[hpsdr] Simple Procedure for Quickly Updating Firmware on Mercury, Pennylane and Other HPSDR Boards

[Bob G Mahrenholz]

Phil,
Do you have to move any cards or change any jumpers when you do that?
Thanks,
Bob


-----Original Message-----
>From: Phil Harman <phil at pharman.org>
>Sent: Feb 12, 2012 10:39 PM
>To: Bob Mahrenholz <bobm at edge.net>
>Cc: hpsdr at lists.openhpsdr.org
>Subject: Re: [hpsdr] Simple Procedure for Quickly Updating Firmware on Mercury, Pennylane and Other HPSDR Boards
>
>Hi Bob,
>
>Thanks for sharing this. It's the process I use when developing code
>except that I do a JTAG load as its faster and then load into the EEPROM
>once the code is stable.
>
>There are alternatives to the Terasic USB Blaster available on eBay.
>
>I recently purchased one from Hong Kong for $12 including postage and it
>works just fine.
>
>73 Phil...VK6APH
>
>
>> ***** High Performance Software Defined Radio Discussion List *****
>>
>> The procedure describes a simple, fast method of updating the
>> firmware of cards installed in a
>> High Performance Software Defined Programming Radio (HPSDR). It
>> requires no removal or
>> moving of cards or installation of jumpers. It uses a Terasic
>> Technologies Blaster plugged into the
>> USB Port of a laptop or other Windows PC. The Blaster is simply
>> plugged into the programming
>> header connector on the board to be updated and a programming program
>> run on the PC.
>>
>> The Terasic USB Blaster Download Cable may be purchased from Terasic
>> Technologies
>> (http://www.terasic.com.tw/cgi-bin/page/archive.pl?Language=English&CategoryNo=&No=46
>> ) for
>> $50 U.S. plus $30 shipping or from Digi-Key as their Part No. P0302
>> for $75.00.
>>
>> The Windows PC must first be set up for programming the FPGAs  of the
>> HPSDR cards as
>> follows:
>>
>> Download a copy of the "USB-Blaster Download Cable User Guide (PDF)" from
>> www.Altera.com/download/drivers/dri-index.html. After reading the
>> manual, download and install
>> the Blaster driver as described on Page 1-3 of the manual. Driver
>> will be found in folder
>> C:\altera\11.1sp1\qprogrammer\drivers\.
>>
>> The necessary programming software for the PC is obtained from
>> Altera, the maker of the FPGAs
>> on the HPSDR cards. The software for programming using the Blaster
>> may be downloaded from
>> https://www.altera.com/download/software/prog-software. You want the
>> "Stand Alone Quartus II
>> Programmer (Free)".
>>
>> To set up the programming software on the PC, simply double click on
>> the downloaded program.
>> Then go to C:\altera\11.1sp1\qprogrammer\bin\ and right click on
>> "quartus_pgmw" to create a
>> shortcut. Minimize the page and drag the shortcut to the desktop.
>> Label it "Shortcut to quartus-pgmw".
>>
>> You are now ready to program FPGAs with the Blaster:
>>
>> To get started, we need to download the necessary .pof files from the
>> SVN into a known directory.
>> If a SVN download is used, the directory is C:\PennyMerge\
>>
>> Next, plug the Terasic Blaster cable into a USB port on the laptop.
>> Laptop should be powered up
>> showing the desktop.
>>
>> Double click on the Altera shortcut on the desktop set up above. A
>> "Programmer Window" should appear.
>>
>> In the Programmer Window, select the "Mode" of "Active Serial
>> Programming".
>>
>> Click the "Hardware Setup" button. "USB BLaster" should appear as a
>> line in the Hardware Setup
>> window that opens. Double click "USB-Blaster". This should put
>> "USB-Blaster" in the "Currently
>> Selected Hardware" window. Click "Close".
>>
>> In the main "Programmer Window" select "Add File" and navigate to the
>> folder that has the
>> Penelope.pof (or Mercury.pof) file in it. Single click on the desired
>> file and click "Open" on the
>> "Programmer Window". The Device column of the "Programmer Window"
>> should now show
>> "EPC84" for Pennylane or EPC16 for Mercury..
>>
>> Check the "Program/Configure" box on the "Programmer Window".
>>
>> Now, plug the Blaster cable into the programing header of the HPSDR
>> card whose firmware
>> you want to upgrade.
>>         For a Pennylane card, the cable is plugged into P2, a 10-pin
>> horizontal header at the upper left
>> corner of the board with the red stripe on the cable to the left.
>>         For a Mercury card, the cable is plugged into J4, a 10-pin
>> vertical header near the top rear
>> of the card with the red stripe on the cable turned up.
>>
>> Power up the Atlas bus.
>>
>> Click "Start" in the "Programmer Window".  Progress of the
>> programming process will be shown in
>> the "Progress Box" and completed steps will be listed in the bottom
>> portion of the "Programmer Window".
>>
>> When the "Progress Box" shows "Completed", you may power down the
>> Atlas bus and disconnect the
>> Blaster cable from the HPSDR card. You are now ready to go.
>>
>> Although I used a separate laptop PC for programming the cards, I
>> believe the HPSDR computer could
>> be used if it runs Windows XP.
>>
>> Thanks to Dan, N4XWE,  and Joe, K5SO, for helping me figure all this out.
>>
>> 73,
>> Bob, K4QQK
>>
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>
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