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just starting out

ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
edited 2002-01-29 04:35 in General Discussion
Hi Justin

I can thoroughly recommend the kit from

http://www.phanderson.com/stamp/starter.html

I bought one about 6 months ago and it really is great value for
money compared to other kits I looked at.

Check it out and compare it against the other ones that people here
will suggest.

Hope this helps

Regards
David


--- In basicstamps@y..., "Iconium" <Iconium@s...> wrote:
> I am Just starting in the whole basic stamps, and was wondering
what is a good kit to buy???? I want to keep it around $150 or
sooo... Can anyone help me??
>
> thanks Justin
>
>
> [noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been removed]

Comments

  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-01-27 23:05
    another total newbie question:

    The built in A/D converters - do they convert + AND - voltages, or just +?
    --

    .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-
    \ / \ / \ N / \ C / \ S / \ S / \ M / \ / \ /
    `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-'
    Chuck Britton Education is what is left when
    britton@n... you have forgotten everything
    North Carolina School of Science & Math you learned in school.
    (919) 286-3366 x224 Albert Einstein, 1936
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-01-27 23:29
    I am Just starting in the whole basic stamps, and was wondering what is a good
    kit to buy???? I want to keep it around $150 or sooo... Can anyone help me??

    thanks Justin


    [noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-01-28 00:06
    --- Iconium <Iconium@s...> wrote:
    > I am Just starting in the whole basic stamps, and
    > was wondering what is a good kit to buy???? I want
    > to keep it around $150 or sooo... Can anyone help
    > me??
    > Before you jump into the basic stamp... check out
    oopic.com they have a great product at a much lower
    price tag.. It also has more memory, faster processing
    speed, and is multiprocessing.. Oh yeah, and it
    handels three different languages.. c++, java, and
    basic.
    > thanks Justin
    >
    >
    > [noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been
    > removed]
    >
    >
    > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    > basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
    > from the same email address that you subscribed.
    > Text in the Subject and Body of the message will be
    > ignored.
    >
    >
    > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
    > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
    >
    >


    __________________________________________________
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    Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions!
    http://auctions.yahoo.com
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-01-28 03:32
    I would start out with the Basic Stamp 2 (BS-2) for $49.00 & the Basic Stamp
    Activity Board for $89.00. You can do a variety of the experiments listed on
    the Parallax website with this setup.

    Original Message
    From: Chuck Britton [noparse]/noparse]mailto:[url=http://forums.parallaxinc.com/group/basicstamps/post?postID=I7uOka-59OU78RvOmxBEj5w2y92Nx29I03j1iew-Tf4aXe_8EIojYPyk9wXFTQEA3yNHSsiMwqQg73bseA]cvbritton@t...[/url
    Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2002 6:05 PM
    To: basicstamps@yahoogroups.com
    Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] just starting out

    another total newbie question:

    The built in A/D converters - do they convert + AND - voltages, or just +?
    --

    .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-. .-
    \ / \ / \ N / \ C / \ S / \ S / \ M / \ / \ /
    `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-' `-'
    Chuck Britton Education is what is left
    when
    britton@n... you have forgotten
    everything
    North Carolina School of Science & Math you learned in school.
    (919) 286-3366 x224 Albert Einstein, 1936

    To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
    from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the Subject and
    Body of the message will be ignored.


    Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-01-28 04:42
    Ok, all in favor of banning the poster of the reply below from thee
    BASIC STAMP newsgroup raise your hands...

    Not that I have anything against the oopic, but that's just plain
    rude! And for a beginner, plus many others, the Stamp is perfect not
    to mention the totally overwhelming amount of material to help a
    newbie start out.

    -Martin


    --- In basicstamps@y..., duane ribron <ribron32@y...> wrote:
    >
    > --- Iconium <Iconium@s...> wrote:
    > > I am Just starting in the whole basic stamps, and
    > > was wondering what is a good kit to buy???? I want
    > > to keep it around $150 or sooo... Can anyone help
    > > me??
    > > Before you jump into the basic stamp... check out
    > oopic.com they have a great product at a much lower
    > price tag.. It also has more memory, faster processing
    > speed, and is multiprocessing.. Oh yeah, and it
    > handels three different languages.. c++, java, and
    > basic.
    > > thanks Justin
    > >
    > >
    > > [noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been
    > > removed]
    > >
    > >
    > > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    > > basicstamps-unsubscribe@y...
    > > from the same email address that you subscribed.
    > > Text in the Subject and Body of the message will be
    > > ignored.
    > >
    > >
    > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
    > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
    > >
    > >
    >
    >
    > __________________________________________________
    > Do You Yahoo!?
    > Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions!
    > http://auctions.yahoo.com
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-01-28 05:12
    My thoughts,
    Price alone is not a good criteria when making a purchase. The Parallax
    Stamp products have an excellent array of choices at a fair price. I always
    prefer buying from a source that I know will be there to-morrow. There is
    good on-line support in this forum and if you have a questions you will most
    likely get an answer. There are also other suppliers that make products in
    support of Stamp products. The wealth of supporting information on stamp
    application and code is outstanding. You will not be left out in the cold
    with a piece of hardware and software that do not work to-gether and no
    documentation. Save yourself the headache and buy Parallax.
    Steve
    Original Message
    From: "duane ribron" <ribron32@y...>
    To: <basicstamps@yahoogroups.com>
    Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2002 4:06 PM
    Subject: Re: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] just starting out


    >
    > --- Iconium <Iconium@s...> wrote:
    > > I am Just starting in the whole basic stamps, and
    > > was wondering what is a good kit to buy???? I want
    > > to keep it around $150 or sooo... Can anyone help
    > > me??
    > > Before you jump into the basic stamp... check out
    > oopic.com they have a great product at a much lower
    > price tag.. It also has more memory, faster processing
    > speed, and is multiprocessing.. Oh yeah, and it
    > handels three different languages.. c++, java, and
    > basic.
    > > thanks Justin
    > >
    > >
    > > [noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been
    > > removed]
    > >
    > >
    > > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    > > basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
    > > from the same email address that you subscribed.
    > > Text in the Subject and Body of the message will be
    > > ignored.
    > >
    > >
    > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
    > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
    > >
    > >
    >
    >
    > __________________________________________________
    > Do You Yahoo!?
    > Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions!
    > http://auctions.yahoo.com
    >
    > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    > basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
    > from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the Subject and
    Body of the message will be ignored.
    >
    >
    > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
    >
    >
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-01-28 05:30
    Starting out with a Basic Stamp, I am biased towards Parallax. However, I
    have played around with the OOPic and am dabbling with PICs also.

    The key difference is the amount of support Parallax offers versus OOPic or
    other stamp clone makers. Got a problem with a Parallax product? They are
    there to help you. The documentation is fairly detailed and there is a
    wealth of knowledge from supporting vendors.

    On the other hand, the OOPic documentation is sparse, hard to use, and if
    you have a problem they will get back to you eventually. I got frustrated
    and gave mine away because it was such a pain.

    The final straw was when I bought an expansion board, which has the same
    footprint as the OOPic board and has a place for a connector which exactly
    line up with the header on the OOPic board. It should be a piggyback
    arrangement just like what Parallax does, correct? Wrong!

    I emailed them when I discovered a double-row connector would not fit the
    board -- the holes in the board were too small to accept the pins on
    standard connector. I tried several different brands and none would work. I
    contacted Savage and their response was that the board was designed to have
    pins pressed in and not soldered, and thats why the holes were small. I've
    been around electronic assembly and manufacturing for a long time and have
    *never* heard this nonsense.

    Original Message

    > Price alone is not a good criteria when making a purchase. The Parallax
    > Stamp products have an excellent array of choices at a fair price. I
    always
    > prefer buying from a source that I know will be there to-morrow. There is
    > good on-line support in this forum and if you have a questions you will
    most
    > likely get an answer. There are also other suppliers that make products in
    > support of Stamp products. The wealth of supporting information on stamp
    > application and code is outstanding. You will not be left out in the cold
    > with a piece of hardware and software that do not work to-gether and no
    > documentation. Save yourself the headache and buy Parallax.

    > > > I am Just starting in the whole basic stamps, and
    > > > was wondering what is a good kit to buy???? I want
    > > > to keep it around $150 or sooo... Can anyone help
    > > > me??

    > > > Before you jump into the basic stamp... check out
    > > oopic.com they have a great product at a much lower
    > > price tag.. It also has more memory, faster processing
    > > speed, and is multiprocessing.. Oh yeah, and it
    > > handels three different languages.. c++, java, and
    > > basic.
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-01-28 09:24
    Well call me Mr. Rude from RudeVille!

    The OOPIC looks like a handy alternative to the Stamp II's for larger
    projects. Programming the Stamps like the BS2SX with the separate EEPROM
    space is like redecorating the upstairs bathroom thru the downstairs
    letterbox! I've got a project which is still in prototype on the BS2SX which
    I might try out on the OOPICII and report back.

    For educational, learning and small interface projects, the BS1 I think is
    still the item of choice. The price is right, and the cct board is that much
    smaller.

    Regards,

    Tony Wells

    Original Message
    From: "selmaware" <martin@s...>
    To: <basicstamps@yahoogroups.com>
    Sent: Monday, January 28, 2002 4:42 AM
    Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Re: just starting out


    > Ok, all in favor of banning the poster of the reply below from thee
    > BASIC STAMP newsgroup raise your hands...
    >
    > Not that I have anything against the oopic, but that's just plain
    > rude! And for a beginner, plus many others, the Stamp is perfect not
    > to mention the totally overwhelming amount of material to help a
    > newbie start out.
    >
    > -Martin
    >
    >
    > --- In basicstamps@y..., duane ribron <ribron32@y...> wrote:
    > >
    > > --- Iconium <Iconium@s...> wrote:
    > > > I am Just starting in the whole basic stamps, and
    > > > was wondering what is a good kit to buy???? I want
    > > > to keep it around $150 or sooo... Can anyone help
    > > > me??
    > > > Before you jump into the basic stamp... check out
    > > oopic.com they have a great product at a much lower
    > > price tag.. It also has more memory, faster processing
    > > speed, and is multiprocessing.. Oh yeah, and it
    > > handels three different languages.. c++, java, and
    > > basic.
    > > > thanks Justin
    > > >
    > > >
    > > > [noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been
    > > > removed]
    > > >
    > > >
    > > > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    > > > basicstamps-unsubscribe@y...
    > > > from the same email address that you subscribed.
    > > > Text in the Subject and Body of the message will be
    > > > ignored.
    > > >
    > > >
    > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
    > > > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
    > > >
    > > >
    > >
    > >
    > > __________________________________________________
    > > Do You Yahoo!?
    > > Great stuff seeking new owners in Yahoo! Auctions!
    > > http://auctions.yahoo.com
    >
    >
    > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    > basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
    > from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the Subject and
    Body of the message will be ignored.
    >
    >
    > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
    >
    >
    >
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-01-28 11:20
    In my opinion,you should get a parallax BOE board and Stamp, maybe with the
    BS2 or BS2SX would be a
    good start point. The prototyping board would be a great help to you at
    learning how to hook up
    different things to the Stamp and getting them to work. The BOE board is
    just the right size
    for normal experiments. Plus when your more skilled and advanced you can use
    the board with
    all the other Stamps of that pinout pattern. Even some competitors make pin
    compatible MCU's that you could plug into the same board.

    Granted there are other devices out there, but after you've become more
    experienced at using Stamps and hooking them up to things and getting
    meaningful results from them, can you decide what other MCU's you may want
    to use. The other MCU's require more skill at being able to use. Some MCU's
    are downright tough to use, no support, and no help, to get you going.

    Original Message
    From: Rodent [noparse]/noparse]mailto:[url=http://forums.parallaxinc.com/group/basicstamps/post?postID=9F-j9Wnz6iC1d4zrUDcj6DAsdoAfkhXAJ96Qf1ipsf3tS7b4vSY--8UVELopNVkxhpAAjF89-8NsGA]daweasel@s...[/url
    Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2002 11:30 PM
    To: basicstamps@yahoogroups.com
    Subject: Re: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] just starting out


    Starting out with a Basic Stamp, I am biased towards Parallax. However, I
    have played around with the OOPic and am dabbling with PICs also.

    The key difference is the amount of support Parallax offers versus OOPic or
    other stamp clone makers. Got a problem with a Parallax product? They are
    there to help you. The documentation is fairly detailed and there is a
    wealth of knowledge from supporting vendors.

    On the other hand, the OOPic documentation is sparse, hard to use, and if
    you have a problem they will get back to you eventually. I got frustrated
    and gave mine away because it was such a pain.

    The final straw was when I bought an expansion board, which has the same
    footprint as the OOPic board and has a place for a connector which exactly
    line up with the header on the OOPic board. It should be a piggyback
    arrangement just like what Parallax does, correct? Wrong!

    I emailed them when I discovered a double-row connector would not fit the
    board -- the holes in the board were too small to accept the pins on
    standard connector. I tried several different brands and none would work. I
    contacted Savage and their response was that the board was designed to have
    pins pressed in and not soldered, and thats why the holes were small. I've
    been around electronic assembly and manufacturing for a long time and have
    *never* heard this nonsense.

    Original Message

    > Price alone is not a good criteria when making a purchase. The Parallax
    > Stamp products have an excellent array of choices at a fair price. I
    always
    > prefer buying from a source that I know will be there to-morrow. There is
    > good on-line support in this forum and if you have a questions you will
    most
    > likely get an answer. There are also other suppliers that make products in
    > support of Stamp products. The wealth of supporting information on stamp
    > application and code is outstanding. You will not be left out in the cold
    > with a piece of hardware and software that do not work to-gether and no
    > documentation. Save yourself the headache and buy Parallax.

    > > > I am Just starting in the whole basic stamps, and
    > > > was wondering what is a good kit to buy???? I want
    > > > to keep it around $150 or sooo... Can anyone help
    > > > me??

    > > > Before you jump into the basic stamp... check out
    > > oopic.com they have a great product at a much lower
    > > price tag.. It also has more memory, faster processing
    > > speed, and is multiprocessing.. Oh yeah, and it
    > > handels three different languages.. c++, java, and
    > > basic.




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    basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
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  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-01-28 14:39
    I'd go with a BS2 -- the BS2SX and P are nice, but the BS2 is certainly
    the "old reliable". If you wanted to spend extra money, my second choice
    would be the BS2P.

    All you really need is the chip. The Parallax boards are nice, but if
    you download the manuals, you'll see that it isn't hard to make a cable.
    Then you can use any solderless breadboard you like (the ones on the
    Parallax boards are a bit small). You also need a way to connect a 9V
    battery to the Stamp (or a power supply).

    You can homebrew all of this. Also, check out
    http://www.al-williams.com/awce/asp2.htm if you'd rather get something
    off the shelf that includes some starter projects. If you don't want to
    burn up batteries, check out http://www.al-williams.com/awce/ps1.htm.

    So total prices:

    BS2 (Parallax): $49.00
    ASP2 (AWC): $14.95
    Breadboard (Radio Shack): $12.00 (estimated)
    Serial Cable (Computer Store): $6.00 (estimated)

    Total = 81.95
    Add the price of a 9V battery or if you are feeling extravagant a 9V
    "battery eliminator" from Radio Shack or Walmart.

    If you add the power supply (which you don't need unless you plan to
    hook up more than the Stamp can supply):
    PS1 (AWC): $14.95
    Wall transformer (Walmart): $6.00 (estimated)

    Total = $102.90.

    Still well under your budget. Of course, this all assumes you have a PC.
    If you already have breadboards and serial cables, the cost is even
    less. The advantage to either rolling your own or going with an ASP-II
    is that you can use any breadboard you already have and/or use as large
    a breadboard as you want to buy. For example, you can see a picture of
    my favorite setup on the ASP-II page mentioned above. That board is big
    enough that I often have 4 or 5 projects going at once on it. Sometimes
    I'll have 2 or 3 Stamp pins going to one project and 7 or 8 going to
    another. Or I'll have another Stamp on there and just move the cable
    when I switch gears.

    Good luck!

    Al Williams
    AWC
    * Easy RS-232 Prototyping
    http://www.al-williams.com/awce/rs1.htm




    >
    Original Message
    > From: Iconium [noparse]/noparse]mailto:[url=http://forums.parallaxinc.com/group/basicstamps/post?postID=nG3RTUifCNPIczSjcVhc5Fj9W4ZDk5QhcG3vW5uBRRjdAWlUYit6oZVYKeS0T9jMaXKjwTHnire_glrERg]Iconium@s...[/url
    > Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2002 5:29 PM
    > To: basicstamps@yahoogroups.com
    > Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] just starting out
    >
    >
    > I am Just starting in the whole basic stamps, and was
    > wondering what is a good kit to buy???? I want to keep it
    > around $150 or sooo... Can anyone help me??
    >
    > thanks Justin
    >
    >
    > [noparse][[/noparse]Non-text portions of this message have been removed]
    >
    >
    > To UNSUBSCRIBE, just send mail to:
    > basicstamps-unsubscribe@yahoogroups.com
    > from the same email address that you subscribed. Text in the
    > Subject and Body of the message will be ignored.
    >
    >
    > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to
    > http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/
    >
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-01-28 16:09
    I would recommend Peter Anderson Starter Package: it has all what Al
    recommends, plus everything to get started: leds, motors, stepper, i2c,
    sensors, and best of all: a manual, clearly written.

    Here's the description (taken from P. Anderson website):

    Basic Starter Package for BS2 Newcomers
    $79.00 plus $8.00 Shipping in the US.

    The package includes the following items.

    * 1 Jameco JE25 Solderless Breadboard
    * 1 +12VDC and regulated +5V power supply, Total current 1.0A
    * 1 Serial cable, 9-pin DB25 to 10 pin female header
    * 1 10 pin wirewrap header
    * 1 12V DC Motor
    * 1 12V Stepper, Unipolar, Airpax L82701-H-P2

    * 10 LEDs with built in 330 Ohm resistor
    * 10 1M Resistors
    * 10 100K Resistors
    * 10 10K Resistors
    * 10 1K Resistors
    * 10 330 Ohm Resistors
    * 2 4.7K 9-Resistor SIP Networks
    * 4 22 uFd Capacitors
    * 4 1 uFd Capacitors
    * 4 0.1 uFd (Mylar)
    * 4 50,000 pFd (Disk Ceramic)
    * 10 1N4004 Diodes
    * 1 100K Pot
    * 1 10K Pot
    * 1 10K NTC Thermistor
    * 1 Speaker (0.2W)
    * 1 4-bit DIP switch
    * 4 Momentary pushbuttons (normally open).
    * 1 ULN2803 Octal Driver IC
    * 1 L293D Dual H Bridge with Heat Sink
    * 1 LM324 Quad Op Amp (single supply)
    * 1 555 Timer IC
    * 1 ADC0831 8-bit A/D
    * 1 DS1624 - 13-bit Digital Thermometer plus 256 byte EEPROM
    * 1 Logic "Probe"

    * 22 AWG wire for the solderless breadboard.

    Add $49 for a BS2, and I'm sure you'll have real fun.

    I'm not affiliated in any way with Peter Anderson, but I did buy one of
    these kits and I had a few weeks (months!) of fun trying (and succeedding!)
    all the experiments described in his book.

    His website: http://www.phanderson.com

    Stephan

    Le 28.1.2002 15:39, Al Williams <alw@a...> a
  • ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
    edited 2002-01-29 04:35
    Hi all,
    Just wanna add a few things. I did a senior project for my university
    which was radio controlled talking clock. For me, the Basic Stamp was
    very helpful. At the time, I had zero experience programming
    microcontrollers but was very interested nonetheless. I am
    overwhelmingly thankful to the dedicated technical support people at
    Parallax as well as the people who helped me in this list. Without
    it, my project could not have been completed (if at all, definitely
    not on time).

    I think the Scott Edwards book "Programming and Customizing the Basic
    Stamp computer" stated that the Basic Stamp was designed to take the
    job of programming microcontrollers out of the hands of experts and
    into the hands of novices. It sure served the purpose.

    For someone like myself new to the world of programming
    microcontrollers, Basic Stamps are a good "stepping stone". However,
    I believe that if a person wants more microcontroller programming
    experience, he or she should not only stick to Basic Stamps. For one
    thing, they are expensive. i'll admit, I did buy the $350 kit which
    helped me a lot. There are cheaper MCUs like PICs and AVRs out there.
    Also, I believe that being able to program other MCUs like 8051 and
    68HC11 makes for a rewarding well-rounded experienced MCU programmer.
    This is something that can take years to master but it is just a
    matter of interest. I don't think engineers other than computer or
    electrical would have such interest.

    P.S. Basic Stamp applications are discussed every month on the issue
    of Nuts and Volts.

    Best Regards,
    RP

    --- In basicstamps@y..., "Earl Bollinger" <earlwbollinger@a...> wrote:
    > In my opinion,you should get a parallax BOE board and Stamp, maybe
    with the
    > BS2 or BS2SX would be a
    > good start point. The prototyping board would be a great help to
    you at
    > learning how to hook up
    > different things to the Stamp and getting them to work. The BOE
    board is
    > just the right size
    > for normal experiments. Plus when your more skilled and advanced
    you can use
    > the board with
    > all the other Stamps of that pinout pattern. Even some competitors
    make pin
    > compatible MCU's that you could plug into the same board.
    >
    > Granted there are other devices out there, but after you've become
    more
    > experienced at using Stamps and hooking them up to things and
    getting
    > meaningful results from them, can you decide what other MCU's you
    may want
    > to use. The other MCU's require more skill at being able to use.
    Some MCU's
    > are downright tough to use, no support, and no help, to get you
    going.
    >
    >
    Original Message
    > From: Rodent [noparse][[/noparse]mailto:daweasel@s...]
    > Sent: Sunday, January 27, 2002 11:30 PM
    > To: basicstamps@y...
    > Subject: Re: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] just starting out
    >
    >
    > Starting out with a Basic Stamp, I am biased towards Parallax.
    However, I
    > have played around with the OOPic and am dabbling with PICs also.
    >
    > The key difference is the amount of support Parallax offers versus
    OOPic or
    > other stamp clone makers. Got a problem with a Parallax product?
    They are
    > there to help you. The documentation is fairly detailed and there
    is a
    > wealth of knowledge from supporting vendors.
    >
    > On the other hand, the OOPic documentation is sparse, hard to use,
    and if
    > you have a problem they will get back to you eventually. I got
    frustrated
    > and gave mine away because it was such a pain.
    >
    > The final straw was when I bought an expansion board, which has the
    same
    > footprint as the OOPic board and has a place for a connector which
    exactly
    > line up with the header on the OOPic board. It should be a piggyback
    > arrangement just like what Parallax does, correct? Wrong!
    >
    > I emailed them when I discovered a double-row connector would not
    fit the
    > board -- the holes in the board were too small to accept the pins on
    > standard connector. I tried several different brands and none would
    work. I
    > contacted Savage and their response was that the board was designed
    to have
    > pins pressed in and not soldered, and thats why the holes were
    small. I've
    > been around electronic assembly and manufacturing for a long time
    and have
    > *never* heard this nonsense.
    >
    >
    Original Message
    >
    > > Price alone is not a good criteria when making a purchase. The
    Parallax
    > > Stamp products have an excellent array of choices at a fair
    price. I
    > always
    > > prefer buying from a source that I know will be there to-morrow.
    There is
    > > good on-line support in this forum and if you have a questions
    you will
    > most
    > > likely get an answer. There are also other suppliers that make
    products in
    > > support of Stamp products. The wealth of supporting information
    on stamp
    > > application and code is outstanding. You will not be left out in
    the cold
    > > with a piece of hardware and software that do not work to-gether
    and no
    > > documentation. Save yourself the headache and buy Parallax.
    >
    > > > > I am Just starting in the whole basic stamps, and
    > > > > was wondering what is a good kit to buy???? I want
    > > > > to keep it around $150 or sooo... Can anyone help
    > > > > me??
    >
    > > > > Before you jump into the basic stamp... check out
    > > > oopic.com they have a great product at a much lower
    > > > price tag.. It also has more memory, faster processing
    > > > speed, and is multiprocessing.. Oh yeah, and it
    > > > handels three different languages.. c++, java, and
    > > > basic.
    >
    >
    >
    >
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