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Ram and BSII

curtiscurtis Posts: 19
edited 2005-10-13 22:26 in BASIC Stamp
Hello,
Is there any way to store serial data from a sensor to a ram chip using the BSII.
Thanks,
Curtis
·

Comments

  • Jon WilliamsJon Williams Posts: 6,491
    edited 2005-10-13 18:43
    Receiving serial is a no-brainer (in most cases) with the BASIC Stamp. Can you be more specific on the RAM chip you want to use? You might consider something like FRAM chip that is no-volitile and uses an I2C or SPI interface.

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    Jon Williams
    Applications Engineer, Parallax
  • curtiscurtis Posts: 19
    edited 2005-10-13 18:48
    Thanks Jon,

    I built a small datalogger to record experimental data and I would like to store in somewhere like a ram chip in order to download it in the field via a cable and a palm computer. I have wrote the DAQ software for the palm already.· I will test it with a VB 6 program. I would eventially like to use usb. Right now I am using a BOE.

    Thanks,

    Curtis
  • Jon WilliamsJon Williams Posts: 6,491
    edited 2005-10-13 18:57
    It might be easier to dump it into an I2C EEPROM. You could also add an I2C RTC (like the DS1307) that would allow you to log in real time and even keep track of time during a power loss. RAM chips are volitile (lose data when power goes away), EEPROMs are not.

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    Jon Williams
    Applications Engineer, Parallax
  • curtiscurtis Posts: 19
    edited 2005-10-13 19:01
    Thanks,
    I'll look on the Parallax site and read up how to use I2C. I'll also order a DS1307.
    Thanks,
    Curtis
  • Paul BakerPaul Baker Posts: 6,351
    edited 2005-10-13 19:15
    You may also want to consider Ramtron's processor companion chips here: http://www.ramtron.com/doc/Products/processor.asp·which have upto 32x8 Kb of FRAM memory and have an onboard realtime clock with a host of other features accessible via I2C. Its upto you if you want to get the seperate chips or an all-in-one chip. Though if you go with the seperate chips, there is pre-existing code to on the Parallax website to interface with both, I haven't heard of anyone using the Ramtron processor companion chips on this forum as of yet, but it shouldn't be extremely difficult to do.

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  • curtiscurtis Posts: 19
    edited 2005-10-13 19:27
    Jon,
    I have been looking on the Parallax site and I was thinking about ordering the Professional development board and a BS sp stamp so I can experiment. Would this allow me to have everything I need to test my project?
    Thanks,
    Curtis
  • Paul BakerPaul Baker Posts: 6,351
    edited 2005-10-13 19:32
    The PDB has the real-time clock on it, but you'll still need to get an EEPROM (or FRAM, but if your purchasing products from Parallax already, get an EEPROM from them and save on shipping)

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  • curtiscurtis Posts: 19
    edited 2005-10-13 19:34
    How long will I be able to write to the eeprom? Is a Fram better? I want to record like 15-20 readings per experiment and 10 secs apart.
    Thanks,
    Curtis
  • curtiscurtis Posts: 19
    edited 2005-10-13 19:41
    I have an sx tech kit with several sx 28 chips. Could I store some data in the excess ram?
  • Paul BakerPaul Baker Posts: 6,351
    edited 2005-10-13 19:41
    FRAM is better, but for your application it doesn't matter, EEPROM will do just fine.

    <edit> I wouldn't store data in ram, I would want it in non-volatile memory in case the power is cut (purposly or accidentally) you wont loose the data </edit>

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  • curtiscurtis Posts: 19
    edited 2005-10-13 19:51
    Sorry, One more question
    Is there any info on how to interface an external eeprom to a bsII until my order is done?
    Thanks,
    Curtis
  • Jon WilliamsJon Williams Posts: 6,491
    edited 2005-10-13 20:00
    Yes, by all means get a PDB -- it already has the DS1307 and whether you go with FRAM or EEPROM (both use I2C) you'll have the platform you need to design your proejct.
    curtis said...
    Jon,
    I have been looking on the Parallax site and I was thinking about ordering the Professional development board and a BS sp stamp so I can experiment. Would this allow me to have everything I need to test my project?
    Thanks,
    Curtis
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    Jon Williams
    Applications Engineer, Parallax
  • Jon WilliamsJon Williams Posts: 6,491
    edited 2005-10-13 20:03
    Since our search engine is a litte rough at the moment, I'll repost these programs (you'll find them attached to several threads) -- they show how to do I2C with a BS2.

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    Jon Williams
    Applications Engineer, Parallax
    TXT
    TXT
    I2C_TEMPLATE.BS2.TXT
    5K
    TXT
    TXT
    DS1307.BS2.TXT
    9K
    TXT
    TXT
    24LC256.BS2.TXT
    6K
  • Paul BakerPaul Baker Posts: 6,351
    edited 2005-10-13 20:06
    Jon being a man on the inside, may provide better links <edit> he did, and 3 minutes faster than I could smile.gif </edit>, if you are using a I2C EERPOM with a BS2 that doesn't have built in I2C commands, there is code to do so in these links:
    http://www.parallax.com/dl/docs/prod/oem/24lc128.pdf
    http://www.parallax.com/dl/docs/cols/nv/vol5/col/nv115.pdf
    http://www.parallax.com/dl/docs/prod/acc/pluspackmanual.pdf

    And if you have a Stamp that has built in I2C commands look at this reference which has code for both the EEPROM and real-time clock chip:
    http://www.parallax.com/dl/docs/prod/stamps/bs2p24starterkit.pdf


    theres more links, but more info may just confuse you.

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    Post Edited (Paul Baker) : 10/13/2005 8:11:03 PM GMT
  • FlyingFishFingerFlyingFishFinger Posts: 461
    edited 2005-10-13 22:16
    Quick poke in- EEPROM's are measured in Kbits, not KByts, right?
    Rafael
  • Paul BakerPaul Baker Posts: 6,351
    edited 2005-10-13 22:26
    Generally yes (higher numbers look better), in order to arrive at the KBytes divide the number by 8, though sometimes you will see it in terms of M x 8 Kb where M is the KBytes of storage.

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