Basic Stamp Job Opportunities?

Archiver

I'm an experienced software developer (Assembler, C, Java, ...) and
systems programmer with a basic electronics and ham radio background,
interested in getting into embedded systems development in Northern
California as a contractor.

Are there job opportnities with the Basic Stamp??

I love playing around with this stuff! [noparse]:)[/noparse] Which architecture would
likely present me with the most employment opportunities? PIC? 8051?
Basic Stamp? TINI? ???

Advice is appreciated, Thanks.

Archiver

As an east-coast embedded developer, supporting
NASA (ground systems), I've found very little
respect for Basic-based systems.

People respect 'C', 'C++', assembler, and
recently Java (you might want to try the
Java Stamp). Most embedded systems I've seen
in use are VME chassis systems, running
VxWorks, programmed in 'C' or 'C++', and
using the 680x0 family of processors.
(Of course, most of the apps using these
systems are satellite data capture systems,
where high-speed and reliability are the
criteria, not low-cost). If you
can claim 'gcc' experience, this helps.
(The GNU C++ compiler suite of tools)

In the embedded processor world, the PIC and
the ATMEL AVR devices have a good reputation.
They're small, inexpensive, yet fast. There
are also 8051 variants out there which have
so many useful on-chip peripherals (ethernet,
USB) that they continue to be used.

The Basic Stamp is mostly seen as an educational
platform, and a prototyping platform. You can
quickly try out various interfacing approaches,
then easily upgrade to a PIC based solution.
Again, most 'respected' embedded systems are coded
in 'C', with time-critical stuff done in Assembly.

So no, I have seen no job opportunities for BS2
programmers on the east-coast, sorry to say.

--- In basicstamps@yahoogroups.com, "linx4prs" <linx4prs@y...> wrote:
> I'm an experienced software developer (Assembler, C, Java, ...) and
> systems programmer with a basic electronics and ham radio
background,
> interested in getting into embedded systems development in Northern
> California as a contractor.
>
> Are there job opportnities with the Basic Stamp??
>
> I love playing around with this stuff! [noparse]:)[/noparse] Which architecture would
> likely present me with the most employment opportunities? PIC? 8051?
> Basic Stamp? TINI? ???
>
> Advice is appreciated, Thanks.

Archiver

Interesting and common viewpoint, but not entirely true. Our customer
base which is evenly divided among educational, hobby and
commercial/industrial. Within the commercial/industrial category our
customer list includes consultants and companies who design products
using the BASIC Stamp.

When the BASIC Stamp was first released it spawned a variety of
entrepreneurs who created products, companies and solved problems.
Often, these people are scientists, mechanical engineers from non
electronic fields.

The web is loaded with a disproportionate number hobby projects for the
BASIC Stamp. As with any processor, engineers are not likely to present
their projects on the web showing how to control wastewater treatment
aeration processes.

As for finding a job where you can use BASIC Stamps, the most likely way
of doing this is by creating products or working in a consultancy where
you get to specify the controller best suited for the task. We also
maintain a consultant list on our web site.

Ken Gracey
Parallax, Inc.





>The Basic Stamp is mostly seen as an educational
>platform, and a prototyping platform. You can
>quickly try out various interfacing approaches,
>then easily upgrade to a PIC based solution.
>Again, most 'respected' embedded systems are coded
>in 'C', with time-critical stuff done in Assembly.

Archiver

Very good point, thanks for the correction.
It is quite true that once a company (as
opposed to a hobbyist or professor) has done
a project incorporating a Basic Stamp, they
are not likely to publish it on the Web. It
becomes a company proprietary product, and
a source of their income.

--- In basicstamps@yahoogroups.com, "Ken Gracey" <kgracey@p...> wrote:
> Interesting and common viewpoint, but not entirely true. Our
customer
> base which is evenly divided among educational, hobby and
> commercial/industrial. Within the commercial/industrial category our
> customer list includes consultants and companies who design products
> using the BASIC Stamp.
>
> When the BASIC Stamp was first released it spawned a variety of
> entrepreneurs who created products, companies and solved problems.
> Often, these people are scientists, mechanical engineers from non
> electronic fields.
>
> The web is loaded with a disproportionate number hobby projects for
the
> BASIC Stamp. As with any processor, engineers are not likely to
present
> their projects on the web showing how to control wastewater
treatment
> aeration processes.
>
> As for finding a job where you can use BASIC Stamps, the most
likely way
> of doing this is by creating products or working in a consultancy
where
> you get to specify the controller best suited for the task. We also
> maintain a consultant list on our web site.
>
> Ken Gracey
> Parallax, Inc.
>
>
>
>
>
> >The Basic Stamp is mostly seen as an educational
> >platform, and a prototyping platform. You can
> >quickly try out various interfacing approaches,
> >then easily upgrade to a PIC based solution.
> >Again, most 'respected' embedded systems are coded
> >in 'C', with time-critical stuff done in Assembly.