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LH035 BASIC STAMP HARDWARE
Overview
Basics
There are 6 stations in LH035 that have basic stamp development boards
located on the inside edge of the old 68040 machines. Each board
include 2 basic stamps connected as shown in this schematic .
Communication with the stamps is accomplished through a single serial
port on the PC. You will find a mechanical serial multiplexor on the
desk next to each 68040 case. This multiplexor will allow you to
select between B443 and C335. This switch should be set to B443 for
all basic stamp related work. There is also a separate set of switches
labled D-Stamp and K-Stamp. These two switches are used
to select the desired basic stamp component. For proper operation,
these two switches should be in the same state (ie. both set to
K-Stamp or both set to D-Stamp).
Byte Code Compilation and Downloading
The workstations in LH035 run Linux. To communicate with the stamps
you will use a program called stampbc. This program will take
your PBASIC code, convert the code to stamp bytecode, and then
download the code to the stamp through the serial port
(/dev/ttyS0 by default). The stampbc application is located at
/l/basicstamp/stampbc_200/bin/stampbc. You should add this location to
your unix path.
Examples of how to utilize the stampbc application can be found at
/l/basicstamp/stampbc_200/example. Copy these examples to your home
directory and type "make download" in one of the directories containing a
"Makefile". This will cause stampbc to compile and download the
program to the stamp. Make sure that the multiplexor switches are set
to the apprpriate stamp. Also make sure that there are no terminal
programs (ie minicom, cutecom, etc) that have the serial port
locked. This will cause a "no stamp" error.
Serial Port Communication
Once your program has been downloaded, you will use the program
minicom to get the output of debug statements in your
code from the serial port. You will want to run minicom with the -s
flag the first time (ie minicom -s). This will allow you to modify the
baud rate of the terminal to 9600 baud in the "Serial port setup"
menu. Choose "Save setup as dfl" once you have made the baud rate
change. This will write config file (.minirc.dfl) into your home
directory. This config file will be read on subsequent invocations of
minicom (invoke without the -s). After saving the config file choose
the "Exit" option to start the session.
With the session started, you may see output from the stamps at this
point. The Basic Stamps will continue to deliver output as long as the
power is applied. If you would like to modify and download new code
while minicom is active, you can put minicom into the background using
the key sequence "CTRL-a z j". This will cause minicom to relinquish
the serial port temporarily. Once the download has completed, type
"fg" to restore minicom. This method of getting minicom to release the
serial port is significantly faster than closing and restarting
minicom on each rebuild.
Design Resources
- Basic Stamp Documentation
- LH035 Stamp Connection Schematics
Example Programs
- Gemini Code with Unimplemented Microcode Functionality
- D-K Communication Example
- Communication between Stamp Pairs Example
Lab Support Contact
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Bryce Himebaugh
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CSG Staff
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bhimebau@cs.indiana.edu
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LH430B
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855-6984
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