Shop OBEX P1 Docs P2 Docs Learn Events
Getting a PC ready for stamp.exe and a BS1 — Parallax Forums

Getting a PC ready for stamp.exe and a BS1

ArchiverArchiver Posts: 46,084
edited 2002-12-06 02:21 in General Discussion
Hi all, I just bought a Hexapod 1 kit from Lynxmotion as a first
robot project to build with my son for Christmas. This uses a First
Step with a Basic Stamp 1.

From looking around on the web, I understand that programs to control
the BS1 are downloaded via the parallel port of a PC, and that
there's a problem with doing this in a DOS window under Windows
NT/Me/XP because of the way they control parallel ports. After
considering options (scrounging an old DOS computer; figuring out how
to tinker with the port setup under Windows XP; using a DOS boot
disk) I decided to make a DOS 6.22 boot disk.

I've done so and tested it on the PC, and it seems to boot fine, and
stamp.exe runs as well. A system info utility run under DOS reports
that DOS 6.22 can see LPT1 and that it's reported as bidirectional
with DMA off. I can't, however, test it with a real BS1 until we
build the kit, and I don't want to do that until Christmas.

When we do, however, I'm hoping that problems with the PC interface
won't hold us up. Based on the setup I describe above, are there any
other issues I might need to worry about? Any way of testing the
port without connecting an assembled BS1 to it? Thanks for any
suggestions.
Sign In or Register to comment.