Instrument Rack - NanoBoard Controllers

The following content has been imported from Legacy Help systems and is in the process of being checked for accuracy.

Function

The Instrument Rack - NanoBoard Controllers panel is used to contain and display the NanoBoard Controller instruments associated with NanoBoards detected in the NanoBoard chain. For each instrument displayed, access is provided to the associated NanoBoard's programmable clock and SPI Flash RAM devices.

Content and Use

When the panel is initially opened, it contains no instruments and therefore appears empty. To populate the panel, double-click on the icon for the NanoBoard whose controls you wish to access, in the NanoBoard chain of the Devices view.
The example image below illustrates a single instrument added to the panel. The panel has been intentionally resized to show that it can accommodate multiple NanoBoard Controller instruments and is therefore analogous to the racking of an electronics cubicle, which accommodates individual crates of electronic modules (cards).

Right-click Menu

Right-clicking anywhere on the instrument panel for a NanoBoard Controller, away from fields and controls, will pop-up a menu providing the following commands that are applicable to the main Instrument Rack - NanoBoard Controllers panel:

• Order By JTAG ID - rearranges NanoBoard Controller Instruments within the rack, so that the instruments are placed in ascending JTAG ID order, with ID 0 at the top of the rack. The JTAG ID for an instrument is displayed at the top left of its panel
• Resize Panel To Fit - use this command to resize the main panel such that it fits exactly around all NanoBoard Controller instruments that are displayed
• Show/Hide Instruments sub-menu - provides entries for each NanoBoard Controller instrument currently displayed in the main panel. Use these entries to toggle the display of instruments in the main rack panel as required.

The instrument panel for each NanoBoard Controller (added to the main Instrument Rack panel) provides access to a number of controls, enabling you to:

• define the frequency of the parent NanoBoard's programmable clock
• program Flash Memory for bootstrapping the FPGA device on the daughter board plug-in
• program Flash Memory for embedded use within a design.

The following sections take a closer look at each of these features.

Setting the Programmable Clock

Use the available buttons on the panel to choose from a range of predefined and commonly used frequencies, in the range 6MHz (minimum) to 200MHz (maximum). As you click on a button, the chosen frequency will appear in the display on the right.

If the frequency you require is not available in the predefined selections, you can enter a specific frequency of your own. Click on the Other Frequency button and enter the frequency in the Choose Clock Frequency dialog that appears.

For ultimate control and fine tuning of the NanoBoard's programmable clock, click on the panel's Clock Control Options button. The ICS307 Clock Calculator dialog will appear, from where you can specify a frequency for the board clock in terms of a numeric frequency value or hexadecimal value, or specify the 24-bit control word used to configure the programmable clock, at the bit-level.

Use the dialog's 'What's This Help' feature to obtain detailed information about each of the options available. Click on the question mark button at the top right of the dialog and then click over a field or option to pop-up information specific to that field or option.

Programming the FPGA Boot Flash RAM

The NanoBoard provides the ability to bootstrap the FPGA device located on the currently inserted Daughter Board, at power-up. An 8MBit Flash RAM device (M25P80) is used to store the programming file required for implementing the design within the FPGA. This device is component U6 on the parent NanoBoard.

To access the controls for programming the Flash RAM device, click on the FPGA Boot button on the associated NanoBoard Controller's instrument panel. The Flash RAM Controller For FPGA Boot dialog will appear.

Use this dialog to erase and then program the Flash RAM with the required embedded software file.
For detailed information with respect to bootstrapping an FPGA device, refer to the application note Bootstrapping the Daughter Board FPGA, which can be found in the LiveDesign Development Boards\NanoBoard Reference Manual - NB1 area of the Altium Designer Documentation Library.

Programming the Embedded Flash RAM

The NanoBoard provides serial Flash RAM for use as embedded memory in an FPGA design, enabling you to load and store an embedded software file that will be used when the target design is running. An 8MBit Flash RAM device (M25P80) is used to provide embedded memory functionality within an FPGA design. This device is component U7 on the parent NanoBoard.
To access the controls for programming the Flash RAM device, click on the Embedded button on the associated NanoBoard Controller's instrument panel. The Flash RAM Controller For Embedded Software dialog will appear.

Use this dialog to erase and then program the Flash RAM with the required embedded software file.
For detailed information with respect to using embedded Flash RAM within an FPGA design, refer to the Application Note, Utilizing the NanoBoard Flash Memory, which can be found in the LiveDesign Development Boards\NanoBoard Reference Manual - NB1 area of the Altium Designer Documentation Library.

Notes

• If you have multiple NanoBoards daisy-chained together, the NanoBoard chain will reflect each detected (powered-up) board. Each NanoBoard Controller instrument will only appear in the Instrument Rack - NanoBoard Controllers panel after its corresponding icon in the chain has been specifically double-clicked.
• If there is only one NanoBoard Controller instrument currently displayed in the main rack panel, using the Show/Hide Instruments command from the right-click menu will essentially close the panel. You would then need to open the panel and add the instrument back in.
• You can manually change the order of instruments in the main rack panel. Simply click anywhere on an instrument's panel - away from fields and controls - and drag it to the position required. The instrument will be slotted into that position, moving the current 'resident' and subsequent instruments below it, downward in the rack.

See Also