Opal Kelly Blog

Portland, OR – June 30, 2010 – Opal Kelly, a leading producer of powerful USB-based FPGA modules that provide essential device-to-computer interconnect, today announced the third result of its “Logic Analyzer in a Day” Challenge. Klaus Zietlow, an Opal Kelly Expert, designed his logic analyzer using the Opal Kelly XEM3005 and breakout board, the included Opal Kelly FrontPanel Software Development Kit (SDK), and National Instruments’ LabVIEW. Klaus’ entry is the third logic analyzer resulting from the challenge. All the logic analyzers created by Opal Kelly Experts are available, for free, on the Opal Kelly website.

The Opal Kelly Experts’ Design Challenge invited its team of design experts to create an exhibition-quality logic analyzer in just one day using the Opal Kelly FrontPanel software and Application Programming Interface (API) and an Opal Kelly XEM3001, XEM3005, or XEM3010 module with optional breakout boards. Except for the time limit, the only requirement on the project design was that the results be readily accessible on the Opal Kelly website, as free open-source code.

Opal Kelly Expert Klaus Zietlow runs a one-stop shop for electronics design using analog, digital or mixed signals. Klaus has a fully-equipped lab where he works on projects ranging from high-speed, high-precision analog, to FPGA embedded multiprocessor designs, to ultra low-power radios. Klaus’ logic analyzer design used National Instruments’ LabVIEW graphical programming environment; Opal Kelly XEM3005 module and breakout board; Opal Kelly FrontPanel API to program the PLL; and Opal Kelly DLL to make the USB calls. For more information, screen shots, or to download any of the three Experts’ logic analyzer designs, please visit: www.opalkelly.com/experts/logic, where you will also find information on the first Logic Analyzer Challenge result from Rainer Malzbender and the second Logic Analyzer Challenge result from Kevin Smith.

“To meet the timeframe of this challenge, I decided to use LabVIEW tools, with which I am very experienced, with the Opal Kelly modules. I built the logic analyzer around the Opal Kelly RAMTester example code, as a skeleton, which uses the Opal Kelly SDRAM,” said Klaus Zietlow, Opal Kelly Expert. “With my experience using Opal Kelly products, there was no need to start from scratch. I was able to do the design work professionally and quickly by reusing non-proprietary previous design work and my engineering know-how.”

“Klaus’ design was unique in that it used the SDRAM controller from our RAMTester sample to dramatically increase the acquisition memory of the logic analyzer. Klaus’ use of LabVIEW was also unique and shows a third approach to developing a logic analyzer, in just one day, based on Opal Kelly modules and FrontPanel SDK,” said Jake Janovetz, president of Opal Kelly. “Interestingly, the three Opal Kelly Experts used similar approaches for testing signals internally, but three very different approaches for generating graphical user interfaces. This ‘Logic Analyzer in a Day’ Challenge has showcased how easily Opal Kelly Experts can quickly produce prototype designs. It also has provided meaningful ‘getting-started’ code for other designers to freely use in their own projects.”

For more information about the Opal Kelly Experts Program, please visit: https://opalkelly.com/experts/.

About Opal Kelly

Opal Kelly, founded in 2004, offers a range of powerful, off-the-shelf, USB-based FPGA modules, including the easy-to-use Opal Kelly FrontPanel software interface and robust API. Opal Kelly products provide the essential device-to-computer interconnect for efficient and fast product prototyping, testing, development, and OEM integration. Development engineers, researchers, teachers and serious hobbyists, worldwide, use Opal Kelly modules for an efficient and economical interconnect solution that shortens development time, fills expertise gaps, and dramatically accelerates time to market. For more information, or to purchase Opal Kelly products, please visit www.opalkelly.com.

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