LinuxCNC-RIO - RealtimeIO for LinuxCNC based on FPGA (ICE40 / ECP5)

tommylight wrote:

cornholio wrote:

To get a licence you need to register with Xilinx now AMD.
I hate that, i have several ST micros dumped because i refuse to register just to get the damn software for stuff i have already payed, and i sure as hell will not be buying them anymore, i have gone full Mesa and ESP32!
 

The webpack tools are free and they don't send a lot of (if any) emails, so I figure that's ok. The only thing is the licence is hardware locked, via a mac address to a single computer. The tools give you everything to build the mesa firmware, so it works for me.

New "daughter board design".

SPI connector now matches the W5500 blue boards with the yellow connector, so a short length of 10 way ribbon cable should make the connection easy. Too much effort to design for the smaller Wiznet module.

EPP connector has 5v routed via pin 26, easier to add an "option" board.

Other 26 pin connector has the option to to have 5v volts on pin 26 regardless of the jumper setting for pins 18-25, these are selectable for either 5v or GND. Some breakout boards can be powered via pin 26 on their ribbon cable connectors.

Cut outs added so as to no interfere with JTAG connector on OMDAZZ Spartan6 dev board. Should still be compatible when using mesa firmware. The top side 50 way male connector is replaced with a 50 way female connector on the underside to allow mounting to an unmodified dev board.

 

rthorntn wrote:

Just to reinforce how messed up this is, the MESA shipping costs for one board to Australia, what an absolute joke: 

RIP you cool, clean, compact, integrated Mecanix board.

In other news, has anyone seen these Analog Crosspoint Switch Array ICs, thinking out loud if they could be useful...AD75019 is pricey but two MT8816 gets you to 16x16 for a lot less money, I ordered four PDIP MT8816 because I couldn't help myself?

Thinking out loud some more (it's what I'm best at, not so great at doing lol) is some kind of generic "slot" based expansion system the way to go, an FPGA backplane board with something like DIMM or MiniPCI slots for IO...jumper wires and ribbon cables be gone!

Yeah that's about the same logistic damage I'm going to be hit with, I'm right next door to you. More or less a thou for some decade old hard & soft ware loool!! Gotta abide by the residence's shilled hardware my friend At least we received the heads up from RIO's core dev about the portability anticipation and future for those, and so it appears to be the way to go. That's the message and impression I've received anyway.  

haha yeah rip that modern integrated solution, was a nice effort. Those 7$ worth pcbs will do great paper cutting rulers. Great loss/not

rthorntn wrote:

RIP you cool, clean, compact, integrated Mecanix board.
 

I'll put it up OSS on the domestic cnc hangout here along with gerbers. These local boyz hacks shit up beyond belief, and so I wouldn't be entirely surprised at all we see it appearing on their amazon and ebay stores for $9.99 the following week. Keep you in the loop if I spot anything... never know. 

In the past I've used a shipping forwarder, might add a little extra time but does save a some money on postage.

I've mentioned in the past that 'rolling your own" can cost a pretty close to a genuine product. Probably more if you are unable or unwilling to look into the project. TBH I enjoy this side of the cnc world, especially ATM cos I really can't do much in the workshop. Younger me thought I could be human excavator for all my life, apparently the body had other ideas. hahahaha

cornholio wrote:

In the past I've used a shipping forwarder, might add a little extra time but does save a some money on postage.
 

Pointless doing this for a few circuit boards. Insist it is sent by Fedex or DHL. Let them sort out the customs for you. Worst you can do is pay an extra 5% tarriff into .AU

Things like this coming from Sea I always use my freight forwarder as there are a lot of opportunities to get ripped off.
 

 

rodw wrote:

cornholio wrote:

In the past I've used a shipping forwarder, might add a little extra time but does save a some money on postage.
 
Pointless doing this for a few circuit boards. Insist it is sent by Fedex or DHL. Let them sort out the customs for you. Worst you can do is pay an extra 5% tarriff into .AU

Things like this coming from Sea I always use my freight forwarder as there are a lot of opportunities to get ripped off.
 

 

True that. Pointless to cut corners for such important hardware, priceless!! I've just sold my nissan and ordered 6 six boards 12 daughter boards and all the mandatory ribbons cabling etc. And remember you need to order X2 (a.k.a. spares), it would be devastating to have a month-long machine/production downtime shall a board decide to have a bad day!!

Well rod if I can save $20 or so dollars to me it’s worth it. I’ve never had any issues with the company I’ve used. Very professional, very pleased with their service.

cornholio wrote:

Well rod if I can save $20 or so dollars to me it’s worth it. I’ve never had any issues with the company I’ve used. Very professional, very pleased with their service.

 

Be clever and see it on the positive side, I'm barely able to find those QFP144 parts locally, rare af, extinct specie, only supplier near me wants triple price for it. That to say; if you keep them an extra 24 months or so they'll fetch hundreds of dollar. Contact your Technology Museum or Antiques and/or Collectibles agent in 2026, he'll unload them off ya for a good price

Investment. See!!

I give up, I just can't understand the point your trying to make.

Have fun guys.