Nick McClick said...
I finally got my stock of battery holders yesterday (Bean - I sent your kits out overnight yesterday evening). I sat down and built Bean's Cylon lights project.
Nick, · I didn't get anything today yet ? Do you have a tracking number ?
I did a super-overkill how-to guide, hopefully you might find it useful as a template. Here's the PDF and the word version. I also did a short video demo.
I did the project to program SX's for Bean's light project (and any other SX based projects). Parallax's version is $40 & I figure some folks wouldn't mind foregoing the adhesive breadboard to save $30.
Thanks for the note on the site being down! I knew the development guy was going to switch SQL servers, guess that was it. It's a LAMP setup; I did initial coding in PHP, but the dev guy has redone a lot of my work. PHP is da' bomb.
FYI,
Anyone on the edge of ordering a 'Designers Pack' of PC Boards, go ahead and pull the 'trigger' and order them!
I ordered my boards on Saturday November 1, 2008, received them today. Quick Shipping!
The boards are well laid out and and I look forward to working with them.
Nick nailed the BOE form factor. Looks like there will be no problem making a BOE form factor, stack of boards that will mate up perfectly with other BOE form factor Parallax boards. (SX Proto's, Propeller Proto's or other Parallax BOE form factor boards).
Now all we need is a mounting board that will fit on a DIN Rail that can hold the BOE form factor boards. Months ago I purchased some DIN Rail mounting clips that snap on a DIN Rail, from Mouser. My intent was to to make a mounting board for these DIN Rail clips that will hold a BOE form factor board.
Here's a link to the DIN Rail Clips that I'm talking about: http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=1201578virtualkey65100000virtualkey651-1201578
[list=3][/list]
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Mike
Post Edited (Mike Cook) : 11/6/2008 12:26:20 AM GMT
Thanks Mike! I have no idea what those Rail adapters are, but I added it to the inventory.
I just sent out The Designers Notebook newsletter to Designers. There's a version online, too. Our Forums are now open, if you're a designer, your account has already been created. Our forums are here.
That would be pretty cool. I flipped thru the settings, but didn't anywhere to make that an option. If anyone else knows PHPBB, maybe they can tell me if it's possible.
I've always been annoyed checking the water on the christmas tree; I have to crawl under the branches & reach my hand into the stand. Half the time it doesn't need any water, anyway. 3/4'ths of the time I get sap on my hand. So I posted the Christmas Tree Water Spotter.
We're now selling projects, too. Three projects so far. You can take a look at the list of projects here. There's also an RSS feed, here.
I was thinking of another project to do. So far, all the projects I've done are very basic & I wanted to do something a little more complicated. I also want to do a project that 'justifies' using a propeller, as I don't know the SX. Browsing the obex, I saw Ken's Capacitive Switch object, and I had a pretty good idea;
Imagine 4 or 5 jumper wires running across the length of the full board. Above those wires is a few switches and knobs.
As you slide your fingers across each of those wires, or put your hand on them, etc, the device makes different sounds. Each wire is associated to a different instrument, and you can further affect the sound with the knobs on top. The sound is output thru 1 RCA jack, and video is output thru the other jack. The video is a graphical display with different shapes / sizes / colors depending on how you play the instrument. Kind of like a Audio Video theremin.
The project would actually be two full boards, with the IC's / resistors / RCA connectors / etc on one project board, and the controls on the second. The two boards would sandwich together with female SIP sockets / pin headers.
I'd enjoy designing it, but I don't want a website of only my projects. If anyone else would like to give it a try, just PM me & I'll work on another one of my project ideas.
Nick McClick said...
That would be pretty cool. I flipped thru the settings, but didn't anywhere to make that an option. If anyone else knows PHPBB, maybe they can tell me if it's possible.
I've always been annoyed checking the water on the christmas tree; I have to crawl under the branches & reach my hand into the stand. Half the time it doesn't need any water, anyway. 3/4'ths of the time I get sap on my hand. So I posted the Christmas Tree Water Spotter.
We're now selling projects, too. Three projects so far. You can take a look at the list of projects here. There's also an RSS feed, here.
If you're talking about trying to change the username, parallax does it by making the username different from the display name. The username is always the same but you can choose what you want displayed.
I never even thought about having it as a 'shield', but why not? I did some initial work on it last night. Let me know when you get the pin header layout down, and I'll make sure it will fit.
Re: forums - yeah, I just don't think it's a setting with software I'm using.
I'm trying to create a reference design for a Propeller on the Full Board, as a starting point for designers. Attached is what I have, so far. You can see most of the wiring is on the bottom of the board, and the components are on the top.
Remember that the EEPROM will come pre-programmed, so the design doen't need pin headers. What do you think?
I did a few graphics to add to forum signatures. I couldn't really come up with any good copy for the graphics - any witty suggestions? To add the graphic to your signature, you'll need to change the '&user=1' to your '&user=(your usernumber)'. Just login here, and you'll see your usernumber towards the bottom of the page. To see what I have so far - go here
You beat me to the punch...I was in the process of removing banners from previous posts when I got to this message. Sorry Nick, but we had so many complaints about banner graphics. Once they're allowed they just get bigger and flashier until the forum is a big advertising competition.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Chris Savage Parallax Engineering
We're sponsoring a contest on Hacked Gadgets - you can enter here. This is just a basic 'guess the Thing' contest with a decent prize (I wanted to offer a prop, but the Hacked Gadgets guy seemed more interested in an Arduino). We'll also be sponsoring their holiday contest, too. They have a pretty good blog - their posts are usually informative & DIY oriented.
I am planning to build an alarm clock using the prop and FTDI/Vinculum Vmusic module. The goals are:
Display the time, day of the week, and date.
Allow at least one alarm time for each day of the week.
Play the music of your choice or random selections from a USB drive (plugged in to the Vmusic module).
Start the music at low volume and gradually increase the volume.
I'm always interested in more projects! I think I have some of the stuff you need in my inventory already. If you need more components, I can stock them (can you provide the link to the item on Mouser?). You'll probably need a few project boards. If you sign up as a designer I can mail you a pack.
I collected some initial suggestions a few months back, here. Although some of these projects are a little 'ambitious' (I don't know about you, but an internet connected scoreboard would take me quite a while to develop).
I found some more projects from surfing the internet, listed here
I have two suggestions;
1 - There are a large number of open source projects already developed that just need to be converted to our project boards. Here's a list from open circuits.
2 - Keep it simple! It's a lot easier to have an idea for a project than to finish it.
I wouldn't worry about specific inventory - if you need a certain doo-dad & can find it on mouser, just send me the link and I'll add it. Currently, I'm more interested in getting projects listed than limiting my inventory.
I just got an unexpected Xmas present from Gadget Gangster - my four prototyping boards and a couple of DC connectors. 8-) I signed up with them some time ago.
I'll have to think of something to make with them, now.
Merry Xmas to GG!
Leon
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM
Suzuki SV1000S motorcycle
About a week to the UK - not bad for $4. Put 'em to good use! We have a contest running right now, too.
Another design suggestion - solder last. It's pretty easy to get about half way and say, "Gosh, I should have put that there, instead", so I print out a picture of the board, draw on it, then just drop the pieces in their spots. Once I'm happy, I'll use the second board to actually create the howto.
Oh - I also have a 'reference design' for propellers, here (pdf). Feel free to copy this and use it for your project. You can get the source file here (odt).
Ha! I forgot how they do that - I lived on campus for my first year at SJSU. Hey - been meaning to ask you (or anyone!) for any feedback on the new project listing page (here) and the project detail page (here)
On the project listing page - added a picture and removed some of the other columns. Added a short 'teaser' description to encourage the user to click thru and find out more.
On the project detail page - added big 'Get the kit / project forum / howto' links on the top. Added a 'Make it' section under the description to detail the additional materials needed to build the project.
Of course, still a WIP. If you were a typical kit buyer (aka, probably have never soldered before) What else would you like to see on the project detail pages or project listing pages? What shouldn't be there?
For certain projects, pictures of it in action would be appropriate (such as the projects that are used on/with a physical object, or bright LED's in the dark [noparse][[/noparse]I'm thinking about the LEDs on this one. A slow shutter and dark room would make a nice picture.]). More pictures, perhaps with thumbnails to conserve space.
The description and steps available in an online version. The PDF is great for printing out, but not so good to read from a computer screen.
I like the videos.
A site map with links to every page. I find that most links go to the same place, and so it's very difficult to find some of the more out of the way things (like the propeller hookup schematic)
I also like the listing of products. It's nice and graphical, although more colors (green, red, blue) would be nice.
Thanks for the feedback. I've been spending most of my energy on the builder side - the designer side is really rough. I still need sales reporting for Designers, better control of project listings, and a better Designers menu.
Some of the stuff is moving around, too. I originally listed the Propeller & AVR Dev Kits as projects, but some folks were confused by it and thought I was trying to compete with SparkFun, so I moved those to the Get a Designers Pack section.
Comments
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
The pessimist is never disappointed.
· I didn't get anything today yet ? Do you have a tracking number ?
Bean.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
- - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - - -
"The welfare of the people in particular has always been the alibi of tyrants." ~ Camus
www.iElectronicDesigns.com
·
I did a super-overkill how-to guide, hopefully you might find it useful as a template. Here's the PDF and the word version. I also did a short video demo.
I did the project to program SX's for Bean's light project (and any other SX based projects). Parallax's version is $40 & I figure some folks wouldn't mind foregoing the adhesive breadboard to save $30.
Thanks for the note on the site being down! I knew the development guy was going to switch SQL servers, guess that was it. It's a LAMP setup; I did initial coding in PHP, but the dev guy has redone a lot of my work. PHP is da' bomb.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
Anyone on the edge of ordering a 'Designers Pack' of PC Boards, go ahead and pull the 'trigger' and order them!
- I ordered my boards on Saturday November 1, 2008, received them today. Quick Shipping!
- The boards are well laid out and and I look forward to working with them.
- Nick nailed the BOE form factor. Looks like there will be no problem making a BOE form factor, stack of boards that will mate up perfectly with other BOE form factor Parallax boards. (SX Proto's, Propeller Proto's or other Parallax BOE form factor boards).
Now all we need is a mounting board that will fit on a DIN Rail that can hold the BOE form factor boards. Months ago I purchased some DIN Rail mounting clips that snap on a DIN Rail, from Mouser. My intent was to to make a mounting board for these DIN Rail clips that will hold a BOE form factor board.Here's a link to the DIN Rail Clips that I'm talking about:
http://www.mouser.com/Search/ProductDetail.aspx?R=1201578virtualkey65100000virtualkey651-1201578
[list=3][/list]
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Mike
Post Edited (Mike Cook) : 11/6/2008 12:26:20 AM GMT
I just sent out The Designers Notebook newsletter to Designers. There's a version online, too. Our Forums are now open, if you're a designer, your account has already been created. Our forums are here.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Pi Guy
I've always been annoyed checking the water on the christmas tree; I have to crawl under the branches & reach my hand into the stand. Half the time it doesn't need any water, anyway. 3/4'ths of the time I get sap on my hand. So I posted the Christmas Tree Water Spotter.
We're now selling projects, too. Three projects so far. You can take a look at the list of projects here. There's also an RSS feed, here.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
Imagine 4 or 5 jumper wires running across the length of the full board. Above those wires is a few switches and knobs.
As you slide your fingers across each of those wires, or put your hand on them, etc, the device makes different sounds. Each wire is associated to a different instrument, and you can further affect the sound with the knobs on top. The sound is output thru 1 RCA jack, and video is output thru the other jack. The video is a graphical display with different shapes / sizes / colors depending on how you play the instrument. Kind of like a Audio Video theremin.
The project would actually be two full boards, with the IC's / resistors / RCA connectors / etc on one project board, and the controls on the second. The two boards would sandwich together with female SIP sockets / pin headers.
I'd enjoy designing it, but I don't want a website of only my projects. If anyone else would like to give it a try, just PM me & I'll work on another one of my project ideas.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
OBC
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
New to the Propeller?
Getting started with a Propeller Protoboard?
Check out: Introduction to the Proboard & Propeller Cookbook 1.4
Updates to the Cookbook are now posted to: Propeller.warrantyvoid.us
Got an SD card connected? - PropDOS
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Pi Guy
Re: forums - yeah, I just don't think it's a setting with software I'm using.
I'm trying to create a reference design for a Propeller on the Full Board, as a starting point for designers. Attached is what I have, so far. You can see most of the wiring is on the bottom of the board, and the components are on the top.
Remember that the EEPROM will come pre-programmed, so the design doen't need pin headers. What do you think?
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
Post Edited (Nick McClick) : 11/17/2008 6:22:39 PM GMT
http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=467912
item #8
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Mike
Also did a Chumby Widget - here's the virtual version.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
Post Edited (Nick McClick) : 11/17/2008 4:58:06 AM GMT
You beat me to the punch...I was in the process of removing banners from previous posts when I got to this message. Sorry Nick, but we had so many complaints about banner graphics. Once they're allowed they just get bigger and flashier until the forum is a big advertising competition.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Chris Savage
Parallax Engineering
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
Display the time, day of the week, and date.
Allow at least one alarm time for each day of the week.
Play the music of your choice or random selections from a USB drive (plugged in to the Vmusic module).
Start the music at low volume and gradually increase the volume.
Interested?
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Pi Guy
I found some more projects from surfing the internet, listed here
I have two suggestions;
1 - There are a large number of open source projects already developed that just need to be converted to our project boards. Here's a list from open circuits.
2 - Keep it simple! It's a lot easier to have an idea for a project than to finish it.
I wouldn't worry about specific inventory - if you need a certain doo-dad & can find it on mouser, just send me the link and I'll add it. Currently, I'm more interested in getting projects listed than limiting my inventory.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
I'll have to think of something to make with them, now.
Merry Xmas to GG!
Leon
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Amateur radio callsign: G1HSM
Suzuki SV1000S motorcycle
Post Edited (Leon) : 12/17/2008 5:41:51 PM GMT
Another design suggestion - solder last. It's pretty easy to get about half way and say, "Gosh, I should have put that there, instead", so I print out a picture of the board, draw on it, then just drop the pieces in their spots. Once I'm happy, I'll use the second board to actually create the howto.
Oh - I also have a 'reference design' for propellers, here (pdf). Feel free to copy this and use it for your project. You can get the source file here (odt).
Ho! Ho! Ho!
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
On the project listing page - added a picture and removed some of the other columns. Added a short 'teaser' description to encourage the user to click thru and find out more.
On the project detail page - added big 'Get the kit / project forum / howto' links on the top. Added a 'Make it' section under the description to detail the additional materials needed to build the project.
Of course, still a WIP. If you were a typical kit buyer (aka, probably have never soldered before) What else would you like to see on the project detail pages or project listing pages? What shouldn't be there?
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!
For certain projects, pictures of it in action would be appropriate (such as the projects that are used on/with a physical object, or bright LED's in the dark [noparse][[/noparse]I'm thinking about the LEDs on this one. A slow shutter and dark room would make a nice picture.]). More pictures, perhaps with thumbnails to conserve space.
The description and steps available in an online version. The PDF is great for printing out, but not so good to read from a computer screen.
I like the videos.
A site map with links to every page. I find that most links go to the same place, and so it's very difficult to find some of the more out of the way things (like the propeller hookup schematic)
I also like the listing of products. It's nice and graphical, although more colors (green, red, blue) would be nice.
Some of the stuff is moving around, too. I originally listed the Propeller & AVR Dev Kits as projects, but some folks were confused by it and thought I was trying to compete with SparkFun, so I moved those to the Get a Designers Pack section.
Anyway - good stuff!
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Gadget Gangster - Share your Electronic Projects - Sign up as a Designer and get a free 4-pack of Project Boards!