Hi Nick,
Yes I got the the modulator chips from ebay. Programming the FPGA is dead easy and takes seconds but downloading the program and registering is a bit complicated. I did do it on a windows machine.
I've had experience with SMD either. I brought a 0.8mm tip for my soldering iron but couldn't get on with it so I put back the 5mm chisel tip I'm familiar with and then managed to do it with relative ease. 0.3mm solder was very helpful though
Regards
David