[Altera_Forum]

Acknowledged chuckbenz, 

 PCI connectivity is not anticipated to be factor with our current project.  Thank you for the feedback.

[Altera_Forum]

Hello, 

 I can confirm, that Terasic components, USB Blaster as well as evaluation boards are low-priced but generally high quality.  As you can see from the manual, the MAX II Micro Kit can operate also as an USB Blaster without housing. This may be inappropriate for industrial applications but is an interesting feature anyway.  Best regards,  Frank

[Altera_Forum]

Thank you FvM, 

 Your help is very much appreciated.