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Hello all, I am a beginner to the world of micro-controllers and I would appreciate some opinions from people who have used both the Basic Stamp and the Basic-X. It seems the Stamp has more support available as far as books, web pages, appnotes, etc. However, the Basic-X controllers seem to have considerably more features. Basically, I'm trying to decide where to jump in. Any advice?? Thanks, Michael

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Well, I think the BasicX has far more and better features, but I agree there is a great benefit to the books and examples on the Stamp. What you may want to do is continue looking a bit more to see if there are any BX examples for the kinds of things you're trying to do. There are many examples in the files area of the Onelist BasicX group, and you also have quite a number of archived messages you can go through. My personal belief is that programming language used in the Basic Stamp is showing its age, and if you're wanting to learn embedded controllers for the future, the BX is an excellent start. Of course, if you're looking for a job in the business, folks still consider it a plus to know the Stamp, as it's still widely used. -- Gordon At 06:46 PM 5/15/2000 -0000, you wrote: >Hello all, > >I am a beginner to the world of micro-controllers and I would >appreciate some opinions from people who have used both the Basic >Stamp and the Basic-X. It seems the Stamp has more support available >as far as books, web pages, appnotes, etc. However, the Basic-X >controllers seem to have considerably more features. Basically, I'm >trying to decide where to jump in. Any advice??

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I forgot to mention that I believe the examples and additional material on the BasicX is just starting to come out -- as the chips are so new -- so the problem of the disparity between what you can find for the BX chips and the Basic Stamp won't last forever. For example, starting next month my two-part column on the BasicX (mostly the BX-24) appears in Poptronics magazine. For this month's column I did an accelerometer project, showing how to connect the BX-24 to a linear-output accelerometer (the Analog Devices ADXL150). I'm noticing a number of Web sites adding BasicX example scripts and projects, as well. Slowly but surely... -- Gordon At 06:46 PM 5/15/2000 -0000, you wrote: >I am a beginner to the world of micro-controllers and I would >appreciate some opinions from people who have used both the Basic >Stamp and the Basic-X. It seems the Stamp has more support available >as far as books, web pages, appnotes, etc. However, the Basic-X >controllers seem to have considerably more features. Basically, I'm >trying to decide where to jump in. Any advice??

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I agree. jump on the basic-x chips. --- Gordon McComb <> wrote: > I forgot to mention that I believe the examples and > additional material on > the BasicX is just starting to come out -- as the > chips are so new -- so > the problem of the disparity between what you can > find for the BX chips and > the Basic Stamp won't last forever. > > For example, starting next month my two-part column > on the BasicX (mostly > the BX-24) appears in Poptronics magazine. For this > month's column I did an > accelerometer project, showing how to connect the > BX-24 to a linear-output > accelerometer (the Analog Devices ADXL150). I'm > noticing a number of Web > sites adding BasicX example scripts and projects, as > well. Slowly but > surely... > > -- Gordon > At 06:46 PM 5/15/2000 -0000, you wrote: > >I am a beginner to the world of micro-controllers > and I would > >appreciate some opinions from people who have used > both the Basic > >Stamp and the Basic-X. It seems the Stamp has more > support available > >as far as books, web pages, appnotes, etc. > However, the Basic-X > >controllers seem to have considerably more > features. Basically, I'm > >trying to decide where to jump in. Any advice?? __________________________________________________

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Gordon McComb wrote: > For example, starting next month my two-part column on the BasicX (mostly > the BX-24) appears in Poptronics magazine. thank you Gordon ! despite _still_ not having played with my chip, i am watching developments and documentation. i figure i need more time than i had planned on for getting to the programming aspects of robotics... but i'll get there. first steps first, huh? anyway. let us know when it hits the stand (i'm out of country and i'll have to ask a friend in the states to pick up a copy for me). miguel

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I would deffiantly recommend the BX24. My first MCU was a BS2. Within a week I was wishing it had more memory, multitasking, etc. A few months after that I ran across Netmedia and bought the BX1. Now I use the BX24. I haven't touched my BS2 since I got the BX1 (more than a year ago). Theres nothing wrong with the BS2, just getting old and there are better MCU's out there. The learning curve will be a little higher than with the BS2, but its worth it. Like the others have said, theres more and more example code appearing on webpages. And with mailing lists such as this, you should haven't much problem getting up to speed. -C http://www.theonespot.com ----- Original Message ----- From: Michael <> To: <> Sent: Monday, May 15, 2000 11:46 AM Subject: [BasicX] Basic-X vs. Stamp: which is better for beginner? > Hello all, > > I am a beginner to the world of micro-controllers and I would > appreciate some opinions from people who have used both the Basic > Stamp and the Basic-X. It seems the Stamp has more support available > as far as books, web pages, appnotes, etc. However, the Basic-X > controllers seem to have considerably more features. Basically, I'm > trying to decide where to jump in. Any advice?? > > Thanks, > Michael > ------------------------------------------------------------------------ > IT Professionals: Match your unique skills with the best IT projects at > http://click.egroups.com/1/3381/7/_/565855/_/958416422/ > ------------------------------------------------------------------------

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Michael, I walked down this road in October. I had a substantial investment in the Stamp; a book about the Basic Stamp, Basic Stamp Starter Kits, a Homebrew BS2. However, I considered the BX-24 to be a far more powerful platform for my students to learn good structured programming and a far better tool for hobbyists. Shortly thereafter, I received one too many "nasty-grams" from Parallax about having material related to the BX-24 on my web page and resigned as a Parallax distributor and got thrown off the Stamp list. Thus, I lost a bit, but I have never looked back. The BX-24 wins hands down. I made a wise choice. Indeed there is less public information about the BX-24, but I think most participants on this list know the Basic Stamp and can help you translate. Another thing to consider is the technical prowess of the company. Within a year we have seen the BX-01, the BX-24, the Serial LCD+ (truly amazing) and whoknows what looms on the horizon and a constant improvement in the programming environment and not a whole lot from the competition. Peter H. Anderson, , http://www.phanderson.com/basicx/ -----Original Message----- From: Michael <> To: <> Date: Monday, May 15, 2000 2:47 PM Subject: [BasicX] Basic-X vs. Stamp: which is better for beginner? :Hello all, : :I am a beginner to the world of micro-controllers and I would :appreciate some opinions from people who have used both the Basic :Stamp and the Basic-X. It seems the Stamp has more support available :as far as books, web pages, appnotes, etc. However, the Basic-X :controllers seem to have considerably more features. Basically, I'm :trying to decide where to jump in. Any advice?? : :Thanks, :Michael : : :------------------------------------------------------------------------ :IT Professionals: Match your unique skills with the best IT projects at :http://click.egroups.com/1/3381/7/_/565855/_/958416422/ :------------------------------------------------------------------------ : :

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For a beginner, I would look at the programming language involved. If already program in any high level language (QBASIC, VBASIC, C++) then BX-24 is probably a good choice. If, on the other hand, you are new to programming in general, I'd consider either: 1) Working with a language on your computer some first, such as QBASIC, writing programs and using functions. Faster to debug and practice before trying the BX-24. 2) Start with the Basic Stamp because the language is so much simplier. Learning a language AND learning about dealing with I/O at the same time can be difficult for some. -Martin http://www.selmaware.com

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Since you are beginning, why start with a processor, Basic Stamp, that you already know is going to be too limiting as your skill and requirements increase? I started with the Stamp many years ago and at that time had great hope that Parallax would continue to improve the product capability, but the Stamp development has bottomed out and instead Parallax seems to be aiming for the secondary school market. There's nothing wrong with that, probably a good thing for that segment, but no longer has the promise of satisfying the rest of us. In 1996 I used a BS2 as the basis of a robot I entered in a competition. I just squeezed the code into memory and the robot placed 2nd, which I was satisfied with. This year my senior EE class entered a robot in an IEEE contest using the BX-24. We only used about 1/6 of the available memory and needed the faster operation of the BX-24 as well (the robot won first place too!). I don't consider the BX-24 any harder to program than the Basic Stamp, especially if you only stick to Basic Stamp capabilities. The BX-24 documentation, IMHO, needs a little more work on how to work with projects and modules. John Piccirillo >I am a beginner to the world of micro-controllers and I would >appreciate some opinions from people who have used both the Basic >Stamp and the Basic-X. It seems the Stamp has more support available >as far as books, web pages, appnotes, etc. However, the Basic-X >controllers seem to have considerably more features. Basically, I'm >trying to decide where to jump in. Any advice?? > >Thanks, >Michael

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