Gadget Factory

Knowledge Base

  • Intelligent LEDs – Using WS2812B LEDs with the Papilio.

      Hamster shows us how to use the latest and greatest WS2812B LEDs! The interface is pretty simple – the state of the bus has to be reset by holding the data signal low for 50us, followed with sending out 24 bits for each LED that is connected in the string. The ‘1’ bits are sent…

  • SD card testing

    Check it out as Hamster plays around with SD cards. So far he has it initializing the card using VHDL! Here is the test setup – a Papilio FPGA board from http://www.gadgetfactory.net/, and a SD adapter from http://www.futurlec.com/: via hamsterworks.co.nz

  • Bil Herd – Designer of Commodore 128 – talks about CPLD/FPGAs!

    Wow! Watch this video as Bil Herd – the designer of the Commodore 128 – talks about the early days of PLA’s. Get the full scoop on Hack a Day. Then he talks about CPLD’s and shows how to get started with a simple counter design. Get the full scoop on Hack a Day. This…

  • Nick Johnson builds an FPGA with 7400 parts.

    Well, this is a little bit after the fact, but in case anyone missed it this is a really entertaining project to check out. This was an award winning project in the 2012 Open 7400 Logic Competition put on by Dangerous Prototypes. The author, Nick Johnson, put together an FPGA slice using only 7400 series…

  • DIY 8-Bit Computer Using An FPGA and Classic Computer CPUs In VHDL

    We found a pretty unique project that was covered recently over at Hackaday, involving a hacked-together 8-bit retro-styled computer.  The kicker here is that it was made using an FPGA combined with  VHDL inplementations of classic CPUs such as the 6502, 6809, and Z80. In its full configuration, the Multicomp, as [Grant] calls his project, includes…

  • Litecoin Mining With FPGA – This Is Cool

    Is anyone keeping up with the newer Bitcoin successor, Litecoin? We wanted to provide some information for you about the newest peer-to-peer cryptocurrency and open source software project released under the MIT/X11 license. Yes, it’s completely open-source, and you can mine these little guys on your FPGA platform. Educate yourself a “bit” before we go…

  • How to initialize a sine/cosine lookup table with a couple lines of VHDL.

    Papilio user Alex posted this gem in the Papilio Forum. He came across an excellent article over at Jim Wu’s FPGA blog with some super easy ways to initialize memory. Whether you are defining a sin, cosine, sawtooth, or any manner of lookup table its super easy to do it mathematically using this example code.…

  • Piano Hero, touch without a touchscreen!

    Today we got an exciting project that we want to share with you. A group of students at the Cornell University have developed a virtual piano system that allows the user to play piano on the screen, I know you are thinking that there is nothing special here but what if I tell you that…