[Coco] Cheap alternative to the DE-1?

[Zippster]

Probably a binary weighted DAC (resistor network) like many dev boards.
Three resistors per channel should give 64 colors (4 levels including ground level per channel).
Add another bit per channel to go to 125.

USB blaster clones are dirt cheap on eBay.  Like $4 or so.

- Ed


> On Oct 28, 2015, at 12:51 PM, Dave Philipsen <dave at davebiz.com> wrote:
> 
> Well, the DE-1 doesn't have a DAC either, just a resistor network.  You could probably hack that board though to get more colors if you wanted.
> 
> Another thing you'd have to consider on this board is that it doesn't have the built in USB Blaster like the DE1.  You'd have to buy a blaster on eBay or somewhere.  If you are patient you can sometimes find a DE1 on eBay that will go for around $90 or so.  I even saw one go for around $55 bucks once.  My experience finds that they are usually in excellent condition.
> 
> Dave
> 
> 
> On 2015-10-28 12:32, tim franklinlabs.com wrote:
>> Yeah, you're probably right. I found another problem too. I found the
>>   schematic for it and they limit the video to 8 colors. Not DAC to the
>>   VGA connector. Just logic.
>>   Manual: [1]http://www.dukelanovic.com/A-C8V4%20MANUAL.pdf
>>   Schematic:
>>   [2]http://d1.amobbs.com/bbs_upload782111/files_44/ourdev_671042EUF7C8.p
>>   df
>>   Shorter links too LOL!
>>     On October 28, 2015 at 12:23 PM Dave Philipsen <dave at davebiz.com>
>>     wrote:
>>     FWIW, I think Gary's project uses north of 9,000 LEs which means
>>     that
>>     even if you can trim it down to fit you won't have a lot of extra
>>     space
>>     for future expansion/additions. Not trying to be negative...I hope
>>     you
>>     get it working...would be an interesting project.
>>     Dave Philipsen
>>     On 2015-10-28 07:23, tim franklinlabs.com wrote:
>>     > I ran across this while surfing E-Pray this morning. It looks
>>     > interesting. For those, like me, who are interested in FPGA's,
>>     this
>>     > $70.00 unit seems to have everything needed to port Gary Beckers
>>     > CoCoFPGA to it:
>>     >
>>     >
>>     >
>>     [1]http://www.ebay.com/itm/Altera-Cyclone-NIOS-II-SOPC-FPGA-Developm
>>     ent
>>     >
>>     >
>>     -Learning-Board-EP2C8Q208C8N-LCD1602/272020523309?_trksid=p2054897.c
>>     100
>>     >
>>     >
>>     204.m3164&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%3D2
>>     014
>>     >
>>     >
>>     0407115239%26meid%3D8d211755ec994eff8913982e805be0c8%26pid%3D100204%
>>     26r
>>     > k%3D12%26rkt%3D21%26sd%3D261661704545
>>     >
>>     > It uses a smaller FPGA so there may be a limit here. I'm not sure
>>     > how
>>     > many LE's Gary's code uses.
>>     >
>>     > This board: EP2C8 8,256 LE's
>>     > DE-1: EP2C20 18,752 LE's
>>     >
>>     > Also, there are only 2 PLL's and I'm not sure if both are
>>     connected
>>     > to
>>     > clocks. I bought a small FPGA that had 4 clock inputs with 2
>>     PLL's.
>>     > The
>>     > moron who designed the board connected the clock to one of the CLK
>>     > pins
>>     > not connected to the PLL's.
>>     >
>>     > This board: 2 PLL's This assumes there are clocks connected to
>>     > both.
>>     > DE-1: 4 PLL's DE-1 uses only 3 (one connected to the
>>     > external clock)
>>     >
>>     > Since Gary posted an "almost" up to date project of his 3.0 FPGA
>>     > code,
>>     > i went ahead and bought one to see if I can port it. It comes from
>>     > China, so it wont arrive for a while (slow boat from china joke in
>>     > real
>>     > life). I'll keep everyone posted.
>>     >
>>     > References
>>     >
>>     > 1.
>>     >
>>     http://www.ebay.com/itm/Altera-Cyclone-NIOS-II-SOPC-FPGA-Development
>>     -Learning-Board-EP2C8Q208C8N-LCD1602/272020523309?_trksid=p2054897.c
>>     100204.m3164&_trkparms=aid%3D222007%26algo%3DSIC.MBE%26ao%3D1%26asc%
>>     3D20140407115239%26meid%3D8d211755ec994eff8913982e805be0c8%26pid%3D1
>>     00204%26rk%3D12%26rkt%3D21%26sd%3D261661704545
>>     --
>>     Coco mailing list
>>     Coco at maltedmedia.com
>>     https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
>> References
>>   1. http://www.dukelanovic.com/A-C8V4%20MANUAL.pdf
>>   2. http://d1.amobbs.com/bbs_upload782111/files_44/ourdev_671042EUF7C8.pdf