Radio Shack Mobile Robot - Manual (Page 29)

Cable to your PC
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ARobot’s controller board is programmed by connecting it to an Personal Computer (PC) running Mi-
crosoft Windows. The serial port (9 pin male connector) will be used for this. A 9 pin male-female ca-
ble is included to connect your PC’s serial port to ARobot. It may be necessary to remove your modem
or other device (except your mouse) to free up the serial port. Switch boxes are also available from
computer stores that allow one serial port to serve two devices. Most computer stores also offer serial
port cards that can be added to your computer.
USB Port:
If you don't have a serial port on your computer, you can use a USB to serial converter cable.
PC Editor/Downloader Software
The makers of the Basic Stamp II, Parallax Inc., offers PC-based software that allows you to edit and
download programs to the Basic Stamp II. The disk included in the ARobot package includes a version
of this program. We suggest you visit their web site and download the latest version of software and
also their documentation which gives greater detail about programming than we can offer here.
Install the software by coping the disk contents to a newly created directory on your hard disk. Then run
the editor/downloader which is named STAMPW.EXE for the windows version, or STAMP2.EXE for
the DOS version. The program will require that you select the serial (COMM) port number.
Overview of programming:
Install programming cable between your PC’s serial port and ARobot’s serial port.
Install ARobot’s batteries and turn the power switch on.
Start the editor/downloader software and select the correct serial port number.
Load a program from disk or create a new one.
Download the software to ARobot.
Remove the programming cable.
Press the reset button on ARobot’s controller to start the program.
Programming Note:
You’ll be Programming the Basic Stamp II. These programming details are beyond the scope of the
ARobot User’s Guide. Therefore, you’ll need documentation that details the commands and procedures.
Parallax Inc, the makers of the Basic Stamp II, offer this information free on their web site at
www.parallaxinc.com Also, due to the popularity of the Basic Stamp, many books on the topic exist.