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Thinking of upgrading to a new chip... — Parallax Forums

Thinking of upgrading to a new chip...

WolfyWolfy Posts: 14
edited 2010-09-23 13:04 in Propeller 1
I currently have a basic stamp 2 and am thinking of upgrading to the propeller. Is it worth the upgrade, or should hold off? I've learned a general understanding of PBasic and am looking for something a lil bit more challenging than the bs2 is...

Any suggestions?

Comments

  • w4fejw4fej Posts: 264
    edited 2010-09-11 09:18
    Run, don't walk to your nearest credit card and buy the Prop!! :jumpin: I have completely abandoned my BS2P40 project and redoing the whole thing using the propeller. For $7.95 you get 8 (that's right, EIGHT) 32 bit processors.

    Need more than 32 pins of I/O? Spend another $7.95 and add a second Prop as a "smart I/O" device.

    Mike B.
  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2010-09-11 09:21
    "Is it worth the upgrade"?

    That depends on what's important to you. You can do things with the Propeller that you can't do well with the Stamps and some things that you can't do at all with the Stamps. There are all sorts of options for programming the Propeller including C, a self-contained Basic, PropBasic, 12-Blocks, Forth, Spin, PASM. The Stamps have PBasic.

    "something a 'lil bit more challenging"

    Well, yes.
  • bill190bill190 Posts: 769
    edited 2010-09-11 09:23
    Yes, good idea. Look at the Propeller object exchange. See all the neat things you can do! These are programs which will run on the propeller (called objects).

    Propeller Object Exchange...
    http://obex.parallax.com

    At first you might want to blink some LED's just to get a feel for things and see that everything is working.

    Then might try using an object which uses a separate "cog". There are 8 "cogs" or processors on the Propeller. Basically you can do 8 different things at once.

    Then later on you can even learn assembly language programming (called PASM here) if you want.

    I can even do one thing on one cog, then use another cog for testing!

    FYI - Be careful to use resistors as noted in the instruction manuals for the Propeller. The stamp has built in resistors for protection. The Propeller does not.
  • lardomlardom Posts: 1,659
    edited 2010-09-11 09:51
    Wolfy, make the move to the Propeller! Spin is the next logical step. The Prop is a LOT less expensive and a LOT more powerful. And you will not believe the amount of support you get from professional programmers who are willing to share their knowledge. I programmed in Pbasic for the first time in 2009. I completed a Spin version in 2010, a much more feature rich program. Now I am learning assembly because that is the next logical step. The speed with which I learned, having never programmed anything, is due to this forum.
  • $WMc%$WMc% Posts: 1,884
    edited 2010-09-11 10:29
    Wolfy wrote: »
    I currently have a basic stamp 2 and am thinking of upgrading to the propeller. Is it worth the upgrade, or should hold off? I've learned a general understanding of PBasic and am looking for something a lil bit more challenging than the bs2 is...

    Any suggestions?
    '
    Take a look at PropBasic.This is what helped me make the change to the Prop. I to have a long back round with BASIC. PropBasic made the Prop. easier for me to use, It's super fast too.
    '
    If you look at the bottom of my signature, You'll find the links for "bst" and "PropBasic". Their are 3 vers of bst. 1 for windows, 1 for MAC,and 1 for Linux. So make sure you download the right one for your O/S.
    '
    PropBasic is a little different then the Basic used in the BS2's. It will take some time getting use to. Working through the PropBasic DEMO codes will help in understanding the program flow and how things are laid out.
    '
    Hope this helps
  • Cluso99Cluso99 Posts: 18,069
    edited 2010-09-11 16:54
    Welcome Wolfy.

    If $ is an issue you can either build on a breadboard or next best, buy a ProtoBoard with USB. You can add 3 resistors and an RCA cable to generate color TV. If you intend to use VGA and the Keyboard (& mouse) but the combo socket too as it is difficult to get (you can buy it from DigiKey later too). If you sacrifice the Keyboard/Mouse connector you can use an old VGA socket scavenged from a pc but ensure the VGA connector has the plug attached when soldering to the ProtoBoard as it has to be lifted off the pcb slightly.

    You cannot go wrong with the prop for the next step.
  • Dr_AculaDr_Acula Posts: 5,484
    edited 2010-09-11 18:01
    Cluso said "You cannot go wrong with the prop for the next step. "

    I agree. In fact, it was Cluso who helped me through the steep part of the learning curve and got me hooked on the propeller. I've never looked back! He even travelled from interstate and gave me half a day of his time to help me out. How's that for service from a forum member!
  • VernVern Posts: 75
    edited 2010-09-11 20:53
    I have nothing to really add to this thread but I just wanted to say that its threads like this that make this place seem very newbie friendly. Its encouraging and makes me even more excited to get started with the propeller.

    Thanks guys.
  • ElectricAyeElectricAye Posts: 4,561
    edited 2010-09-11 21:11
    The BS2 provides an illuminated path to Propeller nirvana. Welcome to the 8-fold bliss.

    :)
  • Cluso99Cluso99 Posts: 18,069
    edited 2010-09-12 02:10
    Thanks Drac. But really... I had as much fun as you and have been following your exploits of the prop since.

    Unfortunately, my time has been limited, so some things have taken longer that expected. Also, I probably (no definately!!!) bit of more than I can chew... I have a QuadCopter design and a RepRap design underway too, in addition to a new RetroBlade design that is pretty much complete.
  • RiJoRiRiJoRi Posts: 157
    edited 2010-09-23 13:04
    OK, I guess I'm weird... I went from the Prop to a BS2e. Admittedly, the BS2e was on sale, and I was curious about the BS2 family. And I was curious as to how the BASIC chips had grown from the INS8073 & the 8052-BASIC chips.

    Having shown my weird-osity, I will say that the BS2 is like a tricycle, but the Prop is like a Porsche. A world of difference! Just remember that the BS2 is good at what it does -- there may be times when all you'll need is a BS2 -- I used one to make a cable-tester for DBx cables. But there are times when only a Prop will do -- One of my first Prop projects was to control the LEDs for a foam-core Christmas tree, with a white LED on top brightening and dimming. A WAY too hard for a BS2!

    A word of advice: if you use the Spin language, do NOT look for a FOR-NEXT command. (Guess how I know! :) )

    HTH,
    --Rich
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