OldGuyBry

I have the book "VHDL for Programmable Logic" by Kevin Skahill. About twenty-five years ago I took an existing VHDL design and successfully tweaked a couple of its elements for a maintenance program (probably again because no firmware people were available). While it is very similar in syntax to the programming language Ada (which itself is based on Pascal), I cannot honestly assert that I "know" VHDL. When I purchase my development board, my goal is to develop each project first with VHDL, then when it is completely working, as an exercise re-implement it in Verilog. No clue what System Verilog is - I'll cross that bridge when I come to it. The short answer is "yes". More accurately, the board will be a playground for my bored, retired engineering mind. To answer questions like: What can an FPGA realistically do? How can an FPGA augment and enhance tasks I used to do purely in software? Can I use an FPGA to perform image processing? This is why I tend to be biasing to the more interface-rich boards - they offer more opportunities for learning and tinkering.

While it is true that I spent the vast majority of my career developing application software (and therefore prone to invoke software terms by default), I did earn a degree in Electrical Engineering. I have vivid memories of using Karnaugh maps and 74XX series logic gates. Early in my career I was paid to develop a pulse width stretcher board (and won a spot award for the result). So whether you believe me or not, I do actually understand that HDL "code" is configuring hardware. Working with FPGAs has been an interest of mine for some years. My former company had dedicated firmware people who did all FPGA work, but for whatever reason was perpetually understaffed. Because I understood the basic concepts and to minimize the personal impact of waiting months for FPGA support, out of desperation I went to the firmware group leaders and volunteered to assist. They turned me down cold. The manager also told me that I could not possibly understand what they do, and then went out of her way to make sure I understood she would not support training me in any way. As desperate as they claimed to be for firmware people, they were never desperate enough to try a software guy with a EE degree. So consequently I have a notion of unfinished business regarding FPGAs, and now that I'm retired I would like to learn what circumstances previously prevented me from doing. I've already installed Vivado, and I'm in the process of selecting a development board that will challenge me. And yes, I would like to tinker with something a bit beefier than using a switch to light an LED.

Hi JColvin! Thank you so much for responding. I am retired, so my goal is to learn FPGA programming on my own time and money. My budget would be up to $400. I have no specific peripheral needs, but am comfortable with USB and Ethernet and might enjoy tinkering with HDMI. I like the expansion capability of Pmod ports, but know nothing about SYZYGY or FMC connectors. A few differentially matched I/O pairs would be nice, and would like 20 or so standard I/O pins. I also like the Cortex A9 processor on the Zynq, as I feel it would complement the FPGA portion. To summarize, this board would be a tool for self-educating and tinkering. I like how you phrased it "doing whatever strikes your fancy" - that is pretty accurate for now. I can start with the buttons, switches and LEDs, then grow into the peripherals later. I/O pins would allow breadboarding options should I go in that direction. Like I said, right or wrong, my impression is that the introductory boards are strong on I/O options but weak on on-board peripherals, yet the higher-level boards have good peripherals support but at the cost of (seemingly) reduced off-board I/O. Hopefully this diatribe helps you understand where I am heading here. Basically I'm trying to maximize my tinkering options 🙂. There is no wrong answer other than picking a playground that gives me as much to play with as practical. Thanks!

Hello everyone! I'm new to the forum. I am looking for recommendations for the most powerful FPGA / SoC development board that still brings out external I/O connections. As a retired software application engineer with an EE degree, I believe the introductory boards will end up being too simplistic for me, but the more powerful boards have great peripherals but little-to-no external I/O. Having some external I/O leaves opportunities for growing the experimenting with external features other than the peripherals themselves. (Or can I access internal FPGA digital I/O via the PMod connectors?) So which Digilent board maximizes both of these? I am thinking the Arty Z7: Zynq-7000 board best maximizes everything I'm looking for. Does anyone have any other / better recommendations? Thanks!