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Mixing Arduino with Parallax — Parallax Forums

Mixing Arduino with Parallax

FranklinFranklin Posts: 4,747
edited 2011-05-16 18:56 in General Discussion
Just because you use Arduino dosen't mean Parallax can't help. I've noticed there is quite a bit of "how do I get this Parallax product to work with my Arduino" on the Arduino sites
http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=AO_Dv6kqn5k

Comments

  • Kevin WoodKevin Wood Posts: 1,266
    edited 2011-05-07 10:24
    IMO, Arduino users are usually chased off pretty quickly (from here, that is), unless another Arduino user happens to join in.

    But yeah, generally speaking, if you're going to make & sell widgets that can be used with other widgets, it's not unreasonable to have some level of support, even if it's just decent code examples.
  • bill190bill190 Posts: 769
    edited 2011-05-07 11:36
    I like this topic because it is in a positive direction...

    A wise businessman once told me there is tons of money to be made in a "niche market"...
    http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Niche_market

    So... Perhaps Gadget Gangster / Parallax has or could have some sort of standard Arduino interface board. Then Propeller products could be made to easily connect to the Arduino and could do something the Arduino can't now do. Something they want, but is beyond the Arduino.

    And the product would be plug and play. All programming for the Propeller part already done for them. They would just need to add a few simple commands to their Arduino. Also low cost.

    And I think that is what these people want. Something which works right now with little or no effort/reading? And low cost?
  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2011-05-07 12:18
    bill190,
    It's been done. Martin Hodge has a very nice Propeller board that's compatible with Arduino shields. Andr
  • PJAllenPJAllen Banned Posts: 5,065
    edited 2011-05-07 12:34
    Someone posited that arduina people...
    are usually chased off pretty quickly
    That's simply untrue, in my experience. They come for "support", sure, though not to understand the device, have a conversation, and get ideas to implement a solution, but to glom a "lib". There were a few cases recently where the arduinettes weren't familiar with their situation well enough to change the status of an I/O pin and I'll be darned if that's my issue.
    No angel came in to minister to them and deliver them a "lib" on a silver platter either.

    PE - So far as I know, no one has started a "let's bash the arduina" subject here either. But, the arduinettes do and have come around here slopping their fertiliser.
  • Invent-O-DocInvent-O-Doc Posts: 768
    edited 2011-05-07 13:11
    Nice idea! There are lots of cool things for sale for arduino and making these things work together better (prop with arduino shields or arduino employing prop for display/peripheral) will allow a larger community to discover this chip.
  • PJAllenPJAllen Banned Posts: 5,065
    edited 2011-05-07 14:17
    All this breast-beating over nothing.
    Which arduina thingy does somebody figure the Parallax world is in dire need of?
    Anybody.
    Sincerely.
    Name it, link it.
    I'm not setting anybody up.
    What's the deal?
    Go ahead.
    I'll wait.
  • schillschill Posts: 741
    edited 2011-05-07 15:15
    There is no special hardware or adapter board that is required to use a lot of the Parallax sensors that get used with other processors. Pings and the like don't need anything special.

    Arduino users do not require shields. There is plenty of work done with Arduinos, including tutorials, where everything is done with a breadboard. Nothing prevents you from using Parallax hardware this way.

    PS. I get really tired of people calling other people names (even in jest) or referring to other platforms using non-standard names. It presents a negative image on the forum and it makes it very difficult to search for things.
  • MicrocontrolledMicrocontrolled Posts: 2,461
    edited 2011-05-07 15:31
    PJ Allen wrote: »
    All this breast-beating over nothing.
    Which arduina thingy does somebody figure the Parallax world is in dire need of?
    Anybody.
    Sincerely.
    Name it, link it.
    I'm not setting anybody up.
    What's the deal?
    Go ahead.
    I'll wait.

    (1: Publicity
    (2: Electronics/programming newbies
    (3: Fair "comparison charts [or articles]" in MAKE magazine that don't lie

    Oh, you meant hardware/software? Nothing. Maybe a C compiler for the Propeller, but we have Catalina, so.... ????
  • PJAllenPJAllen Banned Posts: 5,065
    edited 2011-05-07 15:49
    OK, just for the record, it's been > an hour and a half [15h47... mark!] and no submissions for cool arduina thingys that the Parallax world simply cannot live without. It's early on though.

    BTW, FWIW, what I tire of is fixing problems that don't exist... oh, and solutions in search of problems. It's a waste of bandwidth, but, just for the record, I didn't start the thread... or the hand-wringing. Just trying to be practical.

    PE - Big Epiphany: How about you chaps with a soft-spot for arduina, all of you ministering angels, petition for an *arduina outreach forum* and then you can write "libs" for all the arduinettes. And Parallax can start stocking unas and doin'-mucha-nadas, maybe even Jameco's "Ardweenies" (there's a moniker asking for trouble.) It's not me. What do you want here? Just trying to be practical.

    Gosh, it's past two hours, and still no takers.
  • Invent-O-DocInvent-O-Doc Posts: 768
    edited 2011-05-07 16:23
    PJ You are right, there is nothing that these shields can do that we can't already do on the prop. Hobby and artsy types like the comfort of pluggin one of those boards in and not worrying about the details. (Too simplified for me, but it helps it sell).
  • wjsteelewjsteele Posts: 697
    edited 2011-05-07 16:28
    PJ Allen wrote: »
    Which arduina thingy does somebody figure the Parallax world is in dire need of?

    Well, I for one love using the Sparkfun 9DOF IMU [http://www.sparkfun.com/products/9623], which is Arduino powered. In fact, I liked it so well, that I went ahead and integrated it right into my next generation Wingman (Prop powered handheld EFIS.)

    With a single Prop, I was pushing the limits of what I could do, but by adding a simple Atmel to the mix, I was able to offload a large portion of math (Kalman filters, individual sensor i/o, etc.) onto the Atmel and let the Prop do more important things.

    They make a nice combo in my opinion.

    Bill
  • FranklinFranklin Posts: 4,747
    edited 2011-05-07 18:13
    I'm sure you could do most of this stuff with a Propeller chip but how much time would it take to research design and build, and at what cost?http://shieldlist.org/ If you have a project that you want to build it is always good practice to set your goals first then find the parts that will allow you to accomplish that.
  • bill190bill190 Posts: 769
    edited 2011-05-07 19:51
    I was thinking the other way around... What can the Propeller do which the shields can't?

    Then make a compatable Propeller gizmo which does that, then the Arduino folks would buy it to attach to their Arduinos...
  • FranklinFranklin Posts: 4,747
    edited 2011-05-07 20:10
    What can the Propeller do which the shields can't?
    Now that is a question that would be fun for us and useful to all. Perhaps sell it on Parallax or Gadget Gangster.
    By the way Parallax Semi was mentioned on the Adafruit weekly video stream tonight.
  • FranklinFranklin Posts: 4,747
    edited 2011-05-12 21:37
    And then there is this http://www.liquidware.com/shop/show/CORE/Basic+STAMP+CoreBoard
  • Kevin WoodKevin Wood Posts: 1,266
    edited 2011-05-13 14:25
    Yeah, that BS2 core board is nice.
  • oldPGMguyoldPGMguy Posts: 25
    edited 2011-05-16 18:56
    Franklin wrote: »
    And then there is this http://www.liquidware.com/shop/show/CORE/Basic+STAMP+CoreBoard

    nice , but no analog pins for use
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