New Basic Stamp Addict
Painless
Posts: 69
Hello!
My name is Russ and I just joined the forums as I very recently became the proud owner of my first microcontroller board, a BASIC Stamp P40. I purchased the stamp from here:
www.futurlec.com/Basic_Controller.shtml
My first surprise was that the stamp I purchased seems to be very different from those on Parallax's web site (I only found Parallax after receiving the stamp and installing the software). I'm guessing this is because I possibly have some kind of OEM version?
My second surprise was how easy the stamp is to use and program, after only a little fiddling I'm hooked! I'm especially interested in using the stamp for automotive applications. I say easy to use and program, even though I first tried to use the stamp with Linux after purchasing a belkin usb serial adapter only to find that a) the stamp didn't like the belkin adapter and b) the linux software doesn't recognize the newer stamp version. Anyhow, I just grabbed my old trusty thinkpad t21 with windows XP and away I went.
I have a couple of questions that I was hoping someone could answer:
1) I'm going to need an LCD display for my project, nothing fancy, just 2x16 characters or larger will be fine. My stamp has a 'Standard Character LCD Connector with Contrast Adjustment' which is facilitated by a 14 pin IDC connector. I'm unsure if I will just need to use an LCD that will plug into this port or if I will need any extra controller hardware to go between the stamp and the LCD? Can anyone make any product recommendations?
2) I note that the stamp's ports are designed for high / low 0v / 5v type of logic, I will need to read in voltage levels from sensors (up to 5v) and also pass out similar data. Are there any devices that will make this job easier? I'm handy with a soldering iron so can build from schematics if necessary.
Thanks in advance for any advice,
Russ.
My name is Russ and I just joined the forums as I very recently became the proud owner of my first microcontroller board, a BASIC Stamp P40. I purchased the stamp from here:
www.futurlec.com/Basic_Controller.shtml
My first surprise was that the stamp I purchased seems to be very different from those on Parallax's web site (I only found Parallax after receiving the stamp and installing the software). I'm guessing this is because I possibly have some kind of OEM version?
My second surprise was how easy the stamp is to use and program, after only a little fiddling I'm hooked! I'm especially interested in using the stamp for automotive applications. I say easy to use and program, even though I first tried to use the stamp with Linux after purchasing a belkin usb serial adapter only to find that a) the stamp didn't like the belkin adapter and b) the linux software doesn't recognize the newer stamp version. Anyhow, I just grabbed my old trusty thinkpad t21 with windows XP and away I went.
I have a couple of questions that I was hoping someone could answer:
1) I'm going to need an LCD display for my project, nothing fancy, just 2x16 characters or larger will be fine. My stamp has a 'Standard Character LCD Connector with Contrast Adjustment' which is facilitated by a 14 pin IDC connector. I'm unsure if I will just need to use an LCD that will plug into this port or if I will need any extra controller hardware to go between the stamp and the LCD? Can anyone make any product recommendations?
2) I note that the stamp's ports are designed for high / low 0v / 5v type of logic, I will need to read in voltage levels from sensors (up to 5v) and also pass out similar data. Are there any devices that will make this job easier? I'm handy with a soldering iron so can build from schematics if necessary.
Thanks in advance for any advice,
Russ.
Comments
What you have is an OEM version of the BS2p40 where someone buys the pre-programmed SX48 processor for the Stamp and, instead of producing a module like the BS2p40, makes a small printed circuit board with much the same stuff plus their own variations.
2) On the main Parallax webpage, click on the Resources tab. The link to Nuts and Volts Columns is useful, also the Downloads link. Go to that and click on the Stamps in Class Downloads. You'll find a list of Parallax's Stamp tutorials. The Basic Analog and Digital tutorial gives examples for digital to analog conversion and analog to digital conversion. Download that for a start and look through the Nuts and Volts Columns index for other examples.
I'll go check-out your recommendations.
Thanks again!