Shop OBEX P1 Docs P2 Docs Learn Events
Building a controller — Parallax Forums

Building a controller

nircknirck Posts: 5
edited 2008-10-20 06:52 in General Discussion
Hi everyone.

I'm brand new to these forums, and pretty new to mircoprocessors and mircocontrollers. I recently purchased a BASIC Stamp I, just so I could experiment around, test how everything works, etc.

Now I'd like to start working on my big projects, but I need ALOT more EEPROM than any of the models provide.

How would I go about doing this?

For the moment, I would like to stay with the Parallax product lines. There's alot more support and documentation here versus Microchip and others, which makes it a great location to start out.

Any help would be appreciated.

Thanks in advance.

Comments

  • hippyhippy Posts: 1,981
    edited 2008-10-19 18:19
    The Propeller Chip would be worthwhile looking at. It's different to the Basic Stamp but certainly a very capable processor. It uses I2C eeprom for program storage and that can be extended to hold large amounts of data and there is also support for SD card which could be an alternative to Eeprom.
  • nircknirck Posts: 5
    edited 2008-10-19 20:36
    I did look at the propellor chip, and it seems very interesting, but I would like to learn how to do this kind of thing with the BASIC Stamp. This is supposed to be a learning project, not just some ends-meet for another project.

    In the BASIC Stamp I manual, it refers to building your own board. It mentions an interpreter chip, resonator, and something else. I'm sorry that my question wasn't more direct, but I'm interested in building a board similar to the BASIC Stamp I, but with much, much more EEPROM. Does anyone know any article or tutorial that explains how to do this?
  • Bruce BatesBruce Bates Posts: 3,045
    edited 2008-10-19 20:48
    nirch -

    The EEPROM which the PBASIC Stamps use is fixed in size. If you want to add more EXTERNAL EEPROM, that's fine, but it won't increase the size of the Stamp's INTERNAL memory.

    Regards,

    Bruce Bates

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    When all else fails, try inserting a new battery.
  • nircknirck Posts: 5
    edited 2008-10-19 21:46
    That's what my question is. I don't want to hook up external EEPROM, I would like to know what parts I need to get to recreate the BASIC Stamp, but instead of using the 256 bytes of EEPROM, I would like to use another unit.

    The website mentions an interpreter chip and resonator, but I would like to know EVERY thing I need. Voltage regulator, etc.

    Thank you.
  • FranklinFranklin Posts: 4,747
    edited 2008-10-19 21:53
    If you are determined to go through with this here is where you should start.

    ▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔▔
    - Stephen
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2008-10-19 22:05
    For the maximum amount of available EEPROM storage in a BASIC Stamp, take a look at the BS2pe here and here. It includes 32K bytes of EEPROM, addressable in sixteen separate 2K "slots".

    -Phil
  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2008-10-19 22:17
    Just to make sure you understand ...

    It doesn't make any difference how you build the Stamp, the amount of program memory accessible to the Stamp is fixed. In addition, you can't substitute a larger EEPROM for the 256 byte device used in the BS1. It won't work. You can't substitute a larger EEPROM for those used in the BS2 series and expect to access the additional memory. That won't work either.
  • RocketmaniacRocketmaniac Posts: 26
    edited 2008-10-20 00:11
    Off-topic question; does the basic stamp (any version) have any capability to store data on or access a removeable storage like a SD or Xd·card?
    hippy said...
    The Propeller Chip would be worthwhile looking at···· .........·· there is also support for SD card.
  • nircknirck Posts: 5
    edited 2008-10-20 06:05
    How is the amount of program memory accessible to the Stamp fixed?? When power is supplied to the circuit, the processor gets the program from EEPROM. Are you saying that instead of reading all of the data in EEPROM (that is, if there is a larger unit than, say, the 246 bytes of EEPROM on the BASIC Stamp I) the processor only reads a fixed amount?

    That doesn't seem correct to me... Not all programs are going to be EXACTLY 256 bytes, which means something instructs the processor as to how long the program is...

    Thank you for the link Franklin. I had run across that before, but I couldn't remember where. What I want to do is something similar, but instead of the 16K EEPROM, I need 64K EEPROM. Getting the EEPROM is easy, I just want to make sure it would work with the Stamp interpreter chip, but Mike Green says no...
  • Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi) Posts: 23,514
    edited 2008-10-20 06:44
    The EEPROM is read one instruction at a time, as the program is being executed. It is not loaded into the interpreter chip all at once on powerup.

    You can add a 64K EEPROM to a BASIC Stamp, if you want to. But it will have to be in addition to the program EEPROM. The reason is that the pins that access the program EEPROM are not available to the PBASIC program to access the additional memory. If you use a BS2p-series chip, you can use the built-in I2C commands to access the added chip. Otherwise, you will probably want to use SPI EEPROM for the fastest access with other BS2 family members.

    -Phil
  • nircknirck Posts: 5
    edited 2008-10-20 06:52
    So there isn't anyway to get an interpreter chip and put everything together (like in the "BASIC Stamp 2 OEM Module (Kit Form)") but use a 64K EEPROM for programming? I suppose I could have external EEPROM, but I would prefer it to be internal, otherwise it would just be easier for me to use a PIC series. I was hoping that I could achieve this with the Parallax interpreter chip though...
Sign In or Register to comment.