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Electronics => Electronics => Topic started by: sseb4 on March 10, 2008, 11:57:34 PM

Title: DAC to use with altera DE1 board
Post by: sseb4 on March 10, 2008, 11:57:34 PM

hey guys, i have to build a 'universal radiation detector simulator' to be used with a synchrotron for my thesis. Yep im in over my head. But i need to find Digital to analogue convertor that are fairly good and easily accessable to buy. Im calling on your experience here, it should have a fairly low voltage.
CHeers

Title: Re: DAC to use with altera DE1 board
Post by: paulstreats on March 11, 2008, 02:52:48 AM

Any company like maxim and microchip sell them

Title: Re: DAC to use with altera DE1 board
Post by: sseb4 on March 12, 2008, 05:49:24 PM

OK here is the next thing. The DAC has to run at around 500Mhz to be efficent to the system, But the FPGA will run at a speed significantly lower than this(eg approx 250Mhz ALtera cyclone 2 etc), my supervisor has said that there is a method of multiplexing the signals to the DAC so some how the whole arrangement works correctly. Is this true? Has any1 done this or have any information on it?
cheers

Title: Re: DAC to use with altera DE1 board
Post by: Admin on March 15, 2008, 06:27:48 PM

Quote

The DAC has to run at around 500Mhz

aye caramba!

So . . . what signals are you receiving to multiplex? Does your signal require 500MHz to get a correct reading? Or do you mean that it needs a 500MHz processor to be processed?

It sounds like he wants your FPGA to process individual chunks of the whole signal, so that it can basically do parallel processing.

Title: Re: DAC to use with altera DE1 board
Post by: sseb4 on March 17, 2008, 05:04:35 PM

Quote

It sounds like he wants your FPGA to process individual chunks of the whole signal, so that it can basically do parallel processing.

Yeah he would like us to use a 500Mhz DAC to put the signal out, but he would like us to use a lower class of fpga with a lower clock (eg 250Mhz etc) speed beacuse money is a constraint(Altera's Stratix fpga's are expensive). The signal will be generated by the FPGA and sent to the DAC, we are hoping to develop a board in the next two months. The signal to the DAC is used somehow to show the spectrum but we are not really bothered with that. 'Admin' Do you have any information on how this could be done/developed, any links to sites etc? Thanks a million

Title: Re: DAC to use with altera DE1 board
Post by: Admin on March 23, 2008, 08:26:46 AM

Hmmmm I still don't understand what you are trying to do . . .

But anyway, google around for maybe a FPGA help forum, or directly email the company tech support for the FPGA you are using. Engineers should be more than willing to help you.