My favorite discovery was that I didn't have to individually map each block's starting location since the servo has a fairly linear mechanical response to PULSIN value. The keyboard function yields a=1, b=2, c=3, etc. The shoulder rotate servo (which selects the letter) is very simply controlled by this pulsout value
pulsout (255-(letter*7))
Thus block A is at pulsout 248, B is at pulsout 241, C is at pulsout 234, etc. No big surprise, Z is at pulsout 73. You can visually tell from the block spacing that everything worked out quite well.
Might not catch on everywhere, but I think it looks kinda neat hanging on a wall. I must admit that storing robot projects after the fact is problematic and I intentionally kept this arm & arena small and tidy looking for this very purpose.
Thanks guys, but I gotta come clean. The only reason the arm works is because I harnessed the mystical power of the ancient Anasazi of Chaco Canyon. I shaped the base to match the floor plan of Pueblo Bonito, which allows the sun and moon gods to control the servos. Man, did those Anasazi ever know their cosmic cycles and pulsouts.
The BS2e is a pretty nice microcontroller. I've never used up its 16 K of EEPROM and while the RAM plus scratch pad is small compared to the Propeller or Arduino, it is generally adequate for processing sensor data and pulsing a few servos. It's a mostly no surprises environment with the lack of multiple tasks and 16 bit semi-unsigned math is the major downside.
One of the big reasons I still crank out Stamp projects is 'cuz I have a big drawer full of them. I stocked up on 20x BS2Es years back when Parallax blew them out for $17. One batch wasn't rated for sub-zero commercial environments, so they disposed of the evidence! Not a dealbreaker here in southern California. I also have several BS2 Homework boards left over from teaching college courses. Parallax's Jim Carrey kindly donated those way back when, and so I like to give back a bit and use 'em in high visibility projects, like the printer and my balancebot from last year. But I'm also amassing a collection of several Propeller quickstarts, Spin Stamps, and a shiny new PropBoE, so I better jump on that train before I get run down by it.
erco when you are ready to jump on that train (it is not as big as a jump as I think you believe) I will help you any way I can. Give me something you want to do with Stamp code and I will turn it into Propeller code with an explanation between the two. Although I know that feeling about using up what you have first. But hey you also have Propellers now too! Come on make the jump and make Ken proud he finally convinced you. Besides you have too many Stamps to ever put them away!
Edit: There should be some kind of tutorial showing Propeller examples of Stamp commands that would help alot and then people can further explore the capabilties of the Propeller at thier leasure.
Edit: There should be some kind of tutorial showing Propeller examples of Stamp commands that would help alot and then people can further explore the capabilties of the Propeller at thier leasure.
I think the "BS2 Functions" by Martin Hebel is a great tutorial on making the transition from BS2 to Propeller:
Edit: I looked at the BS2 Functions and you are right Jim it does give explainations but I am thinking of the more simple Stamp commands to Propeller commands for a beginner to compare with.
Comments
My favorite discovery was that I didn't have to individually map each block's starting location since the servo has a fairly linear mechanical response to PULSIN value. The keyboard function yields a=1, b=2, c=3, etc. The shoulder rotate servo (which selects the letter) is very simply controlled by this pulsout value
pulsout (255-(letter*7))
Thus block A is at pulsout 248, B is at pulsout 241, C is at pulsout 234, etc. No big surprise, Z is at pulsout 73. You can visually tell from the block spacing that everything worked out quite well.
Might not catch on everywhere, but I think it looks kinda neat hanging on a wall. I must admit that storing robot projects after the fact is problematic and I intentionally kept this arm & arena small and tidy looking for this very purpose.
I keep hoping to make a robot that will put my other robot projects away for me.
Dang it. Now I can hear my robot arm calling out to me.
I bet the twins were happy to get their wooden blocks back...
http://www.picaxe.com/Project-Gallery
Seriously, congrats! This one deserves to win again and again......its caligraphic offspring deserves a few prizes too!
Oh, caligraphy! I like it! But that's beyond the capabilities of a BS2. It may finally be time for erco to bite the bullet and make the jump...
To a BS2E with lots more memory!
Come on, we know there are bigger bullets to be bitten.
Edit: And you wont find it in the "Stamp Collection".
I vote embrace. Nice job erco!
Jim
Edit: There should be some kind of tutorial showing Propeller examples of Stamp commands that would help alot and then people can further explore the capabilties of the Propeller at thier leasure.
I think the "BS2 Functions" by Martin Hebel is a great tutorial on making the transition from BS2 to Propeller:
http://obex.parallax.com/objects/30/
Jim
http://www.kurzweilai.net/juggling-robot-takes-on-two-balls-with-one-very-fast-hand?utm_source=KurzweilAI+Daily+Newsletter&utm_campaign=49e7b0ca41-UA-946742-1&utm_medium=email
-MattG