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Getting started

Buy a PYNQ kit

  • First-year Electrical Engineering (EE) and Automotive Technology (AT) bachelor students buy the PYNQ kit from the Thor study association at the same time as their books. The SD card in the kit is already flashed with the right SD-card image (currently the latest version is 5EWC0-2023-v0.2.0).

  • All other TU/e students following 5EWC0 can buy a 5EWC0 PYNQ kit from the Thor study association (sixth floor of the Flux building). Make sure that you buy the full 5EWC0 PYNQ kit that includes a flashed SD card and the display plugin board. The SD card in the kit is already flashed with the right SD-card image (currently the latest version is 5EWC0-2023-v0.2.0).

  • ⚠️ Warning

    If you already have a PYNQ board from a previous academic year then you will need to buy a display plugin board from the Thor study association. You also need to download the latest SD-card image for 5EWC0 (currently 5EWC0-v0.2.0) and flash it on your SD card.

Prerequisites

All of the following are part of the 5EWC0 PYNQ kit, except for the laptop and Ethernet cable that are part of the University Laptop Programme.

  1. Your laptop with an active internet connection.
  2. A PYNQ-Z2 board.

  3. An SD card of at least 8 GB.

    ℹ️ Information

    If you buy your own SD card, then make sure that it is a high-reliability SD card because it is heavily used by the board. Cheap SD cards quickly become corrupt and fail.

  4. A USB-A to micro-USB cable to connect to the PYNQ.

    If your laptop has no USB-A connector then either use an adaptor (USB-A to USB-C) or use a micro-USB to USB-C cable. Ensure that the cable is compatible with your operating system.

  5. An Ethernet cable to connect to the PYNQ.

    If your laptop doesn't have an Ethernet port, then you also need an Ethernet to USB-A/C cable. Ensure that the cable is compatible with your operating system.

  6. A plugin module with a display as shown below.
    pcb display

Set up the PYNQ

These steps need to be done only once per course.

  1. Make sure you have the latest version of the SD-card image. This is necessary only if you do not have a pre-flashed SD card or are taking the course again. If not given a pre-flashed SD card, download the PYNQ image and flash the SD card.
  2. Before booting (i.e. starting) the PYNQ, configure the PYNQ board.

Use your PYNQ

Every time you wish to use your PYNQ board after setting it up, you'll need to:

  1. Connect the PYNQ board to your laptop.
  2. Write and run your own application.
  3. Shut down and disconnect the PYNQ.