Not been following this thread too closely, but I just thought I'd suggest =

this site in case you haven't heard of it - has projects etc for starting =

off with FPGAs.

http://www.fpga4fun.com/SiteInformation.html

Possibly irrelevant thoughts, partly based on Phillip and Jims comments - =

There's always the option of etching your own dev boards (FPGA included, I =

do with SMD stuff quite often, no probs) or use Schmartboards (various size=
s =

of SMD breakout boards for easy soldering) from curiousinventor.com - you'd =

still have to solder the FPGA on by hand (pretty easy once you get the hang =

of it), but a lot of the smaller gate ones can be got in TQFP packages. =

There are various tutorials on converting small ovens for reflow purposes, =

to deal with BGA/SMD stuff if you ever wanted to deal with that youself too=
. =

Obviously for business projects where time is invariably money, buying the =

dev boards is usually the best way, but for many revisions while =

prototyping, one time board costs/time can mount up quickly so sometimes =

it's nice to have another option (that enables quick ideas/changes in house=
, =

especially for smaller businesses, IMHO this stuff is relevant for small =

businesses as well as hobbyists). Rough comparison for (just)PCBs: <=A35 GB=
P, =

~1hr in house etching - ~=A350, >24hrs PCB house. =



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