Electronics > FPGA

Altera USB Programmer

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vvmm:
I am planning to buy a cheap Altera programmer and fpga, just for testing and playing around. I worked with Xilinx Spartan-6 before and want to try Altera's way.
I found on ebay the Altera USB Blaster clone: http://www.ebay.com/itm/200943750380?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

And the Cyclone IV FPGA: http://www.ebay.com/itm/111621868286?_trksid=p2055119.m1438.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT

Can the programmer be used with the Cyclone IV FPGA and Quartus II Suite? In the description (and even in the official Blaster documentation) says only Cyclone I, II, III. Can it also program the EPCS4 serial device that is on that PCB? And finally, is it worth trying it? I got excited about NIOS II capability.

Thanks!

JimHorn:

--- Quote from: Gandalf_Sr on August 19, 2014, 11:56:01 am ---I just got 2 from eBay that were $7 each from China.  They contain an STM32 micro, I'll post pictures tomorrow.  I'm trying to get it to work with urJTAG or GDB but it seems to be stuck at 12 MHz.  In gdb (running in Ubuntu), after it's connected and I type 'frequency 5000000' at the (gdb) prompt, it responds something to the effect that the Alter USB Blaster is fixed at 12000000 frequency.

Did I buy a dud or is there a workaround?

--- End quote ---

I just received one as well - the STM32F101CBT6 should be at least as powerful as the Silicon Labs, Cypress, Microchip or FTDI microprocessors in similar clones. Unfortunately, the firmware in it isn't quite FTDI compatible so plugging it into the PC crashes it into a blue screen and reboot.

Has anyone found the driver for the STM32F1xx based USB Blasters in Windows 10?

Many thanks!

JimHorn:
A further note: On my Windows 10 Pro 64 bit Surface Pro 3, the STM32F101 based USB Blaster is recognized by the Quartus Programmer and Device Manager shows it as such. However, any attempt to use it (find devices or program them via JTAG) results in an endless wait. At least it doesn't crash.

Further, when it receives USB power, *both* LEDs light up. I've yet to see the ACTive LED not lit when there's power. The CPU's 8MHz crystal is oscillating well, and as mentioned it is recognized by the Altera driver. So it must have been programmed with *something*.

jesuscf:

--- Quote from: marshallh on November 15, 2013, 06:06:38 am ---You're talking about the cpld based original type, but posted pictures of the FX2 type clones (which are about 1/10 the speed)

--- End quote ---

The original USB blaster JTAG serial clock is 6MHz.  The FX2 clone has a serial clock of 3MHz.  That is 1/2 the speed, not 1/10.

jesuscf:
If you just wan to try Altera FPGA's, a very convenient way is by getting a DEx board from Terasic.   The USB blaster is built-in the board.  I quite like the DE0-CV Board (150 US$).

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