Shop OBEX P1 Docs P2 Docs Learn Events
A basic problem for a beginner. — Parallax Forums

A basic problem for a beginner.

DavidSmithDavidSmith Posts: 36
edited 2012-04-04 16:48 in BASIC Stamp
I am an amateur just starting to play w microprocessors.

I have a BASIC2 Homework USB board and have connected it to my computer w USB cable. I also installed a 9 volt battery. The battery was a bit old, but a voltmeter says "9 volts".

I have downloaded the Basic Stamp Editor 2.5.2 and it seems to be working.

When I call up any of the pre made programs and hit "RUN" the USB lights on the board twinkle and the "running" lights do nothing. The screen says "downloading" and then declares it can not find a BASIC board.

I do specify BASIC2 and PBASIC 2.5 in the editor.

Am I missing something obvious?

Comments

  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2012-04-02 12:35
    Yes, a fresh battery.

    A battery near exhaustion may show a voltage near 9V on a voltmeter with nothing else connected to it. As soon as you draw current from it, even the few milliAmps needed by the Stamp board, the voltage will drop precipitously and the Stamp will stop working.

    The other main cause of the Stamp Editor not finding a Stamp board is that you haven't installed the USB driver. Try a new battery first. If that doesn't work, download a fresh copy of the USB driver from FTDI and install it. Make sure the Homework board isn't plugged in while you do that.
  • ChristopherTChristopherT Posts: 1
    edited 2012-04-03 07:29
    I am having a similar problem where my BS2 homework board does not have the running lights on even when I put a new battery in, there was no program running it was just plugged in and I was trying to figure out why an old program was still loaded on when I looked the running light went off and will not come back on. Any ideas?
  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2012-04-03 07:39
    The "running" light is not a true indicator of what the Homework Board's processor is doing. Don't worry about it.

    Parallax loads a test program into the Stamps as part of their quality control. That's probably what's in the Homework Board's EEPROM.

    Put a fresh battery on the Board and plug it into your PC with the Stamp Editor (and the USB driver) and see if the Homework Board will "identify" itself. Then try writing a simple program based on one of the examples in the "What's a Microcontroller?" tutorial.
  • DavidSmithDavidSmith Posts: 36
    edited 2012-04-04 16:15
    Mike,

    You were right, it's working fine now.

    Please do me one little favor? Don't tell my girlfriend how simple the fix was. She already thinks she's the boss.
  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2012-04-04 16:48
    Alas, this is one of the two reasons that causes the feared "can't identify" problem in over 90% of the cases, the other being some kind of dysfunctional serial connection whether from a bad cable or some problem with the USB adapter driver. I tell everyone who asks "why does the Stamp Editor (or Propeller Tool) say it can't identify a Stamp (or Propeller)?" If she asks, that's the answer she'll get.
Sign In or Register to comment.