PropStick $59
Sawmiller
Posts: 276
$59 propstick front and center on parrallax's page...
tempted to buy another
dan
tempted to buy another
dan
Comments
I know.. I wasn't going to touch them... no "real" reason to.. but now
.. .. must resist... must.... resist....
bah.. guess I'm gonna buy a propstick now too...
swmbo will NOT be happy
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stand back! I have a slide rule and I know how to use it!
The Demoboard wouldn't work in that kind of application.
I am setting up a my Demoboard as a Video Terminal including an SDcard ram and CANbus, but....
With the PROPstick you can drive a couple a Steppers and loads of sensors.
Mighty fast response in battle.
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"If you want more fiber, eat the package.· Not enough?· Eat the manual."········
Call the office, I'm sure they might do something for you!
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Just tossing my two bits worth into the bit bucket
KK
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Sent email to sales, they are the greatest. Got my PropSticks for the sale price.. WooHoo.
Charlie
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Just tossing my two bits worth into the bit bucket
KK
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I was just going to satisfy my interest in Propeller with the 'paper' portion, reading up on what it does.
But seeing the PropStick's price for a few more days, maybe that might be the way to get deeper into it.
Questions:
1. With the 5 MHz crystal, can it internally be run via PPL at up to 80 MHz?
2. Using a solderless protoboard, would that higher rate be a problem?
3. If other than 3.3v chips need be interfaced, what might be a simple way to interface.
4. Does anyone also drive a character LCD directly with it? Usually they are run on 5v, so the i/f question.
5. I don't yet understand how fast the 8 COGs can output signals, nor what the rate they are switched from one to the next. For instance could one COG output a TV signal for driving a monitor and keep it sync'd? Like doing one line at a burst. How quickly can it get from COG n back again if others aren't doing anything, or much? (Vague question, but haven't read enough to satisfy such questions. If the data sheet on the Propeller were available as a single document -- soon? -- that might answer such questions.)
6. If there anything the PropStick CAN'T do that the Propeller on the Demo Board can do? (not counting on any connectors, other ICs, etc.)
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Harley Shanko
h.a.s. designn
2) Maybe. It depends on what you want to do. There are breadboards with ground planes that work fairly well at high speeds. Keep leads short and straight.
3) Read the documentation and demo programs. They usually talk about connecting the Propellor to other stuff. Typically, a 4.7K to 10K resistor in series with the Propellor pin will protect things. For more detail, look at some of the forum threads dealing with interfacing.
4) Do you mean a serial LCD or parallel LCD or what? See #3
5) Read the forum threads and demo programs, particularly with regard to video output. The COGs run simultaneously. There's no switching from one to the next unless you program that in explicitly (or implicitly by using a library object that does it). The Propellor can produce video, video modulated RF on the low VHF channels, FM modulated RF (to go with the video), VGA video for text and/or graphics.
6) No. The Demo Board just has the passive components and connectors built-in for VGA, video, audio (microphone) input, audio (stereo headphone) output, PS/2 keyboard and mouse, and a USB serial connection for programming and use by Propellor programs. It's also carefully laid out to address noise issues primarily around the video output and audio input (because of the high-speed A/D conversion techniques used).
To expand on #2 a bit: The 80MHz clock signal appears only internally to the chip, not on the breadboard. The 5MHz crystal I/O pins do extend into the breadboard, but they can be clipped off if it's a problem. (I've never heard of it being a problem.) I'm using a PropSTICK to acquire data at 10MHz via the breadboard (no groundplane) without difficulty. It's also being used to output analog signals with a counter's DUTY mode, again without difficulty. However, I would not recommend trying to input analog data using the counters' special analog modes. For that you need passives mounted right at the Propeller pins to keep trace inductance and stray capacitance to an absolute minimum.
-Phil
I was just going to satisfy my interest in Propeller with the 'paper' portion, reading up on what it does.
But seeing the PropStick's price for a few more days, maybe that might be the way to get deeper into it.
Questions:
1. With the 5 MHz crystal, can it internally be run via PPL at up to 80 MHz?
2. Using a solderless protoboard, would that higher rate be a problem?
3. If other than 3.3v chips need be interfaced, what might be a simple way to interface.
4. Does anyone also drive a character LCD directly with it? Usually they are run on 5v, so the i/f question.
5. I don't yet understand how fast the 8 COGs can output signals, nor what the rate they are switched from one to the next. For instance could one COG output a TV signal for driving a monitor and keep it sync'd? Like doing one line at a burst. How quickly can it get from COG n back again if others aren't doing anything, or much? (Vague question, but haven't read enough to satisfy such questions. If the data sheet on the Propeller were available as a single document -- soon? -- that might answer such questions.)
6. If there anything the PropStick CAN'T do that the Propeller on the Demo Board can do? (not counting on any connectors, other ICs, etc.)
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Harley Shanko
h.a.s. designn
Sawmiller, Dunnsept, Kramer, dy8coke,Kaos Kidd, Mike Green and Phil Pilgrim (love that Greek logo image).
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Harley Shanko
h.a.s. designn
Thanks again to Parallax for this great Holiday deal!
Timothy Gilmore