This web page was last updated on Sun, 22 Jun 08 at 1520 hours

The Parallax Propeller Chip is one of the most exciting things to come around for the electronics hobbyist in a long time. With eight (8) 32 bit CPU cores on one chip, it offers possibilities that in the past could only be achieved by a nightmare of circuitry. The Shoppe at Wulfden is proud to offer the PRC a Propeller based board designed from the ground up with robotics in mind. But a design flexible enough to serve as almost any kind of controller or just a a platform for experimentation using Parallax's sexy new chip! Here's just a brief overview of what it has to offer.

• can simultaneously power and control up 28 servos or sensors (more if multiplexing ciruitry used)
• on board high current, 1.5A low drop out 5 volt supply and .5 A 3.3 volt CPU supply.
• on board power traces extra heavy to minimize power loss
• jumper selectors and a second set of terminal blocks allow a separate power supply for the servos
• Bank 1 (A0-A15) servo connectors can be powered separately from Bank 2 (A16-A27), each has the option of 3.3V, 5.0V or whatever is supplied by secondary connector
• The servo power bus has a 1000 uF cap on it to handle surges
• servo bank connectors are in groups of four with slight physical separation to allow room for many connectors
• Female socket headers provide access to Servo Bank 1 (A0-A15) as well as by the servo connector from ther breadboard area
• All the pins (00-27) have .100 socket headers set .3" apart for direct connect (wire jumper) or resistors (individual 1/4 watt or isolated resistor network dips). A final product board would leave out the headers and have jumpers, resistor, or resistor packs soldered directly in place
• All connectors come pre-cut ready to solder in place
• comes with a compete set of resistors in values 220 ohms (30), 330 ohms (15), 1Kohms (15), and 4.7Kohms(15), for easy interfacing any peripheral in 3 volt or 5 volt to the 3.3 volt system.
• We also offer the P1, which is a Propeller/Basic Stamp Programming Adapter. It is a simple and inexpensive RS232 based programming adapter using discrete componenets and will interface to any legacy serial port or any USB-to-Serial adapter that supports simple control of DTR. It is easy-to-plug in, easily removed and available in kit form as well as assembled and tested.

• There are available two PRC-IO boards, the PRC-TVIO and PRC-VGIO. They plug onto the board in the Servo Bank 2 (right side of chip (A16-A27) and provide an SVGA port and a PS2 Mouse and Keyboard port (PRC-VGIO) or a Composite Video, Simple Sound, Serial adapter and PS2 Mouse and Keyboard port (PRC-TVIO). Either board can be attached or removed in seconds, providing the ability to do local level debugging
• There is now an adapter kit to retrofit Rev 1.02 PRC boards to accept the new IO cards.The 1.02 board requires some simple modifications to accept the new boards. The kit includes a replacement for the 1000uF capacitor which must be removed and bottom mounted and a replacement for the 5.000 MHz crystal that is several mm shorter than the original and as several 1x3 .100 socket headers to use in place of the 2x3 socket headers that come with the PRC-IO kits.

The PRC is a board designed initially by Mark McCann for the Parallax Propeller chip. The current design is being managed and upgraded by Brian Riley

DOCUMENTATION A PDF format file containing pictures, parts layout, schematic,tips and ideas is now available. It is called The PRC v2.00 Builder's Notes (3.1 MB) and was last updated on Sun, 10 Feb 08 at 1819 hours.

The old Rev 1.02 Builder's Notes is available. It is called The PRC v1.02 Builder's Notes (1.4 MB) and was last updated on Sun, 10 Feb 08 at 1817 hours.

Russ Ferguson did up a Power Point presentation for v1.02 which I ran through Acrobat to make a compact PDF file. It is a collection of annotated photographs showing all the connections and jumper settings. A handy quick reference to the PRC and still valid through PRC 2. It is called The PRC Diagram Pub (3 MB) and was last updated on Sun, 10 Feb 08 at 1822 hours

• ORDER CONFIRMATION - Your PayPal receipt is your order receipt confirmation. Please consult the Shipping Status List (last updated on Sat, 05 Jul 08 at 1119 hours) your order status as pending, packed and/or has been shipped.
• All shipping is by US Postal Service. When you have finished selecting your order, see the chart below and locate your the best description of your order and click on the proper shipping surcharge



Shipping Surcharges
Destination	Order Value	Mail Service Description	Surcharge
U.S.A.	under $50	1st Class Mail	none
U.S.A.	under $50	Priority Mail	$5.00
U.S.A.	over $50	Priority Mail	none
U.S.A.	over $100	Priority Mail Insured	$5.00
Canada	under $50	1st Class Mail Air Mail	none
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Canada	over $50	1st Class Mail Air Mail - Priority Registered - Insured	$15.00
all other countries	under $50	1st Class Mail Air Mail	$5.00
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all other countries	over $50	1st Class Mail Air Mail - Priority Registered - Insured	$18.00



• Prices below are displayed in this format [ $4 + $2 ] The number in red is the price of the item(s) and the number in black is the Shipping and Handling charges added to the item price
• PayPal orders are generally sent within a day. You may order by mail with a Postal Money Order or a personal check; they must be made out in "US Funds" Orders paid by check will be held five days after receipt. Make checks or money orders out and send to:
  
  Brian Riley
  PO Box 188
  Underhill Center, VT 05490
  
• You may wish to check out our warranty-return policy for the Ye Olde Disk Shoppe kits.
• For quantity pricing not listed below  contact us by email.
• Items prices marked "*pp" means "postage paid" and includes all handling charges and USPS priority mail where applicable. "Foreign handling surcharge" is still required for overseas shipments.

PRC PCBoard Only	Qty = 1 $8 + $2	Qty = 2 $16 + $2	Qty = 3 $23 + $3	Qty = 4 $30 + $3	Qty = 5 $35 + $4
PRC PC Board and non-Parallax Parts Kit			Qty = 1 $30 + $2		Qty = 5 $150 *pp
		P1 Kit		P1 Assembled/Tested
P1 - Propeller/Basic Stamp Programming Adapter		Qty = 1 $5 + $2	Qty = 3 $14 + $3	Qty = 1 $7 + $2	Qty = 3 $20 + $3
COMPLETE KIT (PA) - pcb, all parts, Parallax breadboard, and Propeller Chip (P8X32A-D40) (see parts list below), comes with programming adapter			Qty = 1 $45 + $3		Qty = 5 $215 *pp
		PRC-TVIO Board		PRC-VGIO Board
PC Board only		Qty = 1 $3 + $2	Qty = 5 $15 + $3	Qty = 1 $3 + $2	Qty = 5 $15 + $3
Board and Parts Kit		Qty = 1 $10 + $2	Qty = 5 $50 *pp	Qty = 1 $10 + $2	Qty = 5 $50 *pp
Set of PRC-IO Board and Parts Kits PRC-TVIO and PRC-VGIO			Qty = 1 $20 + $2		Qty = 5 $100 *pp
PRC Developer's Bundle - a complete PRC kit, a set of PRC-IO Board and Parts Kits PRC-TVIO and PRC-VGIO, and the P1 Propeller Programming Adapter			Qty = 1 $65 *pp		Qty = 5 $300 *pp
PRC 1.02 Adapter/Upgrade kit for the PRCIO boards.			Qty = 1 $2 + $2	Qty = 2 $4 + $2	Qty = 3 $5 + $2
ETT DS1307 Real Time Clock Miniboard	A battery backed up Real Time Clock board made by ETT in Thailand. It is based the Dallas Semiconductor DS1307 chip and communicates via I2C. Code is readily available for Arduino, Propeller, PICAXE and Basic Stamp. Comes completely assembled with lithium backup battery and ready to go. The schematic for the board and the datasheet for the DS1307 are available. This product, like several others, is stocked as a convenience to customers and will be sold only in small quantities and only as part of an order for Freeduino, PICAXE, or Propeller products.				Qty=1 $8

Bill of Materials (BoM) for the PRC 2.00 Kit

Description	Specification	Qty		Mouser Part Number
Push Button Switch	Apem Sealed Tact Switch	1		642-MJTP1119
Red LED w/built-in series resistor	T-1 3/4 with 330 ohm resistor	1		www.phanderson
3M .100" Pin Strip Double Row Header	16 2x3(Socket Header 36 pin)	16		517-975-01-36
3M .100" socket header single row	7 1x4 and 3 1x8 (36 Pin Solder Tail Tin)	10		517-974-01-36
3M .100" Pin Strip Single Row Header	4/5 pins (36 Pin RtAngle Gold)	1		517-5111TG
Fox HC-49US Microprocessor Crystal	low profile 5.0MHz - 20pF	1		520-HCU500-20X
Microchip Serial EEPROM – 256K	32Kx8 – 2.5V	1		579-24LC256-I/PG
DIP Low Profile Sockets 16P	Millmax	2		575-199316
3M DIP Sockets	8 Pin Dual Wipe DIP Skt	1		517-ICO-083-S8-T
3M DIP Sockets	40 Pin Dual Wipe DIP Skt	1		517-ICO-406-S8-T
Xicon 1/8 Watt 5% Carb Film Resistor	10K Ohms	1		299-10K-RC
Xicon 1/8 Watt 5% Carb Film Resistor	220 Ohms	30		299-220-RC
Xicon 1/8 Watt 5% Carb Film Resistor	330 Ohms	15		299-330-RC
Xicon 1/8 Watt 5% Carb Film Resistor	1K Ohms	15		299-1K-RC
Xicon 1/8 Watt 5% Carb Film Resistor	4.7K Ohms	15		299-4.7K-RC
Xicon Hi-Temp Radial Electrolytic Cap	50V 22uF 5x11	3		140-HTRL50V22
Xicon Hi-Temp Radial Electrolytic Cap	16V 1000uF 10x20	1		140-HTRL16V1000-RC
ST Low Drop Voltage Regulator	3.3V 0.5A Positive	1		511-LF33CV
Low Drop Higher Current Voltage Regulator	5.0V 1.5A Positive	1		LM2940CT5.0 (DigiKey)
Buchanan Eurostyle Terminal Blocks	5.08mm Vertical 2 Pin	1		571-7969492

Description	Specification	Qty		Parallax Part Number
Solderless Breadboard		1		700-00012
Propeller Chip - 40 pin DIP		1		P8X32A-D40
USB to serial adapter	USB2SER Developement Tool or Propeller Plug	1		28024 or 32201

Changes

• 1/22/2007 version 1.02 to version 2.00
  • both power selection jumper sets have been moved togther each to take a single 2x3 pin header with uniform .100" spacing
  • the higher power traces were beefed up (.30" instead of .20") to a uniform width
  • the 4 pin header holes for the USB2SER remain, but at the location where R1 used to be, are 5 holes arranged so that 4 holes are setup for the Propeller Plug. A fifth pin in line has +3.3Vdc to permit a person to connect an RS232 programming interface of his own fabrication. R1 has been moved to be underneathe the Propeller chip
  • all of the through holes that terminate in the ground plane on the bottom side had their pads converted to a "thermal-pad" configuration, this should make it easier to solder
  • R2 has been removed and the LED has been changed to a standard sized T1/4 with a built in series resistor. The location of the LED is now in the vicinity of where the reset button used to be and the rest button is moved to the edge of the PCB where the LED used to be.
  • In the kit the 5 MHz crystal will be changed from an HC-49U to HC-49US, which is only 3.5 mm high and will permit it to be socketed or soldered in and will not interfere with the upcoming PRC-VGIO and PRC-TVIO boards. Also as a part of the preparation for the I/O boards, the large capacitor C1 will need to bemounted on the bottom of the board
  • In the kits there will be very little cutting needing to be done this time around. Part way through round one, I started supplying the servo connectors as 14 pre-cut 2x3 pin headers. there willl be 16 now as the power selectors have been moved to take this same 2x3. The resistor headers on the right side of the chip Propeller pins P16 to PP27 will have 2 each 1x4 and 1x8 socket headers, pre-cut, plus 1 each 1x4 and 1x8 socket headers for +3/+5 vdc and GND on the left side of the board.
  • The resistor headers for Propeller P0 to P15 will be supplied as two 16 pin machine pin sockets, to accept resistor packs in DIP packages or hand inserted