Dispatch · FPGA

The PMOD pivot

VGA through a pile of adapters would not light. Order a PMOD. Drive pixels on pins that are not the dedicated VGA bank.

26 August 2026 · from the log

I tried connecting VGA to a PC monitor. The chain of adapters between the FPGA and HDMI — a VGA‑to‑HDMI converter among them — seems passive. It would not work, no matter how many times I flashed a basic test pattern.

Time is short and the work needs to move. So: a PMOD, currently in transit. The FPGA can generate the VGA signal itself on pins other than the dedicated VGA ones.

Mouser order confirmation for Digilent PMOD VGA. — Fig. 1 — OrderMouser · PMOD in transit

Mouser checkout summary for Digilent PMOD VGA. — Fig. 2 — CheckoutSame order · second plate

I would love to chase the VGA issue properly. Strategically it can wait. A CPU without a display is a complex heater whose work stays abstract even to its builder.

When the PMOD arrives I will test the basic signals, then get the Tomato board running. I cannot wait to demonstrate basic programs on this custom architecture — a feat I have been looking forward to for a long time.

Related: display dispatch · driving the datapath · lot 08_display.