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Chip, busy at work in his lab. . . — Parallax Forums

Chip, busy at work in his lab. . .

Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,386
edited 2019-11-21 00:19 in Propeller 2
We're putting together a newsletter for our customers next week featuring a very MASSIVE SALE: 20% off and FREE SHIPPING. In the newsletter, several of our team have assembled their Staff Picks - everything from sensors to robots. Chip chose the P2 and provided this picture along with his narrative which describes the P2 like having our own spaceship to fly around in. The picture of Chip and a bigger-than-life nose is a lot of fun. I like to make fun of Chip once in a while and we're 183 miles apart, so I'm posting it here.

BTW, we need everybody to buy a lot of Parallax stuff in December. Money spent at Parallax is an investment in your future, in the form of products you can use to create even more interesting contraptions. So if you're not sure where to place your money next month, consider Parallax. We need to finish off paying for the P2 R&D and place a production order. Sorta like a KickStarter without paying them 10% along the way. The sale begins on Tuesday.

Thank you,

Ken Gracey
1b7be9054d31322de04978085ab465.jpg

Comments

  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    The last 13 years appear to have been kind to Chip (the bypass surgery notwithstanding). After all, he still has his hair, and it's not gray! :)

    Best of luck, Chip -- and Parallax as whole -- with the upcoming P2 launch!

    -Phil
  • potatoheadpotatohead Posts: 10,253
    That picture is great!
  • David BetzDavid Betz Posts: 14,511
    My wife always thought you guys at Parallax were crazy. This is proof that she was right! :smile:
  • rjo__rjo__ Posts: 2,114
    I have had a drink or two. This is supposed to funny and offered with pure love...

    Gddmmit… shfkps…


    The best way to add memory to a Prop2 is to add another Prop2.
    But you have made that impossible. So I got the HyperFlash/HyperRam and don't you know it... if I really want to do what I'm planning to do... I have to get another HF/HR board... because if you are writing full blast to one, you need to be reading from the other. That's 1/2 of my pins gone.
    Then there is the AV board and the HDMI board... I want to leave them connected that's another quarter.... my stereo-Propcam 8 pins more.
    then there is the keyboard and the mouse and the four high speed feedback servo's... I'm done. I have no room for a 20 Pin $4 camera... extra usb stuff... etc. There is not a single pin left.

    All because you have decided that I can only buy one ES.

    Bah Humbug to you... and a carrot in your ear.

    If I did it my way... I'd have 8 extra cogs and a whole bunch of pins for $50 more... less RAM... but my RAM would be their RAM every time.

    I missed out on the REV-A because I was doing something else and forgot to check in. That's the way it goes. First come first serve.

    A limit of one... for what? So the uncertain get time to figure out what I already know?

    Let them eat their P1's... that's what I say.

    God Bless and it will be a MERRY CHRISTMAS to all


    Rich

  • David BetzDavid Betz Posts: 14,511
    You can only buy one ES but you can buy 4 P2 chips. Make your own board with four P2's! Of course, I say that but couldn't actually do it myself. I could buy one of your boards if *you* do it though!
  • rjo__rjo__ Posts: 2,114
    edited 2019-11-21 05:38
    By the way… I forgot to mention that my stereo-Propcam has active convergence.

    Try to find that on the open market. What it means is tha tif you need a little bit more accuracy here or there you can dial it in.. Because with active convergence you can vary the horizontal offsets required to resolve a point in space... Active convergence also means that the horizontal resolution of the PropCam becomes somewhat irrelevant.

    I'm still trying to find motorized optics... but it is an uphill climb.

    Come on... in the spirit of Christmas.

    Can I but just one more?

    Rich




  • Cluso99Cluso99 Posts: 18,069
    There were just over 1,000 chips so there will be more boards to come I'm sure. But Parallax needs to get them out to as many people as possible first before opening the flood gates.
  • Roy ElthamRoy Eltham Posts: 2,996
    edited 2019-11-21 09:06
    Ken,
    Some of my Christmas presents this year will be using FLiP modules, and I'll probably need some other things to go along with them. I'll try to help the "crowd funding" in Dec.

  • VonSzarvasVonSzarvas Posts: 3,278
    edited 2019-11-21 10:25
    rjo__ wrote: »
    By the way… I forgot to mention that my stereo-Propcam has active convergence.

    Try to find that on the open market. What it means is tha tif you need a little bit more accuracy here or there you can dial it in.. Because with active convergence you can vary the horizontal offsets required to resolve a point in space... Active convergence also means that the horizontal resolution of the PropCam becomes somewhat irrelevant.

    I'm still trying to find motorized optics... but it is an uphill climb.

    Come on... in the spirit of Christmas.

    Can I but just one more?

    Rich




    How about this....

    If you agree to buy two (or more :smile: ) other Propeller 1 based products from the store with your order for an extra P2-EVAL-RevB, then I will pass you my board allocation. PM me the name you use when ordering at Parallax, and I'll let the sales team know to process your order pronto!


    ps. If your stuck for choosing, a couple BadgeWX's would be a pretty cool thing to experiment with, or pass onto a young creative mind. You could use the Badge to add WiFi to the P2 Eval too.... So with a pair of Badges your shiny pair of Eval boards could be talking to each other in no time!! .. And blinking their RGB leds or displaying debug messages on the oled. Pretty handy things for debug, those BadgeWX's!

  • iseriesiseries Posts: 1,452
    Well if everybody filled there shopping cart they would know just what to put on sale.

    I see you have a large inventory of 8G micro SD cards that for the most part are a thing of the past. They would go nicely with a P2 ES board since you need at least one to experiment with.

    Mike
  • David BetzDavid Betz Posts: 14,511
    Roy Eltham wrote: »
    Ken,
    Some of my Christmas presents this year will be using FLiP modules, and I'll probably need some other things to go along with them. I'll try to help the "crowd funding" in Dec.
    What sort of gift do you make that includes a FLIP module?

  • rjo__rjo__ Posts: 2,114
    VonSzarvas,

    You are a wonderful human being... and quite handsome as well.
    I'm a little hungover at the moment. will pm when fully awake.

    Thanks
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,386
    Roy Eltham wrote: »
    Ken,
    Some of my Christmas presents this year will be using FLiP modules, and I'll probably need some other things to go along with them. I'll try to help the "crowd funding" in Dec.

    Roy is my go-to Parallax investor. For years, we turn to Roy to fill his shop with our products, even if he already has them. I know there are others all over this forum who do the same. Thanks to all of you.

    Ken Gracey
  • David BetzDavid Betz Posts: 14,511
    Ken Gracey wrote: »
    Roy Eltham wrote: »
    Ken,
    Some of my Christmas presents this year will be using FLiP modules, and I'll probably need some other things to go along with them. I'll try to help the "crowd funding" in Dec.

    Roy is my go-to Parallax investor. For years, we turn to Roy to fill his shop with our products, even if he already has them. I know there are others all over this forum who do the same. Thanks to all of you.

    Ken Gracey
    I'm waiting for the Quad Rover to come back in stock to make my big investment! :smile:

  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,386

    Ken Gracey
    [/quote]
    I'm waiting for the Quad Rover to come back in stock to make my big investment! :smile:

    [/quote]

    There's still one in Parallax. RichH has one too.

    Ken
  • David BetzDavid Betz Posts: 14,511
    edited 2019-11-21 17:49
    Ken Gracey wrote: »
    I'm waiting for the Quad Rover to come back in stock to make my big investment! :smile:

    There's still one in Parallax. RichH has one too.

    Ken
    What's the price?

  • VonSzarvasVonSzarvas Posts: 3,278
    edited 2019-11-21 18:23
    Isn't that the 5K beastie ?

    I've always dreamed to get one ever since I watched David Carrier hauling a truck with it! Though from what I saw of the shipping crate I think the purchase price is only the start of the costs involved in buying the thing... Looks like a collection only kinda deal; to bad it's probably not fitting in a suitcase !


    Edit: How funny- the video is still lurkin'




  • David BetzDavid Betz Posts: 14,511
    Yeah, it is a cool device but probably not practical for me. I remember once being at Parallax and Ken was giving me a tour. Toward the end he said I could have anything from the Parallax stockroom. I often wondered what he would have done if I had said I wanted a Quad Rover. They were still on the price list at the time. Anyway, I'm sure Parallax wants to hang onto the last one they have. I seem to recall seeing it on display once when I was visiting.
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2019-11-21 18:55
    Break out your checkbooks. I have the last two Quads to leave the Parallax warehouse. The original prototype and a brand new one that was scavenged for parts. I have spent the last three years finding the older hydraulic valve solenoids to make a complete unit. Unit is completely dry, no fluids, oil or gas has been added.
    Quadrovers.jpg
    421 x 349 - 108K
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    David Betz wrote: »
    Yeah, it is a cool device but probably not practical for me. I remember once being at Parallax and Ken was giving me a tour. Toward the end he said I could have anything from the Parallax stockroom. I often wondered what he would have done if I had said I wanted a Quad Rover. They were still on the price list at the time. Anyway, I'm sure Parallax wants to hang onto the last one they have. I seem to recall seeing it on display once when I was visiting.

    David, Remember I brought mine to the Boston Propeller expo?
  • David BetzDavid Betz Posts: 14,511
    Publison wrote: »
    Break out your checkbooks. I have the last two Quads to leave the Parallax warehouse. The original prototype and a brand new one that was scavenged for parts. I have spent the last three years finding the older hydraulic valve solenoids to make a complete unit. Unit is completely dry, no fluids, oil or gas has been added.
    Yeah, but the idea was to buy stuff from Parallax to help out their cash flow.

  • Roy ElthamRoy Eltham Posts: 2,996
    David Betz,
    Variants of this:
    Using the FLiP instead of Arduino, and doing more. Also, a couple of them will be significantly bigger. :)

    Ken,
    I like to have extras in my shop so that when an idea strikes I can act on it without waiting on shipping.
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    David Betz wrote: »
    Publison wrote: »
    Break out your checkbooks. I have the last two Quads to leave the Parallax warehouse. The original prototype and a brand new one that was scavenged for parts. I have spent the last three years finding the older hydraulic valve solenoids to make a complete unit. Unit is completely dry, no fluids, oil or gas has been added.
    Yeah, but the idea was to buy stuff from Parallax to help out their cash flow.

    I was only joking. We need to send the money to Parallax. My shopping cart is started.
  • David BetzDavid Betz Posts: 14,511
    Roy Eltham wrote: »
    David Betz,
    Variants of this:
    Using the FLiP instead of Arduino, and doing more. Also, a couple of them will be significantly bigger. :)

    Ken,
    I like to have extras in my shop so that when an idea strikes I can act on it without waiting on shipping.
    Thanks for the link. That is pretty cool. I keep thinking of making a "buttons and switches and lights and sounds" box for my 4 year old grandson. A ham radio guy in my neighborhood when I was growing up made something like that for his son and I always wanted one. This was way before microcontrollers so it was all done with discrete components. These days I figure I can just plop a FLIP inside and do everything in software. Of course, with smart phones out there a kid might not really be interested in something quite so simple.

  • potatoheadpotatohead Posts: 10,253
    David, you might be surprised.

    Given some software, states can happen. Make it a sort of game. As they fiddle, stuff happens, maybe then other stuff happens, and then something pretty excellent happens. Like making sounds.

    Then it resets and they get to figure it out again.
  • David BetzDavid Betz Posts: 14,511
    potatohead wrote: »
    David, you might be surprised.

    Given some software, states can happen. Make it a sort of game. As they fiddle, stuff happens, maybe then other stuff happens, and then something pretty excellent happens. Like making sounds.

    Then it resets and they get to figure it out again.
    Yup, that's the sort of thing I'm thinking of. Certainly it will need a FLIP inside so that gives me at least one thing to buy in December!

  • rjo__rjo__ Posts: 2,114
    VonSzarvas

    I think I sent you a pm.
    If you got it... great!!!
    If not, my order number is
    #279664

    THANK YOU
  • VonSzarvasVonSzarvas Posts: 3,278
    All sorted ! Now we all want to see what you create :)

    Thank you @rjo__ !
  • rjo__rjo__ Posts: 2,114
    Me too. I already have most of the pieces working in isolation.
    Brian, Ray and Cheesus' work has been really helpful.
  • msrobotsmsrobots Posts: 3,704
    Roy Eltham wrote: »
    David Betz,
    Variants of this:
    Using the FLiP instead of Arduino, and doing more. Also, a couple of them will be significantly bigger. :)

    Ken,
    I like to have extras in my shop so that when an idea strikes I can act on it without waiting on shipping.

    @"Roy Eltham", it is called hoarding, most of us do it.

    I am just moving into a new shop in the same house. And I am unpacking boxes, more boxes and even more boxes with all those parts one absolutely need or can use somehow sometimes, like pings, pirs, spinerettes, propplugs, servos. and god knows what else will pop up there.

    And not just one of each, no no, they appear to come in groups, especially the pirs, Parallax threw them into packages at one time...

    Enjoy!,

    Mike
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