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Basic Info

chris joneschris jones Posts: 391
edited 2009-10-23 04:56 in Propeller 1
Hello

i am working on a project and wanted to know what are the good benifits of the propeller chip VS basic stamp i am looking for a few requirements

1. energy saver
2. east to code
3. works with parallax products
4. good support


i have a few basic stamp boards to work on my ideal but the basic stamp is a pain i need to do more than 1 thing at a time and cant do that with a basic stamp chip i feel like i wasted my money on it unless someone can tell me otherwise.

thanks in advance

Comments

  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2009-10-23 04:56
    1) Both the Propeller and the Basic Stamp can run in low power mode. The Stamps have the NAP and SLEEP statement which can reduce the power requirements to 36uA for the BS2pe to 450uA for the BS2px. The Propeller has a wide range of power requirements and can adjust its clock frequency from 20KHz (built-in slow clock) to 80MHz with a corresponding range of power requirements. The Propeller datasheet has detailed information on the power requirements and how they vary with the clock frequency and how many cogs are running. Active cogs can be paused for either specified periods of time or waiting for some external event to occur (a specific set of I/O pin states). The minimum supply current at 20KHz with one cog active looks like it's less than the NAP or SLEEP current of the BS2pe.

    2) The Propeller can be programmed in Spin, C, or its assembly language. There's a Basic compiler (to assembly) in the works based on SX/B for the SX processor. There's a simple integer Basic interpreter available that's useful for experimentation and some simple, slow applications. There's a new graphical programming system called 12Blocks (www.12blocks.com) that produces Spin code and has an integrated debugging system (ViewPort ... also available from Parallax).

    3) Most Parallax products designed for the Stamp will work with the Propeller. Some require a series resistor on the order of 2.2K or 1K in the I/O leads to protect the Propeller from a 5V output. Some new Parallax Propeller-based products like the Propeller Servo Controller and the StingRay's controller board have built-in 3.3V to 5V bidirectional level translators that allow them to be used with all of the 5V Parallax products. The Propeller Servo Controller can be used as a general purpose microcontroller by simply changing the software on-board.

    4) The Basic Stamp has been around for years and has amassed a huge pile of tutorials, examples, worked projects, etc. The Propeller has only been around for a couple of years and has a few tutorials, but a lot of user contributed objects in the Propeller Object Exchange that can be directly used in your programs to manage all sorts of tasks and devices. There is a fast floating point package in the Object Exchange.

    Post Edited (Mike Green) : 10/23/2009 5:02:22 AM GMT
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