How to download bitfile to XtremeDSP Starter Platform – Spartan-3A DSP 1800A Edition

[omara007]

Hi

I have purchased the XtremeDSP Starter Platform – Spartan-3A DSP 1800A Edition but I didn't order any download cables along with it. I would like to know my available options for downloading the bitfile to the FPGA ? .. can I use a normal JTAG cable with one termina being of USB interface (to be connected to the PC) and the other terminal being of FlyLeads (to be connected to the board) ? .. if so, what are FlyLead configuration that I should be using ?

I would also like to know if this will also work with ChipScope or not.

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Regards
Mohammad Y. Omara

[omara007]

Let's make the question more clear:

Say I do have a Lattice FPGA programmer, can I use it with Xilinx FPGA ? .. givn that it's a USB-JTAG cable ..

[mcgett]

While the Lattice JTAG cable can electrically interoperate with the Xilinx devices, there is no software that I know that has been created that would be able to be use to program non-Lattice devices.

[omara007]

So, what are my options (Xilinx-based and non-Xilinx-based) now to be able to download my bitfiles to my FPGA ?

[aleridon]

The XtremeDSP Starter Platform Spartan-3A DSP 1800A Edition only has the J4 JTAG header for JTAG configuration. If you want to program the FPGA using Xilinx tools, you will need one of the programming cables listed on the Online Store (http://www.xilinx.com/onlinestore/program_solutions.htm#pc) or by the Configuration Hardware Datasheets (http://www.xilinx.com/support/documentation/configuration_hardware.htm).

These cable can be used to connect the board to you machine and then use Xilinx programming tools (iMPACT or ChipScope) in order to configure the FPGA via JTAG. These are the supported solutions by Xilinx.