Impressed by Parallax and also picaxe

rigidigital

Senior Member
I love all the education you get at the other site. Are there any teaching books like those parallax people available to picaxe people ? but dam their products,chips ect are not cheap :(
 

premelec

Senior Member
I started with BASIC STAMPs long time ago and converted to PICAXEs - you might be more specific on just what you want to learn about - there are so many sources of information from books and URLs and manufacturer's data sheets and lab notes and so forth - and places like Parallax and Sparkfun and so many other places including this forum which has covered a variety of subjects over many years. Al-williams.com used to have a lot of info up... Often times info from other sites like the one you mention liking can be applied to PICAXEs with slight modification if not literally - also peripheral units can be used from other sources than RevEd when it suits you.
 

SolidWorksMagi

Senior Member
Hi,

Maybe you want to start with:
http://www.amazon.com/PICAXE-Microcontroller-Projects-Evil-Genius/dp/0071703268/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405543944&sr=8-1&keywords=PICAXE

I'm just converting from Parallax to PICAXE now ... I need cheaper chips in all my robots.

AND! I maybe even start selling off a bunch of Parallax books and HomeWork and other BS2 boards as I get things converted over.

ITMT, I'm learning how to convert all my sensor code from BS2 to PICAXE ... only a couple more to go ...

http://www.Brainless.org/
 

rigidigital

Senior Member
thak you for the replies. Well said to enlighten me a little. I love the pivace because its a single chip not like the basic stamp which is far more expensive. I just started using a basic stamp but im not doing anything with it these little picaxe chips can do. they are just cool. ive been scoffed at on one forum for using picaxe, like they are for kids, dumb people but I wondered why they'd say that. the real good parallax chip is the prop and I have a few boards with the prop mc. it probably the best chip for the money, hardly dearer than a picaxe. but im just starting to use C for the prop. the prop also has an other advantages with libraries of code for whatever you wish to do. you doint really have to fully understand the code u use from that re[pository, it just works. but ill be buying picaxe chips before ever buying another basic stamp.
 

rigidigital

Senior Member
Hi,

Maybe you want to start with:
http://www.amazon.com/PICAXE-Microcontroller-Projects-Evil-Genius/dp/0071703268/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1405543944&sr=8-1&keywords=PICAXE

I'm just converting from Parallax to PICAXE now ... I need cheaper chips in all my robots.

AND! I maybe even start selling off a bunch of Parallax books and HomeWork and other BS2 boards as I get things converted over.

ITMT, I'm learning how to convert all my sensor code from BS2 to PICAXE ... only a couple more to go ...

http://www.Brainless.org/
and im guessing you can always get btwo cheap picaxe chips wired to communicate serially to share the load ?
 

laserhawk64

Senior Member
Nuts 'n Volts Magazine has had quite a number of Picaxe articles recently.
Oh gawd, I remember Nuts&Volts, used to pick them up at a Barnes&Noble about a half hour from me. Like a decade ago! I'm quite honestly surprised that they're still around... around here that's a dying genre at best -- along with the type of folks (tinkerers/hackers/makers/etc) who would normally pick it up and use it well. It's incredibly sad to me how few people here will, upon encountering a broken item, try to fix it rather than leave it on the curb...
 

macrobeak

New Member
Parallax Prop and Picaxe

I use the Parallax Prop and Picaxe as the best of both worlds.
Picaxe for simple modules and Prop for complex multitasking units.
Basic Stamps sometimes are useful for features the Picaxe does not have, like negative arithmetic.
 

Pongo

Senior Member
Oh gawd, I remember Nuts&Volts, used to pick them up at a Barnes&Noble about a half hour from me. Like a decade ago! I'm quite honestly surprised that they're still around... around here that's a dying genre at best -- along with the type of folks (tinkerers/hackers/makers/etc) who would normally pick it up and use it well. It's incredibly sad to me how few people here will, upon encountering a broken item, try to fix it rather than leave it on the curb...
N&V used to be a freebie in the silicon valley surplus stores and the original Fry's, but those days are long gone.
 

MFB

Senior Member
Nuts & Volts is still going strong and if you sign up for the on-line edition you can access back issues at no extra cost. You can even find the three PICAXE based articles about model rocketry instrumentation that I did years ago.
 

erco

Senior Member
Horses for courses. Parallax and Picaxe each have fine products, I use both. IMO it's all about using the right chip for the job.

The BS2 has a huge following just because it's been around for 20 years and it was the only game in town for a long while. There is a lot of documentation and a lot of projects for reference, and their forum is very knowledgeable, friendly and patient.
 

Ttailspin

New Member
I joined this forum in 2009, guess I could actually post something...

The $price$ of Parallax items is not for everybody, I have to say, You get what you pay for. The amount of educational material is almost overwhelming.
I was willing/able to pay more for My Micro Controller education, I thought i was in a hurry...

I never purchased a BS, The good folks over at parallax have gifted one or two into my collection, but i have never actually purchased one.
The Propeller, on the other hand, I have purchased many at $19.00 dollars each,(five pieces of USB proto boards for $100.00 is hard to beat.)

I'm not here to sing praises of parallax, other than to agree, The education you can get there is one of the best. :)


Just so I don't give out a completely wrong impression from my first post, LONG LIVE PICAXE!
I am ready to give Picaxe a try. (where do i start?:) )


-Tommy
 

hippy

Technical Support
Staff member
I am ready to give Picaxe a try. (where do i start?:) )
Welcome to the forum.

If you haven't actually started with a PICAXE then browsing the forum, the main PICAXE site (www.picaxe.com) even the online store (www.picaxestore.com), reading the manuals, looking through the project gallery, and searching on Google for PICAXE related pages should give you a good idea of possibilities.

As you appear to have past microcontroller experience you will probably find it plain sailing and just need to get used to the way things are done with a PICAXE. Diving in at the deep end may be the best way to go.

Having an idea for a PICAXE project will help you get stuck in, even if it is just flashing a few LEDs, and you can even start writing code and simulating that code without actual hardware.

And of course the members here will be delighted to help and point you in the right direction if you do have any questions.
 

Ttailspin

New Member
Tommy: Welcome! How many posts until you mention casters and rudders on bots?
I must be mellowing with age, I didn't want to come out swinging on my first post, But since i will have two posts under my belt now..

Casters are for Suckers! Casters are the bane of inspiration! and I am pretty sure Casters are somehow responsible for most of the wrongs in the world today!

Sure it costs a bit more to apply a Rudder Steering System to the average Bot, it is offset by the satisfaction of watching your Bot navigate the dreaded
Carpet to Tile transition an average Caster just can't navigate... Plus many other advantages to numerous to mention. :cool:



Thanks hippy, I am already knee deep into the manuals section. I see i will have to train myself to think lineal instead of multicore.
See what a couple of study weeks will bring...



-Tommy
 

hippy

Technical Support
Staff member
The M2's support multi-tasking but, because PICAXE are single core, some I/O commands block all tasks. Not quite as flexible as a true multi-core chip but it can still be useful for the right projects.
 

premelec

Senior Member
@Ttailspin www.phanderson.com is a US source that has worked well for me to get chips at low cost... I was a BS guy years ago... haven't tried or needed the propellor though I'm glad it's there if I ever do... have fun and cast out the casters...
 
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