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Post by Jeff Ledger on Jun 23, 2006 10:41:52 GMT -5
As many are aware, (from my thread in General) I've been looking at the possibility of creating my own microcomputer design using some of the great new chips on the market. My research has turned up this neat little chip: www.parallax.com/propeller/The Propeller is programmed in both a high-level language, called Spin™, and low-level (assembly) language. With the set of pre-built Parallax “objects” for video, mice, keyboards, RF, LCDs, stepper motors and sensors your Propeller application is a matter and as it turns out someone is already working on a C64 Emulator for this chip. Very cool stuff. www.commodorestuff.com/forums.parallax.com/forums/default.aspx?f=25&m=130455&p=1
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dilbert
Full Member
Registered Linux User #306113
Posts: 223
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Post by dilbert on Jun 24, 2006 8:32:28 GMT -5
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Post by Jim Lawless on Jun 24, 2006 21:19:17 GMT -5
Nuts and Volts magazine has had a series of intro articles for the Propeller in their Stamp Applications column ( normally dedicated to Parallax's BASIC Stamp applications. ) The June issue has their last installment.
Off topic trivia ... does anyone know what connection Parallax has to the Commodore 64?
Jim Lawless
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Post by Jeff Ledger on Jun 24, 2006 21:40:15 GMT -5
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Post by Jim Lawless on Jun 24, 2006 22:35:37 GMT -5
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Post by Golan Klinger on Jun 24, 2006 23:18:27 GMT -5
I love(d) the ISEPIC! I never ran into anything I couldn't copy with it and it was very handy in situations where my 1541 had trouble loading heavily copy-protected software due to being slightly out of alignment. I would use ISEPIC to make a copy and bingo-bango, everything worked fine. Best $65 I ever spent.
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Post by Jeff Ledger on Jun 24, 2006 23:54:10 GMT -5
OMG! I had one of those! ISEPIC was the Best! So Chip has his roots in the 64.. This explains a few things.. Jeff
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Post by gmoon on Jul 1, 2006 18:53:43 GMT -5
What's really great about this chip is that it's targeted to hobbyists--all the other next-gen micros (32 bit) have something like 256 pins in SMD or microprocessor-style ZIF sockets.
The Parallax has EIGHT 32-bit cores, but is still packaged in a 40-pin DIP! Of course, you can't really have external data/addr busses, but that's the point of using a controller over a processor.
That's like strapping a rolls-royce jet engine on a golf cart! How flippin, freakin cool...
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Post by retrobits on Jul 11, 2006 19:38:33 GMT -5
Can someone help me out with what it would take to actually implement something with the Propeller... Seems like it needs: - The Propeller chip itself
- A 3.3V power source
- An external 24LC256 EEPROM to hold program contents
- An outboard crystal (optional?)
The bootstrap sequence (from the manual) appears to first check for a PC connection, then for the EEPROM. Finding neither, it will put itself into shutdown mode, if I'm reading it right, hence my belief that it needs the EEPROM to work. I did look all over for this basic information. There is plenty (tons) of information on programming, including many sample interface programs for the "cogs", but not much on the physical side of it. The PropStick, while a nice overall combination setup, seems to be quite a bit more pricey than the individual components, and I'm not sure I need all that anyhow... Comments? Thanks, - Earl
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Post by retrobits on Jul 27, 2006 17:41:11 GMT -5
So, I got my Propeller yesterday. I had collected the support components (EEPROM, crystal, MAX3232 line driver, 3.3V regulator, capacitors, resistors, etc.) while waiting. Spent last night and some time today hooking it up.
And...
IT LIVES!
A blinking LED seems to be the standard "Hello World" for a microcontroller, and there is such a program you can download from the Parallax Propeller forums. Loading and running this from EEPROM is a good test that all the pieces work.
Next stop is to get some of the video stuff working. With just a few resistors, you can do NTSC video out from this thing. With a few more resistors and a connector, you can have VGA out as well (!).
Thus begins my quest for a portable CF or SD virtual disk drive for the PX-8 computer, and beyond! One step at a time...
- Earl
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Post by iamdenteddisk on May 7, 2008 0:26:23 GMT -5
im wondering with what you posted about here and a bit of rom greese if this could work like the supersnapshot ,like a coprocessor or 64server like a slavesystem maybe speed things up a bit expand capability's .
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