Prop SX Question

[youngti]

Hi guys,  so my new prop this year is an attacking spider.  I've completed the basic build with a sissor  arm and the welded base. I have attached all the Pneumatics and all woks great.  I am ready to set-up my prop boards and program.  However when i checked my supply of board all i found was a couple of Prop SX's. (I'm gong to recheck tonight and see if i can find a Prop2) I have never programed a prop SX and i was planning to use my Prop 1MIB code (http://www.efx-tek.com/php/smf/index.php?topic=1484.msg8582#msg8582 ) to modify for this prop.  Since the prop is pretty simple with Two pneumatic switches an AP16+, and a pir.  One cylinder moves the sissor arm out and the second smaller one makes the spider jump up and down randomly.

So I was going to connect the first switch to out 0, second switch out 1 and then pir to P14.  I need to figure out the set-up for the AP16 but from the docs it looks pretty simple.  However i cannot find the programing book and software to program the SX.  Can you point me to the location of this material?

[JonnyMac]

Sadly, Ubicom killed the SX which put Parallax and us in a bit of a bind.

Parallax has changed their web site so you may need to do a bit of searching, but I think some of the best resources will be my old Nuts & Volts articles. That said, I haven't written about the SX since 2009.

Important note: Do you have an SX-Key or SX-Blitz to program the board with? Those no longer available and required. I'm down to one of each.

[youngti]

Yeah i knew it had been discontinued.  I had bought these many years ago and never found a use for them.  i do think i have the key and will look tonight.  If i had an extra Prop 1 i would use that,  It is such a simple prop that the Sx is too much hours power i think. 

[JonnyMac]

I was recently talking to a guy who works on electronics in the movie business and he said that "the Propeller has too much horsepower." My replay... "Said NO PERSON EVER!"

One can never have too much horsepower.

Funny thing is that in some of his props he he was connecting multiple simple processors together, to which I joked, "So you don't have a problem with multiple processors, you just don't like the ease of having them on the same slab of silicon!" He laughed, and after seeing a bit of code is reconsidering the Propeller for future movie props. I'm hoping he'll give the HC-8+ a try.

[youngti]

Yeah your right.  I am just hoping that i have a Prop 2 lying around so i can make this easy on me. Otherwise i have to figure out how to program the SX. 

And my Sx is one with the serial port not USB.

[JonnyMac]

That serial port is not for programming. The programming connection is a four-pin male header -- this is where you plug in the SX-Key or SX-Blitz.

[youngti]

oh yeah d'oh.

Well good news I found an unused prop 1, now I have the AP16 so all is good.