I can't get my BS2 to communicate with my spkjet chip using parallax example co

Jeff Alten

Hi, I would like to first off thank anyone who actually reads this.

Thank you.

I can't get my BS2 to communicate with the speakjet chip mounted in the tigerbotics carrier board( www.tigerbotics.com/ ). I've used the spkjet board and chip successfully with magnevation's Phrase-a-Lator program (www.magnevation.com/) ...but when it comes to serially communicating with the BS2 using parallax's example code nothing happens.

The wiring from the DB.9 cable is congruent...so I added debug statements within the code and it doesn't get past the the start of the main program. So, then I tried to just try to get the BS2 configure the baud rate of the spkjet.

I placed the spkjet chip into Baud rate configure mode as explained in the Spkjet manual(quote below) and then using BS2 Serout command sent the sync character $55.

Code sending sync character[noparse][[/noparse]' {$STAMP BS2}
' {$PBASIC 2.5}

tx PIN 15 ' DB9.2
Rdy PIN 14 ' DB9.8


SEROUT Tx/Rdy, 84, [noparse][[/noparse]$55]
]

Magnevation Spkjet User's Manual Baud Rate Configure:

If the SpeakJet is in the Demo/Test mode and a momentary
Low logic level is placed on Mode Select M1, the Speakjet
starts a Sonar Ping sound to indicate the Baud Rate
Configuration mode is selected. At this time the Speakjet is
waiting for a serial sync character (hex 55) to set the internal
clock for the baud rate that is to be used. Once the baud
rate is captured, the Speakjet automatically stores this value
in the EEPROM and returns to the demo mode. The
SpeakJet will continue to use this new Baud Rate until
configured again.

Normal operation requires that M0 to be Low logic level and
M1 to be a High logic level.......

The SpeakJet serial configuration is fixed at: 8 bits, No- Parity,
and 1 stop bit (8, N, 1) and non-inverted, (RS-232 is inverted
logic and higher voltages). The Speakjet can be configured to
accept Baud rates from 2400 to 19200. The factory default
setting is 9600 baud. This baud rate can be changed any time
by placing the SpeakJet into the “Baud Rate Configure Mode.
said...


Any suggestions at all would be great! thanks again.

Bests, Jeff Alten

Franklin

It looks like you may be trying to drive the carrier boards serial port with TTL level signals and the carrier board may be expecting RS232 levels. Check the documentation. You may need to bypass the level shifting chip on the carrier board.

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- Stephen

Mike Green

From the TigerBotics SpeakJet Development Board manual, it looks like it's designed to connect directly to a Stamp. The sample program in the manual looks ok at a quick glance. If you can't get that to work, you should very carefully check your wiring, make sure the grounds of the Stamp and the Development Board are connected together, and make sure both are powered properly.