3.1 Implementation:

For our implementation, we decided to use a Raspberry Pi Pico microcontroller instead of an FPGA board, as the Pico is significantly cheaper and easier to develop for. Below is an image of our current hardware setup. The Pico outputs 5 bits of data for each color signal in the VGA output (red, green, blue). A digital-to-analog converter circuit for each color output turns these bits into an analog signal readable by a VGA monitor. Each color signal also passes through a potentiometer that allows us to control and disable each color. Horizontal and vertical sync signals are also outputted by the Pico. All these signals feed into a VGA cable with a gender changer attached to it.

3.2 Test:

Initial tests of the hardware were performed using the test_pattern sample program from the pico-playground repository on the official Raspberry Pi GitHub. Later, several custom test programs were written to understand the code used to output VGA signal from the Pico. The first test displayed drew a solid, bright red screen, while the second drew three equally sized red, green, and blue vertical bars. Images of the outputs for both programs, as well as a code snippet from the second program, are shown below.

3.3 Teamwork:

Christopher Kruger: Researching hardware and software

Nixon Puertollano: Researching hardware and software

Trent Reichenbach: Writing code for test programs

Matthew Tricomi: Project leader, Troubleshooting

Liamjohn Velazquez: Researching hardware and software, Troubleshooting

Walter Wargacki: Designing and implementing device circuitry (breadboard wiring, digital to analog converter, button and potentiometer connection)