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How can I make basic stamps by scratch? — Parallax Forums

How can I make basic stamps by scratch?

P!-RoP!-Ro Posts: 1,189
edited 2008-06-18 19:20 in BASIC Stamp
I found a site that had a link to Parallax that showed how you can make your own BS2sx microcontroller by buying parts and placing them on a breadboard, making it much cheaper. The link doesn't work anymore, so I'm assuming when the website changed the link stopped working and it was never changed again. Does anybody·know where I can find the info on how to make the different microcontrollers?

Comments

  • MSDTechMSDTech Posts: 342
    edited 2008-05-01 03:35
    You should look at the OEM versions of the Basic Stamps. I have found both the schematics and bills of material needed to construct both a BS2 and BS2sx listed in the download sections.

    Browse throught the product listings at:
    http://www.parallax.com/Store/Microcontrollers/BASICStampOEM/tabid/135/CategoryID/10/List/0/SortField/0/Level/a/catpageindex/1/Default.aspx
    and look at the various downloads they have available. You should be able to find most of the materials you would need.
  • P!-RoP!-Ro Posts: 1,189
    edited 2008-05-01 04:20
    Thanks for the info MSDTech! I wasn't able to find any schematics in the download section, but I do have one in my basic stamp manual, I just wish it was bigger and more specific on the parts included.
  • Max WoodenMax Wooden Posts: 112
    edited 2008-05-01 05:31
    Here is the link for the BS2sx schematics. www.parallax.com/Portals/0/Downloads/docs/prod/schem/bs2sxrevd.pdf

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    Reedley, California
  • LoopyBytelooseLoopyByteloose Posts: 12,537
    edited 2008-05-01 10:06
    If you were to really make a BasicStamp completely from scratch, it would be a huge project. The actual code inside the BasicStamp is proprietary. You would have to reverse engineer all the proprietary code that is tucked away in ROM and you would have to wrtte your own IDE. As it is, the IDE is free to people that buy a BasicStamp and the OEM BasicStamp is available for people that want to save money.

    If you are strapped for cash, you might be able to locate a 2nd hand BasicStamp here or on E-Bay. Many of us started with the BS2 and have upgraded to a faster version with more memory.

    Considering all the free support material that you can download, it is still cheaper than anything else out there.

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  • sam_sam_samsam_sam_sam Posts: 2,286
    edited 2008-05-01 11:15
    ·I LIKE PI

    ·How you can make your own BS2sx microcontroller by buying parts and placing them on a breadboard, making it much cheaper.

    I do not know why you would want to built your on boards when you buy them for $10.00 already made

    Here are the Links to them

    http://www.parallax.com/Store/Microcontrollers/SXDevelopmentBoards/tabid/141/CategoryID/54/List/0/SortField/0/Level/a/ProductID/399/Default.aspx

    http://www.parallax.com/Store/Microcontrollers/SXDevelopmentBoards/tabid/141/CategoryID/54/List/0/SortField/0/Level/a/ProductID/362/Default.aspx

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    ··Thanks for any·idea.gif·that you may have and all of your time finding them

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    Sam

    Post Edited (sam_sam_sam) : 5/1/2008 11:22:24 AM GMT
  • BeanBean Posts: 8,129
    edited 2008-05-01 11:48
    Sam,
    Those are SX board. Not BS2sx boards.
    They are still a great value and can be programmed with SX/B (BASIC for the SX).

    Bean.

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    www.iElectronicDesigns.com

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  • allanlane5allanlane5 Posts: 3,815
    edited 2008-05-01 13:53
    Yes, you can build your own BS2 on your own board, BUT (and it's a large BUT) you MUST buy the programmed PIC (or SX chip) from Parallax (it's not expensive). The reason is that the PBasic run-time environment, which makes a BS2 a BS2, is Parallax proprietary.

    You might find this a little annoying -- if so, let me point out that almost everything else Parallax sells is completely documented, with schematics, with part numbers, with tutorials for use, with help files, and with this very nice responsive forum for answering questions. Almost the ONLY thing they keep proprietary is the PBasic run-time program burned into their OEM chips.

    Let me also point out, that as far as I can tell EVERY other small processor vendor has MORE proprietary stuff, costs more, and has less support, than Parallax. Note I don't work for Parallax, I've just been using their stuff since 2002 or so.
  • sam_sam_samsam_sam_sam Posts: 2,286
    edited 2008-05-01 13:58
    Bean
    ·

    Those are SX board. Not BS2sx boards.
    They are still a great value and can be programmed with SX/B (BASIC for the SX).
    ·
    What is the diffrent the SX board and BS2sx boards as far as the Chips

    This may seem as a Dump question but I have to ask

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    ··Thanks for any·idea.gif·that you may have and all of your time finding them

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    Sam
  • allanlane5allanlane5 Posts: 3,815
    edited 2008-05-01 14:12
    The SX is a super-PIC chip, running at 50 million instructions per second (MIPS). Parallax sells a board (and the programming interface) to use this for about $100, then sells 'target' boards for your applications for $10. The IDE for this runs "SX/B", which is a COMPILED basic/assembly language. Which then runs at 50 MIPS.

    The BS2sx is a BS2 running on an SX chip. As such, it uses the 'stock' BS2 hardware (IDE, BoardOfEducation (BOE), standard cable). And the OEM SX chip Parallax will sell you has the PBasic run-time environment burned into it. To 'complete' the BS2, you'll then need an external EEPROM, external brown out detector, a couple of external transistors and capacitors, and a 50 Mhz resonator.

    The BS2sx runs much faster than a BS2, which is why people like it. An SX28 application with your own code burned into it runs EXTREMELY fast -- but is not as easy to program as a BS2sx.
  • RobotWorkshopRobotWorkshop Posts: 2,307
    edited 2008-05-01 14:28
    Hello,

    If you'd like to build your own OEM Stamp like the BS2p40 then I can help! In order to do so you will need to buy an OEM BS2p40 OEM Basic Stamp chip from Parallax at:

    www.parallax.com/Store/Microcontrollers/BASICStampOEM/tabid/135/CategoryID/10/List/0/SortField/0/Level/a/ProductID/19/Default.aspx

    I have a PCB board that can be used as a carrier to mount this chip. By adding extra components you can build a complete module similar to the BS2p40 Stamp module. The main differences are that it uses a MAX232 for the serial interface and uses a through hole EEPROM and resonator. It is an early board I made that is similar to a module I designed for the SX48 chips:

    http://forums.parallax.com/showthread.php?p=627108

    It is slightly different in that it is a green PCB and lacks the silkscreen for the pin markings. At the moment I still have some of the blank boards left. They are $6.95 (plus shipping) and include instructions. It makes a great way to mount the BASIC OEM chips!

    Remember, you'll need to get an OEM BS2p40 BASIC Stamp chip, through hole EEPROM, and through hole resonator directly from Parallax. By adding other parts you can make the complete module if you want.

    If anyone needs one just send me a PM.

    Robert
  • P!-RoP!-Ro Posts: 1,189
    edited 2008-05-02 02:23
    I don't think I have the experience to try and make somethink that complex, I'm still a beginner. My main problem right now is too much imagination and too little money, thats why I want to make the microcontrollers for cheaper. When I am more expirienced, I might try making a BS2p40, but right now I would probably make a mistake and accidentally break it while assembling it. Thanks anyway!
  • iamdenteddiskiamdenteddisk Posts: 66
    edited 2008-06-05 05:08
    it is easy enough to get the hardware,and complex but possible to trace the board to phisicaly build a stamp but inside the "eprom" this is the hard part and possible but illeagle and copyright enfringement to copy if you can figure out how . now you can build it and write your own "bios" to opperate on but that will take you years if you can do that, and first off your gonna find missing token's from documentation and without them it will be impossible calculate a valid checksum wich is required to unlock info or copy or even replace code,learn what you can then move on to the next level is my best suggestion . nobody even knows how to write asm or ML for these things let alone rewrite its basic interpreter. mostly because of documentation is partly unreleased or undocumented for copyright protection. infact I dont even know if a peek comand is implemented in pbasic to read memory. if you find out it is then its the best bet.
    if your experiance led you to ask this question,you probably arent ready for the task,"no insult meant" but there are other cpu's like z80,6502,m6800,x86 wich are better documented and would be alot easier to build and augment besides the stamp. these things are designed to be unhackable, even though flaws and bugs do exist and it is through a flaw you inturupt a processor .
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2008-06-05 14:52
    Having use the Z80, 6502, 6800 and 68000 for over 10 years, I just wanted to clarify that these are microprocessors, not microcontrollers. Each requires external ROM (EEPROM), RAM, Address Decoding and in most cases buffering of the data bus. Whereas microcontrollers most often have a fixed memory map and I/O, the microprocessor system can be easily customized, especially on the Z80. The price for this is the overhead in additional hardware.

    If you want to build your own BASIC Stamp we have made this quite easy by making the core components readily available. Prior to coming to Parallax I had integrated the BASIC Stamp into a few designs bringing the cost of having an embedded BASIC Stamp to under $15.00. If you’re interested in exploring this option I would suggest having a look at the OEM BASIC Stamps as they’re designed to show you what a BASIC Stamp is made of. If you have specific questions from there please follow up here and I will try to answer your questions. I hope this helps. Take care.

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
  • allanlane5allanlane5 Posts: 3,815
    edited 2008-06-05 15:18
    Well, Mr. "DentedDisk" above was just resurrecting a post from 5/1/08. I think the original poster is happy enough already.
  • teraflop122teraflop122 Posts: 8
    edited 2008-06-18 17:08
    Hate to bring back an aging topic, but I've run into a little problem planning for my OEM BS2sx: the OEM schematic shows a 4.2v DET in a similar position as the 3.8v brownout detector from the BS2 OEM. Does Parallax offer this 4.2v DET, or is the 3.8v Brownout Detector compatable?
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2008-06-18 19:20
    Hello,

    The 3.8V and 4.2V ratings are the voltage at which the system goes into reset. This is designed to protect the EEPROM from being corrupted by writing to it when it drops below the safe write voltage. The current version of the BS2sx OEM kit includes the 4.2V brownout detector. In theory you could use a 3.8V if you want in an OEM application since most EEPROM chips will run at lower voltages than when the BS2 was first designed.· Below is a link to the BS2sx OEM Kit.· I hope this helps.· Take care.

    http://www.parallax.com/Store/Microcontrollers/BASICStampOEM/tabid/135/CategoryID/10/List/0/SortField/0/catpageindex/2/Level/a/ProductID/501/Default.aspx

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Tech Support
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