Gadget Factory

Knowledge Base

  • Tutorial: Simulate AVR8 and Custom User Cores

    NOTE: Please note that the tutorial does not show that you must select “Gadget Factory Papilio Custom Board” under tools/board in the Arduino IDE for the simulation file to be generated. This screencast shows how to simulate a custom user core connected to the AVR8 Soft Processor. Simulation is the most efficient way to debug…

  • Xilinx VHDL UART Example

    Here is a three part screencast that provides an example of implementing a high speed 3Mb/s UART with the Papilio One board and the FT2232 USB chip.   The project uses the free Xilinx VHDL UART example because it is optimized for Xilinx hardware, it provides the smallest and fastest UART possible. The source code…

  • Analyze IR Remote Control codes with the IR Wing and Sump “Blaze” Core

    If you plug an IR Wing into a Papilio One it is a snap to decode IR Remote Control commands using the Sump “Blaze” Core. This tutorial shows how its done: Buy the IR Wing for $14.99 in the Gadget Factory Store. Download the Sump Logic Analyzer project for the Papilio One. Version 1.1 Source…

  • DCM (Digital Clock Manager) Tutorial

    One of the killer features of the Xilinx FPGA’s used in the Papilio Boards are the DCM’s (Digital Clock Manager). The DCM’s allow you to take the incoming 32Mhz clock from the external oscillator and generate any speed clock that you want! Even better, you get four DCM’s so you can generate four completely independent…

  • Tutorial: How to use the BASCOM-AVR IDE and the Papilio One to run BASIC programs on an FPGA

    Prior to starting this tutorial, you should verify that the FTDI drivers are installed correctly and verify that your Papilio One board is working correctly by following the Papilio One Quickstart Guide. Overview: This tutorial will demonstrate how to easily and seamlessly use the BASCOM-AVR IDE to develop and compile BASIC programs that will run…

  • Tutorial to connect PWM to any physical pin.

    With the flexibility of an FPGA your PWM outputs don’t need to be restricted to a specific pin. In fact, Wings are a snap to develop because they aren’t constrained by the board they connect to. With this freedom it is possible to write a sketch that uses a PWM on any pin! This tutorial…

  • Webpack VHDL Quickstart for the Papilio Platform

    Webpack VHDL Quickstart for the Papilio Platform Welcome to the Webpack VHDL Quickstart Guide for the Papilio Platform. This guide shows how to get a simple VHDL design up and running on the Papilio Hardware. It will cover using Xilinx Webpack to create a project, import a constraint file, synthesize a design, and load the…