The old Sundance FAQ section - All of it

From SundanceWiki
Jump to navigation Jump to search

Listed below are the answers to a few of the more popular questions and queires that Sundance has received.

If there you have a question about something that isn't listed below, or anywhere else on this site please email us using the contact details found on our main website.


Is there a document that details the Sundance technical support policy?

Yes. It can be found by following this link.


What do I need to do to return a product to Sundance for service or repair?

Before returning a product for service and repair, please contact our support engineers to obtain a Return Material Authorisation (RMA) number and to obtain the RMA form that needs to be completed and returned with the product. The easiest way of doing this is via the support forum.

Please report to your dedicated support forum the following information: module type, serial number, name and address of the person returning the product and a description of the problem experienced.

Carefully package the product in its original antistatic material, if it is still available, and ship it prepaid to our RMA department. Show the RMA number on the outside of the package and include a written description of the malfunction.

Out-of-warranty work will be charged on a material and service time basis, and Sundance will be happy to quote you a cost estimate before proceeding with the repair.

Sundance.CHM Help File Doesn't Display Correctly

When you download the Sundance Help File "Sundance.chm" directly from the web site, your Windows XP computer may refuse to show you the contents, saying instead "Action Canceled", and there is no clear explanation as to why.

If you see the sort of error, just save the file to your hard disk, then right-click it and click the "Unblock" button and thereafter it should open normally.

This would appear to have been caused by a recent security update applied via Windows Updates, which is why it's suddenly started happening only now.

If this still doesn't work, try copying the file to your desktop, and repeat above if necessary

SMT6001 hangs when I try to use it.

To avoid the issue of SMT6001 hanging at the RESETING DSP MODULE stage, you should first open TI CCS 3.x, connect the target and then open SMT6001.


When I run SmtFpu (the flash programmer from 6001), the program launches, starts detecting TIMs (with the icon under that message moving around), but the program does not go further; it stays forever "detecting TIM". What is wrong?

TI changed the way the debugger connects to the target DSP. There is no way for us to, via software, connect to the dsp. So all you need to do to make it work, is to start CCS before trying to run the 6001. Make sure the DSP is connected, and simply leave CCS running for the duration of the programming.

Can I move the TIMs from slots #1 and #2 to #3 and #4 and still run our application?

This really all depends upon what comport configuration you are using, and whether the new TIM placement would use the same Comports.

Do you also use the Comport to the host (PC etc) to download your applications (i.e. running 3L Diamond)? You have to know that the host connection is hard-wired to TIM site 1 of most of our carrier boards.

You can use FMS cables to connect comport 3 of site 1 to another site if it is required.

Can I plug my DSP module on the first TIM site of my carrier board?

You can add into the first TIM site of the carrier board every DSP module implementing the Global Bus in the firmware. If the module that you use doesn't implement the Global Bus interface in its FPGA (such like the first version of the SMT319), you can leave the first TIM site of your carrier board empty and add the module in the second TIM site for instance. Then, you have to use a comport connection to link the Host comport to the second TIM site. To make it you have to connect the T1C3 to T2C3 (in the case the module is plugged into the TIM site 2) respecting the silver/blue side of the cable.

Is it possible to use different TI DSPs in the same JTAG Daisy-chain with SMT6001?

SMT6001 uses the JTAG chain for the DSPs. If there are different DSPs in the system the daisy-chain is broken because C64xx, C67xx, use different drivers. But, you are still able to use SMT6001 without modifying your system if you do different setup in the CCS manager. In the configuration of the DSP chain, you have to BYPASS the processors which are not supported by the drivers. Refer to the help file of TI CCS setup manager tools section "Using Bypass in Your Configuration". For instance, the number of bits to bypass are 8 for C620x/670x, 46 for C671x/621x and, 38 for the C64xx.

Why won't my 3L Diamond example run?

I've made a very simple 3L diamond application to test my hardware / software, but for some reason it will not run.

The error message is telling me that the wrong sort of TIM has been found.

Make sure you have rebuilt the examples for the TIM type you have. The TIM type is specified in the .cfg file.

What are the minimum requirements for a PC to run Sundance Systems?

1. Hardware requirements

1.1 133MHz Pentium with 32MB of RAM Users will obviously experience better responsiveness from a faster PC than the minimum, particularly with the more recent operating systems. Indeed, Windows XP requires at least a 233MHz Pentium and 64MB RAM. See http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/evaluation/sysreqs.asp for details. However, for the purposes of the Sundance software itself, a machine fitting the description above will suffice.

1.2 3.3v supply present on PCI bus. Note: The 3.3V supply is optional in the 5V version of the PCI bus, so motherboard manufacturers are not obliged to provide this supply, though most do. As a result, some motherboards do not implement a 3.3v supply on 5v PCI sockets, and Sundance PCI TIM carriers cannot operate on these motherboards.

1.3 Physical Space Due to the size of TIMs and the need to fit them as densely as possible, some PCI TIM carriers (e.g. the SMT310Q http://www.sundance.com/web/files/productpage.asp?STRFilter=SMT310Q) are over-sized compared to the PCI specification. They need at least 125mm clearance above the PC motherboard to fit inside the case with the lid closed. The PC's lid should be closed when in use to allow its cooling airflow to operate properly.

2. Operating environment Either Windows 98SE, Windows ME, Windows NT4 SP6, Windows 2000, Windows XP Home or Windows XP Pro. Note: Windows 3.x, Windows 95 and Windows 98 (first edition) are not supported although they may work. Sundance recommends an NT-based operating system for better stability and real-time performance, i.e. Windows NT SP6, Windows 2000 or Windows XP Home / Pro.

Hard disk space required depends on the software installed and the options selected. As a guide: Host software requires up to 50MB. SMT6500 FPGA board installation requires up to 100MB. SMT6600 ADC/DAC board installation requires up to 100MB.


Additional Information Sundance supplies a range of high quality purpose-designed PCs, available in desktop and portable configurations, which meet all the requirements of our hardware and software. If ordered with other Sundance products, they are shipped with the hardware and software fully installed and tested, avoiding the risk of wasted time due to incompatibilities or mis-configured software. For details go here, or contact sundance.

I just ran Code Composer Studio, but now after closing it, I can't seem to get my TIM to do anything. Why?

This is usual. When you open CCS the DSP is put in a halted state. Unless you select "run free" before exiting CCS, the DSP is effectively "halted". so nothing will run on it. not even the boot loader. So make sure you say "run free" before you quit CCS.

Failing that, you can reset the board using the SMT6300 utility.

In the documentation of Diamond I found that the TimerRate function returns the number of clock per second and is usually 1000. In our case (we use a 1 GHz DSP board) wich is the value of this function? Is possible to set it to 1.000.000 ? For example setting CLOCK in my configuration file. In other words i need a timer with 1 microsecond precision...how i can obtain such a value?

The timer functions in Diamond are used to control not only the user- visible timers, but also the timeslicing mechanism. Decreasing the clock period increases the processor overhead associated with all of these functions.

There are two things you can do if you really do want the clock to tick faster.

The safest is to program the second C6000 timer (TIMER 1) to generate a tick that is separate from the kernel's clock (TIMER 0). There is an example of this in: \\target\\c6000\\Sundance\\examples\\interrupts\\attachfn\\EventSet If you have installed Diamond to the default place, this will be:

C:\\3L\\Diamond\\target\\c6000\\Sundance\\examples\\interrupts\\attachfn\\EventSet

If all you want to do is time a section of code, you can simplify this even further and start TIMER 1 with an infinite period and with interrupts inhibited. To time your code, read the timer's counter before the code, and read it again after. The difference gives a value that, when divided by the TIMER 0 period, will give you the timer in milliseconds, but to the maximum resolution possible on the C6000. If the code sequence takes longer than a 32-bit counter, you will be forced to use interrupts to count timer reloads, although the overhead of that would make nonsense of the resulting time.

The more risky approach, which I strongly suggest you avoid, would be to change the period of TIMER 0. The PERIOD register will be set by Diamond to give a 1ms tick. If you want, say, a 100us tick, you would stop the timer, divide this value by 10, and then restart the timer. Note that timer_rate() is NOT changed by this procedure; it will still return 1000.

When I try to run my compiled application the Diamond Server shows the error: Root processor is the wrong type. SMT395_VP30 was expected but SMT395_VP20 was found.

The TIM type declared in the configuration file (.cfg) is incorrect. In this case the hardware in the system is a SMT395_VP20. It is similar for other DSP modules. If you open the configuration file (.cfg), you can see the declaration of the processor: Code: processor root SMT395_VP30

You have to replace the type of the module by the module that you use: processor root SMT395_VP20

If it is written: processor root default

You have to open : C:\\3L\\Diamond\\bin\\ProcType.exe and to change the default processor by the one you use.

I've tried to recompile the example for smt8101 as described. Everytime I just keep getting the following error when running the make file: >> 3l___tmp.cmd, line 9: error: can't find input file 'rts6201.lib'

The solution is either to switch to V3.0.1 or to edit the file:

C:\\3L\\Diamond\\bin\\c6000\\Sundance\\command.dat and replace "rts6201" with "rts6200" throughout.

Where have the line numbers gone in CCS V3?

TI seems to have made a silent change in CCS V3 to the way the compiler generates line number information. This results in object files that the configurer interprets as having no line number information.

The behaviour that Diamond is expecting can be restored by using the compiler switch --symdebug:coff

For example: c6xc hello.c --symdebug:coff

Errors with Code Composer Studio?

Typing a CCS-related question or error message in the search box of the TI DSP Knowledge Base here: http://focus.ti.com/dsp/docs/dspknowledgebase.tsp?sectionId=3&tabId=412 should provide you with useful answers about your request.

It's better to type the error messages exactly as they appear onscreen.

The Sundance wizard does support TI CCS 3.0. But, you may want to configure CCS manually. Here's how

1/ Open Code Composer Studio Setup From the Board name and Data file TAB

2/ Add a Board/Simulator type to your system according to the type of the DSP in your system (tixds6000.dvr for TMS320C620x, TMS320C670x, TMS320C621x, TMS320C671x or tixds6400_11.dvr for TMS320C64xx). If these drivers are not available from the menu, you have to install a device driver from "..\\\\CCStudio\\\\Drivers" folder.

3/ Select "auto generate board data file with extra configuration file".

4/ Select the configuration file for the series SMT310s (from the SMT6012 folder ..\\\\Program Files\\\\Sundance\\\\SMT6012): SMT310on20.cfg if you have a "Master JTAG chain" system such as a SMT310Q or SMT310off20.cfg if you have a "Slave JTAG chain" system such as a SMT401 connected to a SMT310 by using the JTAG buffered cable (SMT501). From the Board properties TAB

5/ Write the correct address for the PCI I/O port for your carrier board. You can use the SMT6300 Board Info Utility to obtain it. From the Processor configuration TAB

6/ Add the number of processor including in your DSP chain (i.e. in your Sundance's system) that you have in your system according to their DSP type.

Now, TI CCS is properly set up. You can save your configuration and open TI Code Composer Studio.

How do I configure Version 3.1 Platinium edition of Code Composer manually?

1/ Open Code Composer Studio Setup (setup CCStudio v3.1) You can select the features of the processor used: family, platform and endianness in the top roll bars menu located in the middle frame of the main window. Most of the Sundance's boards use the C6000 DSP types. The families for these types of DSP are: - C62xx - C64xx - C67xx Then, the platform to be used is the xds510 emulator. The Endianness doesn't need to be changed (All, it means BIG and LITTLE endian are supported). You can select these parameters to limit the number of drivers available according to your DSP system.

2/ From the middle frame window named Available factory boards You may choose and drag to the left frame window under the My System architecture one of these board types: - C620x XDS510 emulator - C621x XDS510 emulator - C64xx XDS510 emulator - C670x XDS510 emulator - C671x XDS510 emulator

3/ Select the board type and display its properties (right click on the name)

4/ From the Connection name and Data file TAB of the new popup windows displayed: - Rename the Connection name with the Sundance's board type (i.e. SMT310Q, SMT310... and add an index in case you have more than one carrier board in your system). - Select Auto-generate board data file with extra configuration file - Browse the Configuration file and Select the configuration file for the series SMT310s (from the SMT6012 folder ..\\Program Files\\Sundance\\SMT6012): SMT310on20.cfg if you have a "Master JTAG chain" system such as a SMT310Q or SMT310off20.cfg if you have a "Slave JTAG chain" system such as a two carriers connected together by using the JTAG buffered cable (SMT501).

5/ From the Board properties TAB - Write the correct address for the PCI I/O port for your carrier board. You can use the SMT6300 Board Info Utility to obtain it.

Note that CCS configures by default a system with one DSP only. If you have more than one processor in your system follow the step 6; otherwise you can skip to the step 7.

6/ From the System Configuration (left frame) - Remove the default processor CPU_1 added by default - Add the number of processor including in your DSP chain (i.e. in your Sundance's system) that you have in your system according to their DSP type (Add Multiple - # of Devices from the bottom of the middle frame of the main window).

7/ Save and Exit Now, TI CCS is properly set up. You can save your configuration and open TI Code Composer Studio. Note that the emulator does not connect to the DSP target by default when CCS opens. You can connect the emulator to the DSP from the menu DEBUG->Connect the target. You also can connect the target automatically when a CCS control window is opened if you tick the option in the menu OPTIONS>Customize.


When I try to compile some code in CCS I get the following error. Why do I get it?

c6xslink HscDsp ConfigFPGA_sa.lib >> error: illegal relocation type 050002 found in section .debug_info, file ConfigFPGA_sa.lib config /a HscDsp.cfg ..\\Output\\HscDsp.app ERROR: cannot open task image file HscDsp.tsk for task HscDsp PROCESSING ABANDONED NMAKE : fatal error U1077: 'config' : return code '0x1' Stop.

The library used has been compiled with a TI compiler version which is different from yours. Typically, the TI compiler of CCS v2.2x generates this error message when you use a library compiled with the TI compiler of CCS v3.0.

Where can I get the latest version of the Sundance Software Wizard?

Download the latest version of the Sundance wizard:

http://support.sundance.com/updates/Wizard/setup.exe

Or

http://support.sundance.com/updates/Wizard/setup.zip

We downloaded the latest versions of Sundance Wizard, SMT6001 and SMT6300; but when we run the Sundance Wizard we can't complete the process. After the first step (the installation of SMT6300), when we push the button "Next", it appears an error message: "Class not registered" and we can't continue with the process. Which is the problem? How can we solve it?

The solution is to install a full version TI Code Composer Studio (version 3.0 or later) first, and then run the Sundance wizard.

When I used the Sundance wizard, I clicked the detect button for automatic detection of my hardware modules. But not all of my TIMs were detected. I think that both SMT374 & SMT370 had to be detected. Why is this?

The Sundance help file (Sundance.chm): "Installation & Configuration->The Sundance wizard->Using the Sundance wizard->Declaring the hardware modules" explains that only DSP type TIMs are detected by autodetect. It also details the cases where autodetect might not function. If the autodetect does not work, you can still specify your TIMs by adding them manually.

The "Wizard" cannot setup Code Composer. When running the Sundance Wizard, it fails to find the the Code Composer drivers when Automatic mode is selected. For some obscure reason, Code Composer sometimes fails to run a batch file that sets up environment variables during the installation. The wizard uses these environment settings to determine where the driver files are stored.

Either:

When the message dialog box is displayed from the wizard, select the "yes" option and browse the Code Composer directory to find the driver files.

or


Try again, but use the manual rather than automatic setup routine.

Where can I find the latest drivers for the SMT107?

Please download the current drivers for Texas Instruments Code Composer Studio from the following link: ftp://ftp2.sundance.com/Pub/Support_Files/Support/f=33/Drivers_SMT107.zip The user manual is provided from the Sundance website.

I recently purchased a carrier from you, and could not find the 12-Volt supply that was supposed to be in the package. How soon can one be sent?

The SMT118 carrier board NEEDS 12-Volt power supply input. It means that you have to provide +12V in the input power connector of the stand-alone carrier board from a DC-power supply. The SMT118 does not have a supply unit. Any bench-supply will do!

What protocol does SMT123 use for optical communications? Does it use standard Fibre Channel protocols FC-0, FC-1 and FC-2 or proprietary Sundance protocol?

It uses a simpler proprietary protocol developed by Sundance.

A proper core for FC-x protocols is available for us to buy, but it's enormously expensive.

Can I connect optical link from SMT123 to the standard Fibre Cannel adapter in my PC (for example Emulex or QLogic) and get data transmitted by my oun hardware via SMT123 SHB?

No, not at the moment because the protocol is not supported.


Can I add some functionality to the SMT123's FPGA? To do this I need Sundance's source code for FPGA in SMT123. How and where can I get this code?

Yes, there is space left in the SMT123's FPGA. The code used in the SMT123 is created by and held by Sundance. It would be available under NDA.

How can I boot a DSP TIM mounted on an SMT180 via an external comport cable attached to an SMT310 inside a PC?

You just need to move the DSP TIM to the TIM Site 1 of the SMT180 allowing use of an "input" comport.

The Sundance Wizard has told me that my SMT310Q has out of date CPLD code. How do I update it?

The SMT310Q' series carrier board are populated with two Xilinx CPLDs (XC95144XL and XC95288XL) that act as an on-board arbitration unit that control which device has access to the Local Bus resources. These devices are very important on the carrier board, and it is necessary to keep these devices up-to-date.

From time to time, Sundance might issue a CPLD update. The Sundance wizard will alert you when you need to update your CPLD. You have one of two choices.

1. Contact Sundance, and arrange for the CPLD update to be performed. 2. Perform the update yourself.

To update the firmware, Xilinx JTAG programming software is required together with a lead to connect to the SMT310Q header.

For information on the pinout / location of the SMT310Q programming header, please see the SMT310Q product manual.


There are 4 things that you require to update the CPLDs on a SMT310Q: 1. The Xilinx IMPACT tool. If you do not have IMPACT, you need to download the software package from Xilinx called Xilinx Webpack ( http://www.xilinx.com/ise/logic_design_prod/webpack.htm ). It is free and it includes the Xilinx IMPACT tool that will allow you to reprogram the CPLDs on the SMT310Q carrier board. 2. The JTAG programming cable named the Xilinx Parallel Cable IV ( http://www.xilinx.com/bvdocs/publications/ds097.pdf ) 3. The adaptor to connect the Parallel Cable IV to the header J21 of the SMT310Q. 4. The files needed for the update can be downloaded here: ftp://ftp2.sundance.com/Pub/Support_Files/310Q/EPLD/EPLD_SMT310Q.zip

CPLDs updating To access the CPLDs you need both the Xilinx Parallel Programming cable IV, and the Xilinx ISE version 6.3 or later. Note: The earlier versions of IMPACT do not support the type of CPLDs on-board the SMT310Q.

After the JTAG cable has been connected the user should run the IMPACT tool. Once the connection has been detected and setup IMPACT will show that there are two different CPLDs.

The CPLD code that you have downloaded is included in the package you download from Sundance. You can check the CPLD versions in the file ReadMe.txt that accompany this package.

The first CPLD (XC95144XL) in the JTAG chain needs to be loaded with the file named "pciarb.jed". For the second CPLD (XC95288XL) the user will want to load the file "comm.jed".

Important: After the CPLDs have been programmed, you have to run the SetCpld.exe utility contained in the package. This utility is run from a command line, and will change the CPLD version number stored on the carrier board. This version information is used by the Sundance wizard and other Sundance software to know the features of the carrier board.

At this point you should reboot the PC and run the SMTBoardInfo utility tool (SMT6300). Place a Sundance DSP module on the first TIM site of the carrier board and run the confidence test, which is part of SMTBoardInfo program. If this test passes, the CPLDs update has been successful.

If you do encounter any difficulties, please report them to the Sundance Support Team via the Support Forum.

How do I set the clock multiplexer to route the external sampling clock to the ADCs? I see the "freq_clk_sel_adc_AB" and "freq_clk_sel_adc_CD" signals. Do I set them to "11" to route the external sampling clock to the ADCs, or "00", or some combination?

'1' means external and '0' means internal (i.e. from on-board clock synthesizer). Bit 0 is either A or C and bit 1 is either B or D.

I would advise to keep both bits to the same value, i.e. either "00" for internal clock or "11" for external clock, so both ADCs within a pair receive the same sampling frequency.

Can I get a firmware for the SMT365 that uses the 16bit SHB rather than that 32bit?

The SMT6001 version 5.01 provides a new implementation of the firmware for the SMT365. This model of the firmware for the new implementation is described in the SMT6500 help file: http://www.sundance.com/docs/SMT6500.chm

The new implementation of the Sundance's firmware implements the 2x 32-bit SDB interfaces only for both FPGA Virtex-II 1000 and 2000.

Some of our customers need to get the previous implementation of the firmware for their system. It exists three "old" firmwares: - One for the SMT365 VII1000: it implements 2x 32-bit SDB interfaces (SMT365_v1000_32) - Two for the SMT365 VII2000: one implements 2x 32-bit SDB interfaces (SMT365_v2000_32) and the second one implements 4x 16-bit SDB interfaces (SMT365_v2000_16) You may download these files from this link: ftp://ftp2.sundance.com/Pub/Support_Files/Support/f=299/OldFw_SMT365.zip The zip archive contains the user manual that supports the "old" firmware. Note: The SMT6001 version 5.01 and later supports the loading of .dat files into the Flash ROM.

I saw that a 50 MHz oscillator is connected to the FPGA on the SMT370. Does that mean that the system clock of the FPGA is 50 MHz?

The 50MHz crystal is indeed used to clock the internal logic in the FPGA, for Comports and serial interfaces.

The FPGA is able to read data from the ZBTRAM and send them to the DAC with a frequency of 160 MHz. Am I right?

The ZBTRAM memory uses the DAC sampling frequency. It varies from 30 to 160 MHz.


Are the SHBs on the SMT370 normal?

The SHB interface implemented in the SMT370 a simplified version of the standard. - SHBA is output only and SHBB is input only, it therefore takes the incoming SHB clock. SHBA uses the ADC sampling clock to avoid internal synchronisation problems. It therefore varies from 30 to 105 MHz and remains compatible with Sundance SHB interface implemented in DSP modules. - There is internal FIFO to re-synchronise incoming SHBB data to the DAC sampling clock (1:2 buffer sends the clock to the DAC and to the FPGA so both are synchronised). See Figure 14 - Clock Routing in current User Manual (http://www.sundance.com/docs/SMT370%20User%20Manual.pdf ).


How do I know the firmware version implemented in the FPGA of the SMT370?

The SMT370 displays on the LEDs a code after a reset and when the registers are still not configured. This code represents the firmware version implemented in the FPGA. The current version of the FPGA firmware displays the following

Led0 | Led1 | Led2 | Led3 OFF OFF ON ON Previous

I purchased two SMT506-BNC cables to feed analog signals to the inputs of the ADCs of SMT370 as you recommended. Since the inputs of the ADCs of SMT370 are male type, we need a female type MMBX connector. However, the MMBX connector of the cable we purchased is a male type. Shold we purchase a MMBX male-to-female adaptor or is there a MMBX(female type)-BNC cable available?

You did purchase the correct part number for the MMBX-BNC cable: SMT506-BNC.

I think that you have on the SMT370 module the analogue PCB connector. This connector has to be removed very carefully because of the 4 little adaptor bits from the connector. If you remove these 4 little adaptor bits (with a small pliers/tweezers if needed), you should be able to connect the SMT506-BNC cable.

SMT6012 on laptop or not?

The SMT6012 provides the Code Composer Studio drivers for the Sundance carrier boards.

There is no need to install the 6012, because you can not use the Sundance carrier boards with a laptop.

SMT350 Sampling Frequencies. What sampling frequencies can be generated using the on-board VCXO ?

The VCXO can generate the following frequencies:

245.76MHz, 122.88 MHz, 81.92 MHz, 61.44 MHz, 40.96 MHz, 30.72 MHz, 15.36 MHz. Note that the 245.76MHz is for the DAC Clk2 only.

SMT384 Sampling Frequencies. What sampling frequencies can be generated using the on-board VCXO?

The VCXO can generate the following frequencies:

122.88 MHz, 81.92 MHz, 61.44 MHz, 40.96 MHz, 30.72 MHz, 15.36 MHz.

The SMT310Q in my system can no longer be found. When I run the SMT6300 (Board info) program the SMT310Q can't be seen anymore.

It seems like the program in the EEPROM of the SMT310Q has been corrupted somehow. What you need to do to fix your problem is to reprogram the EEPROM of your carrier board.

For information about how to do this please contact Sundance via the support forum.

This is a rare situation, but is quite easy to remedy, but more information about your system is required.


What the standard name of PCI supported by the SMT145?

The SMT145 has a 64-bit interface vs the 32-bit on the SMT310, SMT310Q, etc.

SMT145 has and a better hardware implementation, using a FPGA as a Bridge chip. The Bridge uses the Serial Links (RSL) to do the a fast transfers to the host PC.

The default is 33MHz and that offers in the region of 275Mbytes/sec to the Host PC; it has the factory option of using a 66MHz slot as well and the sustained speed is well above 550Mbytes/sec. The Bridge FPGA will even support 100MHz.

These options are, however, not supported with the current SMT6025/SMT6026 Drivers.

Any PC-Host with a PCI-X support above and we have tested it with a number of PC Motherboards.

Can I easily use the Ethernet port on the SMT148-FX? What is the software support provided?

The SMT6058 offers ready-to-use TCP/IP library to communicate with the board (to send or receive data).

If you simply require a 10/100/1000 Ethernet link, the SMT6058 will provide you with a TCP/IP library to access the board. You would have high-level software functions available on the Host PC to send or retrieve data over the ethernet connection.

If you need to optimize the SMT6058 to adapt some part of the current design or to add DMA engines to improve speed transfer, the project will be based on Xilinx EDK/Platform Studio and invoke the embedded PowerPC processor core.

The Ethernet link is accessible from a RJ45 socket like in most of the networking applications.

See: http://www.sundance.com/web/files/productpage.asp?STRFilter=SMT6058

Is the free Xilinx ISE webpack provided by Xilinx usable with this SDR-2 kit?

No, it isn't.

The Xilinx webpack supports only small FPGA devices.

It is required to use the Xilinx ISE Foundation software to access the SDR-2 Virtex-4 FX60 FPGA devices.

What software for SDR-2 kit is available under MATLAB?

There are full support from: SMT6040, SMT6041, PARS and even MATLAB/Simulink Real Time Workshop, Simulink HDL-coder and Xilinx System Generator that are fully compatible with the 3L Diamond tools.

Other design approaches are available like "C-to-FPGA" compilers like Impulse-C.

How can I use BPSK modulation signals with the SMT349 RF front-end?

BPSK signal bandwidth is at least twice the data rate, i.e. 10Mbps is at least 20MHz bandwidth.

The SMT349 filters bandwidth are 16MHz and they were designed to meet 802.11 bandwidth (6Mbps in BPSK).

The SMT349 RF front-end is adapted to measure BPSK signals <10Mbps.

Retrieved from ‘http://wiki.sundance.com/index.php?title=The_old_Sundance_FAQ_section_-_All_of_it&oldid=5’