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Kinda, sorta.
Why do we have to wait for nanotech? As my posting collect with bots... mentions I agree with the general idea but we can do it with bots not much more advanced than the stuff already sold by the Basic Stamp folks now.
It seems to me that the best response to the radiation issue is to use the debris itself as shielding and deactivate any robot that fails some overall diagnostic. If checksum=foo then robot=raw materials.
Or then again, maybe we can get the Armadillo Aerospace folks interested and sell the rights to shoot the debris down. Hmmmm.
perfessor multigeek

The above poster should have said that a Basic Stamp is a cheap computer. Maybe $39 to $59 total.

Google is your friend.

Yes, embedded devices are great and necessary, but calling this device a PDA is like calling a typewriter a PC. And yes, a BS2 would be great for telling your in-car PC to turn off. In fact, a BS1 (one) would do nicely.http://www.parallaxinc.com/ Just have a little daemon that listens to your serial port, and calls 'init 0' when a particular string is sent by the stamp. I haven't read from a serial port in Linux before, but I imagine that there is some device file for it. You could even write the daemon in bash. I'm a little rusty in pBASIC, but a program (on the stamp) that would do that would be: loop: button p1 send goto loop send: serout 2400n, something, something, p1, "shutdown" goto loop ------ Then have pin 1 go high when the car shuts off. I haven't done stamps in years; you'll have to look up the commands in a manual.

Design your own USB coffee maker or animitronic toy. Put a real robot in robot wars instead of a glorified remote control car. Break in by doing not begging

Other Sources

Well, 50MHz stamps do exist. I own three, and you can do all kinds of nerdy stuff with it, like make an RGB LED harddrive light or a maze-navigating robot (like I do with mine).

Oh wait.... you meant postage stamps, not Basic Stamps...

Well, this is supposed to be the point of Bluetooth, if the Bluetooth SIG can ever figure out how the damn things are supposed to work. Given that they just adopted a basic printing profile on December 31st, they have a long way to go.

http://www.google.com/search?q=wireless+rs232 gets about 24,000 hits, but most of the commercial solutions are oriented towards scientific data-logging applications and other deep pocket uses. One source is Parallax, makers of the Basic Stamp. They have something that might work here -- look at the RF products section. Personally, I would homebrew it with a bare PIC microcontroller, but the 'Stamps are a lot easier for the hobbyist to deal with.

Parallax, Inc sells solutions for what you have in mind.

Now, you may be asking: "But they only come in a few frequencies!!!" - well, do you think that 802.11 comes in more? So, you will probably have to hack up your own networking/collision detection type system. These devices sound perfect for what you are trying to do...

Parallax, Inc sells solutions for what you have in mind.

Now, you may be asking: "But they only come in a few frequencies!!!" - well, do you think that 802.11 comes in more? So, you will probably have to hack up your own networking/collision detection type system. These devices sound perfect for what you are trying to do...

Damn SD effect... oh well; looks like I'll have to upgrade my web host. I can boot into X in about 30 secs. My center console display doesn't turn on until after the system is booted so for all intents and purposes it doesn't exist (to the user) until it's ready to be used. When i remove the key or turn the car off, it turns the display off immediately and then shuts the computer down (via perl!). Here is a mini-mirror. Parallax did a feature on my car and they have a mini write-up (the pictures are very old). The last picture is the most accurate of the ones they have. Until I get more bandwidth my site will be down (unless someone can mirror my original - contact me!).

Luckily I can disable the maximal count!!!

I've worked in the embedded field for quite a while and have used BASIC stamps from Parallax. Some of the optional extras available in their catalog are RF modules. Look at the catalog and see if anything fits your project. Bi-directional? Get two transcievers. They're $120 each, and support 9600,N,8,1 serial communication. See the manual for specific details on design and spec.

I've worked in the embedded field for quite a while and have used BASIC stamps from Parallax. Some of the optional extras available in their catalog are RF modules. Look at the catalog and see if anything fits your project. Bi-directional? Get two transcievers. They're $120 each, and support 9600,N,8,1 serial communication. See the manual for specific details on design and spec.

I've worked in the embedded field for quite a while and have used BASIC stamps from Parallax. Some of the optional extras available in their catalog are RF modules. Look at the catalog and see if anything fits your project. Bi-directional? Get two transcievers. They're $120 each, and support 9600,N,8,1 serial communication. See the manual for specific details on design and spec.

My first reaction was, "didn't this happen years ago?"

I mean, when was the last time you got out a soldering iron and had at your PC? That used to be the norm, back when messing with micros meant S-100 and IEEE stuff. But with multi-layer boards (gack, I can't remember the last time I saw a single or layer two-sided board made by someone I didn't know) it's a lot harder, and likewise with the decreasing size and increasing complexity of ICs. But the main reason I stopped is that I no longer needed to work at that level to get the job done. The optimal level for configuration moved up, and I followed it.

This (if it happens, about which I have some reservations) will just trigger another migration: rather than hacking inside the box we'll just be hanging odd homebrew things on various I/O ports and treating the PC as a blackbox.

(set-mode Old-fart nil)

-- MarkusQ

P.S. A real old fart would tell us hardware hacking died when they went to these here new-fangled "chip" things. You can't pry them things open, or least wise 'tan't worth it.

Just today I received a BASIC Stamp kit, and I'm loving it. Anybody who can code their way out of a paper bag can use one of these to do all sorts of cool electronics work.

Once I have this beast under control, a smart CLID box is tops on my list; my intention was just to make the phone not ring when it's a telemarketer, but I like this idea even better. Please do post your schematic and code once you get it going!

For those who want to make a simple Caller ID box, a generous fellow has already posted the details of his project. For more information, check out Parallax, the makers of the Stamp, and the BASIC Stamp FAQ. To get an idea of what you can do, see the List of Stamp Applications (LOSA), the first item of which is, no foolin', a cyborg cat.

Just today I received a BASIC Stamp kit, and I'm loving it. Anybody who can code their way out of a paper bag can use one of these to do all sorts of cool electronics work.

Once I have this beast under control, a smart CLID box is tops on my list; my intention was just to make the phone not ring when it's a telemarketer, but I like this idea even better. Please do post your schematic and code once you get it going!

For those who want to make a simple Caller ID box, a generous fellow has already posted the details of his project. For more information, check out Parallax, the makers of the Stamp, and the BASIC Stamp FAQ. To get an idea of what you can do, see the List of Stamp Applications (LOSA), the first item of which is, no foolin', a cyborg cat.

No more colonoscopy!

Seriously though, a while back I saw this bit on TV about this guy who implanted this little metal skeleton type thing on the outside of a cockroach. Then, by using electrical impulses to the fake skeleton, you could basically control the movement of the roach. At the size of a roach (which a lot of people know can get to anywhere) it would be extremely useful for exploring earthquake rubble and other disasters where search and rescue is inhibited by large chunks of wood and stone.

It's quite a step up from the Basic Stamp (http://www.parallaxinc.com), but unlike the Stamp, as far as usefulness goes, I think that it'll be a few more years before something really cool is born from this technology.

I'm in involved in this, and all of the programming is in BASIC. It's very annoying, and there doesn't seem to be a real time clock on the device. If someone would care to hack the Innovation First (which is based on the BASIC Stamp II SX microcontroller, with a Scenix SX28AC/55 chip - a chip which should support ASM) controller board so we can use C or ASM, it would be much appreciated. It's a shame that the FIRST doesn't try to encourage more the programming side of things, since software is an integral part of robotics.

I realize most of this thread has addressed the greater issues of how to raise children and provide a balanced education and such, and that's really a more interesting topic.

But to address just the question asked, here's my suggestion: get a JameCo catalog or visit jameco.com, and see what educational kits and/or books they have involving the BASIC Stamp. (Or see the manufacturer's site, parallaxinc.com.) This is a puny little computer that's programmed in BASIC. If the kid likes electronics, it's a nice way of combining that with programming. You can start out with simple things (flashing LEDs), and build up to more complicated things, like insect robots...what 9 year old geek wouldn't enjoy that! There are many areas of programming to learn, and embedded microcontrollers like the Stamp avoid a lot like structured programming and operating systems, but they teach the basics, emphasize efficiency, and can just be a lot of fun. :-)

And get yourself the books "Getting Started In Electronics" and ALL of the little "Engineer's Handbook" books (recently updated, I noticed) by Forrest Mims. This man has started more people into electronics than I could possibly imagine. I hope he was compensated well by the publisher for his great contribution to electronics - I owe a lot of my start to get where I am now to him.

I CANNOT recommend these books highly enough and I'm suprised nobody else has. Once you get those, you can get on your way with some parts and things, but get them from someplace like DigiKey or Mouser and you'll save a lot of money experimenting. I also recommend surplus places, one in particular: BG Micro, they have lots of stuff to tinker with cheap.

Do you like digital stuff? Then go check out a Java-based TINI from Ibutton or even better, some of the kits that are available from Parallax Inc. They're expensive, but their stuff is quality and works.

Good luck on a rewarding and interesting hobby with almost no bounds!

With all sorts of cheap electronic gadgets available, there isn't the same incentive to play around with electronics as there has been in the past. Who needs to build a shortwave radio to find people to talk to, when the Internet has made long distance chatting trivialy easy?

Work the other interests into it. If the child reads about Tesla... build a Tesla Coil. (I guess that would need some pretty good adult supervision, too).

What you can do is find things that interest the child and see how you can work electronics into it. If they are already into computers and basic programming, microcontrollers are a good start (and a personal favorite of mine) They can teach about the basics of computers without becoming overwhelming- the Microchip PIC series, especially the 16F84 is a good choice, relatively cheap, can be programmed with *really* cheap hardware, and the development tools from Microchip are free. You as the instructor must become proficient in them first, to not add to the frustration of your student. Blinking LEDs can be an introduction to the wide world of electronics- because once they know they can do it, they will be primed to learn more. There are a number of other microcontrollers that have even simpler programming interfaces than Microchip's- such as a Basic Stamp from Parallax.

To really keep their interest, you need to have payoff early- they need to see that they can do neat stuff before the theory gets pounded into them. Thankfully, with digital electronics, you don't have to worry as much about currents and Ohm's law to get results. The math will come, but it doesn't have to be the first part. They will be much more interested in learning why something works, after seeing it work, but you have to do both- a lot of the kits that you can find just show how to build it- without giving any insight into why it works. The why may be up to you. It will require work and commitment on both the teacher's part and the student's part.

I used the RF modules sold by Parallax; but I can't recommend them. They're buggy and frustrating. I'd recommend using real wireless modems if you want a clean, transparent serial connection. I was told by Mark Pauline, of all people, to use Wavelan cards. But I haven't tried 'em myself. Good luck.

There's a bunch of solutions out there if you want to be a little crafty, and most of it is just limited by how much you want to spend and how reliable you need the data transfer to be (as you can guess.. the two are linked :).

A couple people have suggested a laser link. I built a small one for experimenting using a UART and some of the schematics from the book Lasers, -Ray Guns & Light Cannons ISBN: 0-07-045035-8. (Someone better buy it because I had to dig through two years of crap to find it! :) I got the lasers from some surplus place cheap. It worked well at 2400 baud or something like that, I was trying to build a circuit to act as a wireless point-to-point link to get high speed internet just slightly off campus (e.g. through my lab window to a buddy across the street :). It worked well, although I ran out of time to finish it. Think I was planning on selling them to build cheap point-to-point links at the time, or something. Hard to aim, though. Anyhow.

Another way is through wireless modules like the folks at Lynx Technologies or Parallax Inc. The parallax ones are of better quality right out of the box, and they'll sell to individuals, the former was nasty to me when I wanted to order some samples.

YET another way is through using Ham Radio and packet. You can get an all - in - one unit from Kenwood called the TH-D7A that is a small handheld with a 9600 baud TNC built into it. It's truely plug-and-play. Extremely expensive at $550cdn a pop, I know, I have one. You also need to be liscened to operate at these frequencies, and most/all places won't sell you one without your callsign or liscence. These work VERY well.

That said, one of those options will be the best for you. IR is out as it doesn't work worth a damn in direct sunlight, even laser detectors have a bit of a problem with sun. Sun is a great source of optical noise :). If I was needing something mission critical and a long distance, your best choice is the kenwood/packet option, or maybe the parallax modules. They hook right up to a serial port.

Alternately, you could just get a cheap 486 notebook and get a 802.11 card, and wire the whole thing to a big-ass car battery (find one that takes 12V, and make sure to put a fuse on it!). That might be cheaper in the long run, and will provide a lot of bandwidth.

Hope that helps.

In 1995 or so, I built a simpler model using a Parallax, Inc. v1 BASIC Stamp circuit.

(For those of you who haven't toyed with a BASIC Stamp, it's a 14 pin SIPP circuit board (1.4" x 0.5") with a 5-12V DC voltage regulator, clock, 8 programmable I/O pins, 256 bytes EEPROM memory, and TTL/RS232 control lines. You download programs that are tokenized BASIC, and the program is run whenever power is available.)

My clock and silent-radio didn't have a spatial sync, but did drive five LEDs to scroll through a message. I trickle-charged a small 1 Farad capacitor to power the circuit for about ten minutes, and spun the whole apparatus around on the end of a pencil to read the display.

I recommend the BASIC Stamps (v1 or the more capable v2s) for anyone who wants to play with digital programmable circuits for the first time.

My other 1.0-Farad-powered project was a small sound-effects generator that rode inside a slotcar racer. It used four tilted mercury switches as a crude accelerometer, to provide screech and revving sounds for my racecar.

As far as I know, PBasic is only available on Parallax's line of Basic Stamp controllers. I personally have used the Basic Stamp II and Basic Stamp IIx. For those interested, these controllers have a wopping 16 bytes of RAM (not a typo) and about 500 bytes of ROM. These run a compiled form of PBasic and as far as I've been able to determine there is a one-to-one correlation between PBasic and machine code. That probably explains the ease of accessing parts of Bytes and Words and also the fact that conditional statements use a goto (i.e. if the condition passes it most goto a certain line of code). PBasic is also limited to 26 variables. It's powerful for what it needs to do and is more or less adequate although I do prefer other languages to it.

Matt Leese

Parallax makes a pretty good microntroller called the Basic Stamp II that could be used. It does have a really annoying BASIC based language called PBASIC but it is still usable. It's a cross between BASIC and C with the more powerful features ripped away (these things have 32 bytes of RAM and 500 bytes of ROM if I remember correctly). I believe that Parallax does try to support the educational community.

If you really wanted to get involved in real time programming I'd recommend a program like FIRST Robotics although that is much more geared toward the engineering side of it. But the robot that's built does have to have a robot controller (it's based around the Basic Stamp II and sold by InnovationFIRST). There are a lot of interesting problems that creap up in that competition including the fact that there isn't any timing circuit. Another part of the FIRST Competition related to programming this year was that they released specs to a data stream that could be tapped into so I (and several other people independently) wrote interfaces to that information. And for those who can't tell, I am very much into this program still.

Matt Leese

These microcontrollers are very easy to interface with, program, and use in small battery operated projects. You can build everything from environmental sensors to light controllers with them.

The cost may be a little high for start up (I think the programming kit runs around $100) but they probably offer educational institution discounts.

Using these devices you can learn digital logic basics, system logic design, simple programming logic, or any combination of skills depending on the application you have in mind for them.

Good Luck!

These microcontrollers are very easy to interface with, program, and use in small battery operated projects. You can build everything from environmental sensors to light controllers with them.

The cost may be a little high for start up (I think the programming kit runs around $100) but they probably offer educational institution discounts.

Using these devices you can learn digital logic basics, system logic design, simple programming logic, or any combination of skills depending on the application you have in mind for them.

Good Luck!

I've been looking into embedding a few things and came across the Lantronix embeddable CoBox Micro device server. See the big picture. That nifty little gizmo redirects ethernet traffic to a serial port.

Now if you happen to have a Scenix PLC with the TCP/IP stack software (a free download) for it, you can bolt the serial UART to the back of the ethernet port and you now have a package that talks true TCP/IP and can serve web pages or send e-mail right through your ethernet network.

Last time I looked, the Scenix kit was about $150 (programmer, software, cables, power supply...) from Parallax, Inc. and the CoBox was about $200 in single unit quantities. Figure $8 for a Scenix PLC (chip only) and about $20 worth of green board from the Shack and you've spent less than $250 for an embedded system.

Going hog wild, you can pick up a LCD+keypad from Scott Edwards Electronics for $120, and a keypad from Parallax for $20, and you're up to $400.

Can your front door serve a web page that tells you who and when came through the door? Mine can!

Just playing... ;-)

Photosensors:$3
Lamp:$5
Dictation Software:$20
Basic Stamp OEM:$34
Being able to use the computer without carpel tunnel: Priceless

You might want to try out the Basic Stamp by Parallax. look here . It has more inputs and outputs, is programable in basic and comes with great documentation to help you figure out how to drive 59 cent Radio Shack Motors, or standard input devices and serrial communications.

Many LCDs use the same Hitachi display controller and are very cheap (often less than $10). You can control one using the parallel port, or you can use a microcontroller to control it. One of the BASIC Stamp application notes has a schematic and sample code for a simple LCDRS232 solution.
Parallax is the company that makes the BASIC Stamps. You can even program a $5 one-time-programmable PIC chip with the BASIC Stamp code once your prototype is working, if you're interested in making more than one LCD hookup.