PropCam

Comments

• Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514

  2009-11-16 23:17 edited 2009-11-16 23:17

  Still, still, still in gestation. When the Propeller Backpack is released by Parallax (soon, I hope), there will actually be something for the PropCam to plug into. (It's a daughterboard.) BTW, I demo'd the PropCam/Backpack "sandwich" at the UPEW in June. There's some cleanup to do regarding the planned mezzanine boards, which are shared with the TSL1401-DB, but the biggest obstacle is the mountain of documentation that I need to write. This, combined with the fact that it has to be a limited edition of 1500 units, means it's not exactly low-hanging fruit — despite a $15K investment in now-discontinued sensor chips.
  
  The extended delays are beyond embarrassing at this point; so thank you, MacGeek117, for dragging my shame into public view again. 'Truth be known, if I dedicated all my time to finishing the PropCam, I'd be chastised roundly for not finishing other stuff. There's no winning this one, I'm afraid.
  
  Seriously, though, I don't mind the occasional reminders. What was it that P. T. Barnum said? "There's no such thing as bad publicity, as long as they spell your name right." That's "P-H-I-L-I-P" with one "L", "P-I-L-G-R-I-M" not "-A-M".
  
  -Phil
• MacGeek117 Posts: 747

  2009-11-18 15:44 edited 2009-11-18 15:44

  I feel your pain with names. Mine is commonly mispronounced. (and misspelled)
  Do you have any specs available?
  MacGeek117
  
  ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
  BS2: $49
  
  
  SX48 Protoboard: $10
  
  Propeller Protoboard: Priceless
  
  www.apple.com
  
  www.parallax.com
  
  www.goldmine-elec.com
  
  www.expresspcb.com
  
  www.jameco.com
• Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514

  2009-11-18 16:49 edited 2009-11-18 16:49

  Here's a link to a spec sheet for the sensor: Kodak KAC-9630 (PDF). The PropCAM uses the four MSBs of the eight-bit output. Although the 128x101-pixel resolution isn't great, it's a good match for the Propeller's RAM size. And it's blistering fast: up to 580 frames/sec. One additional advantage it has over TV camera sensors is that the entire frame is captured at once before it's clocked out, rather than a line at a time. Exposure times can be as low as 10usec, but I haven't tried any high-speed imaging with it yet.
  
  -Phil
• MacGeek117 Posts: 747

  2009-11-18 16:56 edited 2009-11-18 16:56

  Looks good! I'm assuming that the Prop's resources are completely taken up by the image processing.
  I look forward to getting one when it comes out. Thanks!
  MacGeek117
  
  ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
  BS2: $49
  
  
  SX48 Protoboard: $10
  
  Propeller Protoboard: Priceless
  
  www.apple.com
  
  www.parallax.com
  
  www.goldmine-elec.com
  
  www.expresspcb.com
  
  www.jameco.com