For your reference, this circuit simulates a set of traffic lights that cycle through a sequence of Red, Red+Amber, Green, Amber, as illustrated in the first example of Simon Moore's ECAD lecture notes.
This will open an editor window in which you can view (and edit!) the verilog file.
If it doesn't, check that the title bar of the MAX+Plus
window indicates the right project nameit should be the same as the path to
tlights.v, without the .v
extensionfor example z:\arm\w1\tlights\tlights
. If it isn't, you didn't do step 1 above right.
Otherwise, you may not have downloaded the tlights.acf file, which is where the assignments
should come from. Close the Assign | Device... dialogue box and start
again.
When you assign pins in the future, you'll need to make sure you've assigned the right sort of device beforehand.
We can now compile the project. Open the Compiler by choosing
MAX+Plus II | Compiler, or clicking on the
shortcut button, which looks like this: . Switch off the slightly unstable Quartus Fitter by selecting Processing | Fitter Settings and unchecking Use Quartus Fitter for FLEX 10K and ACEX 1K Devices. Then click on Start.
Once the Quartus Fitter option has been set for a project it does not need to be set again. A quicker way to start a compilation is to choose File | Project | Save & Compile,
or click on its shortcut button, which looks like this: .
The software should now compile the design. It may bring up a messages window to complain about the fact we have made pin assignments. You can ignore this.
In compiling, it will generate many files, of which some are useful, and some aren't! At present we are interested in tlights.sof, which is the object file used to program the FLEX chip.
In the case there are three boards. The one on the left is the Altera board, which we are using for this week's task; the one on the right is the ARM board, and the board underneath links them together and provides a power supply.
The Altera board has two Programmable Logic Devices; the rearmost one is the one we shall be using, and is called the FLEX; its programmable element is an SRAM, meaning it must be reprogrammed whenever it is first turned on.
The frontmost device is the much less powerful MAX. Its programmable element is an EEPROM, meaning it retains its configuration even when powered off. It has been programmed to protect the ARM when both boards are being used, since it would otherwise be possible to short out the ARM's pins. All signals between the FLEX and the ARM pass first through a resistor, and then the MAX. If the MAX detects that a short has occurred, it turns off all its outputs and displays "Er" (for error) in the LED segments. There is also a switch to separate the two boards: it is the very first switch, on the right of the board. It should be switched up for this lab, to separate the boards. Check this is the case.
The board is programmed via an interface called JTAG. This is very flexible, but we shall only be using it to program the FLEX chip. Check that the jumpers are set correctly for this: from the back, they should be to the left, left, right and right.
The data for the JTAG interface comes down the ribbon cable going to the connector on the back of the box. This short bit of cable is called the ByteBlaster, and it converts parallel data from the computer into the JTAG format. Of course, both the parallel cable and the power cable have to be connected to your computer before anything will work!
At last we can program the chip. This is done as follows:
Having done this, play around a little on your own. Ensure that you can connect up the pushbuttons and displays in any way you desire, and that you know how to display numerical values on the LEDs. Build a counter, maybe a backwards counter, whatever. Above all, enjoy the fun!that's the most effective way to learn at a deep level.
Next, we'll investigate the use of the simulator, and some of the difficulties associated with using it.
First open the Waveform Editor, using MAX+plus II | Waveform Editor. This produces a blank .scf (simulator control file), which is where we enter the waveforms for the inputs to the simulation, and specify the outputs we wish to monitor.
First of all you need a clock input. To create this, select Node | Enter Nodes from SNF... (the SNF is a file created during compilation - it stands for Simulator Netlist File). Ensure that Inputs is ticked (since we wish to find an input), and that Node/Group contains "*". Click on List. This will produce a list of nodes and groups of the given types and matching the given name ("*" matches anything). We want "ck", so select this from the list and click => to transfer it to the list of nodes to be added to the .scf. The dialogue box should now look like this:
Finally, click on OK. This will add a waveform for the
clock input, but it is assigned a logic zero by default. Reselect the
waveform by clicking on it in the Name or Value
columns. The blue icons on the toolbar on the far left allow you to
assign a value to the selected bit of waveform. We want the clock
button, which looks like this: .
In the resulting dialogue box, enter a Clock period of 40ns and a multiplier of 1, before clicking OK. If the period field is greyed out, turn off Options | Snap to Grid
Go back to the Enter Nodes form SNF dialogue box (note that you can also open this from the menu produced by right-clicking in the Waveform Editor Window); in a similar way to before, add "|clockdiv:clockdivA|counter", "leds10", "leds13" and "leds16" to the SCF (some of these are outputs, and some groups, so you must turn on these options in the dialogue box to find them). The waveform window should now look similar to this (except for the fact that we say leds1 instead of ledsA):
Now save the Waveform file as tlights.scf. Open the
simulator by clicking this button: . Click on Start to start the
simulation - this will update the waveform window to show what has
happened. Note that the counter counts correctly, but the LED outputs
are stuck at 1.
Note that you can click on the waveforms - this should give a vertical blue bar (if you get a small black section, the editor thought you were dragging to make a selection - try again, being careful to click quickly and keep the mouse still.) The Value column gives the values of the signals at the blue bar. You can move the bar between events using the arrow keys or the arrows next to the Ref box.
You will notice that the LED outputs are stuck at 1 in the simulation. Why is that? How can you modify the Verilog so that you can exercise the traffic light sequencer?
W1-Q1: Why were the LEDs stuck at 1 in the simulation, and what was your fix?
Having done that, note that the supplied code is not synchronous: it derives a 'slow clock' signal and (yecchhh) uses it to clock the flip-flops of the traffic lights state machine. You know this is wrong. Fix it.
W1-Q2: What did you do to turn the traffic lights into a synchronous circuit?
Now we'll take the Verilog one stage further. In this project, you should end up with dual working electronic dice; however, it is up to you exactly what form the system will take.
You should aim for a working project that produces two random numbers, each between 1 and 6, each time a button is pressed. You may want to blank the display while the button is being pressed, but that is not necessary. The usual approach to this is to implement a counter which is clocked faster than the eye can see. While the button is pressed, the counter counts, and when the button is released, the current value of the counter is frozen, and appears on the display. As long as the counter is clocked at a sufficiently high speed, the effect should be that of randomness.
Before we begin, we need to set up the FLEX chip. Download the file dice.acf - this contains many useful settings, like pin assignments. Make a new directory called "w1/dice/", and place this file inside.
To start a new project, load the Max+PLUS II software, and select the menu option File | New. In the dialog box, select Text Editor File. You should be presented with an empty editor window. Use and edit this template for any Verilog file you write. Enter the following skeleton for the top level module (the inputs and outputs mirror the definitions in the .acf file):
module dice(ck, button1, led1, led0); input ck; input button1; output [7:0] led1, led0; endmodule
You will also need the hextoleds.v file. Download this into your project directory. It provides a module with the following signature:
module hexToLeds(byte, led1, led0);where 'byte' is an 8-bit input, and led1 and led0 are the bottom 7 bits of the outputs to the digit displays.
Undoubtedly, you will want to write a module that counts from 1 to 6. It should take two inputs: the clock, and an input telling it whether to advance or not. Combining these into one input is generally not safe practice: it is not a good idea to gate a clock, as it causes problems with propagation. The module should output a binary value on a three or four-bit data bus. (As a module designer, why would you choose one over the other? Can you see the merits of both choices?)
You can output this counter to bits 0-2 or 0-3 of the hextoleds. You can assign the remaining bits of the hextoleds input to zero.
Save all your code in a file called "dice.v" in the new w1/dice/ directory. Your top-level module must have the same name as the filename (without the ".v"). Compile, download, and run the program.
To obtain additional debugging from the synthesis tool turn on the Design Doctor by opening a compiler window and then use Processing | Design Doctor. Under Processing | Design Doctor Settings... select the FLEX Rules option.
How good a random-number generator do you think this is?
W1-Q3: Is there any need to debounce the push button switches in your design? Why? Can you describe a design in which the opposite answer would be more appropriate?
Submit your mini-report before 11:00 on Thursday according to the usual rules.
You must supply a full source listing for the electronic dice, but not for the traffic lights, hextoleds or anything else.
Be sure to include the answers to the three questions in a comment at the end of your source.
Please don't leave submission to the last moment: expect queues for the demonstrators' attention during the last hour. If you haven't submitted by 11:00 on Thursday, your next chance is on Monday, but with a penalty of 3 marks per weekday (i.e. 6 marks). Worth avoiding.