Has there been any movement / decision·on selling the STINGRAY without the Propeller control board? I like the looks of the platform but do not·program the Propeller.
You might want to talk to Parallax Sales about this. Many of components are currently available (Motors, Wheels, Omni-directional wheel and axle. All you need is the metal chassis parts, breadboard and battery holder. You will also want a motor controller (which the Propeller Robot Control Board comes with).
You cant bet it is probably just a cheap to by the Stingray. You could keep the Propeller Robot Control Board (which I promise you will want eventually!) or sell it to a forum member and come out ahead on cost (it sells by itself for $99). The Basic Stamp Board of Education will fit in the spot.
However - with Bean's work on Prop BASIC and all the help on the forums and new Stingray users·and the great Propeller Education Book - why not give the Prop a try?
I am no expert with the Prop - but I'm having fun with my Stingray and learning a lot to boot! Just my 2 cents. Check out James H. Phelan's review of the Stingray in the May/June issue of Robot Magazine. He was brand new to the Prop and the Stingray (now mind you - he is a smart fellow, but he found his way along - again with all the help here and at Parallax).
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
I'd second what Whit said especially about PropBASIC. I am currently working with PropBASIC to program my Stingray like Plywood chassis robot called Banshee. http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=876789 I hope to post the PropBASIC code in the next couple of days that does the same as the demo code on the Stingray Product page using three Ping sensors.
Bean and the PropBASIC form thread members have been a great help. The learnig curve form PBasic to PropBASIC is significantly less than PBasic to Spin. That means I have moved ahead very quickly on my Propeller robots in one month's time.
A Stingray robot with a Propeller Board is great robot with lots of room for improvement and learning
Thanks for the input. I will give sales a call.
I do plan on learning to use the propeller but not just yet. Have other pokers in the fire just now and don't have the time to learn another micro. But I can always find a little time to tinker with a robotic device. I have a full version of the BOE-BOT plus a BOE-BOT chassis using a different micro and set up. Was going to make a robot chassis myself but my ideas kept looking like copies of the BOE-BOT! So I just bought another chassis and used it.
One reason that I like the Stingray so much is the size. Room to add·SLA batteries and several control boards without it becoming top heavy and still be small enough to have it running around the house.
Tony B. said...
Bean and the PropBASIC form thread members have been a great help. The learnig curve form PBasic to PropBASIC is significantly less than PBasic to Spin. That means I have moved ahead very quickly on my Propeller robots in one month's time.
Where is this "PropBASIC"??? I hope it's okay to share this link - I had trouble finding this - I believe this is the correct link to answer my question: www.propbasic.com/
Also, I am very anxious to get my Propeller Robot Control Board - Tuesday! Woo hoo!
Don't cheat yourself; the Prop control board is the best thing on the Stingray. Per Whit, if you don't have time for it yet, set it aside temporarily. That's exactly where I'm at right now!
erco
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ·"If you build it, they will come."
I second that! Believe me, with the many pre-written objects on the Propeller Object Exchange, your code practically writes itself. Learning SPIN and PASM is sooo much easier with all the examples to look at. And now with PropBasic and the BS2 commands written in SPIN, how can you lose? Plus, there's another feature on the Robot Board you'll be using every day, and that's the no-hassle 5.0 volt sensors/signals to the 3.3 volt Propeller chip interface section. Just plug in your standard servos, sensors, or 5 v. what-have-yous, and you're good to go. No fuss, no muss. Right now, as I look at my Stingray--which I've named C.A.R.L. (Complex Autonomous Robotic Lifeform)--I have plugged in 6 Pings, 4 Sharp IR rangers, 5 IR edge sensors, 2 Laser controllers (on/off), 2 Servos (for video camera's pan & tilt), 4 quadrature inputs (from the wheel motors) and an X-Band movement sensor.
I thought I was going to have trouble with the quadrature inputs, but not when there's a Object Exchange object. Simply create a cog to watch over them, no nasty interrupt code, easy as can be! Just read distance traveled & direction for each wheel from a common memory location and calculate anything you want from them.
I'm telling you, once you've tried the Stingray with its Propeller Robot Control Board, you might as well disassemble your BOE-Bot, it'll become a good paper weight.
Heck, I've even ordered one of Andre LaMothe's Chameleon-AVR boards so I can add a second deck to C.A.R.L. The thought of having 2 Propellers and an Atmel Mega328 all talking on an SPI bus, I'm tingling with anticipation. Between leveraging the Propeller Objects and the Arduino libraries...I sing the body electric! Then, if I can work all those kinks out, I'm going to get one of Cluso's tri-prop boards and really start putting the "A" in autonomous. And I haven't even started on the Propeller II chip! By the time I get done fooling around, it'll probably be out and I'll get to add THAT to the mix. I'm a very happy roboticist!
Wow, it sounds like you're the go-to guy for Stingray. I would love to see some videos of what you've achieved with all your wyzardry. There is really nothing on Youtube except Roaming with Pings. I'm sure you're far beyond that. Can you upload some stuff?
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ ·"If you build it, they will come."
Comments
You might want to talk to Parallax Sales about this. Many of components are currently available (Motors, Wheels, Omni-directional wheel and axle. All you need is the metal chassis parts, breadboard and battery holder. You will also want a motor controller (which the Propeller Robot Control Board comes with).
You cant bet it is probably just a cheap to by the Stingray. You could keep the Propeller Robot Control Board (which I promise you will want eventually!) or sell it to a forum member and come out ahead on cost (it sells by itself for $99). The Basic Stamp Board of Education will fit in the spot.
However - with Bean's work on Prop BASIC and all the help on the forums and new Stingray users·and the great Propeller Education Book - why not give the Prop a try?
I am no expert with the Prop - but I'm having fun with my Stingray and learning a lot to boot! Just my 2 cents. Check out James H. Phelan's review of the Stingray in the May/June issue of Robot Magazine. He was brand new to the Prop and the Stingray (now mind you - he is a smart fellow, but he found his way along - again with all the help here and at Parallax).
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
Post Edited (Whit) : 3/13/2010 3:35:12 PM GMT
I'd second what Whit said especially about PropBASIC. I am currently working with PropBASIC to program my Stingray like Plywood chassis robot called Banshee.
http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=876789 I hope to post the PropBASIC code in the next couple of days that does the same as the demo code on the Stingray Product page using three Ping sensors.
Bean and the PropBASIC form thread members have been a great help. The learnig curve form PBasic to PropBASIC is significantly less than PBasic to Spin. That means I have moved ahead very quickly on my Propeller robots in one month's time.
A Stingray robot with a Propeller Board is great robot with lots of room for improvement and learning
Tony
I do plan on learning to use the propeller but not just yet. Have other pokers in the fire just now and don't have the time to learn another micro. But I can always find a little time to tinker with a robotic device. I have a full version of the BOE-BOT plus a BOE-BOT chassis using a different micro and set up. Was going to make a robot chassis myself but my ideas kept looking like copies of the BOE-BOT! So I just bought another chassis and used it.
One reason that I like the Stingray so much is the size. Room to add·SLA batteries and several control boards without it becoming top heavy and still be small enough to have it running around the house.
Dave E
Where is this "PropBASIC"??? I hope it's okay to share this link - I had trouble finding this - I believe this is the correct link to answer my question:
www.propbasic.com/
Also, I am very anxious to get my Propeller Robot Control Board - Tuesday! Woo hoo!
Note to Parallax folk: Do you want to list the Propeller Robot Control Board &/or the Singray here
www.parallax.com/PropellerProducts/tabid/834/Default.aspx
See this massive thread which is on the Propeller Forum - http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=867134 It is 14 pages now and growing!
There is a great intro to PropBASIC by Jon Williams (aka JonnyMac)·in his Nuts and Volts - Spin Zone - March 2010 issue. See http://www.parallax.com/Portals/0/Downloads/docs/cols/nv/prop/col/nvp5.pdf
and http://www.parallax.com/Portals/0/Downloads/docs/cols/nv/prop/code/nvp5.zip
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Whit+
"We keep moving forward, opening new doors, and doing new things, because we're curious and curiosity keeps leading us down new paths." - Walt Disney
Post Edited (Whit) : 3/14/2010 7:58:22 PM GMT
Don't cheat yourself; the Prop control board is the best thing on the Stingray. Per Whit, if you don't have time for it yet, set it aside temporarily. That's exactly where I'm at right now!
erco
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·"If you build it, they will come."
I thought I was going to have trouble with the quadrature inputs, but not when there's a Object Exchange object. Simply create a cog to watch over them, no nasty interrupt code, easy as can be! Just read distance traveled & direction for each wheel from a common memory location and calculate anything you want from them.
I'm telling you, once you've tried the Stingray with its Propeller Robot Control Board, you might as well disassemble your BOE-Bot, it'll become a good paper weight.
Heck, I've even ordered one of Andre LaMothe's Chameleon-AVR boards so I can add a second deck to C.A.R.L. The thought of having 2 Propellers and an Atmel Mega328 all talking on an SPI bus, I'm tingling with anticipation. Between leveraging the Propeller Objects and the Arduino libraries...I sing the body electric! Then, if I can work all those kinks out, I'm going to get one of Cluso's tri-prop boards and really start putting the "A" in autonomous. And I haven't even started on the Propeller II chip! By the time I get done fooling around, it'll probably be out and I'll get to add THAT to the mix. I'm a very happy roboticist!
Wow, it sounds like you're the go-to guy for Stingray. I would love to see some videos of what you've achieved with all your wyzardry. There is really nothing on Youtube except Roaming with Pings. I'm sure you're far beyond that. Can you upload some stuff?
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·"If you build it, they will come."