[Coco] CoCo Altera DE1 interface

[Matthew Stock]

Hi Gustavo,

Yes, I'm still lurking.  I have used the board pretty extensively for my
FPGA projects and found it useful.  A few others have used it as well so
far as I know.  Since it does the level conversion for 3.3v logic and
follows the same pinout as the Altera boards, you can use a straight ribbon
cable to connect the two.

Some of my Coco FPGA work is up on Github (http://github.com/mattstock/,
including a few iterations of a multi-ROM system that was programmable via
SPI from an Arduino, the start of a microSD-based disk drive replacement
(that was implemented much more elegantly by Darren well before I finished
mine), and some other odds and ends.  Feel free to take a look, and let me
know if I can be of any assistance.

I haven't been working on Coco projects recently though - I've actually
been working on a new CPU and machine design implemented in an FPGA as a
fun little experiment.  I've needed to delve into building a cross
assembler and cross compiler, and doing all three in parallel has been very
enlightening.  Not Coco, but if you're interested feel free to take a look
at these and other projects at Github.

I may bring it back around to the Coco at some point, who knows.  :-)

Matt




On Thu, Jan 15, 2015 at 9:31 PM, Gustavo Ranaur Schoenaker <
ranaur at ranaur.net> wrote:

> Hi
>
> While browsing in OSHPark I found two projects: CoCo Buffer (
> https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/1qtqcHjF) and Slot Extender (
> https://oshpark.com/shared_projects/ixlqJKlZ).
>
> Looking on the old posts of the list I think the first one was made by
> Mathew. (are you there, Matt? :)
>
> Does anyone used it? Is there any project example to connect the Altera
> FPGA with the CoCo? I would love to try it,
>
> On Fri, Oct 31, 2014 at 12:41 PM, Matthew Stock <stock at bexkat.com> wrote:
>
> > Hi Tim,
> >
> > I don't have any on hand, but if you can solder the fine pitch chips you
> > can order them from Digikey and OSHPark directly.  I can order and
> assemble
> > them too if you prefer, but it will be more expensive that way.  Send me
> a
> > note directly if you want to discuss either option: stock at bexkat.com.
> >
> > This little buffer interface is useful for non-Altera boards, but the
> > pinout allows you to take a normal 40-pin ribbon cable and plug it from
> > Coco to DE1 without any fuss.  It's been really handy for my projects and
> > tinkering.
> >   -Matt
> >
> >
> > On Fri, Oct 31, 2014 at 10:29 AM, tim at franklinlabs.com <
> > tim at franklinlabs.com
> > > wrote:
> >
> > > Yeah, at this point it's the LE count. I don't need 1/3 of the I/O. I'm
> > > really
> > > not sure yet on the LE count either. Just thinking ahead. I haven't
> > > prototyped
> > > the design yet but I will using a DE-1. I am planning on using the
> > Cyclone
> > > series on the final design.
> > >
> > > I need to get in touch with Matt Stock (CoCo e-mail participant). He
> was
> > > selling
> > > a DE-1 interface board at one point. I found his board on OSH Park. If
> > he's
> > > still around and reading this... Can I still get one or two of those
> > > boards??????
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > >
> > > > On October 31, 2014 at 9:09 AM Mark McDougall <msmcdoug at iinet.net.au
> >
> > > wrote:
> > > >
> > > >
> > > > On 31/10/2014 3:42 AM, tim at franklinlabs.com wrote:
> > > >
> > > > > I actually haven't chosen the actual FPGA yet because I'm not sure
> > how
> > > much
> > > > > LE
> > > > > space I need. I was considering a small Cyclone III or equivalent.
> > The
> > > one I
> > > > > was
> > > > > looking at I thought was 264 pins but it actually was 408.
> > > >
> > > > Wow, do you *need* that much I/O for your project? Or is it a case of
> > the
> > > > smallest package for that many LE's?
> > > >
> > > > I've done TQFP soldering by hand, but I think that was 144-pin, and
> > > quite a
> > > > few years ago before my sight started failing me. It's not as hard as
> > > you'd
> > > > think as the solder tends to stick to the pin/pad.
> > > >
> > > > I've got a homebrew project now with a PQFP 240-pin Cyclone III and
> I'm
> > > not
> > > > going to stuff around with, I'll bite the bullet and get it
> assembled -
> > > > probably a run of 8.
> > > >
> > > > Regards,
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > | Mark McDougall | "Electrical Engineers do it
> > > > | <http://members.iinet.net.au/~msmcdoug> | with less resistance!"
> > > >
> > > > --
> > > > Coco mailing list
> > > > Coco at maltedmedia.com
> > > > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
> > > mattstock <https://oshpark.com/profiles/mattstock> .
> > >
> > > --
> > > Coco mailing list
> > > Coco at maltedmedia.com
> > > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
> > >
> >
> > --
> > Coco mailing list
> > Coco at maltedmedia.com
> > https://pairlist5.pair.net/mailman/listinfo/coco
> >
>
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