SE 2DA4 Frequently Asked Questions
"How do I get the Alterra software for home use?"
WEB edition: You can download the web edition of Quartus II for windows or Linux from :
http://www.altera.com/products/software/quartus-ii/web-edition/qts-we-index.html. Quartus II Web Edition is a free, no license required version of Quartus II. Students can use it to compile their projects and download the projects to their DE2 boards, if they have their own DE2 boards at home. The web edition can be used without network access, but it does not have all features.SUBSCRIPTION edition: the subscription edition is the one used in the labs, and can be downloaded from https://www.altera.com/download/software/quartus-ii-se/11.0. It provides full features, but it requires access to the department's license server. The server can be accessed outside the labs by using MacVPN from home or over MacConnect, or can be accessed without VPN using MacSecure. The license server string is: 27000@alteralm.cas.mcmaster.ca
"What edition of Quartus is used in our labs?"
The Quartus II Subcription Edition is used in our labs. The Quartus II Subscription Edition supports more hardware and compiles faster than the Quartus free web edition. It has more support from Altera and has more functions. A license is required to use this edition, although there is a 30 days trial version available.
"How do I set up the license manager in our labs?"
License is required to be set up when user starts the Quartus for the first time. Our labs use a license file. The license file name is: 27000@alteram. Steps to specify a license file for Quartus II in lab: 1.) Choose the option to use a valid license file to set up license
2. ) Provide the license file name:
In case need to set up license in the middle of using Quartus II. The steps are as follows: Under Tools | License Setup, type in "27000@alteram" for the license file. NOTE: quartus might still complain about the license if you try to compile or simulate your projects. If that happens, just execute the compile/execute command again and it should work fine. Check with the TAs to make sure the license file name has not changed.
"How do I create a project and program the FPGA on DE2 board?"
The major steps to create a projects and program the FPGA on DE2 boards are: 1) Start Quartus II 2) Set up license, if it is required. 3) Create a new project by File | New, then select "New Quartus II Project". Or by File | New Project Wizard. If you have a project ready, then open it by File | Open Project. 4) Specify a working directory, a project name, and a name of the top-level design entry for the project. "the project must have a name, which is usually the same as the top level design entity..." NOTE: Please avoid saving the project on the desktop in the lab computers because the path to the working directory will contain spaces, and this will give troubles to Quartus to compile and to download the program to DE2. Save on your Z: drive, which is actually your file space on our department file server, or save in other folders instead. 5) For Family and Device Settings: The DE2 board belongs to "Cyclone II" family, the FPGA is called "EP2C35F672C6". 6) For EDA Tool Settings: leave it as default, if no third party tools will be used. 7) Add new files to the project by File | New, then select the the types of Design Files such as VHDL, AHDL, or Verilog HDL files. 8) Remember to set a project file as the Top-Level Entity file by right click the file name in the Project navigator window while the "Files" tab is selected, then select "Set as Top-Level Entity" in the context menu. The Top-Level Entity is the root of a project design hierarchy. it is like the main function in C program.
9) If the project needs to use the buttons, switches, LEDs or other actual components on the DE2 boards,
users need to complete pin assignment steps. A convenient way to use the actual components on DE2
boards is as follows:
In the project, use the signal names in the same way as specified in DE2 user manual. For example:
for the 18 toggle switches the signal names should be : SW[0], SW[1]....SW[17], then assign pins
by simply importing a pin assignment file, DE2_pin_assignments.csv ,
which is provided by Altera and can be found on the accompanied CDs. To import a pin assignment
file, click Assignment | import assignment, then select the .csv file.
10) Compile the project by Processing | Start Compilation, or by click the icon on the tool bar.
11) Prepare the hardware to download the program to DE2 board. This include: power on the DE2 board,
connect the USB/Blaster cable, and set the Run/Prog switch to the Run position.
12) Download the project to DE2 board by Tools | Programmer, or by click the icon on the Quartus tool
bar. Then in the Programmer window, click the Start button on the left side.
"Why doesn't the simulation of my D flip-flop/State Machine work?"
Make sure that you are doing a timing simulation, and not a functional simulation. Sequential circuits have feedback which rely on gate delay to work correctly. Timing simulation includes gate delays, but functional simulation treats the circuit as ideal gates with zero delays! "Differences between the tutorial in the book and software used in the lab."
- In the Assignments|Settings window, in the "Device" category, the "Assign Pins" button does not appear. This should not be a problem as you will likely be setting these later anyway. - Similarly, `Assignments | Assign Pins' has been renamed to `Assignments | Pins'. This dialog (called the `Assignment Editor' in Quartus II 5.0) is substantially different than as described in the text. To assign a pin using the `Assignment Editor' dialog, double-click the leftmost spreadsheet cell, under the column `To'. This cell contains the text `< >'. Double-clicking on this results in a dropdown list where you can select any of the pins declared in your project (you may have to compile it first). If you like you can also enter pin names manually. The second column, 'Location', provides a drop-down list (when you double-click on any cell in this column) where you can select the hardware pin you would like to assign to the pin name you've selected. Pin names or hardware pin numbers that have been already selected are shown in italics. Hardware pins that do not correspond to the type of pin you are assigning are not shown (if, for example you are assigning an input pin, output-only pins are hidden). Filters are available at the top of the dialog. By default it only shows pins but you can change the category if you like. To remove an entry in a cell, press delete with that cell highlighted. To remove an entire line, highlight a cell on that line, and press Ctrl+Del. - Viewing the package from the top in the floorplan editor opens up the `Pin Planner', which looks somewhat different in version 5.0. It adds the functionality to assign pins, just like in the `Assignment Editor'. The option previously named `View | Assignments | Show Fitter Placements' has been renamed as simply `View | Show Fitter Placements'. The option named `View | Assignments | Show User Assignments' is no longer available (However, note that user-assigned pins and fitter-placed pins show up as different colours in the floorplan, making them fairly easy to distinguish anyway). - In the `Pin Planner' you cannot simply drag + drop inputs or outputs from one pin to another. You can, however, double-click on any pin to open a dialog box that will allow you to assign a pin name to that particular hardware pin. Changes take effect after sucessfully running the Fitter. "How to power on the DE2 board?"
The red push button on the left side of the DE2 board is the power button.
"Which position shall the Run/Prog switch be set to program the FPGA?"
Set the Run/Prog switch, which is on the left side of the DE2 board, to the "Run" position to program FPGA on DE2 boards using Quartus II.
"Which port shall be used to download the program to DE2?"
Connect the USB/blaster cable to the BLASTER port, which is next the power supply port on the board, to download a configuration bit stream to FPGA, or program the FPGA. "What will be the signals or logic levels for the toggle switches on DE2 boards?"
For the 18 toggle switches: When a switch is in the DOWN position (closest to the edge of the board) it provides a low logic level (0 volts) to the FPGA, and when the switch is in the UP position it provides a high logic level (3.3 volts). "What will be the signals or logic levels for the push buttons or KEYs on DE2 boards?"
For the four push buttons: Each button provides a high logic level (3.3 volts) when it is not pressed, and provides a low logic level (0 volts) when depressed. "What kind of signal is required to turn the LEDs on or off?
For both the green and red LEDs on DE2 boards, driving the associated pin for a LED to high logic level turns the LED on, and driving the pin low turns it off. How to make the 7-Segment display light up?
For the eight the 7-segment displays, Applying a low logic level to a segment causes it to light up, applying a high logic level turns it off. Is there other good reading material for DE2/Quartus II beginners?
1. DE2 user manual: ftp://ftp.altera.com/up/pub/Webdocs/DE2_UserManual.pdf 2. Quartus II Introduction Using VHDL Design: ftp://ftp.altera.com/up/pub/Tutorials/DE2/Digital_Logic/tut_quartus_intro_vhdl.pdf 3. Other Quartus tutorial materials: ftp://ftp.altera.com/up/pub/Tutorials/DE2/Digital_Logic/