Is it possible to break Board of Education ports?

geoldr

Hello, today I was learning how stuff works on the board of education and the P15 port stopped working. It doesnt transmit power anymore. Neither does P13. Is this possible? Or is there some sort of reset I should do?

Mike Green

It is possible to burn out I/O pins, but it's not easy. Applying voltages above roughly 5.5V or below -0.5V will do it, particularly if the current involved can be greater than a few milliAmps. You can also damage an I/O pin if you try to draw more than about 20-25mA from it.

Connect up an LED and current limiting resistor as shown in the "What's a Microcontroller?" tutorial and enter an LED blink program as shown in the tutorial (for the I/O pin involved). It should blink. If not, the I/O pin is probably damaged.

geoldr

Yes they have burned out. Is there any way to repair this?

Mike Green

The Stamp module would have to be sent to Parallax where the microprocessor would be removed and a new one soldered in its place. Parallax will normally do this for less than the cost of a new module. Call customer support.

LowIQGenius

I had this same problem; I even called tech support.· Then after replugging the BS2 in for the third time, all of my pins worked.· I would recommend trying to find the small gaps between the pins that aren't working.· Just be careful not to break it.

JD

Geoldr,
·
Mike is correct; Parallax Inc. offers a 1/2 off replacement policy for all the modules we manufacture. That means you can send in the module to us and receive a credit on your account for 1/2 the amount of the module returned. For example, if you sent in a Basic Stamp 2; which normally sales for $49.00, you would receive a credit of $24.50. If you would like to take advantage of this offer, please contact technical support at 888-997-8267 and we will create an Return Merchandise Authorization (RMA) number.
·
Thank you,

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Joshua Donelson

www.parallax.com

geoldr

ah guys I there is a misunderstanding. The basic stamp is fine (I think) it's the board of education. The p15 an p13 ports (where you plug in the resistors and other wires) do not recieve power. Is the stamp broken? Or is it the board of education?

allanlane5

Well, the only hardware between the P15 and P13 ports on the BS2 and the plug-board area is wire-traces on the BOE. And wire-traces are WAY more robust than the I/O pin drivers on the BS2 chip.

JD

Geoldr,
·
The Board Of Education would still be covered with the 1/2 price replacement; because we manufacturer that part.
·
However, you can run a test to see if the BS2 is damaged by connecting an anode(+) leg of the LED to P15 on the X2 header, and the cathode (-) leg of the LED to Vss with a 470Ω resistor in series;·then run a program to blink pin 15 *see below*. You can confirm this with all the pins in question; just be sure to change the code to the pin being tested. If you do not get the LED blinking, it's a good indication that the pin is bad on the BS2 and not the BOE.
·
' {$STAMP BS2}
' {$PBASIC 2.5}
·
DO
· HIGH 15
· PAUSE 500
· LOW 15
· PAUSE 500
LOOP
·
If you have questions on running this test, feel free to contact me (888-997-8267) and I will help


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Joshua Donelson

www.parallax.com

geoldr

OK I have done the test and the light did not blink. I plugged it into P14 and rewrote the code, and it did work. So the Basic Stamp 2 Chip is damaged?

JD

Geoldr,

It sounds like you will have to sent the BS2 in for further testing to concluded what happened. I will contact you via Private Mesaage (PM) to set up the rest of your RMA.

Thank you

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Joshua Donelson

www.parallax.com