Hardware Components
UG0048 User Guide Revision 5.1
8
To chain Rev2 boards together: If reworked, treat it as Rev3 in the previous section. If not reworked, then
chaining of the boards cannot be done. The shunt on J5 must be removed for any programming to take
place.
3.4.2.4
Procedure for Rev1 Boards
To determine if the board is aRev1 board: A Rev1 board is indicated by no red LED in the upper right
corner of the board. The part number on the board top silk-screen is A3PE-EVAL-BRD600.
Note:
Rev1 boards should not be used with this user guide or with design files included with this Starter Kit as
the schematics are incompatible with current commercial boards.
VPUMP connections when chaining boards together: When these boards are connected through a
connection from J2 of one board to J1 of another board, VPUMP will be connected from one board to
another. When powering on one board with a connector in place, notice that the 1.5 V, 1.8 V, 2.5 V, and
3.3 V LEDs will light on the board to which no power has been applied. The FPGA on that board, if it is
programmed, will start operating. This is clearly an inappropriate situation for a large chain of boards.
This is caused by having the JP48 connector for supplying VPUMP from the board connected on other
boards in the chain, as VPUMP is itself connected to the 3.3 V supply output that is used to generate the
other FPGA voltages on a board. To prevent VPUMP from being used as the source of a 3.3 V supply,
remove the shunt that is in place on the JP48 connector to force JP48 to be open-circuit. To prevent loss
of the shunt, it may be safely stored on the J12 header for the daughter card power supply as it is
impossible to cause a short by joining any adjacent pins.
3.5
Programming the ProASIC3/E Device with FlashPro
The base board used for all ProASIC3/E starter kits is A3PE-A3P-EVAL-BRD1.
The A3PE-STARTER-KIT-2 and A3PE-PROTO-KIT boards are socketed and are populated with
A3PE1500 silicon. Any device in the ProASIC3/E family in the PQ208 package can be placed into the
socket.
In a kit with a socket on the board, a reasonable number of insertions may be made if the user exercises
great care in inserting components into the socket.
Note:
Screw-down sockets are not clam shell sockets, and do have a lifetime of about 20 insertions, although
far greater may be achieved with careful placement and use of a torque-limiting screwdriver. Placement
of the FPGA in the socket is critical, to ensure all pins are correctly connected.
3.5.1
Connecting the FlashPro4 Programmer to the Board
Connect the FlashPro4 programmer to your computer through the USB cable. For installing the software
and connecting to FlashPro4, see the
. The amber (yellow) power LED on the
FlashPro4 must be illuminated at this stage. If it is not, recheck the procedure in the FlashPro User Guide
until you obtain a steady amber (yellow) power LED illumination.
Ensure the board power switch, SW11 is in the OFF position, and only the red board external power LED
is illuminated on the board.
Connect the FlashPro4 programmer to the board through the 10-pin programming cable supplied with
the FlashPro4 programmer hardware. The connector to use on the board is labeled FP and is the lower
J1 shrouded and keyed header. The pin 1 location on the cable indicated by the red ribbon running along
the side of the cable can be on the left side as it enters into the board. After connecting the FlashPro4
programmer, select
Analyze Chain
from the File menu in the FlashPro software. If all is well, the
appropriate device ID for the ProASIC3 or ProASIC3E part shows in the software display on the PC. If
there is a JTAG communication issue, try changing the VJTAG voltage. For overcoming noise, higher
values usually work better, but all values must work with the supplied programming cable (6 inches in
length) with connection to just one board.
3.5.2
Programming or Re-Programming the Design
Download the latest version of the ProASIC3/E starter kit example design at:
