Chaining Multiple NanoBoards

Each NanoBoard contains NanoTalk Master and Slave connectors that allow multiple NanoBoards to be daisy-chained together. The Hard and Soft JTAG chains are passed between boards using a 10-way IDC cable – from the Slave connector on the first board to the Master connector on the next. Under the management of the NanoTalk Controller, these chains are kept continuous, with both chains sent out from and received back by, the Master NanoBoard in the configuration – the one connected to the PC and ultimately the Altium Designer software.

Figure 1. Two Desktop NanoBoard NB2DSK01s chained together.

Figure 2. Chaining a Desktop NanoBoard NB2DSK01 and a NanoBoard-NB1 together.

When multiple NanoBoards are present, the Hard Devices chain will show all target FPGAs on all boards. From the Devices view you can assign design projects to each FPGA in the chain and select which FPGA is active for download.

This ability to chain NanoBoards together allows the development of complex multiple FPGA systems, spread over multiple circuit boards.