Tang Console

2025-01-23
Update history
Date Version Author Update content
2025-01-23 v0.1 Serika
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Overview

Tang Console is an another dock board for Tang Mega 138k SOM and Tang Mega 60k SOM. It is designed to be small and compact, and is mechanically compatible with the Raspberry Pi 5b PCIe HAT. In addition, it also contains two 5Gbps USB3 device interfaces and two 2x20-pin header connectors, two PMOD connectors. It can meet the needs of IO expansion and high-speed communication at the same time.

At the same time, it is also specially designed for retro games. Maybe you can turn it into a retro game console, or even a handheld, whatever you like.

  • Date to Release: Late March , 2025

  • Pre-sale link: Click me

Board Features

  • Compatible with various SOMs (Mega 138k & Mega 60k)
  • More compact size, more budget choice
  • Compatible with Raspberry Pi 5b PCIe HAT
  • PCIe 2.0 x 1
  • USB3 x 2(5Gbps)
  • HDMI TX x 1
  • Soft-PHY USB2 x1(480Mbps)
  • Onboard 3.7V Li-on battery(1-Series) charge/discharge management

Product Appearance

Block Diagram

TBD

Hardware Parameters

SOM Board Parameters

Please refer to the link below:

Dock board Parameters

Item Quantity Remarks
LEDs 2(3+3) 3x Battery-Indicator + 3x User LED (2x RGB LED)
Buttons 2+1 2x User-KEY + 1x Reconfig-KEY
PCIe 1 1-lane @ 8/5Gbps (Depends on SOM)
USB3 2 SERDES lane, SuperSpeed @ 5Gbps (Device mode)
USB2 1 IO Soft-PHY, HighSpeed @ 480Mbps (Device mode)
DVI(HDMI) 1 Compatible with HDMI, supports TX, can also be modified to RX
PMOD 2 Standard spacing (800mil), Compatible with dual PMOD modules
ADC 2 2x differential input channels (One is used to measure the battery voltage)
RGB Interface 1 Supports RGB888 screen & RGB to VGA Converter
microSD Slot 1 4-bit SDIO/MMC or SPI mode
BATT CONN. 1 Supports 3.7V li-on battery, with built-in charge management
FAN CONN. 1 Supports a 5V fan, maximum power: 1W
Speaker CONN. 1 Support mono output, 1x 2W Speaker
MS5351 1 Provides RefClk for Serdes: control output via onboard UART
USB JTAG & UART 1 Supports FPGA programming and provides UART function
2x20P headers 2 Independent 2x20P pin header, providing up to 2x38 IOs, can be modified to be compatible with DE10-Nano Kit

Hardware Resources

Getting Started

Note that Tang Mega 60k & Tang Mega 138k is currently not supported by the education version, and you need to download V1.9.11 or a newer version of the commercial IDE for use.
Lic can be applied on the Gowin official website, or you can use the online Lic service provided by Sipeed. In the IDE, select Float Lic and fill in the following information:

---Server 01---
ip: 45.33.107.56
port: 10559

---Server 02---
ip: 106.55.34.119
port: 10559

if the ip not work, try use "gowinlic.sipeed.com" domain's IP.

Install IDE Click me

Example code (Github):

Precautions

Item Precautions
Chip Model The specific model of the FPGA chip used by Tang Mega 60K is GW5AT-LV60PG484A, and Tang Mega 138K is GW5AST-LV138FPG676A.
Please select the package model PBG484A in the IDE.
Static Electricity Please avoid static electricity hitting the PCBA; release the static electricity from your hands before touching the PCBA.
Tolerance Voltage When using GPIO pin headers for external communication, ensure that the IO voltage is 3.3V. Excessive voltage will permanently damage the PCBA.
FPC Socket When connecting the FPC soft cable, please ensure that the cable is completely and correctly inserted into the socket without any deviation.
Plug and Unplug Please completely power off before plugging and unplugging.
Avoid Short Circuit Please avoid any liquid or metal touching the solder pads of the components on the PCBA during the power-on process, otherwise it may cause a short circuit and burn the PCBA.

Contact

Tang Console can meet different needs of customers in various scenarios. For technical support and business cooperation, please contact support@sipeed.com

Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs)

The system does not recognize the onboard debugger

  • Make sure the USB cable is connected to the port marked with *MCU*.
  • Try connecting directly to the computer instead of through a USB HUB.
  • Try using a better quality USB cable.
  • Try another computer to rule out the computer being the problem.
  • Try update to the latest firmware and try again.

The UART of the onboard debugger cannot be used

  • Try reinstall FTDI drivers.
  • IF the actual baudrate is always four times the set baudrate or the UART continuously outputs garbled characters. try update to the latest firmware and try again.

OpenFPGAloader not work

How to update the firmware for the onboard debugger

IDE cannot find the model

  1. The educational version does not support 60K and 138K, please switch to the commercial version. The following image shows the educational version (which does not support 60K);
  1. IDE version is too low to use, update the IDE version ≥ 1.9.9.

How to burn the bitstream to FLASH

  1. Setting the Programmer as shown in the figure below:
flash_mode

No Response or Undesirable Pin Phenomenon After Burning

  1. First, ensure that the IDE has selected the correct model
  • For MEGA 60K, GW5AT-LV60PG484AC1/10; every parameter in the figure below MUST be consistent.
device_choose
  • For MEGA 138K, GW5AST-LV138PG484AC1/10; every parameter in the figure below MUST be consistent.
device_choose
  1. Then, check your code and the corresponding simulation waveforms to meet the requirements. The GAO tools in GOWIN IDE maybe helpful. For more information, please refer to the GOWIN document SUG100(require login).

For more questions and solutions, go to Related Questions to view