Re: programmable logic

On Fri, 3 Oct 1997 14:55:17 -0800, you wrote:

>While I'm thinking of it...
>
>Have any of you used the Lattice GAL6001 FPLA for anything?
>
>It's a "78x64x36" FPLA with all sorts of buried feedback terms and whatnot
>for making state machines.
>
>Some nice features:
>
>1) available from JDR for $8 in singles, and electrically erasable/programmable
>
>2) should be supported by Lattice ISP Synario for free/cheap programming tools
>
>3) 24 pin DIP package. 10 inputs on one side, 10 I/O's on the other.
>
>I don't really have an application in mind (other than maybe some part in a
>vector state machine), but I'd be curious to hear if any of you have played
>with it...

I was just getting ready to spam vectorlist in search of interesting logic
arrays. I have a very nice vector generator design that's fully digital
that uses 3 10 bit latches, an adder, a 10 bit 2 channel mux, and 2 ten bit
counters connected to the DACs. It very simple, but unfortunately I can't
find any commonly available micros the run fast enough to do this in
software. You need to update the DAC counters on a digital vector
generator at a 3.33mhz (avg) to generate the vectors.

A 20mhz PIC internally divides the clock by four, so it runs at a 5mhz
speed. Too slow. The new SX 50mhz part that runs at 50mhz (no internal
divide by 4) could do it (well the counters would still have to be external
because of the number of I/O lines available, *and* it's still not fast
enough to handle the counters), but are they available yet? And can it be
programmed using a standard PIC programmer?

WSI makes a *very* fast processor that runs at 100mhz - at one clock per
instruction, and can do multiple things on each clock, but of coarse no-one
sells the processor but WSI (they're only interested in quantity orders),
and you have to buy their custom hardware to program it.

How is the GAL6001 programmed? Must you buy a custom programmer from
Lattice? (I've never had need to play with PALs, GALs, just an FPLA many
years ago, and then just as an address decoder)

-Zonn
Received on Fri Oct 3 15:13:29 1997