Can the stamp code be copied?

okc engineer

I used to work for a company that sold a product using the BS2-SX stamp. The company went out of business, but I have acquired the inventory and have been providing support to some of our old customers.

One of our biggest customers has a defective unit that needs a replacement Stamp, of which I have plenty, but without the program, it's worthless, of course.

I thought we had saved all of the Stamp programs, but this is one that I can't find. It may have been removed with the computer in which it was originally developed,·but that computer·is long gone, along with the person who developed the program.

So my question is, is there a way to copy the program from a Stamp in one of their working units to program into the replacement Stamp?

I pretty much know squat about the Basic Stamp. I had developed a new version of our product with an 8051 derivative processor, so if it turns out that I am unable to find out how to copy the Stamp program, the next best thing for them would be to spend $500 and buy the new version. But I'd like to save them the money, if I can.

Can anyone help me with this?

kf4ixm

i dont think you will be able to pull the program from the stamp. maybe i could help re-develope the software for you if you could provide some info about the machine, i live an hour south of okc.

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

There's no way to extract an entire program without some external circuitry. You can download the program using a Pomona #5250 (Mouser #656-5250) test clip on the module's EEPROM. You will need to hold the module in reset, so that the EEPROM's SDA and SCL lines are tri-stated. Then, using a Stamp from the BS2p- series and the I2CIN command, you will be able to read the chip's contents. You will not be able to reconstruct the source code, though. But a similar connection to a new BS2 will permit you to write the object code to the Stamp.

As an alternative, you could remove the EEPROM from the defective Stamp and solder it onto the new one.

This, of course is all predicated on the assumption that it's not the EEPROM itself that's defective.

-Phil

okc engineer

Well, being the optimist that I am, I was hoping for an answer that would not require a lot of time or effort. KF4, I appreciate the offer, but it would probably be quicker and less expensive for my customer to just trash the unit (it's getting old anyway) and buy a newer model. (How are things in Wynnewood?)

Phil, your idea could be expanded: if I can remove the EEPROM from the board, it's possible to copy the machine language code into a file using an EPROM programmer, which I have, but would have to get an adaptor for it, which is probably more expense than it's worth. Also, I run the risk of screwing up a second unit, if I remove the EEPROM and extraction fails.

I was hoping there would be an algorithm for my Xeltek programmer, or at least a command that would dump the program data through the serial port.

Thanks for your suggestion, friends. If you think of anything else, in the words of the infamous Ross Perot, "I am all ears."

kf4ixm

okc engineer said...
... (How are things in Wynnewood?)

Well a cat crossed the road a couple of days ago, but all the excitement has pretty much settled down from that fiasco. we have a pool going on when the next lightning strike is gonna hit the local refinery for our next fireworks show.

LOL, as you can tell.... not much!

skylight

kf4ixm said...

Well a cat crossed the road a couple of days ago

Was it after the chicken?

okc engineer

Problem solved!We finally located the software on a back-up disk. I apologize for this exercise in futility, but I guess it still provided us with a little more understanding of the Stamp. I am really relieved I didn't have to take drastic measures.

And I love animated emoticons.

Thanks guys!