Beginner's Guide to PSoC Express Addendum CD is now Available
Several months ago we announced the availability of the addendum CD that covered PSoC Express 3.0.
Within a few days of announcing that CD, Cypress released PSoC Designer 5.0 which includes the PSoC Express project support as a System Level project. While there are some minor differences in how compilers are selected, developing a PSoC Express 3 project and PSoC Designer 5.0 System Level project are identical.
Because of these similarities, we decided to add PSoC Designer 5 support by testing the projects in PSoC Designer 5. That task came with it's own set of problems because some drivers in PSoC Designer 5 require a component to be removed and re-inserted for proper code generation.
Despite this issue, we went ahead and added support for PSoC Designer 5 in the current projects. You simply need to read the project and save it under a new name, then build the project as usual.
The Beginner's Guide to PSoC Express Addendum includes material on the following new subjects:
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New Features in PSoC Express 3 & PSoC Designer 5 System View
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Configuration and use of I2C Monitor Mode using the I2C Bridge
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Live monitor mode and recording running program data to an Excel Spreadsheet file
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Proximity detection using Capacitive Sensing
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Using the CapSense Tuner
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Creating and Adding Started Projects
All of the new material uses the SoCSicle Development board from Timelines Industries. More information and ordering information for the SoCSicle will be available here in the next few days. We will be announcing the addition of a new distributor here in the next few days as well. The Beginner's Guide to PSoC Express addendum is a supplement to the existing book, adding slightly over 100 pages in material. It is available for $19.95 USD and that price includes shipping worldwide. References to the book are made where needed and all projects support the SoCSicle Development board.
November 9th, 2008
A Personal Note
My wife Susan and I have been together for over 20 years. In January 2007 she was diagnosed with Multiple-Myeloma, bone marrow cancer. Since that time she has undergone one full treatment regiment which consisted of radiation, chemotherapy, and a stem cell transplant. She returned to work early in 2008 and was getting back to a normal routine. In early August 2008 she decided to stop by the hospital one Saturday morning to get something for what we thought was a sinus infection. She spent six days in the hospital with pneumonia and we learned that her cancer was back.
Since that time she has been in the hospital a total of four times and is currently hospitalized after suffering respiratory distress last week. As her health and quality of life has declined, I have assumed a bigger role in taking care of her. The future of Sue's health is clearly in God's hands and these have been difficult times. My schedule has been fluid and I have dealt with constant interruptions that simply can't be helped.
I am now focusing back on the business and current projects, which include a new book and other exciting projects. Until I get full control of my schedule once again, please bear with me if it takes a day or two to respond to an inquiry or email.
August 29th, 2008
The Beginner's Guide to PSoC Express - UPDATE!
Timelines Industries is pleased to announce the release of additional content for "The Beginners Guide to PSoC Express". Four additional chapters have been added that cover the following topics:
- PSoC Express 3.0 Enhancements
- Proximity Detection with Capacitive Sensing
- Debugging and Monitoring Programs and Variables in Real-Time
- Creating and adding Started Projects
Effective September 1st, 2008 all new books shipped will include this additional content and associated projects. The accompanying CD has been updated with project support for PSoC Express 2.2 and 3.0/ Support for PSoC designer 5 will be available in the near future.
To celebrate the release of this additional content, Circuit Cellar magazine will provide a sample chapter of the book in their September email newsletter. If your a Circuit Cellar subscriber, then you will receive links to the specials. If you are not a Circuit Cellar subscriber, you can visit www.circuitcellar.com for information in how to subscribe.
If you have already purchased "The Beginner's Guide to PSoC Express from Timelines Industries, you can purchase the additional content for $14.95 plus shipping. If you obtained your copy of the book from Cypress Semiconductor you can obtain an upgrade for $29.95 plus shipping. Those who obtained their copy of the book from Cypress do not have the original content CD and that is why the price is different.
August 6th, 2008
Article on Embedded C Standards and their affect in Visual Tools published in Electronic Design
Electronic Design has published an article written by Oliver Bailey that discusses the affect Visual Tools have when used in conjunction with ANSI C compilers. The basis of this article was an experience discovered when an update to the PSoC Express design tool caused a working project with no errors to fail on startup. The article discusses some of the gaps created when using ANSI compliant compilers with Visual Tools that have no standards.
July 7th, 2008
Update on Existing Products and New/Updated Product List
PSoC Book -We have had numerous reports in recent weeks of issues with the projects from the book working with PSoC Express 3.0 express pack 5a. We have also had some people email nasty and rude comments because the projects from the book no longer behave as designed.
Our customers are very important to us and to that extent, we make every effort to keep the projects synchronized with new product releases. That is why we distribute the version of PSoC Express the book was written with on CD. If you did not receive a CD with your book, then you did not obtain the book from Timelines Industries or purchase the book from the Cypress web store. Those who did not receive the CD with the book can purchase the CD with the instructions inside the first page. Those who did receive a CD and have found the CD to be unreadable, please send us the CD and we will exchange it for a new one.
Today we began including a new CD that contains projects from PSoC Express 2.2 and the initial PSoC Express 3.0 release from 2007. We update content annually for books in publication. PSoC Express has undergone numerous functional changes in the past year. Version 3 was completely rewritten in a new language and a new compiler was introduced in express pack 5 from a completely different compiler vendor.
To remedy this situation permanently, we will be shifting support for the projects exclusively to the SoCSicle in the next couple months. Because the CY8C24894 does not have the same resources as some of the other parts used, there may be some projects that don't get converted. In those cases, we will list the affected projects.
Propeller Book -
The Propeller book is once again moving forward. The expected completion date is August 2008. Look for more information in the Propeller blog as work progresses.
The book covers interfacing different sensors to the Propeller to build a weather station. The prototype I am building will be available on the web, but getting that to happen has been quite a challenge. Initially using the PINK board, weather data was going to be made available along with a current photo of the station. Well, the PINK board I have is an older release and I don't have the developers software license to customize the page software. So I have changed the web interface to a different board since Internet interfacing is not really a part for the subject matter anyway. I had originally intended to offer the completed weather station as a kit and have since decided to offer the step-by-step instructions on building the components and let the users build a completed weather station of their own design instead. All of the sensor interfaces will use objects available in the Propeller object repository. That book will be available exclusively through Parallax.
March 28th, 2008
Timelines Introduces Motor & Robot Controller Board
Timelines Industries is pleased to announce the MoBot™ (Motor & Robot) Controller board. The MoBot is designed to compliment the Timelines SoCSicle, and uSicle product lines by offering a cost effective solution for educators, hobbyists, and developers in developing motor and robot control subsystems across multiple microcontroller or mixed-signal controller platforms.
MoBot compliment the SoCSicle and uSicle boards through the offering of a 3-Axis Accelerometer, Dual H-Bridge Motor Controls, RS232 Transceiver, Voltage Regulation, I2C Bus, and External Sensor Headers.
View Datasheet...
February 1st, 2008
SoCSicle Boards Now Available
Timelines Industries is proud to announce the availability of the SoCSicle Development Board. The SoCSicle is based on the Cypress PSoC CY24894 USB part and contains Analog and Digital capabilities in addition to a full speed USB interface. The SoCSicle is supported by both the PSoC Express and PSoC Designer development environments.
June 1st, 2007
"The Beginner's Guide to PSoC Express" is now available.
Timelines Industries is proud to introduce "The Beginner's Guide to PSoC Express" is now available. This book is focused on the visual design environment of PSoC Express and how to effectively use this tool from a beginner's perspective. All basic functions of PSoC Express are covered including "If then", "If then Else" statements, Variables, State Machines, Set Point Region and Hysterisis, I2C Communications, USB Serial Bridge, CapSense, and Wireless USB with associated projects.