Gadget Factory

FPGA

  • Recreating Nintendo Chiptunes with FPGA and the 6502 processor

    Greetings FPGA lovers! Today’s project explores the possibility of using FPGA in combination with other processors to recreate the amazing Nintendo Chiptunes or Soundtracks that an entire generation of gamers are used to. The project uses a combination of FPGA with Verilog and the 6502 processor along with a Nesdev APU for audio generation. The…

  • Process VGA without Frame Buffers using FPGA

    Hello explorers of the FPGA Kingdom! Today’s project digs into the scope of FPGA as a tool that can replace conventional techniques further. VGA or video processing through conventional means requires a frame buffer which stores a block of data regarding pixel information in the system RAM for video display which is transferred to the…

  • Critical Tips to Build Your Own C88 Homebrew Computer with FPGA

    Greetings FPGA lovers! Today’s post is about building your own mini computer using FPGA. The project has been inspired by the first SSEM, popularly called the Manchester baby. The project resembles its inspiration in certain aspects, but being a homemade CPU with minimal components and coding, the specs are not as formidable as the SSEM.…

  • [DIY] How to Make a FPGA-based Electric Composer

    Hello FPGA enthusiasts! Today’s project takes sound production using FPGA to another level. The project under focus is building an electric keyboard/composer using FPGA. The keyboard acts as a song tune composer where a network of switches on the FPGA board is connected in precedence such that while a switch is on, the corresponding note…

  • How to Synthesise Music with YM 2151

    Hello FPGA lovers! Today we are going to share another instalment of our YM 2151 post series. According to the author of the original article (in Spanish), the best way to produce sound using the YM 2151 is to use the 6809 assembler which is a cross targeting assembler seen usually in Motorola and Hitachi…

  • Using the YM 2151 for Noise Generation

    Hi there FPGA lovers! Here we have another release of our series of YM2151 posts. To recreate the YM 2151 in FPGA using VHDL, every aspect of the YM 2151 needs to be mapped on to the recreation platform. However an interesting aspect regarding the YM 2151 is that it uses random values for generation…

  • Understanding the YM 2151- YM 3012 Relationship

    Hi FPGA lovers! In our conquest to find studio quality sound, we stumbled upon the YM 2151 FM Synth Chip which has been used by Yamaha from time immemorial in a number of their electronic keyboards and arcade games. The YM 2151 has a Digital output rather than an analog output and this makes it…

  • Create Studio Quality Sound with YM 2151 and FPGA

    Hello FPGA lovers! Today’s post is about making real studio quality music rather than the monotone buzzers from conventional circuits. FPGAs can be used to create monotone sounds such as beeps by using the right combination of DACs and buzzers. However these devices cannot be used to create studio quality sound that not only plays…