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Propeller Development Board Now or Propeller 2 Develpoment Board Later? — Parallax Forums

Propeller Development Board Now or Propeller 2 Develpoment Board Later?

TylerSkylerTylerSkyler Posts: 72
edited 2012-05-16 14:26 in Propeller 1
I'm interested in get a propeller dev board for easier prototyping and other electronic projects. With a price tag of 150 dollars I would like to know if you would wait for the Propeller 2 dev board to come out? Or is the launch far enough off that my dev board wont become obsolete to quickly? Im leaning towards getting another dev board, but want a second opinion.

Thanks,

Tyler

Comments

  • pik33pik33 Posts: 2,398
    edited 2012-05-16 10:26
    Propeller 2 will not be available at least some months. Nobody knows, when it will be available.

    Structure of this chip seems to be similar to Propeller 1, so any experience gained with Propeller 1 will be useful to use Propeller 2

    When Propeller 2 will be available, there will be still a lot of project for which it will be simply too big and Propeller 1 will be enough. It will be cheaper. It is available in DIP40. It has one 3.3V power, so it will not be obsolete. We will use P1 for smaller projects, P2 for bigger ones. Nobody knows how much it will cost. Maybe we will build a mixed P1/P2 environments with P2 as main XMM machine and P1 as peripheral device, not wasting P2's fast cogs for example to get data from a keyboard, mouse or serial port? If P2 will cost $50 and P1 $8 it will make sense.

    I think don't wait for Propeller 2. When it will be available to buy, you can think about using it. Now it is too early.
  • rod1963rod1963 Posts: 752
    edited 2012-05-16 10:38
    Luckily Parallax has boards for all sorts of budgets. If you just want to get started with the Prop, try the Kickstarter board at $25.00 or Protoboard USB at $29.00. No reason not to have fun and learn stuff with the Prop.

    And no the Prop I won't be obsolete, Parallax will continue to support it. The PII will probably be rolled out at end of year or early next at least according to what I read here.
  • TtailspinTtailspin Posts: 1,326
    edited 2012-05-16 12:06
    If you are handy with a soldering iron, you can get a five pack of props for $100, plus another $15 bucks for the Prop Plug...
    But be careful, these things are like potato chips, you can't eat just one... :)

    -Tommy
  • Ahle2Ahle2 Posts: 1,179
    edited 2012-05-16 12:21
    If it's good enough for Spider Man, it certainly is good enough for you!!
  • mindrobotsmindrobots Posts: 6,506
    edited 2012-05-16 12:58
    The development board has lots of interesting hardware to play with. If you need/want those parts handy, then by all means get a Prop 1 version to learn with.

    There is also the Quickstart and/or Protoboard and individual parts/sensors/servos, or a Demoboard, or a PropBOE which you could include some additional sensors before you got to $150.

    I have a development board that I don;t use much - I use my Quickstarts, Demoboard and PropBOE (and Gadget Gangster Propeller Platform) more. The SD card is handy, having TV and VGA pre-wired is handy. If I want to prototype, I have a BIG breadboard and some chips and powere supplies etc. that can be built and jumpered to any of the existing pre-wired boards.

    It comes down to how much of the hardware on the Development Board you think you'll use versus things you want to play with and will still need to buy.
  • TylerSkylerTylerSkyler Posts: 72
    edited 2012-05-16 13:06
    Thank you for all of the replies! I have been working with the propeller for a few months in the form of the Quick Start Board and the Gadget Gangstar USB Platfrom, but I was looking into an upgrade and the Prop Dev Board looked very nice and had tons of features built in that would help in my electronic quest. I think that I will order a Prop Dev Board and give in to the magic :smile:.

    Thanks All,

    Tyler
  • HShankoHShanko Posts: 402
    edited 2012-05-16 14:26
    I didn't notice mention of the PropBOE board.

    That has a breadboarding area smaller than the Dev. Bd., but has lot of features built in that might serve your needs.
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