QM1004-0.5-18 Combined RF Upconverter/Downconverter
User Manual
3. FPGA Firmware Updates
The QM1004-0.5-18 Control Board uses a Micron™ serial flash and a Xilinx® FPGA. Micron™ serial flash
are not currently fully supported by the Xilinx® iMPACT programming tool, nor is the Digilent programmer
internally used. The following sections demonstrate the steps required to successfully configure the
iMPACT software and load a Micron™ flash.
Xilinx® iMPACT
Xilinx® iMPACT Standalone Programmer is included in the Xilinx® ISE Lab Tools and is used in this
guide. The version used in this manual (v14.7) is the last ISE version and should not change. ISE Lab
Tools are available for free download using the following link:
https://www.xilinx.com/member/forms/download/xef-ise.html?filename=Xilinx_LabTools_14.7_1015_1.tar
Note:
All Xilinx® software downloads require Name and Address Verification in compliance with U.S.
Government Export Regulations prior to downloading.
Smart Heap
To run iMPACT on Windows 10, the following steps must be taken:
1. Navigate to the following Lab Tools install directory:
<install_path>\Xilinx\14.7\LabTools\
LabTools\lib\nt64\
2. Rename the file "libPortability.dll" to "libPortability.dll.orig"
3. Copy the "libPortabilityNOSH.dll" file to the same folder, renaming it to "libPortability.dll"
4. Repeat steps 1-3 in the following folder:
<install_path>\Xilinx\14.7\Labtools\common\lib\
nt64\
The above steps substitute the original "libPortability.dll" with a "libPortability.dll" file that has SmartHeap
disabled, the NOSmartHeap (NOSH) version. This does not negatively impact the operation of the tools,
and should successfully work around a known incompatibility in LabTools v14.7.
System Environment Variable
A system environment variable must be set to allow the iMPACT software to skip its ID Check of the
Micron™ flash. In Microsoft Windows, this is done through System Properties. In Microsoft Windows 10,
click the Start Button and type "Edit the system environment variables" and click on the "Environment
Variables" button. The Environment Variables window is divided into two sections, User Variables and
System Variables. A new System Environment Variable must be created by clicking "New" in the System
Variables section. In the New System Variable window, enter the following:
Variable name: XIL_IMPACT_SKIPIDCODECHECK
Variable value: 1
Quonset Microwave
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