Kudos for Parallax's documentation and support

SK8 4 U

Hi All...

Just a quick statement of a new found appreciation for the top flight documentation and educational support from Parallax...Last week I·completed a 8085 controller/trainer from another company, and while the board and unit are good quality, and worked the first time I powered it up, their support and documentation were sorely lacking.· There had been so many revisions of their documentation, that I spent most of the assembly time looking at the schematics to double check what the printed instructions said.· And then there is the total lack of any kind of educational support for their product.· I had to go buy several text books about the 8085 and coding for it.·

I must say that I learned more about using the BS2 in·one day of using the WAM course than I have in a week with the 8085 unit.· I am a half way decent C programmer, I am making progress with this 8085 device, and will use it to develop software to eventually use on a hex-crawler.·However, I must say what a pleasure it is to use the Parallax products compared other companies. (And your software is FREE!!!· The C compiler for·the 8085·unit cost me an extra hudred bucks...)

Keep up the good work...

All the best

Joe

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Cats are the creator's method of demonstrating to mankind that man is not the supreme being.

Andy Lindsay (Parallax)

Hi Joe,

Thanks a whole lot for the kudos! Those of us who are involved with the development, quality assurance and upkeep of Parallax free software and documentation especially appreciate your comments. The favorable review of WAM from a fellow skater (I'm assuming from your forum handle) is definitely an added bonus.

Parallax also offers a free BASIC Compiler called SX/B that generates 8051-style assembly code for the SX microcontroller. The SX microcontroller can execute up to 75 MIPS (75 million machine instructions per second) and comes in 18, 20, 28, 48, and 52 pin packages. It's got a great help file with command syntax and example programs. After reviewing the help file, rudimentary tasks like porting an existing PBASIC program is pretty easy. Beyond PBASIC, SX/B gives you control over external and clock based interrupts and also makes it possible to insert inline assembly into your BASIC Code. SX/B is part of the SX-Key IDE, which is also a free download. It's got a great in-circuit debugging tool that allows you to watch variables, step, walk, run, or poll programs, examine I/O registers, and more.

I hope you'll give it a try. You can get the entire SX-Tech Toolkit for less than the price of the compiler you mentioned. It includes the SX-Key IDE software (SX/B built-in), programming and debugging tool, carrier board with breadboard prototyping area, a couple of SX-chips, programming cable, a couple of external resonators, the Parallax CD, and printed documentation.

Best regards,

Andy Lindsay

Post Edited (Andy Lindsay (Parallax)) : 5/10/2005 12:05:12 AM GMT

SK8 4 U

Hi Andy...

I have heard a lot about the SX, but know very little about it. I am more familiar with the 80X86 Intel units, but have considered spending some time learning about the SX. Does Parallax have any plans to develope an educational program for the SX like what you have for the BS2? Are there any good books about them that you would recomend? Right now, for my next Parallax purchase, it is a toss up between the professional development board and the SX tool kit that you mentioned.

I have found that the BS2 unit is about the handiest programable controller around when its' limitations are respected. I have built a solderless prototyping station consisting of a chassis, four solderless breadboards, switches, and the BOE with the basic green stamp. I spend a lot of time with this to develope sensory input and control circuits for robotics.

All the best,

Joe

(BTW, what kind of skating do you do? My poison is freestyle iceskating.)

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Cats are the creator's method of demonstrating to mankind that man is not the supreme being.

Jon Williams

The SX Tech Kit PLUS comes with two excellent books to get you started in SX assembly language. SX/B is still very new, so there's not as much material for it yet, but being based on PBASIC, it's not very difficult to port BASIC Stamp projects. I've written three articles for Nuts & Volts on SX/B and will do more in the future. My last article deals wtih a MIDI controller -- and you can find the schematic and source code for that in our Projects forum.

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Jon Williams
Applications Engineer, Parallax
Dallas, TX· USA

Ryan Clarke

I started with Stamps (on my own) and the 68HC11 (school)- and have since started working with the SX chips. The pack from Parallax does indeed come with some great books to help get you started- even if you have no experience with the SXes. Having the dev board + books makes for a great 'starter' platform for working with the SX chips- the new Parallax dev board will also work with the SXes -

AND when you start building permanent projects, it's lots cheaper to drop in an SX than a stamp [noparse];)[/noparse]

Ryan

Jon Williams

Yes, the PDB is a GREAT way to develop SX projects; I frequently develop SX-based "helper" chips for the BASIC Stamp and am able to test everything on the PDB.

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Jon Williams
Applications Engineer, Parallax
Dallas, TX· USA