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6400/6600 Series FPGA

Wayne
Wayne Member ✭✭
Does the 6400/6600 Flex Series use the Virtex-6 FPGA as does the 6500 and 6700 series?

Answers

  • Marc Lalonde
    Marc Lalonde Member ✭✭
    edited January 2018
    based on picture send on news letter ,i bet a 2$ on that ;-)

    and see no reason for change 
  • Wayne
    Wayne Member ✭✭
    edited June 2018
    Is there somewhere on this Flex Radio Site where I can view all the newsletters?
  • Marc Lalonde
    Marc Lalonde Member ✭✭
    edited August 2019
    it repost from time to time 

    but think that this the one you look 
    https://community.flexradio.com/flexradio/topics/flex-6400-m-flex-6600-m-update-dec-12-2017
  • Wayne
    Wayne Member ✭✭
    edited June 2018
    Thanks!
  • Jerry Gardner
    Jerry Gardner Member
    edited January 2018
    Wow! You must have eyesight like Superman if you can tell the FPGA used by looking at those pictures.
  • Marc Lalonde
    Marc Lalonde Member ✭✭
    edited January 2018
    no need to be able to read part number on it  ;-)

    package is Ruggedized Flip-Chip BGA  , very easy to see since it metal top and recess on 4 corner  , only chip that use that package is  Virtex-6  and the new 7 family (Kintex , Zynq  etc ) 

    problem is that new "7"  use the new Vivado  tool , that NOT backward compatible whit ISE  ,so this force to have and maintain 2 separate dev tool and code !!

    on other hand flex already have working code for the Virtex-6 to reuse  and also still need to update code for  old radio  ,put a couple of "IF DEF" into code and you  have only 1 code to handle  ,much less $$$$ 

    so i ready to put a 2$ bet on this ,but as my day job i work whit ton of PCB so yup whit time i got Falcon Eye for spot part  ;-)

    image
  • Jerry Gardner
    Jerry Gardner Member
    edited January 2018
    I'd still like to know the actual FPGA part number.

    It it were me, I'd run, not walk, to Vivado. ISE is primitive in comparison.
  • Wayne
    Wayne Member ✭✭
    edited January 2018
    the part number was alreadu given in the thread regarding the chip updates question related to the newest malware and flex suseptabolity.
  • Clay N9IO
    Clay N9IO Member ✭✭✭
    edited January 2018
    New chipset = new coding.
    Start from scratch, seriously???
    Current chipset working fabulously.
    Sorry Jerry I don't see the urgency.
  • Wayne
    Wayne Member ✭✭
    edited June 2018

    Xilinx XC6VLX75T is what I found, of course the one in the 6600M might be the next higher version

    Id bet $2 on that :-)

  • Marc Lalonde
    Marc Lalonde Member ✭✭
    edited January 2018
    6700  =  TMS320C6A8167 + XC6VLX130T
    6500 =   TMS320C6A8167 + XC6VLX75T
  • Jerry Gardner
    Jerry Gardner Member
    edited January 2018
    What are you talking about? Who said start from scratch? I assume the FPGA code is written in Verilog or VHDL. Porting it to a new FPGA family isn't that difficult, especially if the new family is from the same vendor--I've done it several times myself.

    I've ported designs originally done on Altera to Xilinx and vice versa. It's not rocket science.
  • Jerry Gardner
    Jerry Gardner Member
    edited January 2018
    What's the part number of the FPGA on the 6600?
  • KC2QMA_John
    KC2QMA_John Member ✭✭
    edited July 2018

    I wonder how much DSP headroom the FPGA’s in the 6000 radio have with the current ssdr software.

    Or I guess another way of asking is, Under full load with a current 6000 radio with every thing maxed out on the current software (WNB, NB, NR, 30fps, ect..) how much DSP is left in % ?

    I know this might be a bit tricky to figure out because of variance in operating conditions but just wanted to get an idea how much DSP horsepower is left for some of the cool things coming in future software enhancements.
  • Marc Lalonde
    Marc Lalonde Member ✭✭
    edited January 2018
    pick one of both above ;-)  ,only way to be sure it got a radio and see inside 
    personally i not planted to unglued the heatshink  or try to JTAG for have definitive answer   , on my side i prefer play whit the "Zynq" running some TARP code   he he ;-)
  • Marc Lalonde
    Marc Lalonde Member ✭✭
    edited July 2018
    usually FPGA is wired logic  ,so it not care about data load  ,every ting is here and fixed used or not
    cannot said for DSP  but it probably similar  ,let trust Flex for have room it need ;-) ,specially on new model

    and if it really need it ,wly not transfer bit more processing into PC side ? noting forbid that 

  • KC2QMA_John
    KC2QMA_John Member ✭✭
    edited January 2018
    "and if it really need it ,why not transfer bit more processing into PC side ? noting forbid that"

    So distributed processing is is still possible, That is good to know.

  • Tim - W4TME
    Tim - W4TME Administrator, FlexRadio Employee admin
    edited January 2018
    We are committed to a thin client / thin pipe architecture.  I do not foresee offloading DSP processing to an unknown variable (consumer PC running a desktop OS) which relinquishes control of the user experience.
  • Marc Lalonde
    Marc Lalonde Member ✭✭
    edited January 2018
    yup flex is the only thin client / thin pipe  , really big advantage for remote operation

    my SunSDR take near 10 time the band-whit for a single "slice"  and 96khz wide panadapter  ,really need unlimited internet for this one ;-)   may hit 32G / day  !!


  • KC2QMA_John
    KC2QMA_John Member ✭✭
    edited January 2018

    Any idea of how much DSP headroom is used or available currently in percentage?

    Is there any way to monitor DSP load? 

    I do not doubt that there is plenty of DSP available just trying to get a general idea.

  • Rich McCabe
    Rich McCabe Member ✭✭✭
    edited January 2018
    "I do not foresee offloading DSP processing to an unknown variable (consumer PC running a desktop OS)"  Yea, please don't.  The reason I finally jumped on the Flex bandwagon was because you don't do this.
  • KC2QMA_John
    KC2QMA_John Member ✭✭
    edited January 2018
    Yes I'm glad the 6000 radios have very powerful FPGA's but it's nice to know if a special situation came up where offloading some of the processing to a PC  would be necessary the architecture allows for this. That is just another thing that makes these radios great and “Flexible”.
  • Tim - W4TME
    Tim - W4TME Administrator, FlexRadio Employee admin
    edited January 2018
    John - I need to clearly set your expectation.  The current SmartSDR architecture does not allow for offloading DSP processing to the PC.  It is not designed to do this.

    It is the responsibility of engineering to write software in such a manner that the software features provided run on the existing radio resources.
  • KC2QMA_John
    KC2QMA_John Member ✭✭
    edited January 2018
    OK that's fine, I would rather have all the DSP in the radio anyway.

    My original questions were:

    Any idea of how much DSP headroom is used or available currently in percentage with ssdr 2.0 with everything maxed out (WNB, NB, NR, 30fps, ect..) how much DSP is left in % ?

    Is there any way to monitor DSP load via radio or SSDR?

    I do not doubt that there is plenty of DSP available just trying to get a general idea.

  • Tim - W4TME
    Tim - W4TME Administrator, FlexRadio Employee admin
    edited January 2018
    That is not a question that can be easily answered as a %. We continuously optimizing the DSP and FPGA and this happens during every release.  This is what we mean when we indicate there are "under the covers" changes and enhancements.
  • KC2QMA_John
    KC2QMA_John Member ✭✭
    edited January 2018
    Well anyway I can't wait to have my 6600M in the shack.

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