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UHD - Firmware and FPGA Image Application Notes
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.. contents:: Table of Contents

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Images Overview
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Every USRP device must be loaded with special firmware and FPGA images.
The methods of loading images into the device vary among devices:

* **USRP1:** The host code will automatically load the firmware and FPGA at runtime.
* **USRP2:** The user must manually write the images onto the USRP2 SD card.
* **USRP-N Series:** The user must manually transfer the images over ethernet.
* **USRP-E Series:** The host code will automatically load the FPGA at runtime.
* **USRP-B Series:** The host code will automatically load the FPGA at runtime.

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Pre-built Images
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Pre-built images are available for download.

* `Master Branch images <http://files.ettus.com/binaries/master_images/>`_
* `Maint Branch images <http://files.ettus.com/binaries/maint_images/>`_
* `Next Branch images <http://files.ettus.com/binaries/next_images/>`_

See the UHD wiki for the download link.

The pre-built images come in two forms:

* bundled with UHD in a platform-specific installer
* stand-alone platform-independent archive files

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Platform installers
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The UNIX-based installers will install the images into **/usr/share/uhd/images**.

The Windows installers will install the images into **C:/Program Files/UHD/share/uhd/images**.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Archive install
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
When installing images from an archive, there are two options:

**Option 1:**

Unpack the archive into the UHD installation prefix.
UHD will always search **<install-path>/share/uhd/images** for image files.
Where **<install-path>** was set by the **CMAKE_INSTALL_PREFIX** at configure-time.

**Option 2:**

Unpack the archive anywhere and set the **UHD_IMAGES_PATH** environment variable.
**UHD_IMAGES_PATH** may contain a list of directories to search for image files.

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Building Images
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The UHD source repository comes with the source code necessary to build
both firmware and FPGA images for all supported devices.

The build commands for a particular image can be found in **<uhd-repo-path>/images/Makefile**.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Xilinx FPGA builds
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Xilinx ISE 12.x and up is required to build the Xilinx FPGA images.
The build requires that you have a UNIX-like environment with **Make**.
Make sure that **xtclsh** from the Xilinx ISE bin directory is in your **$PATH**.

See **<uhd-repo-path>/fpga/usrp2/top/**.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
ZPU firmware builds
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The ZPU GCC compiler is required to build the ZPU firmware images.
The build requires that you have a UNIX-like environment with **CMake** and **Make**.
Make sure that **zpu-elf-gcc** is in your **$PATH**.

See **<uhd-repo-path>/firmware/zpu**.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Altera FPGA builds
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Quartus is required to build the Altera FPGA images.
Pre-built images can also be found in **<uhd-repo-path>/fpga/usrp1/rbf**.

See **<uhd-repo-path>/fpga/usrp1/toplevel/***.

^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
FX2 firmware builds
^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
The SDCC compiler is required to build the FX2 firmware images.
The build requires that you have a UNIX-like environment with **CMake** and **Make**.

See **<uhd-repo-path>/firmware/fx2**.