Well, I don't just have $100 bucks sitting around, but I will start saving for it!! For the "Looks better" part, you could put a casing on it, have touchscreen and accelerometer, but put the screen at the top and make it long and not square, and you could call it " The Propeller moble device development kit " it is even better that it has an SD slot. This would most likely sell if you put it in a cell phone/PDA-type arrangement.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Toys are microcontroled.
Robots are microcontroled.
I am microcontrolled.
Your add-on's in development are very sensible ... some other ideas:
I second Microcontrolled's suggestion of a case - just big enough to have the (future) battery pack fit, and maybe the add-ons too, depending on how they scab onto the mainboard.
A two-part case that folded, like a laptop, would be really neat ... right, the PSM in the top half, a mini keyboard in the bottom. Or even a fixed, sloped case.
The plastic shouldn't be too low energy - you'd want peel-and-stick rubber feet and velcro to really stick [noparse]:)[/noparse]
Other options: watertight, lexan cover for screen, more buttons, an easy GPS interface, as Hover1 mentions --- this would actually make a nice display system for someone (like me) who'd like to DIY a really slick GPS system that mounts on the dashboard. (Forget Garmin and stored maps - I read NEMA code like an Assembler reads bits. :-P )
Some time back, a plastics fabricator who was molding and machining some really nice boxes had posted his work ... wish I could find those threads again.
>[noparse][[/noparse]an] accessory board right now that will provide rechargeable battery power
Consider offering a solar panel charger option. That, with a radio telemetry feature and a sealed case, opens up some interesting possibilities for others to use your product for various field installations. (Water treatment pump station monitoring, roadside assistance, gobs of geology apps... yada yada...)
Thanks again for making this board --- you've saved me a lot of trouble figuring it out myself (and mine probably wouldn't have worked right away [noparse];)[/noparse]
- Howard
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No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
Post Edited (CounterRotatingProps) : 6/6/2009 7:40:20 PM GMT
I think you can use the i2c bus in both high and low speed modes.· But, I haven't tested that...
The other button is the reset button.
I would love to make a plasic case for it, but I haven't a clue how!
I'm working on a battery board for it right now.· About to apply solder...
PS:· Here's a screenshot of the Windows test interface app for when the device is loaded·with the serial command driver.· I think you can figure out all the commands that are available from this.· (Of course, it's very easy to add your own commands to the SPIN serial driver.)
localroger: I'll have it ready before Prop 2 [noparse]:)[/noparse]. I'm soldering together a prototype right now... I hope to have a completed prototype ready for the West Coast expo. With any luck, I could be selling them 2-3 weeks after that. I may sell it as a kit. I've purposely not used SMT so that people can solder it together themselves...
microcontrolled:· That's an interesting site.· I might use them for some stuff I'm doing at work...
Looks like a nice service: if you have the money. I tried their instant quote and they're insanely expensive! Here's what it told me:
INSTANT QUOTE
Your instant quote for '19'' Rackmount enclosure' is shown below:
QUOTE
Unit price: USD $645.29
Quantity: 1
Sub total: USD $645.29
Setup fee: USD $70.00
Total price: USD $715.29
YOUR REQUIREMENTS
Enclosure style: 19'' Rackmount enclosure
Dimension: 5.25" (H) x 19" (W) x 14" (D)
Number of cutout: 6
Number of self clinching fasteners: 9
Material: Nominal 0.078 Stainless Steel (14 gage)
Powder coat color:
Black(SmoothMatte)
NOTE:
Taxes and duties are extra.
Shipping Costs are extra.
Price quoted assumes you will provide us with an acceptable CAD file drawing of your enclosure. Drawings provided in other formats (such as fax) may carry an additional conversion charge.
Rayman, RE cases, take a look at www.mountainkingtech.com --- they have some eloquent boxes. One he's just set up for a nice LCD display Timothy Swieter (brilldea) is making ... it looks like it has similar dimensions.
Great PC interface, BTW ...
- H
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No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
Rayman said...
localroger: I'll have it ready before Prop 2 [noparse]:)[/noparse]. I'm soldering together a prototype right now... I hope to have a completed prototype ready for the West Coast expo. With any luck, I could be selling them 2-3 weeks after that. I may sell it as a kit. I've purposely not used SMT so that people can solder it together themselves...
microcontrolled:· That's an interesting site.· I might use them for some stuff I'm doing at work...
You just pushed Prop 2·roll out·up 6 months. Yea!!
Chuck at http://www.mountainkingtech.com/·likes making enclosures for parallax stuff and just made a LCD bezel for Tim's 3" LCD. But you probably already knew that.
The accessory board works!· This really completes the system....· Gives you:
rechargable battery power (two AA cells)
keyboard
mouse
RCA for video
real time clock (over I2C) with coin cell backup
+3.3V and +5V power
battery voltage monitor (using the spare PSM ADC input)
I think it may be useful just by itself, if you want power from two AA batteries.
The power circuit switches automatically from battery to USB/external power.
It can trickle charge NiMH batteries.· Or, you can disable the trickle charge via jumper and use regular alkaline batteries.
There's also a header for servos, but I'll have to see if it can deliver that kind of power or not...
It just attaches to the back of the PSM as shown in this picture:
Wow, Ray, good Job.
I am very interested in the touchscreen version but need the 8 auxilary pins for motors and encoders. If you can deliver to Germany I'll buy 2 units.
Cheers, Clemens
Hey Clemens!· I'm using your "secret" font for this project...· Gives an 8x12 font using just the ROM font.
This should also allow the PSM to·replicate "TV_Text" on the QVGA screen.
PS:·· I'm coming to Germany in August, but I'm not sure if I'll have it ready by then or not...
Sounds good. Please PM me, if you do have them finished by then.
I'm thinking of an improved version of my pano-camera: http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=738715
The PSM·would save me a lot of soldering and get me closer to maybe·producing a small series...
microcontrolled said...
... For the "Looks better" part, you could put a casing on it, have touchscreen and accelerometer, but put the screen at the top and make it long and not square, and you could call it " The Propeller moble device development kit " it is even better that it has an SD slot. This would most likely sell if you put it in a cell phone/PDA-type arrangement.
This idea is very attractive to me [noparse]:)[/noparse]
I'll rework my "cellphone" GUI widget code for TV.spin if the "Propeller Mobile Device Development Kit" gets any traction.
@Rayman, congrats on getting your accessory board working.
That is pretty much what you should expect for a single custom part of that size. If you got several the total cost would probably be very close to the 1 pc cost. You might be able to find a local sheet metal shop around your area that will do it cheaper. Alot of those guys are hurtin now.
I think I just might take the entreperneuer (did I spell it right?) route and attempt to make the Propeller Moble Device Development Kit myself. If I get a working Prototype once I have saved up enough money then I will save some more and get it professionally made. I know some good (and cheap!) screens I could use and might just go with graphical LCD to cut down on cost. It will have 5 buttons and a touchscreen, hopefully.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Toys are microcontroled.
Robots are microcontroled.
I am microcontroled.
Tested out the accessory board with a servo and it works.· I was worried the servo would draw too much power, but it seemed to be OK, even when stalled.
I have a cool demo in mind with a servo (or two) using the 3-axis accelerometer...
Comments
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My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
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Toys are microcontroled.
Robots are microcontroled.
I am microcontrolled.
What's the default I2C speed, 400?
The button, near the SD slot, is the reset?
Your add-on's in development are very sensible ... some other ideas:
I second Microcontrolled's suggestion of a case - just big enough to have the (future) battery pack fit, and maybe the add-ons too, depending on how they scab onto the mainboard.
A two-part case that folded, like a laptop, would be really neat ... right, the PSM in the top half, a mini keyboard in the bottom. Or even a fixed, sloped case.
The plastic shouldn't be too low energy - you'd want peel-and-stick rubber feet and velcro to really stick [noparse]:)[/noparse]
Other options: watertight, lexan cover for screen, more buttons, an easy GPS interface, as Hover1 mentions --- this would actually make a nice display system for someone (like me) who'd like to DIY a really slick GPS system that mounts on the dashboard. (Forget Garmin and stored maps - I read NEMA code like an Assembler reads bits. :-P )
Some time back, a plastics fabricator who was molding and machining some really nice boxes had posted his work ... wish I could find those threads again.
>[noparse][[/noparse]an] accessory board right now that will provide rechargeable battery power
Consider offering a solar panel charger option. That, with a radio telemetry feature and a sealed case, opens up some interesting possibilities for others to use your product for various field installations. (Water treatment pump station monitoring, roadside assistance, gobs of geology apps... yada yada...)
Thanks again for making this board --- you've saved me a lot of trouble figuring it out myself (and mine probably wouldn't have worked right away [noparse];)[/noparse]
- Howard
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
Post Edited (CounterRotatingProps) : 6/6/2009 7:40:20 PM GMT
The other button is the reset button.
I would love to make a plasic case for it, but I haven't a clue how!
I'm working on a battery board for it right now.· About to apply solder...
PS:· Here's a screenshot of the Windows test interface app for when the device is loaded·with the serial command driver.· I think you can figure out all the commands that are available from this.· (Of course, it's very easy to add your own commands to the SPIN serial driver.)
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
http://www.protocase.com/
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Toys are microcontroled.
Robots are microcontroled.
I am microcontroled.
microcontrolled:· That's an interesting site.· I might use them for some stuff I'm doing at work...
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
Looks like a nice service: if you have the money. I tried their instant quote and they're insanely expensive! Here's what it told me:
INSTANT QUOTE
Your instant quote for '19'' Rackmount enclosure' is shown below:
QUOTE
Unit price: USD $645.29
Quantity: 1
Sub total: USD $645.29
Setup fee: USD $70.00
Total price: USD $715.29
YOUR REQUIREMENTS
Enclosure style: 19'' Rackmount enclosure
Dimension: 5.25" (H) x 19" (W) x 14" (D)
Number of cutout: 6
Number of self clinching fasteners: 9
Material: Nominal 0.078 Stainless Steel (14 gage)
Powder coat color:
Black(SmoothMatte)
NOTE:
Taxes and duties are extra.
Shipping Costs are extra.
Price quoted assumes you will provide us with an acceptable CAD file drawing of your enclosure. Drawings provided in other formats (such as fax) may carry an additional conversion charge.
Rayman, RE cases, take a look at www.mountainkingtech.com --- they have some eloquent boxes. One he's just set up for a nice LCD display Timothy Swieter (brilldea) is making ... it looks like it has similar dimensions.
Great PC interface, BTW ...
- H
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
No matter how much you push the envelope, it'll still be stationery.
You just pushed Prop 2·roll out·up 6 months. Yea!!
Chuck at http://www.mountainkingtech.com/·likes making enclosures for parallax stuff and just made a LCD bezel for Tim's 3" LCD. But you probably already knew that.
Jim
rechargable battery power (two AA cells)
keyboard
mouse
RCA for video
real time clock (over I2C) with coin cell backup
+3.3V and +5V power
battery voltage monitor (using the spare PSM ADC input)
I think it may be useful just by itself, if you want power from two AA batteries.
The power circuit switches automatically from battery to USB/external power.
It can trickle charge NiMH batteries.· Or, you can disable the trickle charge via jumper and use regular alkaline batteries.
There's also a header for servos, but I'll have to see if it can deliver that kind of power or not...
It just attaches to the back of the PSM as shown in this picture:
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
Post Edited (Rayman) : 6/9/2009 10:22:47 AM GMT
Jim
I am very interested in the touchscreen version but need the 8 auxilary pins for motors and encoders. If you can deliver to Germany I'll buy 2 units.
Cheers, Clemens
This should also allow the PSM to·replicate "TV_Text" on the QVGA screen.
PS:·· I'm coming to Germany in August, but I'm not sure if I'll have it ready by then or not...
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Toys are microcontroled.
Robots are microcontroled.
I am microcontroled.
I'm thinking of an improved version of my pano-camera:
http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=738715
The PSM·would save me a lot of soldering and get me closer to maybe·producing a small series...
I'll rework my "cellphone" GUI widget code for TV.spin if the "Propeller Mobile Device Development Kit" gets any traction.
@Rayman, congrats on getting your accessory board working.
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--Steve
Propalyzer: Propeller PC Logic Analyzer
http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=788230
That is pretty much what you should expect for a single custom part of that size. If you got several the total cost would probably be very close to the 1 pc cost. You might be able to find a local sheet metal shop around your area that will do it cheaper. Alot of those guys are hurtin now.
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BH
If anybody actually buys some, I'll have to rethink my production strategy...
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My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
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Got Electrons?
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My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
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Toys are microcontroled.
Robots are microcontroled.
I am microcontroled.
(gotta love those Latinized words [noparse]:)[/noparse]
Copy and paste a word in· question into a Google search, it's correct it for you [noparse]:)[/noparse])
http://lmgtfy.com/?q=entreperneuer
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Got Electrons?
I have a cool demo in mind with a servo (or two) using the 3-axis accelerometer...
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My Prop Info&Apps: ·http://www.rayslogic.com/propeller/propeller.htm
P.S. I like your "I'm overloading that circut" line.
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Toys are microcontroled.
Robots are microcontroled.
I am microcontroled.
If it's not Parallax then don't even bother. :-)
Propeller SRAM TV driver winner: ==NOT COMPLEATED: 3 WEEKS UNTIL ENDING TIME==