Tag Archives: breakout board

Building the AK5388 ADC breakout board

“Honey, the package you’ve been waiting for from Hong Kong is by your computer,” said my dear wife shortly after I got home from work on Friday. Even better, a few minutes later she suggested that I spend the evening … Continue reading

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AK5388 ADC breakout board update

For the last month or two, a breakout board for the AKM Semiconductor AK5388 analog-to-digital converter has been my main project. Here’s an update on where it stands. When I last posted about the board, I was waiting for parts … Continue reading

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PCB routing techniques for ADCs

PCB layout is fun, especially when you are trying to eke the best performance out of a component.  Last week, I finished the PCB layout for the AK5388 analog-to-digital converter (ADC) I chose for my digital ham radio transceiver project. … Continue reading

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PCB layout for the AK5388 ADC breakout board

I had some time to myself this weekend and was able to get the AK5388 breakout board routed. The board carries an AKM AK5388 audio DAC, which has 24-bit output and up to a 123 dB signal-to-noise ratio. My plan … Continue reading

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AK5388 audio ADC breakout board design

A few weeks ago, I picked the AKM Semiconductor AK5388 as the analog-to-digital converter for my receiver design. This high-performance audio DAC has a 24-bit output with up to 123 dB signal-to-noise ratio (A-weighted).  I hope that the narrower bandwidths … Continue reading

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Papilio One Xilinx FPGA breakout board

This week, I came across the Papilio One FPGA board. This intriguing board mounts a Xilinx Spartan 3E, in either the 250K or 500K gate flavor, along with power supplies and an on-board USB programmer.  It’s inexpensive, at $50 for … Continue reading

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The iambic keyer core is alive

With just a few tweaks, I brought up the “IambicV” iambic keyer core on one of my A3PN250 breakout boards. I was stunned when it made dits, dahs, and iambic dah-dits perfectly the first time out. Yes, I know that’s what a testbench is supposed to make possible, and yes, I’ve had it happen before, but I still always expect smoke the first time I turn something on.

I made a few changes from last week’s version. Continue reading

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Smoke testing the A3PN250 FPGA board

There comes a point in any project when one has to find out if it works, but first, there is the “smoke test”: Turn on the power and see if anything goes up in smoke. I smoke tested the A3PN250 … Continue reading

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Making progress on the A3PN250 FPGA breakout…

I’ve made lots of small steps on the A3PN250 FPGA breakout board the last two weeks. Firstly, I built an JTAG adapter cable to work around a wiring error on the PCB. When I laid out the board, I accidentally … Continue reading

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FPGA breakout board PCB errors

I’ve recovered from the busy last few months and that means I can spend a little more time at my workbench. The first of the A3PN250 (ProASIC3 nano) FPGA breakout boards is built. Here it is, in all its glory:

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