Glen,

Yes they do (have markings).  All of our ES parts are marked clearly as ES:

2V3000
ES

or

2V3000
CES

(CES is sometimes used interchangably with ES)

We generally use laser marking now on all of our components to make it 
more difficult for someone to clone the markings.

Why would anyone want to make a counterfeit FPGA?  So they can get your 
money before you discover the parts are empty.

Another really good reason to only buy from a qualified distributor.

Speaking of shoe boxes, in 1974, Gordon Moore came by UC Berkeley with a 
shoebox of 1702 EPROMs where only half of each one was good.  Sometimes 
universities get some pretty useful stuff, but mostly not.  We also had 
Western Electric #24 PNP germanium transistors donated by the old Bell 
system.....

Austin


glen herrmannsfeldt wrote:
> Austin Lesea wrote:
> 
> (snip)
> 
>> As soon as we have production, no one wants the ES anymore.  Sometimes 
>> we have to write off a lot of ES material as it can not be sold (or 
>> donate it to schools and universities -- see the Xilinx University 
>> Program online!  Do not email me for the parts!).
> 
> 
> I remember (from about 1977) someone with a whole box full of
> a popular Intel DRAM chip, maybe 16kbit, but without any markings
> on them at all.   I believe donated to the university, as you say.
> 
> Do your ES parts have labels on them?
> 
> -- glen
> 

Austin Lesea wrote:

(snip)

> As soon as we have production, no one wants the ES anymore.  Sometimes 
> we have to write off a lot of ES material as it can not be sold (or 
> donate it to schools and universities -- see the Xilinx University 
> Program online!  Do not email me for the parts!).

I remember (from about 1977) someone with a whole box full of
a popular Intel DRAM chip, maybe 16kbit, but without any markings
on them at all.   I believe donated to the university, as you say.

Do your ES parts have labels on them?

-- glen

"Jim Granville" <no.spam@designtools.co.nz> wrote in message
news:yj3Ec.5300$NA1.488617@news02.tsnz.net...

[ snip ]

>   Nice system.
> Can you refresh us, as it's not clear on the link above.
>   IIRC, PicoBlaze is free [Xilinx hosted understood :)],
> and MicroBlaze is $$ - correct ?
> -jg

Correct.  The PicoBlaze 8-bit embedded controller core is available at
no-charge.  The newest version for Spartan-3, Virtex-II, and Virtex-II Pro
includes a few new instructions and a 64-byte scratchpad RAM.  The core and
user guide are available via the following link.  Unfortunately, the Xilinx
site asks you to register before you can download the PicoBlaze VHDL source.

Xilinx PicoBlaze 8-bit Embedded Controller
http://www.xilinx.com/picoblaze

The 32-bit MicroBlaze RISC core is part of the Xilinx Embedded Development
Kit (EDK), which includes other development software and IP cores.
---------------------------------
Steven K. Knapp
Applications Manager, Xilinx Inc.
General Products Division
Spartan-3/II/IIE FPGAs
http://www.xilinx.com/spartan3
---------------------------------
Spartan-3:  Make it Your ASIC

"Symon" <symon_brewer@hotmail.com> wrote in message
news:2kbs45Fg2klU1@uni-berlin.de...

> What sort of JTAG download cable is included in that kit? I don't
recognise
> it.

The JTAG programming cable supplied with the kit is a Digilent JTAG3 cable.
In connects between the parallel port on a PC and the JTAG connector on the
board.  It is directly compatible with the Xilinx iMPACT software.

Digilent JTAG3 JTAG Cable
https://digilent.us/Sales/Product.cfm?Prod=JTAG3

---------------------------------
Steven K. Knapp
Applications Manager, Xilinx Inc.
General Products Division
Spartan-3/II/IIE FPGAs
http://www.xilinx.com/spartan3
---------------------------------
Spartan-3:  Make it Your ASIC

Jim,

Right you are.

Austin

Jim Granville wrote:

> Austin Lesea wrote:
> 
>> http://www.xilinx.com/products/spartan3/s3boards.htm
>>
>> is the $99 S3 starter kit (orderable over the web).
>>
>> Austin
>>
>> PS:  for anyone playing around with ancient FPGAs, give yourself a 
>> break, and just order the latest technology to play with.
> 
> 
>  Nice system.
> Can you refresh us, as it's not clear on the link above.
>  IIRC, PicoBlaze is free [Xilinx hosted understood :)],
> and MicroBlaze is $$ - correct ?
> -jg
> 

Symon,

Do not know.  I'll find out.

Austin

Symon wrote:
> Austin,
> What sort of JTAG download cable is included in that kit? I don't recognise
> it.
> Ta, Syms.
> 
> "Austin Lesea" <austin@xilinx.com> wrote in message
> news:cbq4cp$2kr4@cliff.xsj.xilinx.com...
> 
>>http://www.xilinx.com/products/spartan3/s3boards.htm
>>
>>is the $99 S3 starter kit (orderable over the web).
>>
>>Austin
>>
>>PS:  for anyone playing around with ancient FPGAs, give yourself a
>>break, and just order the latest technology to play with.
> 
> 
> 

Austin Lesea wrote:
> http://www.xilinx.com/products/spartan3/s3boards.htm
> 
> is the $99 S3 starter kit (orderable over the web).
> 
> Austin
> 
> PS:  for anyone playing around with ancient FPGAs, give yourself a 
> break, and just order the latest technology to play with.

  Nice system.
Can you refresh us, as it's not clear on the link above.
  IIRC, PicoBlaze is free [Xilinx hosted understood :)],
and MicroBlaze is $$ - correct ?
-jg

Austin,
What sort of JTAG download cable is included in that kit? I don't recognise
it.
Ta, Syms.

"Austin Lesea" <austin@xilinx.com> wrote in message
news:cbq4cp$2kr4@cliff.xsj.xilinx.com...
> http://www.xilinx.com/products/spartan3/s3boards.htm
>
> is the $99 S3 starter kit (orderable over the web).
>
> Austin
>
> PS:  for anyone playing around with ancient FPGAs, give yourself a
> break, and just order the latest technology to play with.

http://www.xilinx.com/products/spartan3/s3boards.htm

is the $99 S3 starter kit (orderable over the web).

Austin

PS:  for anyone playing around with ancient FPGAs, give yourself a 
break, and just order the latest technology to play with.

Rick,

---snip----

 > I asked for an update on the XC3S400-4FG456C and was told 12 weeks
> (that's three months, right?) or "open order entry" for the ES version. 
> They did not say they had had even the ES parts on the shelf.  Can you
> give me a heads up on who might have stock on this part?

Sorry, I suspect that S3 ES parts are available only through Xilinx, 
which means that we have stock, and are awaiting a disti order.  Only 
those disti's that want to (we can not force them) will buy ES material, 
as they do not want to be "stuck" with ES stock (as then they have to 
write it).

> Also, what exactly is the difference between the production and ES parts
> at this point?

Basically none.  After the first masks of the first family members, 
errata are fixed, and the second or third masks made are just awaiting 
the HTOL (high temperature operating life), ESD, and other reliability 
tests before they can be officially called production.  Same silicon, 
more paper pedigree.  Again, contact you disti and FAE for exact details 
on any specific part.  One good way is to request the errata sheet for 
the two parts.  If there is no errata sheet for a part, it has no 
problems, and that usually means it is the second mask made in the 
family, as the first one's errata are fixed (if any).

> I believe the 3S400 parts are claimed to be in
> "production" for many months now.  Where do the ES parts come from at
> this late stage? 

As soon as we have production, no one wants the ES anymore.  Sometimes 
we have to write off a lot of ES material as it can not be sold (or 
donate it to schools and universities -- see the Xilinx University 
Program online!  Do not email me for the parts!).