EEVblog Electronics Community Forum
Electronics => PCB/EDA/CAD => Altium Designer => Topic started by: djsb on August 06, 2011, 11:03:02 am
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The video on FPGA's has sparked my interest in using Altium Designer with Actel's Igloo Nano FPGA. I have a few questions
1/ Can the chip be programmed from within AD10 using Altiums JTAG tool? or can it only be programmed using Actel's tools?
2/ Can any of Altium's software platform be used with the chip and does live design work with it in a similar way to the nanoboard 3000.
3/ I'm assuming that AD10 has all the required schematic symbols and footprints for this device (suppose I should just have a look).
Anything else I should be aware of? These chips look very good for small designs apart from the PITA packages they come in.
Thanks.
David.
P.S What extra tools would I have to install alongside AD10 for a start (similar to Webpack for the Xilinx FPGA's).
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The video on FPGA's has sparked my interest in using Altium Designer with Actel's Igloo Nano FPGA. I have a few questions
1/ Can the chip be programmed from within AD10 using Altiums JTAG tool? or can it only be programmed using Actel's tools?
2/ Can any of Altium's software platform be used with the chip and does live design work with it in a similar way to the nanoboard 3000.
3/ I'm assuming that AD10 has all the required schematic symbols and footprints for this device (suppose I should just have a look).
Anything else I should be aware of? These chips look very good for small designs apart from the PITA packages they come in.
Thanks.
David.
P.S What extra tools would I have to install alongside AD10 for a start (similar to Webpack for the Xilinx FPGA's).
Sorry, I only know the answer to #3. Yes, it has the libraries, I used them in that video, the symbols and footprint are direct from the Actel library.
I have not actually used AD with Actel Igloo's before, but I know people who have at Altium. Before I left I'm not 100% sure if all the Actel devices are supported in terms of JTAG and programming etc, but I'm sure at least some are. If they are supported, then yes, the Altium DT-01 JTAG programmer will handle them. I remember reading on the Altium forum that some people have had trouble and/or are were waiting for the latest Actel support. Worth asking Altium direct.
Yes, if supported, it works exactly how the NB3000 etc works and the Software Platform etc.
Dave.
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Yep, you can do actel igloo nano parts with altium, you just need to download and register the vendor tools.