Parallax propeller microprocessor

[jonas]

I finally made it past the looking phase of robots, now i'm ready to get my hands dirty and start trying my self.  I bought the Parallax propeller education kit.  I was just curious to see if any of you guys had any experience with the chip, and maybe had some advice for me in getting started with it.

Thanks,

Aaron

[MaltiK]

isnt that the MCU they used to control a gas powered RC car that was capable of pulling a 2 ton car, plus a fat guy? Thats awesome! do share your results.

[wheagy]

I bought the experimenters kit a few months back.  Excellent intro to the Prop.  There are a number of lessons you can download from their website.  They are all well done and definitely show the power of the Prop.  While it's not as easy to understand as the Stamp, the Prop is many times more powerful.  It will take a bit of effort to learn how to program and use the Prop, but should be worth the effort.  It's easy to see how you can quickly upgrade something like a BoeBot to use a Prop.  -- Win

[ArcMan]

I looked into the propeller a while ago because I was interested in its parallel processing capabilities.  I didn't get too indepth, but I recall a couple of issues I had:
1. No analog inputs
2. A partially completed C compiler from another company with a poor math library

Is this still true?

[jonas]

It will take a bit of effort to learn how to program and use the Prop, but should be worth the effort.  It's easy to see how you can quickly upgrade something like a BoeBot to use a Prop.  -- Win

Yeah, learning the "spin" programming language is kind of a bummer... But it looks kinda similiar in some aspects as c and assembly ect...

I looked into the propeller a while ago because I was interested in its parallel processing capabilities.  I didn't get too indepth, but I recall a couple of issues I had:
1. No analog inputs
2. A partially completed C compiler from another company with a poor math library

Is this still true?

I'm not sure on either one of those... The 8 Cogs is what kind of caught my attention.  I can imagine if I can learn the language and figure out the electronics aspect of it, that it could make for a great microprocessor for a robot.

[Admin]

2. A partially completed C compiler from another company with a poor math library

Is this still true?

A propriety compiler, actually.

Its basically 8 sucky mcu's attached together.

I think multi-core mcu's is the future in robotics, but the Propeller didn't beat any of the current AVRs or ARMs . . .