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Sneak Peek on Parallax's $20 Propeller Board (fixed) — Parallax Forums

Sneak Peek on Parallax's $20 Propeller Board (fixed)

Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
edited 2011-05-12 14:20 in Propeller 1
Since Ken is posting up about the changes happening at Parallax, it seems like a good time to let another cat out of the bag..

Enjoy a little peek at Parallax Semiconductor's evaluation board:
http://propellerpowered.com/?p=586

OBC
«134

Comments

  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2011-04-30 17:06
    OBC, The link doesn't work (not allowed to view drafts).
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2011-04-30 17:06
    It seems I don't have permission to preview drafts.
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2011-04-30 17:07
    JINX! and "JINX!" as a message is too short.
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2011-04-30 17:08
    Link fixed!

    OBC
  • MicrocontrolledMicrocontrolled Posts: 2,461
    edited 2011-04-30 17:09
    Excitement rising..... $20 Propeller board..... can't wait to see..... NOOO!!!! It's a bad link!
    :-)

    EDIT: He posted while I was typing!
  • Oldbitcollector (Jeff)Oldbitcollector (Jeff) Posts: 8,091
    edited 2011-04-30 17:11
    hehe..

    Nothing like teasing you guys and then posting a limited access "draft" link. :)

    You guys will love the new board! We should see an increase in new people trying out our favorite chip because of it!

    OBC
  • BaggersBaggers Posts: 3,019
    edited 2011-04-30 17:11
    Use it on the airplane? I didn't know you were allowed to take electronics and wires onboard in a carry on :D

    Well I did know actually lol :D coming back from Eindhoven with a load of electronics in a holdall :D

    Didn't know you could use them in the air though! bet you'd get some funny looks!
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,401
    edited 2011-04-30 17:20
    Jeff has some insider news.

    The purpose of this board is to serve as an open reference design. The DipTrace and Altium files will be available for anybody. Product developers can get their samples quickly, without waiting for a purchasing manager to order it.

    If QuickStart distribution remains free for product developers then our program is working. If we eliminate the free aspect then the level of abuse was too high - time will tell. Some amount of cheaters are expected, yet we refuse to let a small percentage dictate our mode of operation. In the same way we open the doors and Parallax and UPEW visitors stay all night. If QuickStart freebie requests appear to be invalid after our early tracking efforts and we are unable to verify that the authenticity then the free distribution will end. Maybe some of you have tips about how we can handle this - at the moment we have a form loaded with some questions about their design. If you can't honestly answer the questions then you can buy one for twenty bucks. This should take care of 9/10ths of the requests.

    But why free, anyway? Because we don't want product developers to have any barriers. Sometimes they have to go through purchasing and wait for a purchase order [no purchase order needed :].

    Another possible barrier is perceived complexity. We've found that some customers [and a huge portion of our volume users] do not use video, or they find the variety of peripheral connectors almost concerning. They might even think that the Propeller has hardware tied to certain pins when they see a Propeller Demo Board or C3, causing them to stop looking any further. The QuickStart is plain and simple, and it doesn't make decisions for you.

    Finally, if an engineer may find the code examples complex then we've eliminated that barrier as well. There's a very simple QuickStart set of programs that they can load and run from our web site. Easy stuff - just enough to get them plugged in and running.

    USB powered, too. Baggers, you can use it on the airplane. I am.

    Hope you guys like it too. I know that many of your desires from us are more complex than us creating more hardware, and we're working on that list too. IDE requests, Gold Standard objects, etc. are in the queue or underway.

    Thanks,

    Ken Gracey
  • MicrocontrolledMicrocontrolled Posts: 2,461
    edited 2011-04-30 17:20
    WOW. This board is like nothing I've ever seen! It breaks away from the standard "Propeller board" outline so much it makes an impression on those of us who are used to seeing the same thing in different forms. It has USB, but costs less than a PropPlug, yet it has a Propeller too! Is something like this even possible?!?! Even better, it has "no button touchpads" which I have never before seen used on a dev board, budget or not! I am sure that this will bring a few more engineers to use the Propeller chip.

    Also, what is the mysterious "Parallax semiconductor"? Is Parallax branching off to have a "Professional" branch separate from their current Education based company?
  • Cole LoganCole Logan Posts: 196
    edited 2011-04-30 17:28
    I would love to buy one of these to play with.
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2011-04-30 17:29
    Awesomely SWEET!!! Since I have no ideas, I'll gladly pay $20 to have one of these amazing tools tucked away in a drawer at work so I can entertain myself during BORING conference calls!! USB Powered??? Double SWEET!!

    I hope the program helps evangelize the Prop to the masses!

    Rick
  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,185
    edited 2011-04-30 17:29
    Nice board, good price point.

    Follows along the same lines as this one : $20, USB, PCB files provided.

    http://media.digikey.com/Photos/Nuvoton%20Technology/NUTINY-SDK-M0516.jpg
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2011-04-30 17:30
    P.S. When can we start pre-ordering?????
  • Bill HenningBill Henning Posts: 6,445
    edited 2011-04-30 17:35
    Eval board looks good!
  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,185
    edited 2011-04-30 17:38
    Product developers can get their samples quickly, without waiting for a purchasing manager to order it.

    If it stays free for product developers then our program is working. If we eliminate the free aspect then the level of abuse is too high. Some amount of cheaters are expected, yet we refuse to let a small percentage dictate our mode of operation. But if they get out of control and we are unable to verify that the requests are valid then the free distribution will end. Maybe some of you have tips about how we can handle this - at the moment we have a form loaded with some questions about their design. If you can't honestly answer the questions then you can buy one for twenty bucks.

    I'm lost here, the board is $20 ? (or not ?)

    Are you thinking of 'free to qualified developers' ? What about freight ?

    At $20, that's essentially free, and yet it gets you into Digikey and similar (see the example I posted of Nuvoton's $20 board)

    http://search.digikey.com/scripts/DkSearch/dksus.dll?Detail&name=NUTINY-SDK-M0516-ND

    They also have the design files on the web.

    I don't see $20 as much impediment, I'd rather pay $20, and get good examples, than 'free' (still leaves freight?).

    ie to me, this is more important, than wringing hands over $20 ?
    There's a very simple QuickStart set of programs that they can load and run from our web site. Easy stuff - just enough to get them plugged in and running.
  • jmgjmg Posts: 15,185
    edited 2011-04-30 17:47
    Enjoy a little peek at Parallax Semiconductor's evaluation board:
    http://propellerpowered.com/?p=586

    It's not fully clear, but I'm guessing this can run from EEPROM, without USB connected ?
    How large is the EEPROM, and is it QuadSPI ?

    ie once you have developed, you can deploy this for some power-cycling tests & things like test equipment use ?

    Test Bench examples and usage I would see as a great way to get designers hooked into Prop.
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2011-04-30 17:50
    $20 to some, free samples to others doesn't prevent you from getting into Digikey, Mouser, etc. Many products sold there are also sampled by the manufacturer.

    If you work for a large monolithic dinosaur of a company and want to *BUY* something, the funding approval process can sometimes kill a good idea or delay it to death (or so I've heard) - if you have an idea and need a sample, the new program sounds great.....if you're just trying just scam teh company (any company) for a sample just to save yourself $20, shame on you.
  • markaericmarkaeric Posts: 282
    edited 2011-04-30 18:36
    I've noticed that some companies that provide free samples don't allow the use of free e-mail addresses such as those provided by yahoo, or gmail. You might not have to go to that extent, but you can use it as a flag to scan for potential abusers. At any rate, this thing looks great for $20! Some plug-in modules would be great such as for video, or SD cards.
  • localrogerlocalroger Posts: 3,452
    edited 2011-04-30 19:39
    --> This is supposed to be in italics but I'm damned if I can figure out how to get the forum software to do it : I've noticed that some companies that provide free samples don't allow the use of free e-mail addresses such as those provided by yahoo, or gmail.[/]

    Very shortsighted. My company has a corporate email domain and theoretically I have a first initial - last name - @ company address. I never read it. I use the Yahoo account because it works everywhere, and unlike the current company provider's webmail which drops my mail after 60 days, Yahoo keeps everything I ever received (and didn't explicitly delete) in the cloud. That's come in handy more than once. Meanwhile, what happens to our cute "corporate" email structure if we change providers again? It's happened every 3-4 years or so because nobody knows what the ISP really needs to provide, so they're never quite happy with what the ISP does, especially if part of this is web design and the site sucks (which it does, hard) because nobody is involved who actually knows the industry and products.
  • KyeKye Posts: 2,200
    edited 2011-04-30 19:44
    Guess there's no mark up on that board. Sold at cost. Nice,
  • jazzedjazzed Posts: 11,803
    edited 2011-04-30 19:53
    Nice board.

    I really like those female headers. Are there holes under there for dual-entry stacking?

    Cheers.
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,401
    edited 2011-04-30 19:59
    markaeric wrote: »
    I've noticed that some companies that provide free samples don't allow the use of free e-mail addresses such as those provided by yahoo, or gmail. You might not have to go to that extent, but you can use it as a flag to scan for potential abusers. At any rate, this thing looks great for $20! Some plug-in modules would be great such as for video, or SD cards.

    I wouldn't ask our team to exclude a request based upon the e-mail address, but it could be a flag when combined with other clues: incomplete form, a rushed completion and poor spelling, a company where we can't verify the existence of an individual, etc. At $20 we can't spend much time on the validation aspect. Perhaps we'll just make a quick call to verify that the person exists.

    On the subject of free vs. $20, since I may have introduced some confusion I'll clarify.

    Free QuickStart - If you are a commercial product developer and you are carefully considering the Propeller for your product (or you've already made the decision) then you qualify for a free sample. You'd complete an on-line form and tell us a bit about your product design, including the type of product and potential volume. Parallax Semiconductor would pair you with an FAE who contacts you to see if you need any particular design assistance, or if you just have a few questions. This isn't the sales-oriented hassle you may have experienced elsewhere - we want to do what we do best and support the effort with engineers talking to engineers. Depending on your needs we will provide technical and sales support to help you reach your goal. If you win, we win!

    $20 - Just send me a board! You want it for hobby, education, or a project where you need only a few Propellers. You don't want Parallax staff to contact you. Or maybe you just want us to have $20, which is also a noble thought.

    The sample requests will go through www.parallaxsemiconductor.com (not live yet - check back Monday) and the $20 orders are through www.parallax.com. The design has been fully qualified and is headed to production; we ship June 1st.

    Ken Gracey
  • RobotWorkshopRobotWorkshop Posts: 2,307
    edited 2011-04-30 20:24
    Nice! I definitely need to try some of these out! When can we buy them?

    Robert
  • Ken GraceyKen Gracey Posts: 7,401
    edited 2011-04-30 20:28
    Nice! I definitely need to try some of these out! When can we buy them?

    Robert

    Starting Monday you can place an order, or a request for sample.

    They'll be shipped according to the order in which they are received.

    Glad to have your interest, Robert!

    Ken
  • davidsaundersdavidsaunders Posts: 1,559
    edited 2011-04-30 20:42
    Way cool, for about $22.00 (including another power regulator, a cap, and a barrel plug), it is a complete development board.

    Is something allong this lines going to be available for the PropII once released?
  • Cluso99Cluso99 Posts: 18,069
    edited 2011-04-30 20:54
    Fantastic board Ken. The $20 price is a huge incentive for engineers and being available to hobbyists as well is great. Hopefully you should receive a lot of press about this great deal.

    IMHO this is a great starter pcb. It has the propplug (FTDI chip) on board, USB powered, and the no hardware buttons are great to show what the prop can do.

    Ken, can you offer a cheaper post method for just this pcb - like unregistered airmail maybe for $10. That would seal the deal for overseas customers.
  • Zap-oZap-o Posts: 452
    edited 2011-04-30 21:14
    Did anyone post a link directing to a schematic, or is there even going to be one available? I would love to get one of these but I want to have a look at the circuit/s first.
  • RaymanRayman Posts: 14,877
    edited 2011-04-30 22:14
    Looks like a winner to me. Price is right. Finally, USB power.
  • RavenkallenRavenkallen Posts: 1,057
    edited 2011-04-30 22:38
    $20 bucks is dirt cheap. I don't know why anyone would try to scam Parallax for something that is already a steal! That is so cool!!! You get a full dev board(WITH USB!!) for only 20 bucks!!!! WOW! I almost feel bad taking 20 from you guys:) You will be dealing a crippling blow to the Arduino with this! I will be buying some of these for sure..
  • markaericmarkaeric Posts: 282
    edited 2011-05-01 14:51
    I certainly agree that you shouldn't invalidate requests for samples based on the choice of e-mail provider. I was in a similar boat as localroger where corporate e-mail client was tedious and slow, and was never able to get it to work while on the road, so I almost exclusively used my yahoo account. But it's certainly fair for Parallax to use some precautions when handing out samples, since I would just hate to see abusers ruin a good thing.
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