# Stories from Supercon 2019

- Show: [The Amp Hour](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour)
- Published: 2019-11-18
- Length: 1h 37m
- Episode: 467
- Page: https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-11-18-stories-from-supercon-2019
- Listen: https://theamphour.com/467-stories-from-supercon-2019/

## Summary

Jereon “Sprite_tm” Domburg, Sylvain “tnt” Munaut, and Matt Venn discuss open-source FPGA toolchains and hardware at Supercon 2019. Sprite_tm details his Supercon 2019 badge, which uses a Lattice ECP5 FPGA to host two Pico RV32 RISC-V cores and a PIC-16, enabling a reconfigurable system via USB mass storage and cartridges. Sylvain Munaut explains his work on the badge's DFU bootloader and Osmocom's use of ECP5 FPGAs for software-defined radio, including sniffing CPRI links. Matt Venn describes his role at Symbiotic EDA, focusing on formal verification tools for safety-critical systems like particle accelerators.

## Chapters

- [0:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-11-18-stories-from-supercon-2019#t=0) Introduction: Sprite_tm and the Supercon 2019 Badge
- [2:01](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-11-18-stories-from-supercon-2019#t=121) Sprite_tm: Lattice ECP5, Pico RV32, and Badge Architecture
- [5:35](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-11-18-stories-from-supercon-2019#t=335) Sprite_tm: Expressive, ESP32-S2, and Giga Devices
- [8:51](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-11-18-stories-from-supercon-2019#t=531) Sprite_tm: Graphics Subsystems and Sprite Logic
- [15:00](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-11-18-stories-from-supercon-2019#t=900) Sprite_tm: ECP5 Bitstream and Toolchain Stability
- [31:08](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-11-18-stories-from-supercon-2019#t=1868) Sylvain Munaut: DFU Bootloader and USB Implementation
- [36:57](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-11-18-stories-from-supercon-2019#t=2217) Sylvain Munaut: Osmocom, CPRI, and Software-Defined Radio
- [56:21](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-11-18-stories-from-supercon-2019#t=3381) Sylvain Munaut: Icebreaker, LED Drivers, and USB Speeds
- [1:03:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-11-18-stories-from-supercon-2019#t=3803) Sylvain Munaut: Advice for FPGA Beginners
- [1:03:23](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/the-amp-hour/2019-11-18-stories-from-supercon-2019#t=3803) Matt Venn: Symbiotic EDA and Formal Verification

## Topics

- [Microcontrollers & dev platforms](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/microcontrollers-and-platforms)
- [Chips, FPGAs & semiconductors](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/chips-and-fpgas)
- [EDA & CAD tools](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/eda-and-cad-tools)
- [Wireless & RF](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/wireless-and-rf)
- [Prototyping & iteration](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/topic/prototyping)

## Most relevant to

makers and hobbyists

## Mentioned

- Lattice (company)
- ECP5 (chip)
- Pico RV32 (chip)
- RISC-V (chip)
- PIC-16 (chip)
- Yosys (tool)
- Project IceStorm (tool)
- Giga Devices (company)
- Expressive (company)
- ESP32 (chip)
- ESP32-S2 (chip)
- Osmocom (company)
- CPRI (other)
- Symbiotic EDA (company)
- Verilator (tool)
- GTKWave (tool)

## Related episodes from other shows

- [Ep044: Special Supercon Edition](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2019-11-22-ep044-special-supercon-edition) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [Ep002: Curious Gadgets and the FPGA Brain Trust](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2019-01-15-ep002-curious-gadgets-and-the-fpga-brain-trust) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [024 - Cars, Servers, and FPGAs!](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/unnamed-reverse-engineering-podcast/2019-07-15-024-cars-servers-and-fpgas) (Unnamed Reverse Engineering Podcast)
- [Ep051: Pointing With Your Tongue, C64 Touchpad, USB Killcord, and Audacity Does Everything](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/hackaday-podcast/2020-01-24-ep051-pointing-with-your-tongue-c64-touchpad-usb-killcord-and-audacity-does-ever) (Hackaday Podcast)
- [182: Sorry Little Diodes](https://hardwarepodcasts.com/podcast/embedded-fm/2017-01-04-182-sorry-little-diodes) (Embedded.fm)

## Citing this page

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