EBAZ4205 (Zynq-7000 based development board)

[CJay]

Damn you EEVBlog - I had promised myself that I wouldn't buy new toys in January. Now there are 5 boards on the way from China..   

I'm not sure what I'll do with them, just like the other 3 Zynq boards I have here already, but I really like the Zynq concept and I have a few ideas I'd like to try at some point in time.

*muwahahahaha* I've got another few on the way, they're too damn cheap and potentially useful for what you get.

[RoGeorge]

About using it for a photo frame, the FPGA part would be a waste in a project to display pics, thought.  Other non FPGA SBCs (Single Board Computer) can display photos even better.

Then, if it were to use the Zynq for A/V, there is a $20 Zynq 7010 with onboard SD card slot, USB, HDMI, sound (over HDMI), 1Gbit LAN and 512MB RAM, designed as a devboard.  No tinkering, resoldering or reverse engineer required.  Has proper software for either Linux or non Linux applications, and does not require a Xilinx programmer/debugger (Digilent compatible - not sure about the no programmer required yet, need to read the docs first).

This QMTECH Bajie Board, for an extra $5, looks more tempting to me than a $15 EBAZ2405 and no USB, only 100Mbit LAN and only 256MB RAM.  Or, maybe for yet another $5 extra get 2 EBAZ4205 boards for $25, but without SD card slot?  IDK, hard choice!   

Without video out, there is even a 3rd option, a former Antminer board with Zynq 7010, also with 1Gbit LAN and 512MB RAM.

Any of these 3 models of Zynq boards, all in $15-20 range, would be great for learning FPGA and/or Zynq.  Some of them will need a little bit of reverse engineering, and the more reverse engineer required, the more learning acquired.

But then I have a PlutoSDR for a few years now, which has a Zynq 7010 inside, and never bothered using it with Vivado.   

Either embedded Linux or FPGAs are not trivial to use in a project.  Unless the project has a particular need for any of these, then it would all turn into a waste of time caused by overengineering the whole thing, or at best into a learning exercise.

That might be the true reason for why the list of project examples here was so short.   

[langwadt]

About using it for a photo frame, the FPGA part would be a waste in a project to display pics, thought.  Other non FPGA SBCs (Single Board Computer) can display photos even better.

Then, if it were to use the Zynq for A/V, there is a $20 Zynq 7010 with onboard SD card slot, USB, HDMI, sound (over HDMI), 1Gbit LAN and 512MB RAM, designed as a devboard.  No tinkering, resoldering or reverse engineer required.  Has proper software for either Linux or non Linux applications, and does not require a Xilinx programmer/debugger (Digilent compatible - not sure about the no programmer required yet, need to read the docs first).

you do not need a programmer for a Zynq, the ARM boots off the SD card and the bootloader or a linux application can configure the programmable logic

[thinkfat]

Damn you EEVBlog - I had promised myself that I wouldn't buy new toys in January. Now there are 5 boards on the way from China..   

I'm not sure what I'll do with them, just like the other 3 Zynq boards I have here already, but I really like the Zynq concept and I have a few ideas I'd like to try at some point in time.

It's going to be a while until the current generation (Zynq UltraScale+) hits ebay. Those are massively interesting. I'd save up shelf space until then

[Bud]

About using it for a photo frame, the FPGA part would be a waste in a project to display pics, thought.  Other non FPGA SBCs (Single Board Computer) can display photos even better.

You did not get the pun 
The post was about a Do It Yourself picture frame project to make an actual wooden frame for the board to hang it on the wall. Home Depot ( a home improvement store in North America) was a hint 

[Khaveer]

Does anyone recognize what's the model of the connectors used on those boards?

[Neekeetos]

Does anyone recognize what's the model of the connectors used on those boards?

PHB 2.0mm 10x2 pins

[abyrvalg]

This QMTECH Bajie Board, for an extra $5

Could you please share a link? AliExpress sells those 7010 Bajie boards for $49.9

[RoGeorge]

Found it in 2 places, but they are in generic stores, you know, like Home Depot.   

$11.84 no HDMI, $15.55 w HDMI + another $5.11 shipping to Romania (EU).
https://www.homedepot.cn/item/1005001999656199.html

$12.41 no HDMI, $16.30 w HDMI + another $4.77 shipping to Romania (EU).
https://www.homedepot.cn/item/1005002006884404.html

Thought, there are zero orders so far.  Not sure if this is a fake listing, a liquidation sale, or maybe just a wrong listing.    

I didn't order mainly because I already have a Zynq 7010 in a PlutoSDR, a too long bucket list of projects, and no justification for yet another board to just sit unused in a box.  Already have too many unused parts bought because the price was too good.  They were cheap for the times, but overall payed good money and never used them.  Now, after years or decades later, all those are just electronic scrap cluttering the lab.

Anyway, if you buy one, please tell if all went OK.  Good luck with it!   

[langwadt]

Found it in 2 places, but they are in generic stores, you know, like Home Depot.   

$11.84 no HDMI, $15.55 w HDMI + another $5.11 shipping to Romania (EU).
https://www.homedepot.cn/item/1005001999656199.html

$12.41 no HDMI, $16.30 w HDMI + another $4.77 shipping to Romania (EU).
https://www.homedepot.cn/item/1005002006884404.html

Thought, there are zero orders so far.  Not sure if this is a fake listing, a liquidation sale, or maybe just a wrong listing.    

I didn't order mainly because I already have a Zynq 7010 in a PlutoSDR, a too long bucket list of projects, and no justification for yet another board to just sit unused in a box.  Already have too many unused parts bought because the price was too good.  They were cheap for the times, but overall payed good money and never used them.  Now, after years or decades later, all those are just electronic scrap cluttering the lab.

Anyway, if you buy one, please tell if all went OK.  Good luck with it!   

price on the official QMTech store is ~$50 + shipping so it sound a bit iffy

[ebclr]

"price on the official QMTech store is ~$50 + shipping so it sound a bit iffy"

I fired an order, let's see what happens

[thinkfat]

I've received the board yesterday. I installed D24 and powered it up and it draws about 50mA at 12V. Didn't get to connect a serial port yet, that will come next. Interestingly, the optocouplers are missing on my board and the bypass resistors are installed. Also, I'm missing the 25MHz crystal of the ethernet phy. But I guess the clock will come from somewhere else instead. Very excited to finally have the board on my desk.

[Dave]

If you're missing the 25 MHz crystal for the PHY, you will find that the resistor that connects the XTAL_IN to the PL is installed. You just need to configure the Zynq to output a 25 MHz clock on that pin.

[thinkfat]

I've received the board yesterday. I installed D24 and powered it up and it draws about 50mA at 12V. Didn't get to connect a serial port yet, that will come next. Interestingly, the optocouplers are missing on my board and the bypass resistors are installed. Also, I'm missing the 25MHz crystal of the ethernet phy. But I guess the clock will come from somewhere else instead. Very excited to finally have the board on my desk.

Nothing on the serial port at first and I was starting to worry, but then I realized that if I ordered a version with the SD card slot installed they'd also move the boot select resistor and that was indeed the case. I moved it back to the original position to boot from the NAND flash and it booted right up.

I disabled the miner program and the system now seems to be working fine.

[CJay]

Nothing on the serial port at first and I was starting to worry, but then I realized that if I ordered a version with the SD card slot installed they'd also move the boot select resistor and that was indeed the case. I moved it back to the original position to boot from the NAND flash and it booted right up.

I disabled the miner program and the system now seems to be working fine.

Exactly how mine was, that resistor is tiny, if I move it again I might have to dig out my SMD tools and put the Weller Iron to one side for a bit 

Interested to know the version numbers (not that it's very useful as is, I think it'd be better served by the SD card and a Linux customised for my needs rather than a mining rig)

[thinkfat]

Nothing on the serial port at first and I was starting to worry, but then I realized that if I ordered a version with the SD card slot installed they'd also move the boot select resistor and that was indeed the case. I moved it back to the original position to boot from the NAND flash and it booted right up.

I disabled the miner program and the system now seems to be working fine.

Exactly how mine was, that resistor is tiny, if I move it again I might have to dig out my SMD tools and put the Weller Iron to one side for a bit 

Interested to know the version numbers (not that it's very useful as is, I think it'd be better served by the SD card and a Linux customised for my needs rather than a mining rig)

I'll not move it again. I'm completely fine with it booting from NAND. I can always run a u-boot script to boot from SD card.
The resistor is 0402 size if I'm not mistaken. That's still doable with pliers (misery starts with 0201). Just the solder alloy they used is awful and the boards have a lot of thermal mass. Best to clean the pads and then use good old 60/40.

[CJay]

I'll not move it again. I'm completely fine with it booting from NAND. I can always run a u-boot script to boot from SD card.
The resistor is 0402 size if I'm not mistaken. That's still doable with pliers (misery starts with 0201). Just the solder alloy they used is awful and the boards have a lot of thermal mass. Best to clean the pads and then use good old 60/40.

Heh, yes, it is doable with tweezers.

I should have known it was possible to boot from SD even after.

[codebje]

I got a board with SD, UART, JTAG. Like others, the boot resistor has been moved for me - I'll move it back, I think. My 25MHz ETH crystal is also missing, with R1485 populated to provide a clock signal from the FPGA.

My board also doesn't have the optocouplers for J3 and J5 (U67-70), but the power paths are all there (except of course D24).

[thinkfat]

After I spent half of the day downloading the Vivado design suite, can anyone provide a pointer to a good template project to start from? Looking for something that involves Petalinux, no baremetal. Ideally, a template that configures PL suitable for running Petalinux and spits out the necessary bitstream to get the board peripherals going.

EDIT: meanwhile I found this: https://github.com/nightseas/ebit_z7010 looks quite promising. But I think it's missing the secret sauce to output 25MHz the U18 pin (XOUT.0 in the schematic) to make ethernet work. If anyone has an idea how to configure this...

[RoGeorge]

"price on the official QMTech store is ~$50 + shipping so it sound a bit iffy"

I fired an order, let's see what happens

Just curious, did they ship you that order already?  Does the order has a valid tracking number?

Asking because those links I found 10 days ago are now showing EBAZ4205 boards instead of the 3 times more expensive QMTECH Bajie Board. 

[thinkfat]

After I spent half of the day downloading the Vivado design suite, can anyone provide a pointer to a good template project to start from? Looking for something that involves Petalinux, no baremetal. Ideally, a template that configures PL suitable for running Petalinux and spits out the necessary bitstream to get the board peripherals going.

EDIT: meanwhile I found this: https://github.com/nightseas/ebit_z7010 looks quite promising. But I think it's missing the secret sauce to output 25MHz the U18 pin (XOUT.0 in the schematic) to make ethernet work. If anyone has an idea how to configure this...

Alright, here's what I found out so far:
What some people do with earlier versions of the board is using the 25MHz clock from the ethernet phy as PL clock (clk_pl). This is rather simple to do, just configure pin U18 to LVCMOS33 and connect it to the "clk_pl" signal, then the ethernet phy can drive the PL clk. However, as I don't have the 25MHz crystal installed, I think what I need to do is route one of the FCLKs to that pin.

[thinkfat]

If you're missing the 25 MHz crystal for the PHY, you will find that the resistor that connects the XTAL_IN to the PL is installed. You just need to configure the Zynq to output a 25 MHz clock on that pin.

I think I figured that out:
- In the block design, open the Zynq Processing System block and enable the FCLK_CLK1 configured to 25MHz
- Create an "External port", setting it to "output" and "clock", name it e.g. "enet0_phy_clk", then link it to the FCLK_CLK1 signal of the processing system
- In the constraints, I added the following lines:

Code: [Select]

set_property PACKAGE_PIN U18 [get_ports enet0_phy_clk]
set_property IOSTANDARD LVCMOS33 [get_ports enet0_phy_clk]
Now, what's not so nice is that the default PLL setup doesn't allow for a 25MHz clock from the IO PLL. It's actually 25.142859 MHz. I think the phy won't like that a lot.

[langwadt]

If you're missing the 25 MHz crystal for the PHY, you will find that the resistor that connects the XTAL_IN to the PL is installed. You just need to configure the Zynq to output a 25 MHz clock on that pin.

I think I figured that out:
- In the block design, open the Zynq Processing System block and enable the FCLK_CLK1 configured to 25MHz
- Create an "External port", setting it to "output" and "clock", name it e.g. "enet0_phy_clk", then link it to the FCLK_CLK1 signal of the processing system
- In the constraints, I added the following lines:

Code: [Select]

set_property PACKAGE_PIN U18 [get_ports enet0_phy_clk]
set_property IOSTANDARD LVCMOS33 [get_ports enet0_phy_clk]
Now, what's not so nice is that the default PLL setup doesn't allow for a 25MHz clock from the IO PLL. It's actually 25.142859 MHz. I think the phy won't like that a lot.

what are the PLL settings? generating 25MHz with a 33.333MHz input shouldn't be  problem

[thinkfat]

It looks like the problem is mainly Vivado itself. It doesn't quite cope with the fractional input frequency, you can input 33.333333 MHz as PS clock, but it will make all internal calculations without the fractional part (i.e. 33.0 MHz). That leads to incorrectly configured dividers for the PLLs.

Example:

With 6:2:1 clocking scheme, the IO PLL is given a 48 multiplier, which should be really close to 1.6GHz (1599.99998 MHz actually). But Vivado calculates the PLL clock to be 1584MHz (33MHz * 48).
The FCLK1 clock setting of 25MHz leads to a calculated divider of 63, which is 25.142857 MHz (calculated) vs. 25.396825 MHz (actual). That's even worse. The correct divider would be 64, which would lead to a frequency of 24.999999... MHz.

I wonder why? I found a Xilinx forum article about Vivado being sensitive to locale settings. That might be the case. I cannot believe such a bug would go otherwise unnoticed.

EDIT: Indeed, it was a locale problem. If I start it with LC_ALL="en_US.UTF-8" the calculations are all correct. So it didn't get the decimal point correctly and stopped parsing after "33.".

[langwadt]

It looks like the problem is mainly Vivado itself. It doesn't quite cope with the fractional input frequency, you can input 33.333333 MHz as PS clock, but it will make all internal calculations without the fractional part (i.e. 33.0 MHz). That leads to incorrectly configured dividers for the PLLs.

Example:

With 6:2:1 clocking scheme, the IO PLL is given a 48 multiplier, which should be really close to 1.6GHz (1599.99998 MHz actually). But Vivado calculates the PLL clock to be 1584MHz (33MHz * 48).
The FCLK1 clock setting of 25MHz leads to a calculated divider of 63, which is 25.142857 MHz (calculated) vs. 25.396825 MHz (actual). That's even worse. The correct divider would be 64, which would lead to a frequency of 24.999999... MHz.

I wonder why? I found a Xilinx forum article about Vivado being sensitive to locale settings. That might be the case. I cannot believe such a bug would go otherwise unnoticed.

point vs. comma    ?

with a 33.333333MHz input I get 30x for the IO pll = 1000MHz, and a /8 /5 to get a 25.0000MHz PL clock