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networking and the internet with props — Parallax Forums

networking and the internet with props

Lab RatLab Rat Posts: 289
edited 2009-10-14 22:10 in Propeller 1
i am working on designing a robot and i estimate it will take me two years to build (this includes six months of R & D). i want to make a modular design of sub systems where each specific module will have ts own brain but all the brains connect to a big brain that transfers information wirlessly to the internet and i can control it via the internet i would like to avoid using the parallax internet burner kit cause i am trying to conserve where i can does anyone know of an alternative or is pink my only option. i am planning on using this robot as a way to get into college plus it will be my grad project when i get in. i want to also be able to feed variables back to the internet from any computer and control it. for example i have a controller module i plug into any usb port such as a video game controller and it sends info back to the robot to make it run

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Comments

  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2009-10-12 14:23
    Have you looked at the YBox2 (www.ladyada.net/make/ybox2/)? It's a Propeller with an Ethernet interface and fits in an Altoid tin. It also has a video output, IR detector (for remote control reception) and a pretty 3-color LED. It comes with a TCP/IP stack and several applications which are all open-source. I've used it with a separate WiFi bridge (an SMC2671W) to use it with my home WiFi net.
  • CounterRotatingPropsCounterRotatingProps Posts: 1,132
    edited 2009-10-12 14:43
    Lab Rat,
    I'd like to second Mike's suggestion - the ybox2 is a nice device!
    - H

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  • Lab RatLab Rat Posts: 289
    edited 2009-10-13 00:52
    thats cool the video output could be handy for one or two units but how do i use the I/O ports for other stuff. i like the price for the kit cause it is plain out awsome, plus it saves me 100 sum for the pink and 30 for the prop plug so i already have an emens amount of savings. do either of you have this kit and have you hacked it if so let me know thanks

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    Parallax posesses power beyond belief.

    Believe in it.
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    http://jrelectromech.services.officelive.com/default.aspx
    ·
  • CounterRotatingPropsCounterRotatingProps Posts: 1,132
    edited 2009-10-13 16:07
    L.R.

    no, I don't have one - but will at some point - only seen it demonstrated. It's pretty open, so it would be fairly easy to hack, IMO.

    - H

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  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2009-10-13 16:12
    I have a YBox2. There are quite a few uncommitted I/O pins and the board provides holes to access them. I soldered in a female header and built a little plugin piggyback board with a Winbond 2M flash and Microchip 32K SRAM. The board only provides +3.3V, so I plan to add a 3.3V to 5V boost converter from SparkFun so I can add a PS/2 keyboard and run a version of FemtoBasic or Sphinx on it.
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2009-10-13 19:01
    LabRat, I am wrapping up a project with a uController.com PropNIC mounted on the proto area of a PropRPM; it fits perfectly, mounted by short wires soldered to both the proto vias and the PropNIC. This leaves nearly all the PropRPM pins free for other purposes. You do need a real serial port and straight through 9-pin cable, not a propplug, to program it. But it's also fully socketed and through-hole so you can remove the LED bar if you don't want it, increase the size of the EE, etc. very easily.
  • jazzedjazzed Posts: 11,803
    edited 2009-10-13 20:23
    I did something similar to Ybox2 using the ENC... Olimex adapter and a Propeller Protoboard. Was able to serve Javascript which runs in the user's browse (when I had dedicated IP addresses). It was kind of slow and the server software used in the Ybox2 would go down often. Maybe that has been fixed with recent TCP code updates. Not sure.
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2009-10-13 22:52
    jazzed -- there are a couple of bugs in Harrison's code that fail to time out sockets that fail in certain unusual (but not unheard of) ways, those sockets get burnt and eventually you run out of sockets. I've done some fixes and have my app repeatedly opening and closing connections several times a second and have run it for nearly a week continuously without it locking up. I posted the mods I made recently in the form of a "clean" client-server example app which I created for my own use as boilerplate for future projects.

    link: http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=840982

    Post Edited (localroger) : 10/13/2009 10:57:59 PM GMT
  • Lab RatLab Rat Posts: 289
    edited 2009-10-14 22:10
    Thank you for the link to uController.com, i like there products so far from what i see. I will have to put an order in with them and an order in with parallax and start learning to work with the prop. yes i am aaware that this is a large project for a noob at props, but i think that the prop is the best microcontroller for my buck it is fairly cheep and very expandable and functional. i will let everyone know what i get when i place my order and i will definately need some help

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    Parallax posesses power beyond belief.

    Believe in it.
    Visit me at
    http://jrelectromech.services.officelive.com/default.aspx
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