Hardware

Currently in the laboratory we have two ROACH1 and two ROACH2 for digital development. The current status of the ROACHs is detailed in the table below. For a quick look to the hardware characteristics check this CASPER link.

Other hardware you should know about:

Valon 5007 Synthesizer: used by all ROACHs to set the sampling clock of the ADCs
USB-A to USB-B cable: to configure ROACH PowerPC system
USB to USB-mini cable: to program the Valon 5007 in ROACH1

Boards Info

What to do when your ROACH arrive

ROACH2

The ROACH2 comes with all the necessary firmware to start developing out of the box. There are just a few things you need to setup to have a complete working system:

Set a static IP

In order to communicate with the ROACH2 over the net you must first set up a static IP for the PowerPC OS:

Connect the ROACH2 to a computer using an USB-B cable. Plug it to the FTDI USB port
Install a serial communication program (e.g. minicom)
Run minicom
Make sure minicom is configured in the right serial port (ttyUSB2 works for me)
Configure minicom as 115200/8-N-1 (See https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/8-N-1)
Set hardware control off (you won't be able to send command if you don't do this)
Edit the /etc/rc.local file with vi. Uncomment the line ifconfig eth0 <IP> netmask <mask>. Set the mask and IP to the desired values.
Reset the ROACH2

Set a clock source

The ADC of your ROACH2 most probably will need some external source as a clock source. The standard hardware we use are Valon frequency synthesizers. Be aware that you have to set the correct power value to clock source in order for the ADCs to work correctly. Below is a table for the required power for clock source and input for some ROACH's ADCs:

* Not sure

Check the picture below for an example of a setup of ROACH2 + Valon.

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