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Basic Stamp Won't ID — Parallax Forums

Basic Stamp Won't ID

T-townT-town Posts: 17
edited 2014-02-22 16:54 in BASIC Stamp
Right out of the box, I can't ID the stamp (Homework Board - USB). Following the help screens it looks like (of course) I have the worse case going on here. The Loopback: Yes, Echo: Yes; but no Device Type or Version is showing up. It only shows COM4 no matter what USB I'm plugged into. Is that normal? It says it may be dead and I am suppose to call Tech support. Any sugestions while I wait for morning???

Comments

  • Mike GreenMike Green Posts: 23,101
    edited 2014-02-20 06:03
    Make sure you have a good battery. Make sure you've installed the Stamp Editor properly. In particular, you're not supposed to have the device plugged in while installing the USB driver for the Stamp. The most common reasons for this error are the two I've mentioned. Rarely is the Stamp defective.
  • T-townT-town Posts: 17
    edited 2014-02-20 06:19
    Mike Green wrote: »
    Make sure you have a good battery. Make sure you've installed the Stamp Editor properly. In particular, you're not supposed to have the device plugged in while installing the USB driver for the Stamp. The most common reasons for this error are the two I've mentioned. Rarely is the Stamp defective.

    Hi Mike. Batter is new and tested such. The software seemed to install properly and I was not plugged in at the time. The only problem was the USB drivers didn't install correctly when the original software installed. I dowloaded and installed it separately and it seemed to go in okay. When I run the ID the LEDs flash on the stamp side and it seems to be communicating. Any other thoughts?
    Joe
  • ercoerco Posts: 20,256
    edited 2014-02-20 08:25
    Try a different USB cable, and also try a different USB port on your computer. You should hear a beep from your computer right after you hook up the board, as your OS acknowledges the USB connection.
  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2014-02-20 08:28
    Is it a USB 3.0 port? There have been problems before with the new USB ports.

    And welcome to the forums!
  • T-townT-town Posts: 17
    edited 2014-02-20 11:44
    I tried each port on my PC with the same results. I do hear the beep on each port as I plug it in. I looked at the USB ports and they are not "blue" as the help shows. Also my PC is an older one so I'm thinking it's not the 3.0. Is there any other way you can tell? Already tried using another USB cable I had lying around.

    My next move is going to be moving to my desk top PC and start over.
  • Steph LindsaySteph Lindsay Posts: 767
    edited 2014-02-20 14:06
    Do give our Tech Support a call (1-888-997-8267). Sometimes if the hardware was connected before the correct USB drivers were installed, it takes a few extra steps to resolve. Do you by chance have Windows 8?

    If yes, try downloading the drivers directly from FTDI (the maker of the USB chip on the HomeWork Board) http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/VCP.htm
  • T-townT-town Posts: 17
    edited 2014-02-20 17:00
    Here is an update but with no good news. After two cables, two batteries, two PC's and a call to Tech Support, still no-go! I have a RMA number and I'm told to send it back. I called the friend of mine who turned me onto Parallax to do some whinning, and he is going to have me over this weekend to have a try at it. He has had the Basic Stamp for some time so he is going to give it a shot before I ship it back. Parallax had sent along a couple of free gifts with my order, one of which is a Basic Stamp Homework serial board. Very cool except I havn't found a local source for a USB to serial converter that will work. Radio shack only has Gigaware, which doesn't work, and Office Depot was out and is freak show expensive to boot. I plan to keep searching tomorrow. I had a 3.5 day weekend to play with this and it's just not working out! Any ideas please let me know but so far everythings been a bust. Joe
  • Buck RogersBuck Rogers Posts: 2,178
    edited 2014-02-20 22:24
    T-town wrote: »
    Here is an update but with no good news. After two cables, two batteries, two PC's and a call to Tech Support, still no-go! I have a RMA number and I'm told to send it back. I called the friend of mine who turned me onto Parallax to do some whinning, and he is going to have me over this weekend to have a try at it. He has had the Basic Stamp for some time so he is going to give it a shot before I ship it back. Parallax had sent along a couple of free gifts with my order, one of which is a Basic Stamp Homework serial board. Very cool except I havn't found a local source for a USB to serial converter that will work. Radio shack only has Gigaware, which doesn't work, and Office Depot was out and is freak show expensive to boot. I plan to keep searching tomorrow. I had a 3.5 day weekend to play with this and it's just not working out! Any ideas please let me know but so far everythings been a bust. Joe

    Hello!
    Joe Parallax is an FTDI shop, and they actually sell a perfect adapter for talking to the stamps. I have one here after I discovered that the other ones I do have ignored the features of how the stamps do communicate.

    Yes if you need to send back the poor defective one. I certainly hope its not as bad as you might think. But do look into the widget in question. That one is found at http://www.parallax.com/product/28030

    And I bought mine directly from Parallax. But it is available from Microcenter. There should be one reasonably near where you live.
  • T-townT-town Posts: 17
    edited 2014-02-21 05:58
    Buck Rogers wrote: »
    Hello!
    Joe Parallax is an FTDI shop, and they actually sell a perfect adapter for talking to the stamps. I have one here after I discovered that the other ones I do have ignored the features of how the stamps do communicate.

    Yes if you need to send back the poor defective one. I certainly hope its not as bad as you might think. But do look into the widget in question. That one is found at http://www.parallax.com/product/28030

    And I bought mine directly from Parallax. But it is available from Microcenter. There should be one reasonably near where you live.

    The 28030 is on my radar but won't help me this weekend. I found a couple of Microcenter's that have it, but the are both too far away. I'm thinking a 7 hour round trip won't go over well with the Mrs.! Unless I can get the one that was shipped to me working, it's looking like I'm going to have to patients.
  • jim.cottonjim.cotton Posts: 1
    edited 2014-02-21 21:43
    I just played that game with my 8 year old sons Windows 7 laptop.

    The problem I had was that the drivers were installed but they weren't signed.
    Windows decided to "protect" me...

    I had to go to the FTDI site and get a signed driver.

    http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/D2xx.htm

    I got version "2.08.30".

    Jim
  • T-townT-town Posts: 17
    edited 2014-02-22 07:35
    jim.cotton wrote: »
    I just played that game with my 8 year old sons Windows 7 laptop.

    The problem I had was that the drivers were installed but they weren't signed.
    Windows decided to "protect" me...

    I had to go to the FTDI site and get a signed driver.

    http://www.ftdichip.com/Drivers/D2xx.htm

    I got version "2.08.30".

    Jim

    Hi Jim. Woke up this morning excited about your fix. Short story is, no-go. I downloaded the 2.08.30 driver and uninstalled the Parallax driver, but it didn't work. Just to be double sure that the PC wasn't using the wrong driver, I even started fresh on PC #3 (my work laptop) and "unchecked" the driver download option when the Stamp Editor unpacked. I then went to the ftdi site and downloaded the certifited driver. Ugg... no change. Loopback: yes, Echo: yes but not type or version is coming up. I'm still hoping to run over to my friends house today to see if he has the majical touch but I'm not holding my breath. My RMA envelope is addressed and ready to go.
    Joe
  • GenetixGenetix Posts: 1,749
    edited 2014-02-22 14:12
    What about your system drivers? Do you have the latest hardware and software updates?
  • T-townT-town Posts: 17
    edited 2014-02-22 16:54
    Genetix wrote: »
    What about your system drivers? Do you have the latest hardware and software updates?

    As far as I know I do but I can chack. I got over to my friends house today and was not able to talk to the USB board with his PC either. He took a good look at the board and thinks the problem is most likely the chip by the USB port. He was able to talk to the serial board Parallax sent me. That's the good news. He borrowed me a Aten USB to serial board he used when he got his first Stamp board. He said it worked fine for downloading but he hit some problems down the road, so he got a Parallax converter. At this point everything is indicating that the USB board was DOA. The good news is that I have a board to start playing with, the bad news is the USB board will be on its way back to Parallax come Monday.

    I want to thank everyone for your help with this. I'm sure I will have a 1000 more questions for this forum, but for now I'm looking forward to Chapter 1!
    Joe
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