[Robotgroup] BASIC STAMP II EMERGENCY!! (was Robot Head: BS2 Stamp)

[Robo Al]

It is unlikely that you damaged your stamp.

Things to consider in case you are not doing them already:

* Run your control systems (ie. your stamp) on a separate power
  system than your motors. Basically use different batteries
  and/or regulated supplies and tie the grounds together. Motors
  are really noisy (electrically speaking) and will likely cause
  a bunch of "unexplainable" problems in your system. Note that
  motors normally don't need regulated voltages but need to be
  hooked up with a back EMF protection diode to keep the power
  supply from having to source current.

* Have a testbed for your controllers. Basically a prototyping
  board with pre-wired leds/components on which you can plug
  in a stamp and reprogram it with a test sequencer code that
  would quickly verify all pins. This saves a lot of... What
  the.....? I burnt another one. When if fact it is still good.

* Don't use batteries during development and use regulated
  power supplies. As others (including you) pointed out, batteries
  are always an unknown. Even when you check them by themselves with
  a volt meter they may behave differently under load. A good approach
  is to have a meter on your power source (batteries or regulated) 
  while you run during development. You can get meters on sale at 
  HF for < $4/ea.

Hope this helps,

Alberto