Why do I receive a continuity failure when I program EPM7128S devices on BP Microsystems programmers, but do not receive this failure when I program the same devices with the Master Programming Unit (MPU)?

During continuity testing of the VCCIO pins on EPM7128S devices using BP Microsystems programmers, the following pins may show continuity errors:

• Pin 78 on 84-pin plastic J-lead chip carrier (PLCC) packages
• Pin 82 on 100-pin thin quad flat pack (TQFP) packages
• Pin 84 on 100-pin quad flat pack (QFP) packages
• Pin 133 160-pin QFP packages

Altera may not bond these VCCIO pins to anything on the die, and these disconnected VCCIO pins cause the continuity error. Alteras programming specification for these devices does not require continuity testing on these pins and the MPU does not perform this testing. However, some vendors provide this feature on their programmers. BP Microsystems is updating the programming algorithms for their programmers to no longer include these pins in the continuity testing.

To obtain the latest BP Microsystems algorithms, go to their web site at http://www.bpmicro.com