FPGA Central

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Programmable Logic DesignLine Newsletter
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The Programmable Logic DesignLine Newsletter is
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Programmable Logic DesignLine visit:
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07-02-2009

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This issue sponsored by: Avnet

The Xilinx(r) Virtex(r)-5 LX330T Development Kit, designed by Avnet,
offers breakthrough logic density along with 24 RocketIO ports for
high bandwidth communication. The system board includes several
high-speed serial interfaces to the on-chip RochetIO transceivers, two
x4 PCI Express cable connectors, a QSFP module connector, two CX4
connectors and a quad 10/100/1000 Ethernet port. Factory test code is
included with the kit for a quick start to device familiarization.
Learn more: http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HKVF0EW
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EDITOR'S NOTE
This week's featured design how-to, courtesy of our friends at
Embedded Europe, deals with rapid debugging of serial buses
within FPGAs. The article delves into common debugging issues
related to the electrical characteristics of the bus and others.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HL6K0E5

Among our blogs this week, we offer the latest in the ongoing saga of
FPGA startup CSwitch, which has been dogged for months by rumors that
it is on the verge of shutting down. Has the company closed its doors?
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HL6L0E6

Max the Magnificent is back, too, this time with some musings on
architects, optical illusions, British currency, wallabies, and more.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HL6M0E7

Don't forget to check out the latest products, including a new product
family from Altera and dueling enhancements to high-level synthesis
tools from Mentor Graphics and Forte Design Systems.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0DlN10EW

Questions, Ideas, Comments, Complaints? Email me, Dylan McGrath, at
dmcgrath (AT) techinsights (DOT) com

FEATURED HOW-TO ARTICLES

--Rapid debug of serial buses in FPGAs--
Low-speed serial buses remain prevalent across several electronics
industries. Serial buses such as I2C, SPI, CAN, LIN, and RS-232 are
often key points for debugging designs with FPGAs which higher speed
serial buses quickly pass data from chip to chip. Historically,
capturing and decoding the information required significant manual
effort if using an oscilloscope or the purchase of custom tools.
Oscilloscope vendors now incorporate significant application
technology that simplifies debug of low-speed serial buses.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HL6N0E8

RECENT HOW-TO ARTICLES OF INTEREST

--Altium Design Contest winner: yyCAN review --
This article by James Brakefield, selected as the winner of the Altium
Design Contest, describes his yyCAN controller (the name has multiple
meanings) written in VHDL.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HLZA0EW

--Altium Design Competition runner up: Building an in-car MP3 player
using NanoBoard--
Doug Gibbs, a Senior Staff Software Engineer at Xilinx, was the runner
up in the Altium Design Competition. Doug's idea is to build an in-car
stereo MP3 player with an 802.11 connection to allow networking with a
user's home PC. When you drive into the garage, you're the system will
automatically sync to the PC and update all of the music you've
downloaded.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HLZB0EX

--Bridging the voltage gap with FPGAs--
FPGAs have become sensitive to power-design considerations in
supporting multiple voltage options for I/O banks. This paper examines
how some low-power FPGAs leverage the VCCI of each I/O bank to
determine the voltage level of its I/Os, ranging from 1.2 V up to
3.3 V.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HKxy0Ev

--Solving display challenges in mobile internet devices--
This article discusses the market opportunity for low-cost consumer
devices that provide users with Internet access and the requirement
that such products offer a high-quality display to offer the same user
experience as a laptop computer. The article will describe key display
design requirements for MIDs and netbooks, selection of frame-buffer
placement, display enhancements and reduction of power consumption
through adaptive enhancements.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HKU20EB

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TOP PRODUCTS

--Altera rolls low power, anti-tamper FPGAs--
Altera this week is rolling out a new product family, Cyclone III LS,
billed by the company as the industry's first low power FPGAs with
anti-tamper, design-security and design-separation features.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HL6O0EA

--Mentor adds support for control logic to Catapult C--
EDA vendor Mentor Graphics announced extensions to its Catapult C
Synthesis tool to support full-chip high-level synthesis, a move
billed by company executives as the most significant enhancements to
Catapult C since the tool was introduced in 2004.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HL6P0EB

--Forte beefs up high-level synthesis tool --
High-level synthesis EDA vendor Forte Design Systems has commenced
volume shipments of the latest version of its Cynthesizer SystemC
synthesis software for hardware and electronic system level design.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HL6Q0EC

--TI announces MSP430 MCUs for e-metering applications--
In support of three-phase e-metering applications, Texas Instruments
Incorporated has unveiled the ultra-low power MSP430F471xx
microcontroller (MCU) series. The F471xx system-on-chip metering
solution offers simultaneous sampling of voltage and current as well
as tamper-detection for efficient and reliable energy measurement.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HL6R0ED

TOP NEWS ITEMS

--IC market 'surge' at hand, says analyst--
The second half of 2009 will bring welcome relief to the semiconductor
and capital equipment industries, according to market research firm IC
Insights, which is predicting strong seasonal strength for electronic
system sales, worldwide gross domestic product growth and continuation
of an IC inventory replenishment trend that began in the second
quarter.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HL6S0EE

--Global chip sales seen ticking up in May--
Global chip sales in May are believed to have increased by a
seasonally adjusted 2 percent on the previous month, according to
analysts at Carnegie Group (Oslo, Norway).
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HL6T0EF

FEATURED BLOGS

--Is CSwitch dead?--
FPGA startup CSwitch appears to have closed its doors, according to
several industry sources.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HL6U0EG

--Random musings--
From organic houses to Charlemagne in the Middle Ages to cute USB ball
speakers to radioactive soil and debris...to name but a few!
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HL6V0EH

AVAILABLE COURSES

--The Next Generation Gaming Mouse Sensor--
Introducing the new high-performance laser navigation sensor designed
for use in high-end, professional gaming applications. Based on
Avago's revolutionary LaserStream™ optical navigation
technology, learn how the Avago's ADNS-9500's powerful navigation
engine enables extremely high-speed motion detection and high
resolution to provide precise tracking capabilities, which are
required for many of today's most popular gaming
applications.Introducing the new high-performance laser navigation
sensor designed for use in high-end, professional gaming applications.
Based on Avago's revolutionary LaserStream™ optical navigation
technology, learn how the Avago's ADNS-9500's powerful navigation
engine enables extremely high-speed motion detection and high
resolution to provide precise tracking capabilities, which are
required for many of today's most popular gaming applications.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HLGo0Ex

--Motor Control and PFC Developer's Kits Overview--
The Motor Control and PFC Developer's Kits are the industry's first to
enable power factor correction (PFC) and sensorless field-oriented
control of up to two motors with a single low-cost microcontroller
(MCU). Allowing developers to begin designs in 10 minutes, the kits
feature a dual axis + PFC baseboard, a Piccolo controlCARD, up to two
permanent magnet motors, sensorless field-oriented control software,
24V DC power supply and Code Composer Studio IDE. This video is an
overview of the kit.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HLf40EV

--PADS 9.0 Flow Overview--
View this webinar and see how PADS, the most widely used desktop PCB
layout system, provides much more than ever before in PADS 9.0. PADS
still offers easy-to-use and powerful design capture and PCB design
functionality, but now PADS' capabilities have been extended to
include best-in-class tools for pre- and post- layout simulation,
power integrity, thermal analysis, collaboration, and better ties to
manufacturing. See how a PADS solution can ensure first-time success
of your design, and make you and your team more productive.
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HLou0Ej

FINAL NOTE
That's all for this week, but don't forget that this newsletter
contains only a subset of what's available on the Programmable Logic
DesignLine website.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ NOW HIRING ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Electronics Group Now Hiring 07-01-2009

Boeing seeking Embedded Software Engineer 5 in Huntington Beach, CA
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HKod0ER

SEL seeking Lead DSP Engineer in Pullman, WA
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HLi70Eb

SEL seeking Power Systems Instructor in Pullman, WA
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HLi80Ec

Rutland Regional Medical seeking Server Engineer in Rutland, VT
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HLjA0Em

Osram Sylvania seeking Mechanical Design Engineer in Danvers, MA
http://newsletter.designlinenetwork....rT0LOB0HLvS0EI

For more great jobs, career-related news, features and services,
please visit TechInsights EETimesCareers.
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