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FPGA upgrade

A project log for Ping#

Beam-formed ultrasonic distance sensor

jlamJLAM 09/10/2017 at 07:130 Comments

After some unfortunate shorting of the ultrasound drive voltage into an input of the fpga, 12V into a 3.3V circuit, I had a reason to upgrade my EP2C5 to an EP2C8. I also did not happen to have a hot air gun at present and had to desolder a 144 pin package with a soldering iron and a lighter. I applied a generous amount of solder on to all the pins to act as a termal mass to prevent PCB damage from localized heating. The tuned the board upside down and heated the fpga with the lighter. After the solder melted a quick drop of the board onto the table released the fpga from the surface tension. A quick cleanup with solder wick and it was ready for the new chip. The upgrade essentially doubled the number of logic elements and memory. Not that it's needed.

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