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Propeller Chip? Am I Ready? What Do I Need? — Parallax Forums

Propeller Chip? Am I Ready? What Do I Need?

ShanePShaneP Posts: 12
edited 2010-06-26 22:41 in Propeller 1
Okay, so I am pretty good with BS2, and I am getting tired of using capacitors and digital potentiometer, and would like to be able to have multiple commands running at the same time. Is Propeller What I should Upgrade to?

PS: What Do I need to get started, I use mac.
PSS: How Much Dough Will I Spend. (A little Tight right now)

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I don't have a basic stamp, I AM The basic stamp 2

Comments

  • smbakersmbaker Posts: 164
    edited 2010-06-22 22:37
    How is the propeller going to relieve you of having to deal with capacitors and/or digital pots?

    The multitasking ability of the prop is very handy; it's made development much easier for me. It's also very nice to be able to get video output essentially for free. If you go the extra step and buy Viewport, then in-circuit debugging is absolutely incredible. I too have used the basic stamp (many years ago) as well as a variety of PICs, but once I started using the prop I haven't looked back.

    The first kit I used was the propeller education kit. It contained a small breadboard, DIP propeller, prop plug, and a handful of parts. I much prefer the professional development board, although it is pricey. Parallax occasionally puts them on sale with the "Daily Sale", and it's always a good deal when they do.
  • HarleyHarley Posts: 997
    edited 2010-06-22 22:41
    ShaneP said...
    Okay, so I am pretty good with BS2, and I am getting tired of using capacitors and digital potentiometer, and would like to be able to have multiple commands running at the same time. Is Propeller What I should Upgrade to?

    PS: What Do I need to get started, I use mac.
    PSS: How Much Dough Will I Spend. (A little Tight right now)
    I don't have a basic stamp, I AM The basic stamp 2
    There are several on this forum using a Macintosh. My path has been to use Parallels and Windows XP. That allows one to use any PC application. The Propeller Tool (editor/compiler) being the main one. PASD I use for PASM debugging and ViewPort's logic analyzer (32 signals wide) to view all the I/Os of the Prop. There are other tools which others use. Look in on the 'blue threads' at the top of this Prop forum for info on what's available. Good place for beginning Prop users to check out.

    My 2¢. yeah.gif

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    Harley Shanko
  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2010-06-22 22:49
    You can switch to using BST on the MacOS. It's an excellent IDE and Spin/PASM compiler for all three platforms (Windows, Linux, and MacOS) and now can also compile PropBasic to Spin/PASM and run that automatically through the compiler.

    You'd still need Windows for PASD and ViewPort.

    The Propeller Education Kit or the Propeller Protoboard are both good "starter" systems.
  • GranzGranz Posts: 179
    edited 2010-06-23 05:30
    ShaneP said...
    Okay, so I am pretty good with BS2, and I am getting tired of using capacitors and digital potentiometer, and would like to be able to have multiple commands running at the same time. Is Propeller What I should Upgrade to?

    PS: What Do I need to get started, I use mac.
    PSS: How Much Dough Will I Spend. (A little Tight right now)

    As far as using the Mac, I think that this may help: http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=755835. I have not read the entire thing, but it looks like it may do what you need.

    For low-cost, try www.topprop.net/ on for size. Go about 1/4 of the way down the page (the last thing before the Prop Magazine starts). If you have a breadboard, or one of those PCBs that emulate one, and a slightly decent parts bin, you can build one for a bit over U$10.00. Add in a second (and third, etc) breadboard, then download the PE Kit Lab manual and follow the exercises there. That will get you going with Spin.

    Come to the UPENE at the end of August (http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=896865) and you will get a bunch of stuff to get you started - much of it free (after travel costs).

    On a chip-by-chip basis, the Prop is a bit more expensive to purchase than many others, but the development costs are pretty minimal. And the power of the Prop is unmatched by any microcontroller chip I have run across (and that is hundreds of different ones).

    Good luck with it - and keep searching these forums and Parallax's site - ton's of info here.

    Art
  • ShanePShaneP Posts: 12
    edited 2010-06-26 20:45
    Well, I'll Start Saving. Video Output sounds fun, I like the idea of a trackball. So i think i'll look around for prices

    PS: Is the propeller able to measure resistance? Or put out diff. voltages?


    EDIT: If I have a Bread Board (A huge one in this case), plus my parts (Leds, ping, button, etc) , could i just buy a chip and whatever else? Please tell me if so.

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    I don't have a basic stamp, I AM The basic stamp 2

    Post Edited (ShaneP) : 6/26/2010 8:57:35 PM GMT
  • GranzGranz Posts: 179
    edited 2010-06-26 22:41
    ShaneP said...
    Well, I'll Start Saving. Video Output sounds fun, I like the idea of a trackball. So i think i'll look around for prices

    PS: Is the propeller able to measure resistance? Or put out diff. voltages?


    EDIT: If I have a Bread Board (A huge one in this case), plus my parts (Leds, ping, button, etc) , could i just buy a chip and whatever else? Please tell me if so.

    The Prop can measure resistance and put out different voltages and a huge amount more - some with additional components and much without. Build the Top Prop or get one of Parallax's kits and follow one of the great intros available. OBC wrote a great intro to get you started (www.parallax.com/Portals/0/Downloads/docs/prod/prop/32212-32812-Protoboard_Introduction.pdf, and then you can go on to things like the PE Kit Lab Manual and others to learn about that kind of stuff.

    To your edited question: Yes, that is what the Top Prop that I mentioned is describing. Use your own everything - Parallax sells the Prop for $7.99 +S/H and the EEPROM for $1.50 (just in case your parts bin is like mine used to be before I got my first Prop stuff lol.gif ) That is the $10.00 that I referenced in my last post - assuming that you have the rest of the stuff in your bin.

    The rest of the stuff is pretty generic: C1 – C4, C7 & C8 = 0.1uF; C5 = 0.01uF; C6 = 10.0uF; Q1 = 2N3904; R1 - R3 = 10K; R4 & R5 = 4.7K; U1 = MAX-232; U2 = 24FC256 (EEPROM); U3 = P8X32A-D40 (Propeller); U4 = LM2937-3.3 (could use any 3.3V regulator) and XTAL = 5.0 MHz; and the breadboard and power supply or battery box. That's it! I numbered the components on the pictorial diagram at Top Prop's site from left to right. Most experimenters have much of that stuff already on hand and you can get the rest of the stuff at pretty low cost.

    Art

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    Art G. Granzeier III
    President, Granzeier Consulting

    Helping to Build a Better Engineer
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