"Hardware communication error!" message
vinny
Posts: 3
Hi folks. I just got my first stamp the other day and I'm learning a bit & experimenting with it.
The early, shortest, programs usually loaded OK, but even halfway through the book (longer, but still relatively short programs) I'm getting the <Hardware communication error! Check serial cable and power supply.> error message, which I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with and also sure there are likely many causes for this error.
Here's the hardware list:
Board of Education USB
BS2 stamp
USB cable that came with the kit
I loaded the software that came on the CD. I'm assuming it has the needed drivers and installed them - I could be mistaken I guess.
After enough tries clicking <run> it will eventually load the program, but it takes a great many tries (probably 20-30). Each try loads a different percentage before the error comes up anywhere from 5% to 93% that I've noticed so far.
I have older USB (original)·and newer, USB2·(via add-on card) on my computer. The communication behaves the same way using either type.
I've tried three 9V batteries as well. Two of them were new and tested with plenty of life in them.
I built a little project a while back which required that I load code into a PIC via serial cable and it worked flawlessly from the first to the last try (same computer). On that project there was a simple PIC programmer circuit built-in to the PCB.
Does anybody have any ideas I should try for getting more consistent success, or is this an issue I'll be stuck with on this BOE-USB board on my computer? I don't know if it's a driver issue or not. As I said, it does load the code successfully·once in a while. If I have to (and if it would solve the problem) I could pick up a regular BOE with serial connection - hopefully I can just exchange for it, but I don't know if that works·for Parallax Co. or·not.
Obviously this puts a damper on dealing with the stamp and over time this error would be enough to cause anybody to drop back and punt if it can't be resolved, but I'm not ready to give up just yet.
Thanks for any replies.
Regards.
vinny
The early, shortest, programs usually loaded OK, but even halfway through the book (longer, but still relatively short programs) I'm getting the <Hardware communication error! Check serial cable and power supply.> error message, which I'm sure a lot of you are familiar with and also sure there are likely many causes for this error.
Here's the hardware list:
Board of Education USB
BS2 stamp
USB cable that came with the kit
I loaded the software that came on the CD. I'm assuming it has the needed drivers and installed them - I could be mistaken I guess.
After enough tries clicking <run> it will eventually load the program, but it takes a great many tries (probably 20-30). Each try loads a different percentage before the error comes up anywhere from 5% to 93% that I've noticed so far.
I have older USB (original)·and newer, USB2·(via add-on card) on my computer. The communication behaves the same way using either type.
I've tried three 9V batteries as well. Two of them were new and tested with plenty of life in them.
I built a little project a while back which required that I load code into a PIC via serial cable and it worked flawlessly from the first to the last try (same computer). On that project there was a simple PIC programmer circuit built-in to the PCB.
Does anybody have any ideas I should try for getting more consistent success, or is this an issue I'll be stuck with on this BOE-USB board on my computer? I don't know if it's a driver issue or not. As I said, it does load the code successfully·once in a while. If I have to (and if it would solve the problem) I could pick up a regular BOE with serial connection - hopefully I can just exchange for it, but I don't know if that works·for Parallax Co. or·not.
Obviously this puts a damper on dealing with the stamp and over time this error would be enough to cause anybody to drop back and punt if it can't be resolved, but I'm not ready to give up just yet.
Thanks for any replies.
Regards.
vinny
Comments
I just reduced it to 8 (rather than 1) and it worked like a champ ten times in a row. I can always reduce it more later if necessary.
Thanks a heap for the info, PJ. I love it when I don't have to regret spending money.
Let the learning resume... at least until I run into the next question.
Regards,
vinny
· I can't claim any credit, I just remembered having seen of this situation more than once and did a SEARCH and copied same.
· Lots of members round here are ready to lend a hand.
I should have mentioned that I tried searching a little before I wrote my post. It was returning little to none back to me and I thought there was just a bug in the search engine. Since you could copy & past for your reply I figured that the search function actually works, so I tried it again. Sure enough, checking the correct boxes makes a world of difference. I even found the original post you copied from.
Sometimes there are just too many moths flying around in my old noggin.
Thanks again PJ.
vinny
·· summa sine laude?· I am familiar with summa cum laude regarding greatest honor.· What's sine?
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Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support
csavage@parallax.com
http://search.parallax.com/
and if you want, select the "advanced" search capability.
It's currently the "search" of choice for the Parallax "forums" (rather than using the Search function found at the top/right of the forums.parallax.com pages).
cum·is with; sine, without
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Chris Savage
Parallax Tech Support
csavage@parallax.com