Broken Stamp

nrsmac · 2012-03-23 02:19

Okay, so i think I broke my BS2, I use it with my BOE. One time I had to take the BS2 out of the IC socket for breadboard use. I accidentally broke the pin of Pin 7. At first, I thought I could live without pin 7. So I tried it with MACBS2, and I got nothing. I went on a PC and used the Official basic stamp software. Nothing. So (stupidly) I tried to solder a small piece of wire onto the solder pad on pin 7 so it could connect to the IC Socket. When I tried to solder it, the whole pad fell off. I cant find the pad. I see a small piece of stranded wire where the pad used to be. I try to plug in one end of a BreadBoard jumper into Pin 7 on the IC socket, and connect the other end to the small piece of wire. and no dice. Have I damaged the PBASIC interpreter? WIll I have to spen another $50 on a BS2? Helpme please!!!!!!

Here are some Pics:

Martin_H · 2012-03-23 06:07

Here's the pin out of the BS2 http://www.parallax.com/Portals/0/Downloads/docs/prod/schem/BS2revJSchematic.pdf

You should be able to live without pin 7 as that correspond to pin 5 when programming. I'm not sure why your stamp isn't working, but that pin being missing isn't the reason.

nrsmac · 2012-03-23 06:18

Thanks Martin, could it be the PBASIC Interpereter? Will I have to pull out the old soldering iron and do some SMD work?

Mike Green · 2012-03-23 06:36

The PBASIC interpreter doesn't break. It's a program that's built into the Stamp. As Martin_H said, you can do without pin 7. It's an I/O pin, just like the other I/O pins. One is pretty much like another. People sometimes burn out an I/O pin because they accidentally connect it to a high current motor or a high voltage like 9V or 12V. All they have to do is change their programs to use some other I/O pin.

Stamps generally refuse to be identified when there's no power or there's something wrong with the serial connection to the PC (or Mac). Check your power source. Check your cables. If you're using a USB to serial adapter with a serial BOE, check that. Remember that MacBS2 won't run under Lion (at the moment ... it will be fixed sometime soon).

Martin_H · 2012-03-23 06:40

Before you do anything drastic try to verify the following.

Unplug everything from the Board of education.

Use new batteries.

Check the voltage at the stamp to make sure it is five volts.

Check for shorts in the breadboard.

Use a new USB cable.

Re-install the drivers.

Odds are it is something simple so look for something you've overlooked.

nrsmac · 2012-03-23 07:16

Thanks for Martin and Mike for responding. I will check all of the things Martin said after I finish my school work. What I mean by the interpreter being broken is broken due to heat from the soldering iron somehow traveled along the routes in the PCB and heated up the interpreter. Unlikely? I didn't touch the interpreter IC with the iron at all. Hmm, I will try Martin's debugging process.

Mike Green · 2012-03-23 07:23

You have to heat the whole module a lot before heat from a pin can propagate to where it can cause other solder joints to loosen. Try it some time on a piece of scrap PCB with a couple of wires soldered into it.

nrsmac · 2012-03-23 13:33

Thanks Mike, I will definitely try that. I have a 240volt (UK) AC to 12volt DC adapter with a barrel plug, could I use that with the BOE, or is it too much?

Mike Green · 2012-03-23 13:57

12V is a little too high. The issue is heat. Both the Stamp and the BOE have a 5V regulator which has to dissipate excess voltage as heat. The Stamp's regulator doesn't have a heatsink. Depending on the amount of current drawn from the Stamp's I/O pins, that regulator may have a lot of heat to dissipate with a 12V input. The Stamp module and the BOE are really intended for use with a 6V to 9V power supply. If you're just using the Stamp module and have very little attached to it, like one LED, it'll probably be ok with a 12V supply. For any serious work with the Stamp and BOE, you'll need to use something lower. I'd suggest a 7.5V supply.

nrsmac · 2012-03-23 14:12

DANG! I went though Martin's list and I re-did everything. Zilch, zero, nada. I guess I will just have to bite the bullet and order a new BS2, unless there is a free repair program, or relatively cheap.

nrsmac · 2012-03-23 14:18

Thanks for the advice Mike! I will remember that,

Mike Green · 2012-03-23 16:25

Contact Parallax Tech Support directly. They typically will repair a defective Stamp for you cheaply (maybe for nothing). Alternatively, if you bought it locally, contact your local distributor.

Broken Stamp

Comments