Insight / System Generator "Blinky" Tutorial

1. Start Matlab.
2. Create a directory to run this tutorial.
3. Copy the file blinky.mdl into this directory. Type "blinky" to load the design.
4. Double-click on the counter. Note that this is a 26-bit counter, which corresponds to a period of about 2/3 of a second at the Insight board's clock frequency of 100 MHz.
5. Double-click on the Slice block. Note that this taps the most significant bit. Then double-click on the Gateway-Out block. Note that this bit is mapped to pad C13, which corresponds to LED "DS7" on the Insight board (according to the schematic).
6. Double-click on the Slice1 block. Note that this taps the four least-significant bits. Then double-click on the Gateway-Out1 block. Note that these bits are mapped to pads C16, E13, H14, and H16, which correspond to pins 24, 26, 28, and 30 on the J12 connector on the Insight board.
7. Run the simulation and double-click on the scope.
8. Double-click on the System-Generator block. Set the target directory to a subdirectory of the current directory called "sysgen". Click "Generate".
9. Double-click on "blinky_blinker.ucf" in the "Sources" window to start the Silinx Constraints Editor. In the new window, click the "Ports" tab and set the location for the "clk" net to be B8. Then save and close the window.
10. Once complete, start the ISE 5.1i Project Navigator. Choose File -> Open Project, browse to the "sysgen" directory that you just created, and select "blinky_blinker.npl". Click "Open".
11. Select "blinky_blinker" in the "Sources" window. Then scroll down and doble-click "Generate Programming File" in the "Processes" window. This will generate the file "blinky_blinker.bit".
12. Once the programming file has been generated, you may go back and analyze various aspects of the design, as described in the previous tutorial:
    
    
    • Timing - The critical path delay is 3.944ns.
    • Area - This design uses 13 slices or 370 equivalent gates.
13. As described in the previous tutorial, start iMPACT and load the seven_seg.mcs dummy PROM file and the "blinky_blinker.bit" file you just created. Program the FPGA.
14. Note that the LED "DS7" is now blinking with a period of about 2/3 of a second.