This September, Parallax has been in business for 35 years. As part of our celebration, we asked our customers to tell us your Parallax story. This is one we received from our community which will be shared throughout the month.
I became aware of Parallax in the Fall of 1993 through an ad for the BASIC Stamp 1 on the back on Nut & Volts magazine. It was intriguing because I knew and liked BASIC, and I was an electronics enthusiast… but, my skepticism kicked in and I didn’t try it for six months. When the BS1 Starter Kit finally arrived, I stayed up all night writing code and having fun. It just made sense to me.
Since then I have deployed every Parallax micro except the Java Stamp in dozens of commercial products. In my other life I’m an actor and writer, so most of the projects I’ve worked on (save a CAN networked HVAC system, and a road sign “arrow board” controller) have something to do with entertainment. I’ve written countless programs for the Halloween and escape rooms industries (BS1, BS2, P1); I’ve written code for Disneyland (BS1, BS2, SX, P1), Legoland (BS2, P1), and specialty code/drivers for prop builders and special effects engineers who work in film and television (P1). One of my friends builds motion systems for film and video cameras. Last year I coded his latest product that is his first with the P2. His customers are thrilled with the features and flexibility. My most deployed P1 circuit and code is for a major laser tag manufacturer. The P1 revolutionized that product. We are now updating to the P2, and having fun doing it.
I enjoy all of Parallax’s processors, but my favorite has become the P2. The multi-core architecture, raw speed, and the amazing updates to Spin2 and PASM2 make it an absolute blast to work with. It’s safe to say that the P2 has provided for many exhilarating all-nighters; just like my first encounter with the BASIC Stamp 1.
I provided two images of the DEF CON 24 black badge that was designed and built by Rick Galinson, and coded by me. A copy of this badge was displayed in the Smithsonian for a time. The other image is a display built by Steve Wang’s company for Riot Games; I provided the electronics and programming. This project uses a single P1 as a DMX master controller with five animation cogs doing fire and embers simulations across the various areas of the display. League of Legends players will recognize Annie and Tibbers.
Jon McPhalen
Editor’s note: Jon McPhalen (AKA JonnyMac) has provided a tremendous amount of code contributions, videos, and professional product development to the Parallax community. We are truly thankful for his work!
