Basic Stamp

[Tindall]

How execly dose a basic stamp work? could i program a robot using this to go 10 feeet forward then turn at a 45* angle then go so many feet and so on?<p>Also could I build somthing like a remot controled tank with this (have it move so many feet then shoot off a round. Also, can you hook swervos (like for rc cars) up to basic stamps?<p>Also about how mutch would it be to get one up and running? and how many diffrent things can they control at one time?<p>Also, how you go about programing them

[josmith]

A basic stamp has 8 pins which can be used as inputs or outputs. They could be used to read sensors and control motors to do the things you mentioned. They can also be programmed to output pulses which are compatable with standard servos.<p>Programming is done on an editor in a simple subset of basic. You use a cable from your printer port to transfer the program to the stamp. There is a debugging screen that lets you look at program operation.<p>The software is available online. The cable can be made easily. The stamp is around $35.<p>There are no provisions for radio control.

[Tindall]

How big of moters can be used with this? i know swervos run on 4.8 to 6 volts, will it work?

[Tindall]

also, i have a old looking apple computer in our attic, what can i do with that? i don't need it to program with, i have a p3 for that

[chessman]

I may be wrong, but I'm pretty sure a STAMP is only programmable through a serial port....<p>
You can hook as many servos to a STAMP as you wish. The servos have three wires, one is a control wire, which goes to the STAMP, and one is ground, one is the supply signal.<p>They supply signal goes to a 5V supply, and that's where the motor gets the power. The STAMP just tells the motor when to move.<p>Oh yeah, one more thing:<p>The STAMP has provisions for R/C servos, and there are servo control commands, so it's extremely easy to write code to move an RC servo<p>[ March 12, 2003: Message edited by: chessman ]</p>

[bobbob]

i am now using the BASIC stamp II(one of the different is it has 16 I/O pin), and i think it is very easy to use for controlling servos, and one of the advantage is the 5V regulated voltage source, so you do not need to worry about the power supply
If for your purpose, i find you can get the basic stamp and the board ,then just connect the servos on it and program it. or you can go to the parallax website to download the mannuel to have a look, you may get a clear idea
(i am beginner only, i hope i am correct,thanks)

[chessman]

Yeah, the guys at Parallax have made it EXTREMELY easy to get started in microcontrollers, thanks to the Basic STAMP. If you get into microcontrollers, you'll find a stamp is actually a processor, oscillator, EEPROM, and voltage regulator on a DIP (BS2) or SIP (BS1).<p>The processor is actually a PIC processor, and after you use the stamp for a while, you might want to take a look at getting started in the world of PIC programming, as it's much more powerfull and robust, although harder to work with.

[BobLynas]

I have been using the PicStamp I for about 3 months now, i think they are brilliant, although i am moving on to PicAxe chips... does anyone know them ? i am starting a topic in 'general' about them...<p>We have a great supplier in the UK...
www.tech-supplies.co.uk
.. they do different BasicStamps and 3 types of PicAxe's<p>BobMcN
[England]