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Tuesday, 01 December 2008

The Parallaxian Newsletter


Welcome to the latest edition of the Parallaxian. In this edition we have some great applications for you. Robot chassis, RFID readers and sending data via handheld radios. We also interview longtime Parallax customer and collaborator, Phil Pilgrim. We want to thank you again for subscribing to the Parallaxian newsletter and for your continued support. We encourage you to contact us if there are particular products or topics you would like to see covered in future editions (parallaxian@parallax.com).

 


 2009 CatalogParallax 2009 Product Catalog Now Shipping!

 The Parallax 2009 Product Catalog is now available! We are currently including the new catalog in our sales orders. You may also view a PDF of the catalog online or request one be mailed to you directly from our web site.

This catalog has the most detailed explanations we’ve ever provided for our products. You’ll also find customer interviews, explanations of our educational tutorials and complete pricing and part numbers of the whole Parallax lineup.

 

 

 

 Build a Robot Chassis from “Plywood”

Parallax manufactures two high-quality, CNC-machined products for larger robots: the 12V Motor Mount and Wheel Kit (#27971) and the Caster Wheel Kit (#28971). It takes both of these parts to make a tail-dragger or zero-turn radius robot. We do not offer a base under which to mount these components; our objective is to offer the key hardware customers need and allow them to build their own custom chassis. Our suggestion is to skip complicated modeling programs and ACAD – just lay out the actual parts and sketch the cutout on a piece of 3/4" plywood (we used A/A grade birch). Next, drill the holes for the motor mounts and caster wheel.
 

Simply place the hardware on a piece of plywood and start drawing.

 
Plywood has many virtues in robot construction. First, working with wood is really easy - it only takes a saber saw or jigsaw to cut out your pattern. Drilling it is even easier, and finishing it with sandpaper and sealants of your choice allows your own artistic influence.
 

Mount the 12V battery on the bottom of your chassis.

 

RFID Reader PC Software (VB.NET) Available for Download

This year Parallax released a PC version of our USB RFID Reader. Parallax engineer Chris Savage wrote a useful utility in Visual BASIC 2005 Express that displays the tag data. While the USB RFID Reader is directly connected to your PC using a USB cable, the Serial RFID Reader may be used the same way if you use this schematic. This VB.NET application has a small form which allows you to select and open the COM Port for the RFID Reader and Enable or Disable reading as necessary. By default the RFID Reader is enabled when the COM Port is opened. Optionally you can trigger a System Beep during each read. Once tags are read into the Text Box they can be copied into a database or other application, speeding tag entry.

 

Example of Parallax’s VB.NET RFID Reader PC software.

 
Chris released the source code for his application and several forum members have already modified the program for particular uses. See the following link on the Parallax forums for the RFID Reader PC software.
 

 

Chris Savage shows of the USB RFID Reader and PC software.

 

Interfacing a Modem to 2-Meter Handheld Radios for Wireless Data Communication

Another new project recently appeared in the Parallax forums: Interfacing a Modem to 2-meter Handheld Radios. Why would anybody want to do this? Because once you have your amateur radio license you are permitted to use radios with high power. Using a set of Yaesu VX-6R radios Parallax hams Ken Gracey (KI6HBT) and Jim Ewald (N7ZFI) sent and received data packets over four miles in an urban area from Parallax to a handheld radio in a car.
 
Parallax has published sample BASIC Stamp 2 code and schematics on our forums (at above link). The code examples include a very basic program you can use to test the connections, as well as an error-checking program complete with checksums.
 
Since we’ve released this application one of our forum members (Phil Pilgrim, Bueno Systems) has been able to achieve the entire modem modulation/demodulation in a Propeller chip without the external modems shown below (the small square module at the end of the ribbon cable).

 

Send data for miles between microcontrollers using handheld radios.

  

Valid data packets received at the Parallax office.

 


Interview with Phil Pilgrim of Bueno Systems, a Parallax Developer

You may have encountered Phil Pilgrim on our forums (his screen name is “PhiPi”). He’s got a creative writing style and mad-scientist engineering skills. Perhaps he’s one of those people who can only work for himself, so we put our reporter on the beat to find out if our hunch was correct.
 
Q: How did you get involved with Parallax?
A: Ken Gracey rescued me from a carnival sideshow, thinking that I might have a talent for electronics. In desperation never to return to the carny life, I learned what I needed for, you know, doing circuits 'n' stuff. Since then, working with Parallax has been incredibly fulfilling and fun. To a person, they are one of the nicest, most supportive companies I've ever dealt with. (They even repaid the eleven dollars and twenty cents I owed the carnival commissary, in order to buy my freedom.)
 
Q: Which products have you designed?
A: The Ronco Fetuccini Finagler is probably my proudest accomplishment. I've also designed Parallax's TCS230-DB, MoBoStamp-pe, PWR-I/O-DB, Proto-DB, 7Seg-DB, DB-Expander, SoundPAL, ServoPAL, BOE-Boost, Boe-Bot Encoder, and the GUI for the Scribbler, along with some EVMs for TAOS (Texas Advanced Optoelectronic Solutions), fishing lures for a local tackle company, and a game for an area toy company.
 
Q: What are your primary technical interests with electronics and microcontrollers?
A: Time travel, but that hasn't paid any bills yet. So optoelectronics and other sensor technologies, along with communications, have had to fill in for the time being. The Propeller has opened up a hoard of possibilities here. I'm constantly amazed by its capabilities and elegant design. (It can modulate a flux capacitor using a single cog!)
 
Q: You are very active on our discussion forums. How do you manage to make so much time every day to answer people's questions?
A: It's an addiction, really. I'm currently in a twelve-step program to help wean me from the dependency. Meanwhile, the sink is piled high with dishes, and the yard is full of weeds.
 
Q: Have you noticed any changes on the Parallax forums over the recent years? For example, are people's interests about the same or have they leaned towards a particular technology?
A: Interest in vacuum tube circuits has leveled off quite a bit during the forum's fifty-year history. Wirelsss communication and network connectivity are definitely on the rise, as is anything involving the Propeller. The latter has attracted some really sophisticated talent to the forum, and I'm impressed by some of the software that people are writing for, and in support of, the Propeller. But the basics, such as transistor circuitry, logic, comparators, op amps, and the like, are constant mainstays.
 
Q: Do you have other social and personal hobbies? What are they?
A: None. Electronics and programming are the only things that keep me from having flashbacks to my carny days. Well, okay, I also enjoy long walks on the beach, hiking in the Olympics, Scrabble, and the New York Times Saturday crossword. As much as I'd like to add "winters in Baja", those have been too few to count.
 
Q: What do you like about the place where you live?
A: That it (Washington State's Olympic Peninsula) is a real place, not a carnival trailer. Oh, yeah, its uncrowdedness, the proximity to mountains and saltwater, the ready access to fresh seafood, and a culture of outdoor activity are nice, too.
 
Q: Do you have any pets? What do they do to inspire or contribute to your productivity, if anything?
 
A: After my anaconda from the carnival (I was "Snake Dude") choked on the neighbor's pit bull, I was acquired by a cat, which I named "Browser" after Netscape Navigator. He's in charge of ESD testing (see photo) and, um, "strategic rearrangement". Okay, let's face it: he's a cat. He's in charge. Period. 

“Browser” conducts ESD testing at Bueno Systems. 


 

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