Hello All,

It has been a couple years since last year that I have visited the EFX-TEK site. Last year I had logged on to order a Prop-1 controller and it was out of stock.  I also ran into a problem with my AP-16+ board and sent an email on the site to see if I could get assistance with it.  Well, a year later and I seen that the Prop-1 is still out of stock and my email never was answered.

Logging on (to the forum) this year, I had noticed quite the lack of activity here and for quite some time too. Yes, the site is active, yes, you can log on to the forums, but there is almost no stock to order from and since the Prop-1 is probably the company's best selling product, I find it kind of odd that it has been out of stock for so long.  Lastly, I was shocked to see that the last posts Jon made were pre-covid.  So this has me begging the question if EFX-TEK is dead.

While I figured that the popularity of the Basic Stamp has waned due to the rise in popularity of the Arduino controller.  There is just something I like about programming the Basic Stamp.  Call me old fashioned that way.  Yes, I have Arduino's, but I don't like programming them. For Halloween props, the Prop-1 was a workhorse.

I know that I could build my own going to Parallax and ordering a basic stamp a ULN2008 and the other support items, but that is the long way to getting a Prop-1.

Any info would be appreciated.

Thank you,
Geo

Hi Geo,

Unfortunately, you're right - EFX-Tek is dead.  The forums were down for a few months but someone fixed them and put them back up, I guess people still wanted to get to the example code here.

I've been helping people with their programming questions because I can usually figure it out and it's fun.  Your only option for getting more Prop-1s is to see if any haunters on Haunt Forum or Halloween Forum are selling them off.

Jeff

Quote from: Jeff Haas on October 24, 2023, 04:13:54 PMHi Geo,

Unfortunately, you're right - EFX-Tek is dead.  The forums were down for a few months but someone fixed them and put them back up, I guess people still wanted to get to the example code here.

Indeed the code that Jon (and many others) had put together is very valuable.  Glad to see the forums are still here.  The main site is too, but like I said, there are only a handful of items up for sale.

QuoteI've been helping people with their programming questions because I can usually figure it out and it's fun.

Nice of you to do that.  So what has been going on with the Jon/John dynamic duo these days?

QuoteYour only option for getting more Prop-1s is to see if any haunters on Haunt Forum or Halloween Forum are selling them off.

Jeff

Ehh, I could always put a ULN2008 on one of the Basic Stamp boards they have at Parallax.  But it is getting too close to Halloween now.  I probably will be forced to use an Arduino since I have a spare one already.

While the Arduinos are definitely more powerful and can do more, the coding isn't as cut and dry as with a Basic Stamp.  There are things that go on "behind the scenes" with these preset modules of code.  I don't fully understand it all.  Maybe one day I will get there.

Thanks for the update.  It is a shame that EFX-TEK is dead. I had been here for a while.  But I guess between Covid, the Raspberry Pi and the Arduino, it probably became too difficult to compete.

Jon is active on the Parallax forums, he's been writing code and doing demos for the new Propeller 2.  Chip Gracey finally got the updated Propeller done, and it's supposed to be impressive.  I haven't gotten one, I have some HC-16 boards that are more than enough for me.

Since I've been working on other software things, I've learned C++ and Arduino. The cheap electronics from China have changed the entire scene, so I agree that that's probably part of why EFX closed.

Quote from: Jeff Haas on October 25, 2023, 11:12:28 AMJon is active on the Parallax forums, he's been writing code and doing demos for the new Propeller 2.  Chip Gracey finally got the updated Propeller done, and it's supposed to be impressive.  I haven't gotten one, I have some HC-16 boards that are more than enough for me.

Ahhh, so that's where he is now.  I did get a Propeller chip (the first one), but I was just starting to learn it when the Arduino hit.  That seemed to pull my attention away from the Propeller.   Initially I was wowed by what the Arduino could do, but something bothers me about the 'preset code' or 'module code'.  You can't really see what is going on.  This was the thing I liked about the Basic Stamp as all the code was there.  I had bought the Prop-2 first and started to learn that, but it turned out to be far more than what I needed.  I actually used one Prop-2 to control two props!  I bought the Prop-1 afterwards and liked that much better.  It just seemed simpler.  Sure the Prop-2 has nicer and more commands.  But for most props, the 8 I/O pins was enough.  In the end, I started to buy more props from Spirit and the Prop-1's I have are spoken for on earlier prop builds.  However, I am now building an Interactive Electric Chair and find myself in need of a Prop-1 (preferably).  But I could just use one of the Parallax experimenter boards and add a ULN2008 or just use an Arduino since I have a couple of those laying around.

QuoteSince I've been working on other software things, I've learned C++ and Arduino. The cheap electronics from China have changed the entire scene, so I agree that that's probably part of why EFX closed.

Hmmm, yeah, that is another advantage to the Arduino as you can program that in C++. Still it is sad to see EFX-TEK close.   Now, that prompts another question.  If EFX-TEK is closed, why the main site?  There are items still up in the store. So if team Jon/John is gone, who is selling the product?  Or is it just there, but dead?  I haven't actually tried to buy anything as I really only need a Prop-1 (or two).

Well, nice convo, but I have to run.  The electric chair isn't going to build itself!  At the rate I am going, it might end up being a static prop (photo op) only this year.

Quote from: jukingeo on October 25, 2023, 12:14:53 PMHowever, I am now building an Interactive Electric Chair and find myself in need of a Prop-1 (preferably).  But I could just use one of the Parallax experimenter boards and add a ULN2008 or just use an Arduino since I have a couple of those laying around.

Have a look at buttonbanger.com, for the Four-Banger and Octo-Banger controller options.  Haven't used them yet but they do look nice.

I had a need to use an RPi for something and Arduinos for a couple others, and they worked very well and everything I've  done over the last few years have been with those. But I agree, those EFX-TEK boards were nice and easy to use!

I recently found I do still have one unopened Prop-2 and a few unused Prop-1 controllers that were buried in a pile of equipment. Sorry, don't think I want to let them go though.:)