<tpb>
Title: GitHub - tinyfpga/TinyFPGA-Bootloader: An open source USB bootloader for FPGAs (at github.com)
<mattvenn_>
cool to see usb serial endpoint on the fpga itself
AlexDaniel has joined #yosys
<ZipCPU>
Yeah, I've seen it, and ... it's on my to do list for my tinyzip project to use it.
<ZipCPU>
I've dug into it a couple of times, but ... I'm not ready to say I truly understand it (yet).
<ZipCPU>
I managed to get past the physical layer in my understanding, but only just. The next layer had more options to be supported than I was expecting.
<mattvenn_>
I think I need to understand how the usb protocol works to establish endpoints.
<ZipCPU>
Exactly. I want a USB serial port, in addition to his protocol.
<mattvenn_>
Isn't it a serial port already? Thought that was the point of it
<ZipCPU>
:D
<ZipCPU>
Yes, no, sort of ... I mean, I want more of a traditional serial port capability, sort of like most FTDI chips provide
<ZipCPU>
USB on one end, serial on the other.
seldridge has joined #yosys
m_w_ has joined #yosys
m_w_ has quit [Client Quit]
m_w_ has joined #yosys
<awygle>
I have a similar intention, but I know next to nothing about usb, sadly
pie_ has joined #yosys
<ZipCPU>
That's what makes tinyfpga's boot loader all the more valuable.
afm__ has joined #yosys
afm__ has quit [Client Quit]
emeb has joined #yosys
GuzTech has quit [Quit: Leaving]
digshadow has quit [Ping timeout: 264 seconds]
pie_ has quit [Ping timeout: 268 seconds]
cemerick has joined #yosys
digshadow has joined #yosys
GuzTech has joined #yosys
nonlinear has joined #yosys
svenn has joined #yosys
dys has joined #yosys
seldridge has quit [Ping timeout: 256 seconds]
seldridge has joined #yosys
seldridge has quit [Ping timeout: 256 seconds]
sklv has joined #yosys
seldridge has joined #yosys
<shapr>
ZipCPU: weird question, when routing it loaded onto an FPGA does that make physical electrical connections?
<shapr>
I've often wanted to find a way to make a reconfigurable antenna, and being able to arbitrarily change the shape of the routing on an FPGA might work?
<ZipCPU>
You mean ... when loading a binary file onto an FPGA? Are physical electrical connections made internal to the FPGA?
<ZipCPU>
shapr: I've seen that proposed before, but never within an FPGA.
<ZipCPU>
But, the bottom line, is that physical connections are made.
<ZipCPU>
Not sure to what extent you could get an analog signal out of a digital device, though.
<shapr>
oh, good point
<shapr>
could I connect the routing wires to an out port on the FPGA?
<shapr>
or is that buffered or otherwise not a direct electrical connection?
<awygle>
shapr: this is Kind Of A Thing, But Not Really
<ZipCPU>
That's buffered.
<shapr>
awygle: oh? tell me more?
<awygle>
and less so in modern fpgas which mostly use unidirectional buffers
<awygle>
i've read three or four research papers about it
<sorear>
it's been done before, but it doesn't work the same way on two FPGAs
<awygle>
shapr: you'd also certainly be interested in Kymeta if you're not aware of them
* shapr
googles
<sorear>
fpgas are specced to have reproducable digitial properties, not analog properties
<ZipCPU>
If you want to create RF energy from the output pins of an FPGA, that's not very hard. Actually, it's harder not to.
<awygle>
they set up a standing wave in what's basically an LCD screen and switch the pixels to create aperture antennas (to first order)
<sorear>
I thought this was one of the case studies in _On the Origin of Circuits_ but no
<shapr>
that's exactly the kind of thing I've been wondering how to do
<shapr>
awygle: what are the titles or authors of those research papers?
<ZipCPU>
Gosh, and I just wanted to overload the FM radio's in the house .../
<awygle>
trying to find one... they basically all concluded "this is a bad idea"
<awygle>
so i didn't really save them
<shapr>
My first thought was whether I could use one of the MEMS mirror devices
cemerick has quit [Ping timeout: 264 seconds]
<shapr>
since they have extremely small mirrors that can each have their angle changed separately
<awygle>
that's done for free space optical communication (lasercomm)
<awygle>
sometimes
<shapr>
the mirrors are not electrically connected, so that won't work
<shapr>
and MEMS devices are much smaller than most antennas
<tpb>
Title: Kymeta to Develop Ka-Band CubeSat Antennas for NASA | ExecutiveBiz (at blog.executivebiz.com)
<shapr>
and while the research on fractal antennas showed that microscale features really do make a difference to how well an antenna functions, I still don't know how to make this workable