A few questions..

Dougbrowne · 2009-10-30 02:48

Hi everybody, I'm very new to the world of microcontrollers and well the entire electronic hardware as well and I'm really interested in playing around with the propeller chip because it seems like a great little piece of hardware that I could probably learn a lot from. I'm thinking of purchasing the Propeller Education Kit and have a few questions..

1. Would I be able to use This in place of the 32KB EEPROM chip that it comes with?

2. I'm also thinking of purchasing the SD card reading from Parallax, would I be able to integrate it into a breadboard without too much trouble?

3. Are there are PS/2/TV Video Out/maybe Ethernet interfaces out there that I would be able to implement into a breadboard without too much trouble?

4. Do you think that the P Education Kit is a good choice for me? I'm looking for something that I could learn a lot from in building electronics/electronic circuits and working with the propeller. I want to be able to eventually integrate external interfaces like PS/2, TV Video Out, Ethernet, etc.. The main reason I'm looking at the PEK is because it allows a lot of flexibility, and allows me to actually gain experience in building circuits and porgramming with the propeller. I want something that I will also be able to use to prototype designs/ideas, possibly to get printed on PCBs when I become more experienced.

Thanks for helping out a newbie

Mike Green · 2009-10-30 03:00

1) Yes. Works fine.

2) Yes. You just connect it to +3.3V, ground, and any set of 4 Prop I/O pins. When you initialize the SD card I/O driver, you specify which I/O pins are connected to which signals.

3) Yes. Parallax sells both phono jacks and PS/2 (DIN) jacks designed for use with a breadboard. The TV output requires 3 (or 4) resistors wired to I/O pins and a PS/2 interface requires 4 resistors and +5V from the regulator. Use the Demo Board's schematic for reference.

4) Sure. The PEK is a good starting point, particularly since you want the experience in building circuits.

Dougbrowne · 2009-10-30 03:06

Great, that's good to hear. The main reason why I was worried about buying the PEK was because I was unsure if I was limited by the breadboard too much, which is something I definitely don't want to be. But from what your saying, everything seems to be cool for me. Thanks for the help/info.

Cluso99 · 2009-10-30 03:11

1. Yes
2. Yes
3. Yes. Ethernet will require a module. PS2 & TV are just a handful of resistors and connectors and objects are already written.
4. I have had a look at the edu kit - good value. Suggest the USB version may be easier (the other is out of stock anyway) although you lose the propplug. If you go this way, get the PS2 p/n 28060 and TV p/n 28050 pcbs as well, since this is what you want to do.

If you can solder, the Propeller ProtoBoard with USB is another good cheap way to get started - also buy the connector kit as the connector is not so easy to get (you can buy from DigiKey). It includes the USB PropPlug on board. You may want to get the TV p/n 28050 also although you could wire on a socket (or cable) to the breadboard section plus 3 resistors.

Either way, you will enjoy the prop, and there is plenty of help here on the forum - just ask.

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Links to other interesting threads:

· Home of the MultiBladeProps: TriBlade,·RamBlade,·SixBlade, website
· Single Board Computer:·3 Propeller ICs·and a·TriBladeProp board (ZiCog Z80 Emulator)
· Prop Tools under Development or Completed (Index)
· Emulators: CPUs Z80 etc; Micros Altair etc;· Terminals·VT100 etc; (Index) ZiCog (Z80) , MoCog (6809)
· Search the Propeller forums·(uses advanced Google search)
My cruising website is: ·www.bluemagic.biz·· MultiBladeProp is: www.bluemagic.biz/cluso.htm

ElectricAye · 2009-10-30 03:13

Welcome!

I knew only a tiny bit about electronics and very little about microprocessors when I started with the Prop Education Kit last year, and I found I was able to learn fairly quickly. From there, I've made my own printed circuit boards, photon counters, SD card data recorders, digital thermometer systems, digital pot controllers, VGA and TV displays, and I'm now working on a thermal gradient device using PWM for a biological application. But I must confess: I have leaned pretty heavily upon the generous gurus and geniuses that populate this forum. In fact I would say that the PE kit + forum community makes an incredibly powerful combination.

So, yes, grab your brain, get the kit, and jump right in. Here it's a pretty good swim without too much sinking.

Dougbrowne · 2009-10-30 03:42

I'm going to wait for the 40 PIN DIP PEK to come back in stock (Which will hopefully be soon). I'm pretty much set on the Edu kit right now, as it seems the most versatile choice to suit my needs. Right now, I'm going to be buying the Edu Kit, PS/2-breadboard, RCA-Breadboard, and Micro-SD module from Parallax. Then from digikey I'll probably get the 128KB EPROM. I've also looked and saw some RJ45-breadboard adapters that I could probably use if I decide to do something with Ethernet along with some sort of Ethernet controller IC.

And thanks ElectricAye for the encouragement and advice, it's nice to know somebody who went through what I am about to venture into

Mike Green · 2009-10-30 03:57

Look at the YBox2 for an example of an Ethernet Propeller.

www.ladyada.net/make/ybox2/

www.deepdarc.com/ybox2

Dougbrowne · 2009-10-30 04:27

Thanks, I'll take a look.

by the way, does anybody know on average how long it takes them to restock something like the PEK?

Cluso99 · 2009-10-30 05:02

Probably due to the propeller DIP shortage so maybe not before 4 Dec :-(

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Links to other interesting threads:

· Home of the MultiBladeProps: TriBlade,·RamBlade,·SixBlade, website
· Single Board Computer:·3 Propeller ICs·and a·TriBladeProp board (ZiCog Z80 Emulator)
· Prop Tools under Development or Completed (Index)
· Emulators: CPUs Z80 etc; Micros Altair etc;· Terminals·VT100 etc; (Index) ZiCog (Z80) , MoCog (6809)
· Search the Propeller forums·(uses advanced Google search)
My cruising website is: ·www.bluemagic.biz·· MultiBladeProp is: www.bluemagic.biz/cluso.htm

Dougbrowne · 2009-10-31 21:41

Good news, I found the PEK at FRYs electronics website for only $69.99 and it's in stock [noparse]:D[/noparse].

One last question though..

I'm looking for an Ethernet jack with built-in magnetics that I could put on a breadboard, does anybody know if this one (search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail?name=553-1345-ND) would fit into a breadboard? If not, does anybody know of one? I do plan on adding Ethernet support to my propeller project eventually and would definitely prefer to stick with building my stuff on a breadboard. As a last resort I could just purchase the PropNIC, but I'd prefer to build my own circuit on a breadboard.

Mike Green · 2009-10-31 21:51

Look at the datasheet. There's no magic to answering your question. For use on a breadboard, you will need pins on 0.1" centers and they'll need to be long enough to reach the contacts in the breadboard, thick enough to engage the contacts well, and stiff enough to make it into the contacts without buckling. Use 0.1" male header pins for examples of what works. Check with SparkFun's on-line catalog for what they call "breakout boards". These are designed (and sometimes already supplied with) for components to be mounted on PCBs and they bring out the contacts to 0.1" spacing holes for use with 0.1" header pins and breadboards. I think they have an Ethernet jack with built-in magnetics.

Dougbrowne · 2009-10-31 21:57

Funny you mentioned sparkfun, I was just looking there before I read your reply. Anyway, on sparkfun I see an RJ45 with built in magnetics, plus a matching breakout board for it. My question is though, how do I use the breakout board? From the pictures it looks like well.. a regular PCB with holes for the jack and some other holes. Am I suppose to attach a header to it to use it with a breadboard? Again, really sorry, I am new at this stuff..

mosquito56 · 2009-10-31 21:59

·· The pek is definetly the way to begin you prop experience. Wiring everything from scratch is an excellent way to go. The drawing on the cover will help alot.
·· Just my two cents but I would order the t.v. and sd card from ucontrollers.com. They are almost plug and play. He will even solder the kits for you if you ask nicely. I have soldered 4 spinstudios with no problem but screwed up 2 tv cards, so I just asked him to solder the tv and sd cards for me.
·· When you get tired of the pek the paralax professional develpment board is great for trying out new components. Wait till it goes on sale, I bought mine for $89. I wouldn't pay $169 for it and I love the darn thing.

No seals, dogs, cats and·or· polar bears where harmed in the writing of this post. Countless millions of electrons gave up their lives for this message. I have no business relationship with ucontrollers and have not dealt with any other vendors from this site so I cannot comment on them.

Don

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······· "What do you mean, it doesn't have any tubes?"
······· "No such thing as a dumb question" unless it's on the internet
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Dougbrowne · 2009-10-31 22:09

I bought the TV out and Micro-SD reader, and PS/2 Out from Parallax already, mainly because right now, I'd really prefer to everything/all the wiring from scratch this way I can learn a lot [noparse]:D[/noparse]. But anyway, continuing from my last question so I don't lose the topic..

Somebody said...
Funny you mentioned sparkfun, I was just looking there before I read your reply. Anyway, on sparkfun I see an RJ45 with built in magnetics, plus a matching breakout board for it. My question is though, how do I use the breakout board? From the pictures it looks like well.. a regular PCB with holes for the jack and some other holes. Am I suppose to attach a header to it to use it with a breadboard? Again, really sorry, I am new at this stuff..

Mike Green · 2009-10-31 22:12

The RJ45 jack solders into some of the holes. The two large holes are for the mounting studs of the jack. The row of holes on the edge of the board are for 0.1" male header pins to be soldered. The breakout board I saw doesn't have connections for the LED leads. You might be able to bend them up out of the way and solder short wires to them that could be inserted into the breadboard sockets. That's what I'd do.

Dougbrowne · 2009-10-31 22:15

Great, thanks for the info! It's really appreciated

A few questions..

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