On 01/03/2019 13:49, dennis@home wrote:
On 01/03/2019 13:35, Andy Bennet wrote:
On 28/02/2019 22:41, dennis@home wrote:
https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/CycloneII...AOSwImRYcFi l


https://www.intel.com/content/dam/ww...yc2_cii5v1.pdf



Yes I have. Used them for many projects including driving multiple
servos on a hexapod, and a driver for those 64 x 32 led panels you can
het from aliexpress for next to nothing.
Main problem you will find is that they have a very small amount of on
board RAM so will not suit some projects without adding external
facilities.
They are now excellent value for money.
If you are just starting out I wouls search out Quartus v9.1 sp2,
download for free.
This is the last version of Quartus that is a complete integrated easy
to use package which has a built in simulator, and supports Cyclone II's.

Ta, will have a look.
When I first used programmable logic arrays they didn't actual have much
in them and you could program them on paper and enter it in a few minutes.
There are a few of those in the CPU boards on System X.
I remember that we ordered the entire output of the manufacturer for the
first year of manufacturing (Signetics IIRC).
I never had a chance to do anything with these things as they were never
approved for use on SystemX.


If you know what you are doing, you can still sketch out a schematic in
Quartus v9.1, compile and upload it in a few minutes.

I've been using FPGA's professionally since around 1986 and have seen
them evolve over time - and I still tinker around with more simple stuff
now I am retired.
They have now got to the stage where they are becomming systems on
chips, including multiple hardcoded processors.
They are now really aimed at software engineers - you now no longer need
to understand how the things physically function, nor have much hardware
design capability.
To me that takes all the fun and interest out of it, and am glad to have
had my careeer during those earlier years where resource was scarce and
speed of operation required ingenuity.