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diy logic trainer board? — Parallax Forums

diy logic trainer board?

rwgast_logicdesignrwgast_logicdesign Posts: 1,464
edited 2012-11-03 14:55 in Learn with BlocklyProp
So i guess parallax discontinued this kit its a shame. im currently reading a book about digital logic my goal is to build a home brew retro pc one day. so far these other parallax books have been a great learning recource. anyways i was wondering if there is a schematic or something published fod the digital trainer board in this kit hoping it could be cheaply built on a piece of proto board or something..

i would really like to more about communicating with ICs and bit banging data i suspect this kit would have been a good starting point for that along with learning all how to use 7400 series chips to acomplish bigger tasks.

funny the post under this is also a guy looking for this board

Comments

  • RobotWorkshopRobotWorkshop Posts: 2,307
    edited 2012-09-19 08:34
    What are you looking for in a digital trainer? If you want something that is already built there are quite a few options on ebay:

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Heathkit-3600-Analog-Electronic-Trainer-/280965912440

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Digital-Analog-Trainer-in-Case-Model-XK-550K-Designed-for-School-Projects-/110896996490

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/Elenco-XK-700T-Deluxe-Digital-Analog-Trainer-/280871728374

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/HEATHKIT-ET-3200A-DIGITAL-CIRCUIT-DESIGN-TRAINER-ELECTRONICS-TECHNICIAN-RARE-/170900374386

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/heathkit-et-3100-ac-dc-electronics-trainer-/120985423254

    Or parts to build your own....

    http://www.ebay.com/itm/HEATHKIT-TRAINERS-ET-3100-ET-3200-ET-3300-NO-Cases-and-NO-Power-Cords-/140847765278
  • rwgast_logicdesignrwgast_logicdesign Posts: 1,464
    edited 2012-09-19 13:50
    wow some of those are pretty exspensive and come with alot of stuff i have.. i dont really understand what they are.

    i was looking for a something either built or that i am able to build that would work with the elements of digital logic parallax text since its been discontinued. im guessing the digital trainer board is just a bunch of 7400 gates and adders that plug into a bs2. Those kits on ebay just looked like beginner electronics kits.. it doesnt nescisarly have to be the parallax product but i know i will clearly understand the parallax txt. there is another kit at nurve and i have read much of andres pc material a few years ago so i know it should be good, but u need an xgs to use the kit making it total about 170 and still then you still have to find an szx key.

    basically i just want to learn to make useful stuff with discreet logic, without diving into an fpga or plc that is also exspensive and requiers me to learn . im looking to be able use an logic analyzer to help me and i cant do that with a programable chip either.
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2012-09-19 18:55
    The schematic for the Parallax Digital Trainer board is still available and so are all the chips, so it would be simple enough to build your own. You could easily breadboard the circuits, but having the board would definitely make it much more convenient.
  • rwgast_logicdesignrwgast_logicdesign Posts: 1,464
    edited 2012-09-19 20:07
    oh thats awesome i just foumd the book on google bbut couldnt find anything at all on parallaxs site about this thing. does parallax still have a page with the software and everythin?

    im also looking for a nice size photo of the board. im using a homework bs2 so i wanna build this thing omiting the a all bs2 module stuff and just throw a 15 pin header on to connect a ribon cable from the homework board to to the logic trainer. since this schematic is so simple ill probably just try to lay it all out as close to the photo as i can on protoboard.

    does anyone whos done this kit feel its worth the efort to build this trainer and read the text. im curious why its discontinued why they didnt sell enough
  • rwgast_logicdesignrwgast_logicdesign Posts: 1,464
    edited 2012-09-19 23:03
    wow none of these chips are available through digi key and firchild list them as obsolete and the updated part numbers are obolete :/ is there an easy way to soucre all these gate maybe through TI so i can get em free :)
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2012-09-19 23:12
    The chips are all still available, you just have to use the 74HC versions instead of 74C.

    You can still download the book from Parallax, and you get the Logic Simulator software in the zip file with the book. At Parallax.com, click on the "Support" tab, then click on "Downloads" (near the bottom), and then on "Stamps in Class". You will see it listed at the bottom of that page:

    "Elements of Digital Logic" v1.0 (178 pp.) Download text (7.1 MB)

    Inside that zip file is a folder and inside it you will find the book and another small zip file that has the Parallax Logic Simulator installer inside (called "Small Install Image.zip" for some reason). Here is a photo of the board, but it's not very high quality. I don't remember where I got it, but it wasn't from Parallax.

    attachment.php?attachmentid=95746&d=1348121182
    digital_trainer_big.jpg
    991 x 498 - 175K
  • rwgast_logicdesignrwgast_logicdesign Posts: 1,464
    edited 2012-09-19 23:27
    Oh wow that board is layed out very nice as far as all the gates being labled with the headers... man it sucj you cant get these anymore

    I think somethings wrong with the software cant resize it either....

    aaa.GIF
    aaa.GIF
    480 x 577 - 29K
    aaa.GIF 28.6K
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2012-09-20 05:44
    It's not meant to be re-sizable, but it should be just a little wider than what it is in your screenshot. Since it's pretty old software it could be some incompatibility with the video driver or OS version you have. It could be also be something with your display settings for the desktop (font/font size, etc). Hard to say exactly.
  • rwgast_logicdesignrwgast_logicdesign Posts: 1,464
    edited 2012-09-20 07:24
    hmm im running on an old hp with a built in intel video chipset on xp. the intel graphics isnt compatible with vista 7/xp. this is the computer i do electronics work on due to its multiple serial ports and xp seeming to be better suited for alot of embedded dev apps. i think my dpi may be set high or somethhing to to the 15inch wide lcd being some weird res 1366x720 or some off thing like that
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2012-09-20 07:42
    I tried it on a computer running Windows XP SP3 with a nVidia 7800GS at 1920x1080 and on one with Windows 7 and a 8800GT at 1366x768 and it works fine on both of them. Maybe it's the Intel graphics chip, some of their early ones weren't so good.
    the intel graphics isnt compatible with vista 7/xp

    So what OS is it?
  • rwgast_logicdesignrwgast_logicdesign Posts: 1,464
    edited 2012-09-20 08:17
    im running xp sp3, i just set my DPI back to 96 or whatever the original value is, my monitor res is 1377x768 so i doubt you can replicate that (not a common res at all) but I have the same problem at 1024x768.

    untitled.GIF
    untitled.GIF
    1024 x 768 - 112K
  • RDL2004RDL2004 Posts: 2,554
    edited 2012-09-20 09:35
    You might try right-clicking the PLS.exe and select the "Compatibility' tab and experiment with some of the options there. I don't know anything other than that to try.

    You video is probably running at 1360x768 (multiples of 16) even if the screen is actually 1377x768. My 1366x768 TV I used for games and stuff works that way. 1360x768 is not really all that that uncommon of a resolution.
  • ChaosUKChaosUK Posts: 5
    edited 2012-11-03 14:55
    Im new to digital logic and was sad to see that the trainer board is no longer available.

    I came across a kickstarter today that looks like it might be a fun way to learn -

    http://www.kickstarter.com/projects/545073874/bora-the-binary-explorer-board
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