parts-man73
08-30-2007, 09:24 AM
SpinStudio is now available for sale!
What is SpinStudio you might ask?
The SpinStudio's design makes it possible to constantly reconfigure your development board. The Propeller Chip is still relatively new, and new things are being done all the time. This system allows new devices to be designed and simply plugged in. Each socket on the mainboard provides it’s peripheral module with 8 I/O lines, plus 5vdc, 3.3vdc, VSS and both I2C lines. Why is advantageous to use plug-in modules?
A modularized design offers 2 benefits-
Anytime there is a new "fad", a new plug in module can be created, and simply be plugged into an existing demoboard. Take for instance interfacing an SD card. A few months ago, it became popular to start experimenting with using an SD card with the Propeller, but you either had to use a breakout board from Sparkfun, or one of the other "do it yourself" methods proposed on this forum. This was the time that I released the SpinStudio SD adapter. Now it seems that all the recent development boards offered by third parties include an SD Socket. Would anyone have guessed that a year ago??? The most current "fad" seems to be Ethernet. Some of the newest development boards also include this feature, but what will the next "fad" be? Only time will tell. And when is the circuit board real estate going to run out trying to include all these features on one dev board? Or are you paying for features that you may never use?
The other benefit is upon the arrival of Prop 2, every current development board will instantly become obsolete. SpinStudio owners will just have to get a new Mainboard, all of the Peripheral Modules you have purchased can be reused. With the possibility of more IO lines on future Propellers, that means more sockets on the Mainboard
Want to do your own tinkering? One of the modules (the Servo/IO module) has a female header that allows direct access to the 8 propeller IO lines in that Socket. It can be used in the same fashion as the Demo board, as jumper wires can be inserted and plugged into a solderless breadboard for rapid temporary prototyping. If you want access to more than 8 IO lines, multiple Servo/IO modules can be used. The SpinStudio Sockets are also documented so that you can create your own circuit board, or use a ribbon cable with a standard 20 pin IDC plug to plug in your own creations.
There are currently 6 different Peripheral modules available, and I have a few more that will be ready soon. One soon to be released module will be a blank prototyping board. It will allow you to make your own, permanently soldered, plug in module. The other modules that will be available soon offer Ethernet and X-bee support.
The use of a socketed Dip version of Propeller means it can be changed easily if needed, not true of surface mount prototyping / development boards.
There is also a way to use many of the current and future peripheral modules with Parallax’s Proto Board with a simple modification. See the documentation on my website, or in OldBitCollector’s Propeller Cookbook (which I also have posted in the “Tutorial” section of my website), for details.
Additional Photos and Documentation is available now on my website, and purchases can be made at ucontroller.com/ (http://ucontroller.com/)
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Brian
uController.com (http://uController.com) - home of SpinStudio
What is SpinStudio you might ask?
The SpinStudio's design makes it possible to constantly reconfigure your development board. The Propeller Chip is still relatively new, and new things are being done all the time. This system allows new devices to be designed and simply plugged in. Each socket on the mainboard provides it’s peripheral module with 8 I/O lines, plus 5vdc, 3.3vdc, VSS and both I2C lines. Why is advantageous to use plug-in modules?
A modularized design offers 2 benefits-
Anytime there is a new "fad", a new plug in module can be created, and simply be plugged into an existing demoboard. Take for instance interfacing an SD card. A few months ago, it became popular to start experimenting with using an SD card with the Propeller, but you either had to use a breakout board from Sparkfun, or one of the other "do it yourself" methods proposed on this forum. This was the time that I released the SpinStudio SD adapter. Now it seems that all the recent development boards offered by third parties include an SD Socket. Would anyone have guessed that a year ago??? The most current "fad" seems to be Ethernet. Some of the newest development boards also include this feature, but what will the next "fad" be? Only time will tell. And when is the circuit board real estate going to run out trying to include all these features on one dev board? Or are you paying for features that you may never use?
The other benefit is upon the arrival of Prop 2, every current development board will instantly become obsolete. SpinStudio owners will just have to get a new Mainboard, all of the Peripheral Modules you have purchased can be reused. With the possibility of more IO lines on future Propellers, that means more sockets on the Mainboard
Want to do your own tinkering? One of the modules (the Servo/IO module) has a female header that allows direct access to the 8 propeller IO lines in that Socket. It can be used in the same fashion as the Demo board, as jumper wires can be inserted and plugged into a solderless breadboard for rapid temporary prototyping. If you want access to more than 8 IO lines, multiple Servo/IO modules can be used. The SpinStudio Sockets are also documented so that you can create your own circuit board, or use a ribbon cable with a standard 20 pin IDC plug to plug in your own creations.
There are currently 6 different Peripheral modules available, and I have a few more that will be ready soon. One soon to be released module will be a blank prototyping board. It will allow you to make your own, permanently soldered, plug in module. The other modules that will be available soon offer Ethernet and X-bee support.
The use of a socketed Dip version of Propeller means it can be changed easily if needed, not true of surface mount prototyping / development boards.
There is also a way to use many of the current and future peripheral modules with Parallax’s Proto Board with a simple modification. See the documentation on my website, or in OldBitCollector’s Propeller Cookbook (which I also have posted in the “Tutorial” section of my website), for details.
Additional Photos and Documentation is available now on my website, and purchases can be made at ucontroller.com/ (http://ucontroller.com/)
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Brian
uController.com (http://uController.com) - home of SpinStudio