25 Apr
2001
25 Apr
'01
3:17 p.m.
If you want a 'fun' exercise, read the
programming algorithm for the
82S100 PLA, and then try to design a programmer. That darn thing needs 4
or 5 different programming voltages....
One thing that always made me nervous was programming
some of the more expensive FPGAs. Especially when the
part was supported for the first time by the latest
software update to the programmer. We'd get some
parts in with a unit cost of around $10,000 (I put
the comma in there so you'd know I didn't type one too
many zeros) in a lot of 50 or so. A mistake can get very
costly. Once a group sent us the WRONG pattern to
program. They realized their mistake early, but we'd
already programmed 10 of the parts. That was $100,000
down the drain since they weren't erasable.
--
Eric Dittman
dittman(a)dittman.net