I did not get a reply from my post on the 17th. I did not know if you wanted me to repeat information from previous posts, or if you just considered the matter closed.
It is not necessary to post a message to remind someone they did not reply to a thread/post. As far as considering the matter closed what I considered it was not supplying me with consistent information to help you.
Several times you stated that at least one (maybe two, I am still not clear) PSC works on a BOE Rev C. But when I said it had to be your board if the PSC works on another you replied:
You might at first think so. However, I tested other pins with other tasks (as well as the 2 PSC's that I have) and everything else (except the 2 PSC's) functioned as expected.
Which, best I can tell is you’re saying everything works except the PSC Modules. Given that, I feel there is inconsistent information for me to continue down this path. If you want to send the units in for testing please call our Tech Support Dept. today and get an RMA to send them in. We can determine if they’re not working and why.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Chris Savage Parallax Tech Support
I only queried the lack of response because it had been five days and we had been communicating every day or two. I was not sure if there was some confusion about our last exchange. Anyway, I will make one more stab at it and see if I can clarify the situation. Both PSC's have in the past and still do work as they are supposed to with a BOE revision C. I cannot get either PSC to communicate with a BS2 or A BS2p on a Super Carrier Board. I thought the connections necessary, +5V, ground and a signal line were pretty straight forward. I do normally put a 1k resistor in the signal line of many Stamp I/O pins to prevent potentially damaging currents with 5V TTL signal lines should I happen to make an incorrect connection. I did not use one in the signal line to either of the PSC's. The Super Carrier Board "seems" to work as expected with other sensor and LED circuits. As I understand your position at this time, and correct me if I am wrong, you are suspect of the Super Carrier Board and would like to see it to see if there is something wrong with it. If that is correct, I shall keep that option under advisement , but for now will just use the Super Carrier Board for other tasks. If it continues to exhibit abnormal behavior with other devices, I will call and get a RMA to return the Super Carrier Board for inspection (or whatever hardware you want to see). If you just want to see the Super Carrier Board and one of the two PSC's, I can work with other hardware and send them in for you to take a look at if that is your preference. I do find their interaction peculiar. I hope that clarifies the situation.
By all information provided there is a wiring issue on the Super Carrier Board. This could be in the form of a short circuit, broken pad, or even the more common lack of a connection from the I/O pin to the target device. That last part results because not everyone realizes that the pads coming from the I/O pins does not go all the way across to the power bus. There is a group of 2 pads coming from the I/O pad, and the next three are connected together, but not to the I/O pin. So depending on how you’re connecting it, your signal may not be getting from the I/O pin to the PSC signal pin. Of course, previously you mentioned the Green LED being on all the time. Most likely causes of this would be the signal line is shorted to ground on the PSC end or the PSC is receiving more than 5V (connected to VIN instead). It is highly unlikely there is a defect with the Super Carrier Board. There is almost nothing that could go wrong there.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Chris Savage Parallax Tech Support
I wondered about a wiring issue on the Super Carrier Board as well. Looking at the prototyping area with the BASIC Stamp on the left, as you stated the first two pads are connected. I soldered a 16 pin header to the left most pads connected to pins 0-15. The second pad connected to each pin is jumpered with either a 1 k resistor or a jumper wire to the first of the three connected pads to the right of each respective pin. Using the third pad,and one pad from each of the Vss and Vdd traces I solder a 3 pin header if I want to connect a 3 wire cable (say to a servo, servo controller, ping sensor unit, etc.) I connected pin 13 with a jumper wire for signal and then used a 3 pin header to connect to the servo controller. I tested all three pins for signal, +5V and ground respectively, and all appear to be connected correctly. That is why I am so baffled as to why the PSC won't respond (and yes, the correct pins from the Super Carrier Board are connected to the corresponding pins on the PSC - weird). I even went so far as to connect a LED with resistor to the signal line and wrote a little program to flash it, using the cable with another 3 pin header and making the correct connections on a breadboard, just to make sure the cable was good. That worked fine. I can't think of anything else to test.
I’m just going by all the evidence presented to me to make an assumption as to what could be wrong. The PSC works on another board but not the SCB. Assuming you have the exact same power supply then I don’t see what could be wrong, especially if you’re able to see the signals at the end of the cable. Hundreds of these Super Carrier Boards are used daily in all kinds of applications without issue. If you want, we can issue you an RMA number and have you send the board and PSC in for testing so we can try to figure out what might be wrong. If so, please contact me directly at my e-mail link to the left. Take care.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔ Chris Savage Parallax Tech Support
Post Edited (Chris Savage (Parallax)) : 4/2/2008 9:35:48 PM GMT
I shall keep, in the back of my mind, returning the Super Carrier Board and one of the two PSC's . I can't help but believe, though, that I am doing something stupid and looking right at it - not seeing it! I want to thank you for the time you have spent on this, and I will keep you advised no matter what I figure out or decide to do. Into everyones life a little weirdness must fall.
Comments
I did not get a reply from my post on the 17th. I did not know if you wanted me to repeat information from previous posts, or if you just considered the matter closed.
Steve G
It is not necessary to post a message to remind someone they did not reply to a thread/post. As far as considering the matter closed what I considered it was not supplying me with consistent information to help you.
Several times you stated that at least one (maybe two, I am still not clear) PSC works on a BOE Rev C. But when I said it had to be your board if the PSC works on another you replied:
You might at first think so. However, I tested other pins with other tasks (as well as the 2 PSC's that I have) and everything else (except the 2 PSC's) functioned as expected.
Which, best I can tell is you’re saying everything works except the PSC Modules. Given that, I feel there is inconsistent information for me to continue down this path. If you want to send the units in for testing please call our Tech Support Dept. today and get an RMA to send them in. We can determine if they’re not working and why.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support
I only queried the lack of response because it had been five days and we had been communicating every day or two. I was not sure if there was some confusion about our last exchange. Anyway, I will make one more stab at it and see if I can clarify the situation. Both PSC's have in the past and still do work as they are supposed to with a BOE revision C. I cannot get either PSC to communicate with a BS2 or A BS2p on a Super Carrier Board. I thought the connections necessary, +5V, ground and a signal line were pretty straight forward. I do normally put a 1k resistor in the signal line of many Stamp I/O pins to prevent potentially damaging currents with 5V TTL signal lines should I happen to make an incorrect connection. I did not use one in the signal line to either of the PSC's. The Super Carrier Board "seems" to work as expected with other sensor and LED circuits. As I understand your position at this time, and correct me if I am wrong, you are suspect of the Super Carrier Board and would like to see it to see if there is something wrong with it. If that is correct, I shall keep that option under advisement , but for now will just use the Super Carrier Board for other tasks. If it continues to exhibit abnormal behavior with other devices, I will call and get a RMA to return the Super Carrier Board for inspection (or whatever hardware you want to see). If you just want to see the Super Carrier Board and one of the two PSC's, I can work with other hardware and send them in for you to take a look at if that is your preference. I do find their interaction peculiar. I hope that clarifies the situation.
Steve G
By all information provided there is a wiring issue on the Super Carrier Board. This could be in the form of a short circuit, broken pad, or even the more common lack of a connection from the I/O pin to the target device. That last part results because not everyone realizes that the pads coming from the I/O pins does not go all the way across to the power bus. There is a group of 2 pads coming from the I/O pad, and the next three are connected together, but not to the I/O pin. So depending on how you’re connecting it, your signal may not be getting from the I/O pin to the PSC signal pin. Of course, previously you mentioned the Green LED being on all the time. Most likely causes of this would be the signal line is shorted to ground on the PSC end or the PSC is receiving more than 5V (connected to VIN instead). It is highly unlikely there is a defect with the Super Carrier Board. There is almost nothing that could go wrong there.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support
I wondered about a wiring issue on the Super Carrier Board as well. Looking at the prototyping area with the BASIC Stamp on the left, as you stated the first two pads are connected. I soldered a 16 pin header to the left most pads connected to pins 0-15. The second pad connected to each pin is jumpered with either a 1 k resistor or a jumper wire to the first of the three connected pads to the right of each respective pin. Using the third pad,and one pad from each of the Vss and Vdd traces I solder a 3 pin header if I want to connect a 3 wire cable (say to a servo, servo controller, ping sensor unit, etc.) I connected pin 13 with a jumper wire for signal and then used a 3 pin header to connect to the servo controller. I tested all three pins for signal, +5V and ground respectively, and all appear to be connected correctly. That is why I am so baffled as to why the PSC won't respond (and yes, the correct pins from the Super Carrier Board are connected to the corresponding pins on the PSC - weird). I even went so far as to connect a LED with resistor to the signal line and wrote a little program to flash it, using the cable with another 3 pin header and making the correct connections on a breadboard, just to make sure the cable was good. That worked fine. I can't think of anything else to test.
Steve G
I’m just going by all the evidence presented to me to make an assumption as to what could be wrong. The PSC works on another board but not the SCB. Assuming you have the exact same power supply then I don’t see what could be wrong, especially if you’re able to see the signals at the end of the cable. Hundreds of these Super Carrier Boards are used daily in all kinds of applications without issue. If you want, we can issue you an RMA number and have you send the board and PSC in for testing so we can try to figure out what might be wrong. If so, please contact me directly at my e-mail link to the left. Take care.
▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support
Post Edited (Chris Savage (Parallax)) : 4/2/2008 9:35:48 PM GMT
I shall keep, in the back of my mind, returning the Super Carrier Board and one of the two PSC's . I can't help but believe, though, that I am doing something stupid and looking right at it - not seeing it! I want to thank you for the time you have spent on this, and I will keep you advised no matter what I figure out or decide to do. Into everyones life a little weirdness must fall.
Steve G