AB07-USB3FMC: The $1.65k eval board they can't be bothered to test

Sat, 26 Sep 2020 07:06:39 -0600

I’ve written a bit about my look at “commercial off-the-shelf” USB3 PHY boards; and have been taking a look recently at the Design Gateway AB07-USBFMC module. It turns out that my unit has what seems to be a pretty embarrassing defect.

I’ve been testing my in-progress USB3 gateware with this PHY; and I’ve been running into an interesting issue: periodically, some of the raw values sent were off by a single bit.

AB07-USB3FMC Notes & Oddities

Fri, 25 Sep 2020 21:34:32 -0600

If you’re looking to play with commercial USB3 PHY evaluation hardware – that is, if you’re looking to get a board someone else has designed and built, rather than soldering up your own or experimenting with 5G SerDes – there seem to be two options available: the HiTech Global FMC_USB3 ($795 USD), or the Design Gateway AB07-USBFMC ($1,650 USD).

The USB3FMC sitting atop the Digilent Nexys Video FPGA board

Thanks to Tim Ansell, I’ve been able to get my hands on the AB07-USBFMC; this quick post summarizes my findings so far working with the board.

Evaluation Boards on kate's lab notebook

AB07-USB3FMC: The $1.65k eval board they can't be bothered to test

AB07-USB3FMC Notes & Oddities

The USB3FMC sitting atop the Digilent Nexys Video FPGA board