Cmod A7 Out of Box Demo

Overview

Description

This simple User Demo project is a Microblaze project that tests the SRAM on the Cmod A7 and features the basic I/O on the device.

  • The SRAM is tested and the results can be seen through the UART port.
  • The RGB LED cycles through different colors while BTN1 is pressed.
  • The User LEDs display a 2 bit binary counter while BTN1 is pressed.

Features Used

Not Used Used
2 user LEDs X
1 tri-color LED X
2 User Push Buttons X
48 GPIO Pins X
1 Pmod port X
Pins for XADC signals X
USB-UART Bridge X
512 kB SRAM X

Prerequisites

Hardware

  • Cmod A7 FPGA board
  • Micro-USB cable

Software

  • Vivado Design Suite 2016.4
    • Newer or older versions can be used, but the procedure may vary
    • Xilinx SDK 2016.4 must be included in the installation
  • Digilent Board Support Files for Vivado

Downloads

Cmod A7 15T OOB Project Repository – ZIP Archive GIT Repo

Cmod A7 35T OOB Project Repository – ZIP Archive GIT Repo

Download and Launch the Cmod A7 Out of Box Demo

1) Follow the Using Digilent Github Demo Projects Tutorial. Since this is a Vivado SDK Project, you can either directly launch SDK and import the hardware handoff, or you can generate a bitstream in Vivado before launching SDK. Select the hardware handoff options in the tutorial if you don't want to modify the project block design later. Return to this guide when prompted to check for additional hardware requirements and setup.

Important

Make sure that between the 15T and 35T versions of the project, you download the version that applies to your Cmod A7.

2) In order to fully use the demo, you will need to connect a serial terminal to your Cmod A7. Plug your board into your computer with a Micro USB cable and make sure it has power. Then open a serial terminal (such as TeraTerm) on your computer. In the terminal application setup the serial port to connect to the appropriate port for your board, with a baud rate of 9600. Then return to the Github Projects Tutorial to finish programming and running the demo.

Using the Cmod A7 Out of Box Demo

1. Observing the LEDs

For this demo, every time BTN1 is pressed, the LED state changes. The user LEDs create a 2 bit binary counter that increments every time the button is pressed. The RGB LED changes color every time the button is pressed.

2. UART Messages

Whenever the demo is started from Vivado SDK, the board will go through a memory test and will print out the result. If the memory is working, the following message will appear.

Whenever a button is pressed, the message “Button Pressed” is sent over UART.

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