Parallax, the Parallax logo, BASIC Stamp, and PBASIC are trademarks of
Parallax Inc. PIC is a registered trademark of MicroChip Technology Inc.

Have you heard about my new range of Basic MicroControllers? They work like
Basic Stamps and use the same core-chip that Stamps use, but they are not
Basic Stamps, or Stamp-anythings. I have called them a Counterfeit Stamp 1.

Assembling the PIGMY Printed Circuit Board as a Counterfeit Stamp 1.

This is a is Parallax Basic Stamp version one work-alike. It uses the same
core-chip as the Basic Stamp 1.

NOTE **** These Assembly instructions are only for the Counterfeit Stamp 1
circuit. If you wish to configure the board at a later stage for other PIC
chip installations, you should read this file in conjunction with
the other Pigmy assembly instructions.

The Counterfeit Stamp 1 on its own without driving heavy loads from the
PIGMY power supply, will run from a 9 Volt battery for a reasonable time.

I have used Australian Dick Smith Catalogue numbers as a reference only.

Required Components:

Plug-pack 9 to 12 volts AC or DC at 50ma to 100ma. The current required to
run the Basic Stamp Interpreter chip is very small. If you need to run 8
relays off the same supply, a 500ma to 1AMP Plug-pack can be used.
Experienced builders may prefer to use a suitable AC transformer. (DSE Cat
M-2155 9.5VAC multi-tap @ 1A)

A "U" shape type heat sink to suit the regulator should be used if you are
running at more than about 250ma. This regulator is rated at 1.5 Amps.

1 by PIGMY Printed Circuit Board.          ;Available from Don
1 by Parallax Basic Interpreter Chip.      ;Available from Parallax
1 by MicroChip 93LC56 Serial EEPROM.       ;Available from Don
1 by 4MHz Crystal in a small case.         ;Available from Don

Yes, it must be a 4Mhz crystal. This is the maximum clock frequency of this
version PIC chip and the Version One Basic Stamp Interpreter is designed for
a maximum baud rate of 2400.

The resonator used and supplied by PARALLAX is a 3 pin device. The third or
inner leg connects to ground. I have added one extra hole to my board at
this position. You can use a 4Mhz crystal or the 4Mhz resonator, however if
the resonator is used, a link needs to be connected between the extra leg and
ground. This is easily added by strapping out the C6 capacitor position.

The two 15pf Caps are fitted inside the Resonator case so don't install
these external capacitors if you fit the Resonator.

1 by 7805         +5  Volt regulator in TO-220 case.

I chose the larger 7805 regulator over the 78L05 for three reasons:

(1) It's more readily available than the low power version.
(2) It's usually a lot cheaper.
(3) It's a real power supply for real jobs.
The low power version is easily fitted to the PIGMY board if required.

1 by Diode Bridge D1  WO2 or WO4 type.  (DSE Cat Z-3304)

This allows use of AC or DC supplies and batteries without being concerned
about the correct voltage polarity and possible damage to the unit.

1 by Capacitor    C1  1000uf Electrolytic @16 Volts. (PCB type mount.)
1 by Capacitor    C2  .01uf (or .1uf) Ceramic
1 by Capacitor    C3  .01uf (or .1uf) Ceramic
1 by Capacitor    C4  10uf Electrolytic (PCB mount.) or Tantalum @16 Volts.
1 by Capacitor    C5  15pf Ceramic
1 by Capacitor    C7  15pf Ceramic
1 by Capacitor    C12 .01uf (or .1uf) Ceramic

(A total of 7 Caps, 2 of these are polarized.)

1 by Resistor     R2  4K7  .25 watt
1 by Resistor     R3  2M2  .25 watt
1 by Resistor     R4  2M2  .25 watt
1 by Resistor     R5  470K .25 watt
1 by Resistor     R7  330  .25 watt
1 by Resistor     R8  4K7  .25 watt
1 by Resistor     R11 100  .25 watt

(A total of 7 Resistors.)

1 by Transistor   Q1  BC558 Any PNP Small Signal Amp will do.
1 by 18 pin DIP socket to suit E2. (for the Basic Interpreter).
1 by  8 pin DIP socket to suit E3.
1 by 2 Post PCB mount screw terminal. 5mm or 5.08mm centres.
1 by strip of 3 male pins for comms to IBM Compatible PC printer port.
1 by 26 pin IDC type Male header. (2 by 13 pins) J1

1 by 34 pin IDC type Male header. (2 by 17 pins) J2   (Optional).
1 by 5mm LED.                                         (Optional Power LED).
1 by strip of two male pins.                          (For above LED).
1 by test link or shunt.                              (For LED).
1 by Reset Button. Dick Smith Cat P-7570              (Optional).

These Reset buttons are available from many outlets. They have four pins at
.2" centres and have two sets of two common posts. Miniature 4 post "TACTILE"
PCB mount buttons are also available, but the hole centres are very
different, however by straightening out the "bent" pins and adjusting the
pitch slightly these will fit the .2" centres of the PIGMY board.

Other items are required for various configurations of the PIGMY board,
however only the items mentioned above are needed for the Counterfeit Stamp
1.

LINKS......

Several links must be installed on the component side of the board.

The component side of the board is the side that doesn't have the tracks. It
is the blank side of the board.

The other side is the solder side. All soldering is done on the solder side
of the board.

All components are fitted from the component side of the board.

If you have trouble understanding this, you may need assistance to assemble
this board.

I am very happy to assist on the phone if I can, but I can't build or fault
find to any great degree via a phone. I can assemble the board for you, (at
a price) if you wish.

The link shown between J12 and C1 is also a ground connection. I suggest
that when you install this, you leave a little slack so that a logic probe,
Multi-Meter, or clip can be easily connected for testing and experimenting.

The link shown above the Reset button is a +5V connection. Leave a little
slack on this for the same reason. This saves me putting in special GND and
+5V posts as I have done with my previous projects.

Install the two links near R6. Install the two links that run near the top
of J11.

There is a link that runs from near J11 to C10. This doesn't need to be
installed for the Counterfeit Stamp 1. It's used for the J11 PIC16C84
programming header.

Install the link near E3.

Install the 3 links just above E2. This connects 3 signals to the 18 pin
socket.

That's a total of 10 links that must be installed so far.

Three other configuration links can also be soldered in.

Crystal operation: (Standard Counterfeit Stamp 1).
Solder a link at J4 between pins 2 and 3. That's the upper 2 pins.
Solder a link at J5 between pins 2 and 3. That's the upper 2 pins.

RTCC Normal operation: (Standard Counterfeit Stamp 1).
Solder a link at J3 between pins 1 and 2. That's the 2 pins near the 7805
regulator.

Solder in your E2 18 pin socket, and the E3 8 pin socket.

Solder in Resistors R2, R3, R4, R5, R7, R8, and R11, a total of
seven resistors.

Solder in the Transistor Q1 BC558. Solder in Capacitors C1, C2, C3, C4, C5,
C7, and C12. That's 7 capacitors.

Watch out for the polarity of C1, and C4. These must be soldered into the
board the correct way around. The positive end of the Caps are shown on the
circuit overlay.

Solder in your 7805 regulator. This can be soldered in allowing for a bolt
and/or heat sink to be fitted at this position. Even if you don't install a
heatsink now, you may need one later on. I bolted a heatsink to mine,
soldered it in position, then removed it.

Solder in the Diode Bridge. The Positive leg is shown on the overlay.

Check the Reset button for pin identification. My artwork has the top two
pins connected together and the bottom two connected together. Make sure
that you solder this button in so that it operates correctly.

Solder in the 4Mhz crystal.

Install the LED with the cathode as shown on the overlay. (Optional).
Install J6 LED isolation header, and the appropriate shunt. If a low power
application is required, this link can be removed after final assembly and
testing.

Install the J1 (and J2) header(s).

Install the POWER-IN PCB mount screw terminals.

Install the J7 three pin header. You can use some white Liquid Paper to mark
the ground (bottom) end of this header. A similar matching marking can be
done on the female cable connector.

And apart from the two chips, I think that's it.
_______________________________________________________________

The communication cable supplied with the development kit has a DB-25 Male
connector one end for connection to a parallel port and a 3 pin female
header socket on the other.

Connections are:        DB-25 pin 25 to Header pin 1. (Ground)
                        DB-25 pin 11 to Header pin 2.
                        DB-25 pin  2 to Header pin 3.

No tricks, no diodes, no resistors, no magic chips, no dongles. Just a
simple 3 wire circuit.
_______________________________________________________________

In fact, if you get the Dick Smith part number P2733 Header pin & plug 3-way
SIL .1" @ $1.15, this will be ideal for the Counterfeit Stamp 1 end of your
cable. Heat-shrink may help you here. The other end is a simple DB-25 male
connector and suitable cover.
_______________________________________________________________

One user recently rang me and said that he couldn't get the Counterfeit
Stamp 1 to load until he shortened his cable from three feet, down to 6
inches. I've only heard of this once, but I suspect it is the drive capacity
of some printer ports. You shouldn't need to do this but keep it in mind
when your BasicMicro doesn't load.

  ÚÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄ¿
  ³POWER UP AND TESTING: ³
  ÀÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÄÙ

Before you power up, check with your multi-meter (on ohms) that ground and
+5 volts are not shorted together on the printed circuit board.

Don't install the chips yet. Connect up your power-pack, transformer, or +9
Volt Battery. As the circuit has a diode bridge at the input, it doesn't
matter which way around you connect the positive and negative terminals.

Power up the unit and check that the +5 Volts is there before proceeding.
This is verified by the Power LED being on. Check the volts with your
multi-meter. This should read from about 4.8 to 5.1 Volts. That's what you
get on 7805 regulators now days. Usually around 4.82 Volts with no load.

All OK? POWER DOWN and install chips E2 and E3.
These are the Basic Interpreter and the 93LC56 EEPROM.

DON'T----DON'T----DON'T----PUT ANY CHIPS IN THE WRONG WAY AROUND. YOU WILL
MOST CERTAINLY DESTROY THEM!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! CHECK THE OVERLAY FOR PIN 1
ORIENTATION. THE "U" SHAPE NOTCH AT ONE END OF THE CHIP AND THE "U" SHAPE ON
THE OVERLAY NEAR R2, SHOULD BE TOGETHER.

Still not sure of pin 1 of the male headers and chips? This is marked on the
overlay. Have a look at the text "J1". Next to it is a square pin surrounded
by a box. This pin is pin 1. All pin 1's on the overlay are square. This
includes the chips. All pin 1's are square on the solder side of the board,
that is, on the artwork.

Power up again and check the +5 volts.

If you have one of my relay boards, you can hook it up as a LED monitor as
follows:

Check the ASCII circuits for this...

PARALLAX Basic Stamp (Trademark) Interpreter test procedure:

As the Basic Stamp Interpreter chip is a PIC16C56-XT, it has only 4 bits in
Port A and 8 bits of Port B. All of the Port A bits are used for E3, the
serial EEPROM and J7, the communications header.

This means that only Port B is available for the user. The Port B pinout can
be found on both J1 and J2.
_______________________________________________________________

Counterfeit Stamp 1. Let's Fire it up.....

When I built my first Counterfeit Stamp 1, hooked up the cable and dialed up
a demo program then loaded it to my new Counterfeit Stamp 1. Not much
happened. I guess I really need some LEDs to write something to, so watching
out for pin 1 connection, I hooked up one of my RELAY8 boards as a LED
monitor.

I then wrote the following program:

'THIS SIMPLE TEST PROGRAM WILL TEST THE Counterfeit Stamp 1 VERSION OF MY
'PIGMY BOARD. IT SHIFTS A LED TO THE RIGHT WITH A 1 SECOND DELAY
'YOU SIMPLY CONNECT MY RELAY8 BOARD UP AS A LED MONITOR.
START:                  'HOOK UP MY RELAY8 BOARD.
GOSUB CLEAR             'SET ALL OUTPUTS LOW ON ENTRY
FOR B2 = 0 TO 7         'COUNT UP TO 8
'FOR B2 = 7 TO 0 STEP-1  'COUNT DOWN TO 8
GOSUB CLEAR             'CLEAR ALL LEDS
HIGH B2                 'LIGHT UP ONE ONLY
PAUSE 1000              'DELAY 1 SECOND
NEXT B2                 'SHIFT THE "ON"  LED TO THE RIGHT
GOTO START              'DO IT ALL AGAIN
CLEAR:                  'SET TO ALL OUTPUTS AND LOW
LOW 0       '
LOW 1       '    PIGMY Counterfeit Stamp 1 TEST PROGRAM by Don McKENZIE
LOW 2       '          P.O. Box 595 Tullamarine 3043
LOW 3       '                     AUSTRALIA
LOW 4       '
LOW 5       '  19-Jul-94
LOW 6       '
LOW 7       '
RETURN      '

And it worked fine. A single LED on, and shifting to the right at a one
cycle per second rate.

Disconnect the communications cable and it still works.
Power down and back up. It still works.
I then removed the EEPROM and replaced it again. Yes, it still worked.
Hey!, I have a Stamp... Well, it works like a Basic Stamp. It's really
Don's Counterfeit Stamp 1.

It must have taken all of 20 minutes to get a running Demo program from when
I had assembled the hardware.

If you "REM" out line 3 with a "'" and UN-REM line 4, the LED will move in
the opposite direction
_______________________________________________________________

You can substitute the relay board for 8 by LED's and 8 by 330 ohm
resistors if you wish. This simple circuit is shown in the application
notes. Just connect the anode end of each LED to a port pin, then connect
the cathode end of each LED to a 330 ohm resistor, and the other end of the
resistors to ground. When the appropriate pin is set "HIGH" the LED will
switch on. "LOW" will turn it off.