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BS2 programming broken? — Parallax Forums

BS2 programming broken?

tomwmtomwm Posts: 3
edited 2009-03-27 15:47 in BASIC Stamp
I have a Basic Stamp 2 (rev. G) on a Board of Education (rev. C) that won't be programmed. The Parallax Basic Stamp Editor reports that it has failed to find any stamps when I tell it to program, but both the Stamp and serial communication work --- as the program that I put on there last (two years ago!) still works (it prompts for a number and prints it out in different bases using DEBUG statements). This problem first surfaced after I programmed the Stamp with a rather long serial cable (10 or 15 ft, if I recall correctly). Does anyone have any idea what might cause this?

Comments

  • SRLMSRLM Posts: 5,045
    edited 2009-03-05 05:06
    Are you using a USB to serial converter? If so, is it one from parallax with the most recent drivers on your computer?
    I suppose you have a reliable power supply?
  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2009-03-05 05:28
    There are generally two things that will prevent the Stamp Editor from finding a Stamp that's present:

    1) A shortage of power. The identification and download process is an active one. The Stamp and Stamp Editor have to converse for it to work, so the Stamp must be working.

    2) A serial connection failure. You could have a bad cable. If you're using a USB to serial adapter, you could have one that doesn't provide all the right signals for programming or you could have the wrong USB driver. The DTR (data terminal ready) signal must be implemented and controlled by the Stamp Editor.

    Almost always, the problem is one of these two. Often the DEBUG statement works, but that doesn't need the DTR signal to function.
  • tomwmtomwm Posts: 3
    edited 2009-03-05 06:47
    No, no USB here. I am blessed with a laptop with a serial port and a BoE with the same.

    The Stamp seems to have adequate power to run. The four AA batteries in the pack are somewhat old but have scarcely seen any use (the BoE is sitting on a Boe-Bot). I'm afraid that my multimeter seems to have died, so I won't be able to check the specifics until I get back to school on Sunday (I'm on break).

    As for the serial cable, it's just the one that came with the BoE. I have others when I get back to school, but I vaguely recall doing so about a year ago when I last tried to get this working.

    The only other thought that I have is that, as Windows is running in a virtual machine, serial port emulation may not be perfect --- DTR signal may not have been implemented. This wouldn't explain why programming failed when I was using a native installation before, though. Still, I'll try using a native Windows.

    Sadly, it seems that I probably won't be able to play around with ultrasonics as I'd hoped this break. :-( Well, thanks for your help.
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2009-03-05 22:33
    Laptops can have latency issues with on-board serial ports that can throw off timing of the programming and identification sequence. Please verify in your Device Manager that the COM Port·FIFO buffers·are disabled. Take care.

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Engineering
  • tomwmtomwm Posts: 3
    edited 2009-03-06 04:04
    Hmm... I installed Windows natively and it now appears to work. I also updated my laptop's BIOS, but it was probably the VM. I imagine that the serial emulation was intended for a serial console, so they must have gotten lazy and not implemented DTR since it wouldn't have been used.

    Thanks for all your help.
  • Chris SavageChris Savage Parallax Engineering Posts: 14,406
    edited 2009-03-06 21:51
    Somehow I missed the mention of the VM...that would definitely cause a latency issue. I doubt it is that the DTR isn't supported...more like there is a delay which would cause this issue.

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    Chris Savage
    Parallax Engineering
  • iamalexiamalex Posts: 5
    edited 2009-03-27 15:20
    Hi, I have exactly the same stuff as you have, and so the problem... Have you fix it?

    I check it on two different computers, and I always got the same error :" NO stamps found"

    I tried the USB to serial convert that come with the boe-bot package, and I also tried using the serial port directly.

    Is there a way to test whether whether the BS2 is broken?? I have all equipment if needed.

    Thanks a lot
  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2009-03-27 15:47
    Realistically, the only way to test a BS2 is to substitute it for a known good BS2 in a setup that already works properly with the good BS2. Once you can download to the BS2 and run a program, then you can download a test program that can verify the proper function of the I/O pins.
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