Confused - Setup Info in PDF Help File Does Not Jive With New Basic Stamp Board

helluvawreck

Greetings all, I am a newbie here.

I am new to this forum and would like to get some help on installing my Basic Stamp Homework Board USB. In this thread I will simply call it My Board to avoid repetition of the name.

First of all, I played around with some Parallax boards about two years ago for maybe 6 months but not since then so I am a little rusty. However, I'm a very good self learner and should be able to get back up to speed quickly. I had the kit that contained the What's a Microcontroller book and went through that and I also had the robot kit and went through that. I had no problems with those two kits and never needed any help during that time.

My problem is that I want to get back in it so I thought that I would go and get a new board at Radio Shack this morning and I got My Board a little over an hour ago. Everything went great. I installed the software and drivers, etc. and then I opened the help file inside the software which was according to the instructions printed on the bottom side of My Board.

I have gotten to a page in the help file which wants me to identify My Board before proceeding in one of three ways, Board of Education - Serial, Board of Education - USB, or Basic Stamp Homework Board - Serial.

The problem is that My Board doesn't fit these choices so I don't know what to do. My Board is a Basic Stamp Homework Board USB and with it I have a USB cable and so far everything has gone well. I assume that My Board was not available when this help file was written and that maybe I don't have any problem at all but I just need a link to the correct help file that will help me get started with My Board.

What I may need to do is just simply proceed with this help file and select the 'Next Button' and continue with this help file as if My Board is a Serial type board instead of a USB.

What should I do?

I have tried to be careful writing my difficulty so I hope that it is not too confusing to anyone.

helluvawreck

I have moved on on my own. I chose to go ahead and used the rest of the tutorial as if My Board was a Basic Stamp Homework Board - Serial instead of USB. There were a few confusing places since I have a USB board instead of a Serial. However, I kept plugging away and have gotten my board to identify itself and that was successful and I have entered the first example program to see if the board is communicating with my computer and that was also successful. I suppose that all is well and I will now settle in to my second adventure with Parallax boards. I hope that this thread was not too much of a bother to you good folks because I try to be as independent as possible and not waste other people's time. Thanks

Edit: This thread has been solved by myself. However, I don't see how to mark it's solved and remove the red unsolved flag. I'm sorry about that. Like I said, I'm a newbie here and have to learn the ropes.

Chris Savage

I have marked the thread solved for you. In the future you can do so by editing the message and using the advanced mode editor. It lets you change more items in your message than just the body text.

As for your assumption you were correct. The HomeWork Board Serial is functionally the same as the HomeWork Board Serial for purposes of the projects you need to do. The USB interface creates a virtual COM Port (serial port) to you PC.

PJAllen

jibe

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