HW Board not identifiable by BSE but can been seen in a debug window

vectormechanic

Several months ago, I purchased a HomeWork board, installed the editor (2.4.2), and did the FirstProgram exercise. After that, I got sidetracked and just recently got back to playing with my HW board.

When I try to identify the board, BSE cannot find the board. However, if I pull up a debug window and press the reset button on the board, the text that I defined in the original program appears. If I try to run a new program, it fails because BSE cannot identify a board to download, even though I know it's there (from the debug interface).

Even though my primary attempts to run a program are on my machine that is using Windows 7, I have also tried it on a machine using XP Pro. I have tried the troubleshooting tips in the manual and have tried everything including tweaking FIFO settings, checking the battery (9.12V, although if the battery was no good I wouldn't get the original text in the debug window)

Not that the code really matters in this case, but here it is anyways:

' What's a Microcontroller - FirstProgram.bs2
' BASIC Stamp sends a message to Debug Terminal

' {$STAMP BS2}
' {$PBASIC 2.5}

DEBUG "Hello, it's me, your little green circuit board!"

END

Thanks for your time

Mick

Mike Green

For downloading to work properly (including identification), the DTR line to the Stamp's ATTN pin has to work. If you're using a USB to serial adapter, the adapter's USB driver can have a problem, the USB to serial adapter itself can have a problem, and the cable between the adapter and the Stamp can be broken. The fact that the debug window and the DEBUG statement in the Stamp work doesn't help you. Neither require that the DTR line work right.

Since the Stamp program works, that implies that the power source is adequate since the Stamp has to be powered to identify or download a new program.

vectormechanic

It was the cable, thanks for the sanity check. I'm using computers that have onboard serial ports (I know the ports work), but I hadn't even considered the cable. It's the original cable that came with the kit, and as I mentioned, I used the kit one evening several months ago, put it in a bag, and didn't touch it again until yesterday. I work on PLCs and other industrial controls for a living; I've seen stranger failures, but not often...

Cheers,

Mick