End of life
richaj45
Posts: 179
How long do people think the current Prop in the 44 pin package will be available?
It has been about ten years since it came out, i think.
I just wonder how long it will be around.
cheers
rich
It has been about ten years since it came out, i think.
I just wonder how long it will be around.
cheers
rich
Comments
Rich,
I'm not sure what your are asking , but the thread heading may be inappropriate when search engines get a hold of it.
I don't speak for Parallax, but the entire Propeller line seem quite healthy. It looks like all variations will be produced for quite a while, even after the Propeller 2 comes out..
Why do you ask?
That came out ~ 1980, and you can still buy 40 & 44 pin versions today, 35 years later.
EOL of specific chips come about from combinations of differing reasons -
* Marketing decide some hot new thing has more sizzle
* The market declines to below the economic FAB run, usually a last time buy run manages maintenance
* Supply line issues
For the Prop, the risks of the first two are low, but there is some risk that the FAB line that actually makes the Prop die, explodes or retires.
I'm not sure how many FAB lines the Prop die is proven on ?
Now that the P1 is defined in Verilog, there is hope that even if there came a time that no fab was available to make today's P1, a new P1 could be made with different design rules. Perhaps multiple P1s could be placed on a die.
There is nothing to replace the P1. The P2 will not replace the P1 - its a different animal with higher power usage.
Old fab plants keep operating pouring out smallish chips. The initial plant cost is paid off, so keeping it running is cheap.
So, my best guess is another 10 years (except for the QFN44 which I understand has minimal usage).
This is a really good point. Your question is valid and perfectly reasonable, but do the Propeller community a favor and rename it to something like "How long will the chip be available?" or something not quite so buzzwordy.
Parallax will continue product as long as there is customer demand for it and take a look at the BASIC Stamp series that dates back to the 90's which Parallax still makes.
In fact I think I remember hearing that Parallax will continue to make BASIC Stamps for another 20 years or so.
I would not expect the Propeller to be much different though it has been mentioned that the 44-pin QFN is not as popular as the 44-pin QFP.
The QFN has a much finer pith than the QFP so it's a lot harder to solder without SMT equipment.
If you ever need QFN chips and can't find them then just give Parallax a call; They are always there to help customers out.
If you go to the QFN product page under Details you will see that Parallax says they will supply Propellers for a MINIMUM of 20 to 25 years.
https://www.parallax.com/product/p8x32a-m44
I work in the semi industry and that it just what i think off.
I was just wonder, how much i should use them in my personal hobbies.
The ARMs are very cheap. I know the Prop has special feature that other chip can't touch. But then most simple application may not need those special features.
Some times i am not sure Parallax is interested in the Prop since there is no Prop 1.5 with incremental improvements. That is what other chip makers do when they have a winning design. They roll out small improvements eachyear or so.
Please not big arguments, i was just wondering what the forum user thought.
cheers,
rich
I think one of the biggest mis-coonceptions is that Propeller 2 is a replacement for Propeller 1 or that a Propeller 1.5 may somehow obsolete Propeller 1. In my opinion, whatever ends up being the Propeller 2 should not even have the word Propeller in it's name. I suggest that from henceforth any reference to a "Propeller 2" design should now use the product name "Turbine". Just my 2 cents..............
I see your point, but in the modern world, branding works differently, and it does matter, even tho most like to ignore marketing types....
Thus we have "PICs" as PIC10/PIC12/PIC16/PIC18/PIC24 & PIC32, and none are Binary compatible.
Nor are the ARM M0/M3/M4 Binary compatible
ST have STM8STM32 branding, and now Silabs added EFM8 to their EFM32 branding
So I see no big confusion arising given the trends already there. Prop is the MCU Brand/Tag and 1/2 are the family sub-variants.
They have different pin-counts, and Vcc requirements so the family distinction is large.
I found where he already has
http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php/157349-P8X32A-Q44-Shortage-Expected-place-your-orders?p=1292523&viewfull=1#post1292523
["The foundry we use (Austria Microsystems) has no plans to retire the process we are using at this time. At this stage it's a profitable, refined process for them that's not likely to be retired soon. When it is, we'll get several years worth of notice that we can share with everybody. "]
You can't really compare Parallax with other microcontroller companies.
Parallax didn't start as a microcontroller company and it's tiny compared to its competitors.
Also, microcontrollers are only a part of its business.
The Propeller was a revolutionary design and the long awaited Propeller 2 will be magnitudes more powerful than its predecessor.
We don't know yet about a Propeller 3 since the Propeller 2 isn't finished.
The Propeller is an amazing chip so give it a try.
Others here often use other microcontrollers when they make sense to use.
Even the language that used to program the Propeller depends on the application.
If you want to dabble then get an Activity Board otherwise get the Propeller Professional Development Board.
https://www.parallax.com/product/32910
https://www.parallax.com/product/32111
The Propeller Education Kit text teaches Spin while Propeller C is on the Learn website.
https://www.parallax.com/sites/default/files/downloads/122-32305-PE-Kit-Labs-Fundamentals-Text-v1.2.pdf
http://learn.parallax.com/propellerc
There are also several books on Spin and PASM (Propeller Assembly).
If you have any other questions then you can give Parallax a call or ask the Forum.