Where Should I Start?
Miles. k
Posts: 34
i would consider myself a fairly seasoned BS2 programmer and i have been looking at the propeller and it seems to be everything I'm looking for. But I dont know where to start. I was considering two kits: the "propeller education kit" or the "propeller starter kit". The only reason I ask this is because both kits have separate book's.
Comments
The PE kit provides more hardware interaction. Everything is breadboarded.
If you like the idea of working with the hardware side, then the PE kit is a good
starting point. The book that comes with this kit is extremely good for
learning spin. It's intended as a training guide.
The Starter Kit has the Demoboard with does provide a small breadboard
space, but most of the board is constructed for you, more plug and play.
This board is perfect for someone leaning toward more of the software side.
The book that comes with this kit is the Propeller Manual which isn't as
"tutorial based" as the PE book, but is an excellent reference to the language.
Ultimately both kits are highly recommended! Certainly download both books.
OBC
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What do you guys think about the Propeller Professional Development Board with both books downloaded?
Seems to me, it's a great playground, with a nice split the middle factor. Demoboard has little room, but offers a nice set of starter goodies. Hard to expand though.
The kit is good because it's very flexible, but it's kind of a bummer for running lots of stuff.
The PPDB takes a few basic connections to be Demoboard compatible, but once it is, you can then do both! Running programs, and connecting things, with there being a nice, consistent set of things to connect to!
If that product were released when I started, I probably would have started on that board. Even though it's got Pro in the name, doing the basics are not any more tough than just bread boarding up enough to get going, is it?
The downside is having to source the misc components necessary to work through the Education kit.
@Ken: Maybe package up a parts kit that includes all that is needed for the Education Kit, but can be purchased for the PPDB?
Edit: It's more expensive that way, but the PPDB has a replaceable Prop, and plenty of room to do projects, expand, etc...
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Post Edited (potatohead) : 12/9/2009 4:27:20 AM GMT
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Propeller Wiki: Share the coolness!
Chat in real time with other Propellerheads on IRC #propeller @ freenode.net
Safety Tip: Life is as good as YOU think it is!
············· I played with the stamp for some 10 years making table top bug bots so ended up with a huge pile of servos, sensors, bits and bobs. I got the PE kit and im mighty glad I did! the book that comes with it is not "propellers for idiots" and I have no degrees in anything so I found it a little tough going at first but realy this it the best way to start. Now there are bread bord parts galore so if you realy want you can bread bord out the demobord anyway and even take it ferther, hell add in a joystick insted of a mouse! then when you have gotten everything you can out of the PE book and bread borded your own·demobord you can snap on another 3 bread bords on the bottom and go nuts adding in another prop and networking them together.(no I havnt done this yet but I will!)
Buy the keybord/mouse/mini tv kit too, the tv is ever so usefull! I made up a battery pack to run it outa NI.MH pencells that sticks on to the back of the screen and a pack of·NI.MH·9volts that are stuck to the underside of the bread bord. This is a handy configeration and quite portable.
One more thing thats not realy covered much with the prop is getting your sound out. I ended up with getting a very small single channle amp kit from jaycar and conecting an 8 ohm speeker to it.