Communication & Battery
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Posts: 46,084
Hello Everyone, Nice to be able to have you guys so i can
as my question.
I have three questions that are at the end of this short story
about my problem. The story will help you understand why i'm
asking the questions at the end. But if you don't want to read
it then my questions are at the end. Thanks.
Anyhow, I have been using the basic stamp for about a month
or so, When I first got it, I connected it, and I transfered
the first piece of code on it. Then I took the battery out
and started to read up the pdf's on parallax website, Then
for a second experiment, I wrote the code, then connected the
battery, and as I tried to transfer the code it wouldn't recognize
the stamp. So I thought Maybe I had burnt it or something.
So I kept on trying different things. Then I gave up and thought
that my money had gone down the drain, and I was going to go the
next day to the store i had purchased it from and see if i could
exchange it. Anyhow, I went to bed, then I thought something.
i'm like ok let me try and short it, and maybe it will come back
alive, you know like a dead person, or something. So i took a
piece of wire and just randomly shorted to short the pins, like
Vss & Vdd and pins to Vss and pins to Vdd, just randomely, then
i tried to transfere the code and vola it came back up. I was so
happy. But then this happenes every like 1 out of 5 times i take
the battery out. So when i'm done playing around with the stamp
i just pull the battery out of the parallax basic board that i
bought with the stamp, and randomly when i put the battery in for
another code or whatever the next day or a few days later, the stamp
sometimes does get recognized, and i have to do the shorting.
Until today, I was working with it last night, I was playing around
with the LCD, got it to display stuff, then before going to bed
i just pulled the battery out. And this morning it's not working
again, It won't find it. Tried the short again but still not working
I have also pressed the reset button, I know about the reset button.
Anyhow the three questions:
1. How should I take the battery out. so this won't keep on
happening.
2. Does anyone else have this problem.
3. Does anyone know what the solution to the not recognizing is ?
Thanks
as my question.
I have three questions that are at the end of this short story
about my problem. The story will help you understand why i'm
asking the questions at the end. But if you don't want to read
it then my questions are at the end. Thanks.
Anyhow, I have been using the basic stamp for about a month
or so, When I first got it, I connected it, and I transfered
the first piece of code on it. Then I took the battery out
and started to read up the pdf's on parallax website, Then
for a second experiment, I wrote the code, then connected the
battery, and as I tried to transfer the code it wouldn't recognize
the stamp. So I thought Maybe I had burnt it or something.
So I kept on trying different things. Then I gave up and thought
that my money had gone down the drain, and I was going to go the
next day to the store i had purchased it from and see if i could
exchange it. Anyhow, I went to bed, then I thought something.
i'm like ok let me try and short it, and maybe it will come back
alive, you know like a dead person, or something. So i took a
piece of wire and just randomly shorted to short the pins, like
Vss & Vdd and pins to Vss and pins to Vdd, just randomely, then
i tried to transfere the code and vola it came back up. I was so
happy. But then this happenes every like 1 out of 5 times i take
the battery out. So when i'm done playing around with the stamp
i just pull the battery out of the parallax basic board that i
bought with the stamp, and randomly when i put the battery in for
another code or whatever the next day or a few days later, the stamp
sometimes does get recognized, and i have to do the shorting.
Until today, I was working with it last night, I was playing around
with the LCD, got it to display stuff, then before going to bed
i just pulled the battery out. And this morning it's not working
again, It won't find it. Tried the short again but still not working
I have also pressed the reset button, I know about the reset button.
Anyhow the three questions:
1. How should I take the battery out. so this won't keep on
happening.
2. Does anyone else have this problem.
3. Does anyone know what the solution to the not recognizing is ?
Thanks
Comments
life DO NOT randomly short pins -- it's kinda like Russian Roulette and
the outcome could be tragic.
Things to check:
-- your battery and connections
-- your computer -- is the computer shutting off your com port?
* common with laptops
-- do you have a PDA synch program "stealing" your comm port?
Once you do have a reliable connection, you may want to test your pins
with some code -- you may well have damaged pins with the "dead person
recovery" routine you attempted.
-- Jon Williams
-- Applications Engineer, Parallax
-- Dallas Office
Original Message
From: hoveringdragon_1 [noparse]/noparse]mailto:[url=http://forums.parallaxinc.com/group/basicstamps/post?postID=-Tn6O_Ixfn62XixEAUcrl-2OeISgAEP0g_h3TECQ7hXARfOWkj4RcBJ-tHQ6oG8COONDG1MDvk0ovT6-osavDiyDUg]n2interactive@h...[/url
Sent: Sunday, February 15, 2004 11:29 AM
To: basicstamps@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Communication & Battery
Hello Everyone, Nice to be able to have you guys so i can
as my question.
I have three questions that are at the end of this short story about my
problem. The story will help you understand why i'm asking the
questions at the end. But if you don't want to read it then my
questions are at the end. Thanks.
Anyhow, I have been using the basic stamp for about a month
or so, When I first got it, I connected it, and I transfered the first
piece of code on it. Then I took the battery out and started to read up
the pdf's on parallax website, Then for a second experiment, I wrote
the code, then connected the battery, and as I tried to transfer the
code it wouldn't recognize the stamp. So I thought Maybe I had burnt it
or something. So I kept on trying different things. Then I gave up and
thought that my money had gone down the drain, and I was going to go the
next day to the store i had purchased it from and see if i could
exchange it. Anyhow, I went to bed, then I thought something. i'm like
ok let me try and short it, and maybe it will come back alive, you know
like a dead person, or something. So i took a piece of wire and just
randomly shorted to short the pins, like Vss & Vdd and pins to Vss and
pins to Vdd, just randomely, then i tried to transfere the code and
vola it came back up. I was so happy. But then this happenes every
like 1 out of 5 times i take the battery out. So when i'm done playing
around with the stamp i just pull the battery out of the parallax basic
board that i bought with the stamp, and randomly when i put the battery
in for another code or whatever the next day or a few days later, the
stamp sometimes does get recognized, and i have to do the shorting.
Until today, I was working with it last night, I was playing around with
the LCD, got it to display stuff, then before going to bed i just pulled
the battery out. And this morning it's not working again, It won't
find it. Tried the short again but still not working I have also
pressed the reset button, I know about the reset button.
Anyhow the three questions:
1. How should I take the battery out. so this won't keep on
happening.
2. Does anyone else have this problem.
3. Does anyone know what the solution to the not recognizing is ?
Thanks
Well after 3 hours of waisted time. I figured out what it was.
First Yeah the batter was taken out before I did the head man
routine.
Second I did test all pins, about 30 min ago. They are all good.
Third, My serial cable is the problem, It is bran new, and I didn't
think it could be the problem, Because it was new, But what I did
was i went into the Identify in the Basic Stamp Editor
and kep on pressing Alt-R to refresh. and then i held the serial
wire in my other hand and with my fingers moved it around,
and suddendly i got a connection. then i moved it again and lost
it so i moved it around intil i got it, so it's the cable witch
i need to make my own or just go buy one, so thanks guys.
Second thing. Is is ok for me to keep on taking the battery out
and in, does that damage the stamp. Do you guy just leave the
battery in there all the time, I could also connect a switch from
the battery to the board so i just flip the switch instead of keep
on taking the batter in and out.
thanks
might break a connector if you're too rough. You must be using the
HomeWork board which is designed without a switch.
Here's a little program you can download to the Stamp HomeWork Board to
"turn it off" -- the battery will last quite a long time in this mode:
Shut_Down:
DIRS = 0
END
The program disconnects all the outputs so there is no current draw,
then puts the Stamp in permanent low-power mode. All you have to do is
download and run this program to "turn off" your HomeWork board.
-- Jon Williams
-- Parallax
Original Message
From: hoveringdragon_1 [noparse]/noparse]mailto:[url=http://forums.parallaxinc.com/group/basicstamps/post?postID=pN-m39Nvpd9zHUP_YZyNk5GjR7PW2DgcclcEA6GnFtY_9tkcPrjRMubA5dfFUQXuJ0YSuPQEe5ZrJ5KuZEyS]n2interactive@h...[/url
Sent: Sunday, February 15, 2004 3:58 PM
To: basicstamps@yahoogroups.com
Subject: [noparse][[/noparse]basicstamps] Re: Communication & Battery
Hello Guys, Thanks for the reply,
Well after 3 hours of waisted time. I figured out what it was.
First Yeah the batter was taken out before I did the head man routine.
Second I did test all pins, about 30 min ago. They are all good.
Third, My serial cable is the problem, It is bran new, and I didn't
think it could be the problem, Because it was new, But what I did was
i went into the Identify in the Basic Stamp Editor
and kep on pressing Alt-R to refresh. and then i held the serial wire in
my other hand and with my fingers moved it around, and suddendly i got a
connection. then i moved it again and lost it so i moved it around
intil i got it, so it's the cable witch i need to make my own or just
go buy one, so thanks guys.
Second thing. Is is ok for me to keep on taking the battery out and in,
does that damage the stamp. Do you guy just leave the battery in there
all the time, I could also connect a switch from the battery to the
board so i just flip the switch instead of keep on taking the batter in
and out.
thanks
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>"turn it off" -- the battery will last quite a long time in this mode:
>
>Shut_Down:
> DIRS = 0
> END
Hi Jon,
IMHO, that snippet might not always work.
Floating inputs tend to drift up and down in voltage, and they have a
nasty habit of ending up around the Stamp switching threshold. There
they lead to several milliamps of current drain. Not harmful to the
Stamp, but not minimal current from the battery. Unconnected inputs
need to be set a definite HIGH or LOW, either by a command or by a
pullup or pulldown circuit.
Outputs also can be problematic. Choose the wrong state and some
external device could end up in a power-hungry mode.
I just don't thing there is an easy way to find the lowest power
state, apart from thinking about what each pin is assigned to do.
Tracy