[amsat-bb] FPGA iCEBreaker Workshop - digital communications for amateur satellites

[Shane MacPhillamy]

Hi Michelle

I’m in VK, I’d love to have access to the materials, please, as they are published.

I’m unlikely to be able to make it to an in person event.

Cheers, Shane
VK3BJK

> On 4 Aug 2019, at 7:11 am, Michelle Thompson via AMSAT-BB <amsat-bb at amsat.org> wrote:
> 
> Greetings all!
> 
> Field Programmable Gate Arrays (FPGAs) are one of three fundamental types
> of digital architectures used for communications R&D.
> 
> The others are general purpose processors and graphical processing units
> (GPUs).
> 
> This fall, in San Diego, California, there will be an FPGA course sponsored
> by Open Research Institute. There are 10 spots with amateur space
> communications as the focus of the work.
> 
> FPGAs are a primary technology in modern satellite communications. They're
> used in R&D and in deployment.
> 
> It is difficult to get started with FPGA design for several reasons. The
> tools have traditionally been proprietary. The companies that make the
> tools price them for large corporations to buy. Coursework for FPGA design
> is rare.
> 
> This is where iCEBreaker makes a difference.
> 
> An iCEBreaker Workshop 10 pack has been made available, and arrived today.
> This kit is described at this link
> https://www.crowdsupply.com/1bitsquared/icebreaker-fpga
> 
> We (me and a few other local volunteers) will use this hardware to put on a
> course for anyone interested in amateur radio satellite and terrestrial
> development. All course materials will be published.
> 
> The first course will be in San Diego. If you're in the area, please get in
> touch! MakerPlace and CoLab are the likely sites.
> 
> Later workshops could be at places like Symposium, Xenia, or Hamcation. The
> full course cannot be accomplished in a day, but a workshop could get the
> basics across and provide a substantial boost to motivated amateur
> satellite engineering volunteers.
> 
> Let me know what you think!
> 
> more soon,
> -Michelle W5NYV
> _______________________________________________
> Sent via AMSAT-BB at amsat.org. AMSAT-NA makes this open forum available
> to all interested persons worldwide without requiring membership. Opinions expressed
> are solely those of the author, and do not reflect the official views of AMSAT-NA.
> Not an AMSAT-NA member? Join now to support the amateur satellite program!
> Subscription settings: https://www.amsat.org/mailman/listinfo/amsat-bb