Help !!! Need orginal Digilent USB firmware and re-programming tool

[ma60510]

Hi, a new guy here.  

I got a problem and could use some help.  I bought two Digilent S6 FMC Carrier boards a few years ago.  Now I want to use them again, but only found out that the USB firmware has been replaced, and the boards are no longer responding to Digilent ADEPT software.  So I need to refresh the boards with the original Digilent firmware.  But I could not find either the firmware or the firmware downloading software tool anywhere.  Can someone here be kind enough to provide me the firmware and software, so that I could revive my s6 boards ?  Thanks in advance -HM           

[jpeyron]

Hi @ma60510,

Unfortunately, I do not have any information about why we did not offer an Artix-7 replacement for the S6-FMC Carrier board. We do appreciate feedback and suggestions about our products. I have already forwarded you desire for an Artix-7 replacement for the S6-FMC Carrier board to the appropriate co-workers.

thank you,

Jon

[Bianca]

Hi @udin45

You have a private message.

Best regards,

Bianca

[udin45]

Thank you @jpeyron!

[jpeyron]

HI @udin45,

I am tagging my co-worker that will be able to assist you with fixing this issue( @Bianca).

thank you,

Jon

[udin45]

@jpeyron can i get the original firmware and software for nexys4 too? one of my nexys4 is not detected by adept while the others are fine.

[zygot]

@ma60510,

Yes, the connector isn't produced by Altera (Intel). The HSMC specification does belong to Altera and if you want to use an HSMC compatible board it will have to conform to that specification. So, as I mentioned I do not know if Altera limits right to using that specification for a product ( I'm specifically thinking about boards with a Xilinx, Actel, Lattice... FPGA). Nothing, as far as I know would prevent you from using the connector with your own specification for a custom interface. TI uses similar connectors for its adaptors. If you know of any Xilinx FPGA board with an HSMC interface ( compatible to the specification ) I'd love to hear about it.

The 12-pin PMOD has twice the IO of the first 6-pin version and certainly has a purpose, other than to sell simple, low speed Digilent PMOD compatible interface add-on boards. But we are in agreement that it doesn't meet the needs of many customers who pay a large mark-up compared to academic users.

[ma60510]

45 minutes ago, zygot said:

@zygot,

The particular HSMC connectors  are made by SAMTEC, I am not aware that Atera has any exclusive right on it.  But similar connectors have been used on Xilinx FPGA boards (Opal-kelly, Trenz etc.).  These 0.5mm "HSMC" connectors have the spreading pins extending just enough out of the connector body to let you solder by hand, and even better, with these connectors, you can use the low-cost PCBs (like expresspcb), no gold plating is necessary.   

Yes, the silly pmod is for toys...

 

 

[zygot]

How about another 2 cents worth of commentary. I had 2 of these boards and both had explosive failures ( a good hole in the FPGA near the IO bank attached to the FMC ). I'm pretty careful about using an FMC connector with user selectable bank voltages. The last one went when nothing was connected and was being powered on. The power supply design wasn't great. These were nice boards for certain purposes and I had been developing a number of projects with them. The board design was flawed but usable. I just mention this to say that perhaps you might want to think about how much effort you want to spend on using them. You won't get any assistance once they die.

@ma60510, As to the HSMC you have a good point. I don't know if Altera has any restrictions for vendors using them. I've never seen one on an FPGA board having an FPGA not from Altera. There is one vendor who has FMC-HSMC adaptors though I've never tried either. The main problem with FMC is that mezzanine boards are usually costly. This is changing however. Cheap USB3 development boards from FTDI and Cypress have been available for a while now. I've used both with Digilent FPGA boards sporting an FMC connector. I've also used a few A/D demo boards. There's no doubt that the Digilent FMC universe would be greatly expanded with HSMC. There is one Altera board partner who has started putting FMC on their high-end boards instead of HSMC.

Neither FMC ( even the LPC version ) nor HSMC is particularly easy for DIY PCB makers. I know, I've done both. And to the consternation of a few, I'll take this as a segue to repeat a common request: Digilent how about updating the PMOD concept to serve your customers?

[ma60510]

@jpeyron,

If I could take this opportunity to give my two cents on this .... Digilent already has enough low-cost  FPGA boards targeting students and hobbyists.  Those boards typically allocate most I/O pins to the predefined ports like VGA, PS, Pmod etc, but very little left for the user I/O's, which has limited these boards for the real applications.  What Digilent does not have in its lineup is a few no-frills FPGA boards, like the retired S6-FMC, which offers nothing but high user I/O count.  I guess what doomed the S6-FMC is the FMC connector.  The cost of a FMC daughtercard is too high for a budget-priced FPGA carrier board like the S6.  So I can imagine a sensible replacement for the S6 would be an A-7 carrier board with a couple of HSMC connectors, instead of FMC.  There are plenty of HSMC daughtercards out there.  Just MHO

[ma60510]

That Artix -7 FMC board is pretty good, but costs almost twice as much as S6-FMC

[D@n]

@ma60510,

Have you considered the Nexys Video board?  It has an Artix-7 200T on board, as well as an FMC interface.

Dan

[ma60510]

Hi Jon,

Thanks for asking Sergiu to send me the rescue tool.  I just used it to successfully  restore the FX2 firmware of my S6 FMC board.  Now it is responding Adept programming cable correctly.

A side note, S6 FMC is such a useful board at a very reasonable price.  Compared to all other budget priced boards from Digilent, this one has a high-count of user I/O pins, making it valuable for some practical applications other than just classroom instruction.  Why did Digilent obsolete this s6 board without offering an Artix-7 replacement (A7 FMC Carrier board) ?

[jpeyron]

Hi @ma60510,

I have not heard back yet from my co-workers. I am tagging an engineer that might be able to help with your question( @Bianca).

cheers,

Jon

[ma60510]

Hey Jpeyron,  any luck finding the s6 firmware/software ?  Thanks --HM 

[ma60510]

Thanks Jon for your help.  Hope you will be able to find the firmware and tool .  Yes, I am aware of the resource page for the S6 board.  I like this S6 board a lot, would have a lot of use of it  if I could revive it.  -HM

[jpeyron]

HI @ma60510,

I am reaching out to my co-workers that will be able to better assist you with this. Also if you were not aware Here is our resource page for the S6 FMC Carrier boards.

cheers,

Jon