Digilent X-Board User Manual

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Revision: January 2, 2007 215 E Main Suite D | Pullman, WA 99163

www.digilentinc.com

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Overview

The X-Board is a complete circuit development
platform for Xilinx’s CoolRunner

TM

-II CPLD. It
provides all essential support circuits for the
CoolRunner-II, so users can focus on creating
and downloading new designs. An on-board
USB2 port supplies power to the board and
provides a data port for CPLD configuration as
well as user data transfers.

More than 75 CPLD signals are routed to
expansion connectors so designs can easily be
extended. Thirty-two signals are routed to 6-pin
connectors that can accommodate Digilent’s
Pmod I/O modules – Pmods are small, low-cost
accessory boards offering circuits like A/D and
D/A converters, various I/O ports, and high­current outputs for motor drivers, etc.

X-Board features include:

Power Supplies

USB2 Port

Silicon Oscillator

(1000/100/10KHz)

• A 256 macrocell CoolRunner-II CPLD
in a TQ-144 package

• An on-board USB2 port for JTAG
programming and user-data transfers

3V3

USB

3V3

I/O

Current

Meter

1V8

JTAG

USER DATA

• An on-board 16-bit A/D converter to
measure real-time CPLD current during

Xilinx CoolRunner2 XC2C256-TQ144

board operation (data is sent to the PC
for display via the USB cable)

• An user-settable silicon oscillator
(1000/100/10 KHz), plus pads for a
second crystal oscillator

• 12 LEDs and two pushbuttons for
on-board I/O

12 LEDs

2 buttons

40

J9 (26 pin)

J10 (16 pin)

J12 (6 pin)

General Purpose

Connectors

J1

For A/D & D/A converters,

32

J2 J3 J4

J5 J6 J7 J8

6-pin connectors

motor drivers, etc.

Functional Description

The X-Board provides an inexpensive, robust, and easy-to-use platform that anyone can use to gain
experience with the latest CPLD devices and modern design methods. It is centered on the
CoolRunner-II CPLD, and it contains all needed support circuits so designs can get up and running
quickly. The X-Board is an ideal introductory platform for experimenting with new designs or learning
about CPLDs and CAD tools. The large collection of expansion connectors allow designs to grow
beyond the X-Board, either with user-designed boards or breadboards and/or peripheral module
(Pmod) boards offered by Digilent.

®

6 pages Doc: 502-107

© 2007 Digilent, Inc. All rights reserved. DIGILENT and the Digilent logo are trademarks of Digilent, Inc. XILINX, and the Xilinx and

CoolRunner-II logos are trademarks of Xilinx. Other product and company names mentioned may be trademarks of their respective owners.

X-Board Reference Manual

Digilent

www.digilentinc.com

Software Installation

We recommend installing the Digilent Adept software prior to connecting the board to the PC. This
allows the drivers to be installed that will allow Windows XP to recognize the device. At this time
Windows is the only supported operating system for the Adept software. You may use other operating
systems with the board, but you will not have the ability to use the real-time power and current
features offered in the X-Meter tool.

Upon opening your package, you can easily test the board for basic functionality by performing the
following tasks:

1. Insert the Resource CD and install the Adept software.

2. Attach the USB connector to a computer and the X-board. Two amber LEDs adjacent to the
USB mini connector on the X-board should light to show that power is reaching the board.

3. Connect the Switch module to port J8.

4. Connect the PS/2 module to port J7. Connect a PS/2 keyboard if you have one.

5. Connect the seven segment display module to ports J3/J4.

6. Press BTN0 to reset the design in the CPLD.

7. Toggle SW4 on the switch module to change the display from a counter to the
keyboard scan code.

8. Follow the Windows prompts to install the drivers.

9. Press the ‘Start’ button to begin viewing the power consumption for the device.

In order to program the CPLD, the ISE WebPACK software must also be installed.

1. Insert the WebPACK CD and run the install program.

2. Re-boot the PC.

3. Ensure that the X-Board is connected to the PC.

4. Start the ExPort program from Start Æ Programs Æ Digilent Æ Adept Æ ExPort

5. Set SW1 to PROG on the X-Board.

6. Press the ‘Initialize Chain’ button in ExPort, and the device will be auto-detected. If it does not,
jump to the Troubleshooting section of this guide.

7. Press the Browse button and navigate to the desired JED file. (The demonstration Jedec file is
present on the Resource CD)

8. Right-click on the CPLD image, and select ‘Program Device’ to program the CPLD with the
selected Jedec file (Erase will happen automatically, and does not need to be performed in
advance of programming).

Configuration

The CPLD on the X-Board must be configured (or programmed) by the user before it will perform any
functions. Configuration files can be created from schematics or HDL source files using the free ISE
WebPACK software from Xilinx. Configuration files can be transferred to the X-Board using a USB
cable and Digilent’s Adept ExPort software, or using a programming cable (not provided) and Xilinx’s
iMPACT software. Once configured, the CPLD will retain its state indefinitely.

When the X-Board is powered on, the most recently loaded CPLD configuration will be available
immediately. A new configuration can be loaded at any time, and as soon as a new configuration is
loaded, it will define the CPLD’s behavior.

Copyright Digilent, Inc. Page 2/6 Doc: 502-107