BS2 board questions
Buck Rogers
Posts: 2,178
Hello!
I have here a BS2, and yes it was one of the ones sent out via a contest from this site. I'd like to fabricate my own board for it.
I've looked at the schematic for it as described here:
http://tinyurl.com/bs2b001 .
And basically it looks to be rather simple. A 24P socket and a DB9 connector, and then those two capacitors. Plus of course that reset button.
Wiring it from the point of view of the schematic shown on the PDF looks to be rather straightforward. :smhair: But given the fact that the board itself is cheap compared to its host..... :smilewinkgrin:
I of course wanted to solicit opinions before dashing off onto this one.
Comments
Stamps can be used on a breadboard and they can be built into larger projects. There are all sorts of ways to provide the programming connection depending on how you want to connect it. You don't have to have a reset button although it's handy.
So, you want an opinion? How about describing what you want and what your criteria are? What's wrong with just buying a Parallax Professional Development Board or using that as a model for yours?
Hello!
Because Mike I wanted an opinion and possibly advice with regards to the whole idea.
And as it happens since yours is the first response, and of course, the best of the two. Mike I'll probably carefully breadboard the whole business out first. And then the board will be built, or bought, I haven't decided which.
My only problem is the P/S issue. The schematic shows 9v connected via snaps. I'm a straight 5v TTL type, and indeed that's what's feeding the breadboard via a retired PC's power supply.
Well that's a thread for the next one. :idea:
Incidentally Mike you win the grand prize. (Two weeks all expenses to visit Tatooine.)
Hello!
Erco I replied already to Mike, but basically your idea is what cued me towards the whole business. (Except for the fact that yours is a different beast then mine of course.) I still can't seem to find the RS catalog number on their incredibly useless site, but that's okay.
I must admit though that yours is decidedly well done despite it being a different stamp then mine.:hop:
But I can make the basic idea work for me, which is significant. Next up would be the power supply. And that will be a thread for the next time.
1) RS sells packets of 9V snaps. They work fine as long as you remember that they're backwards in polarity from what you might think. They're for the load end of a 9V power source, not the power supply end. If you connect them to your power source, you have to connect black to + and red to -. Best thing is to test the whole thing with a multimeter before you connect it to your board.
2) The BS2 project board is well made and I've used it for several projects in the past. If it fits your needs and the cost isn't excessive for the time you'd need to make the equivalent, by all means use it.
Wierd Al Yankovic has sung fondly about Tatooine. Thanks
Hello!
I understand Mike. In fact I do recall those problems with the 9V snaps. Before attaching it to the board, (ground lead to the ground traces, and positive to the BS2), I shall certainly test the leads for the the right voltage settings. That's point 1 of course. For point 2, to quote a phrase, "Working on it.".
Erco, I believe I found your proto board here, http://tinyurl.com/rs2760158b. I'm blaming the fact on how RS had their site created by people who're not users of the things they sell.:mad:
Now the funny question of the week, on the schematic here found on the attachment (Thank you Parallax for using Adobe for creating excellent PDF files.) it gives the voltage leads in much the same form as the BS1. Reason why I raised the issue of the 9v battery, is that while trying to use the USB adapter connected to the Serial conversion device, the 5v delivered by the P/S did not seem to run the device. Hence the program running here, kept saying it could not find the stamp. Would this be the case for the BS2 under similar circumstances?
Hello!
Erco, your excellent board, which is wearing a BS2E, is not wearing those two caps.
However the one Parallax makes does have them.
Are they definitely necessary on the programming interface for a BS2 stamp? Please note that this is the BS2 Rev. J, device.
Hello!
Well it definitely works. The programming software sees it. Just now need to sort out how to wrap my mind around the logic of programming for the BS2, instead of for the BS1. :smhair:
BTW, you've seen this for converting programs between Bs1>>Bs2?
http://www.parallax.com/Portals/0/Downloads/docs/prod/stamps/BS1nBS2ConvTips.pdf
PS: Did you use the 2 caps or not?
Hello!
I'll take them in reverse order. No I didn't use the two caps. It happens that I do have the conversion note. And good luck with your minimalist imager project. :idea:
I had an interesting one using an imaging device for that idea as well. It's one from that collection at Sparkfun.
Well one of them. Part of the problem is that its not easily interfaced to anything.
Now I've gotten the two caps. I tried out a program. I didn't see anything without them. With them, still nothing. I tried the program with a different Px number, and that worked.
Here it is, (after):
' {$STAMP BS2} ' {$PBASIC 2.0} serdata VAR Byte again: '*****this will wait for serial from calculator SERIN 0,396,[serdata] '***this will send it to the pc debug screen DEBUG DEC serdata, CR '***this will send the same data plus 1 back to the calculator serdata=serdata + 1 SEROUT 0,396,[serdata] GOTO againAnd this is the (before) one:
' {$STAMP BS2} ' {$PBASIC 2.0} serdata VAR Byte again: '*****this will wait for serial from calculator SERIN 15,396,[serdata] '***this will send it to the pc debug screen DEBUG DEC serdata, CR '***this will send the same data plus 1 back to the calculator serdata=serdata + 1 SEROUT 15,396,[serdata] GOTO againI believe I might have poked the wire from the calculator into a pin that wasn't the one shown in the (before) blurb screen.
And of course Erco, you're right. This particular gizmo resembles the activity in a presentation of the Ring Cycle (and I'm not a fan of his).
Incidentally Robbie wants to know if you're done showing him in your avatar screen.