No Basic Stamp found

[aquawilly54]

Hi guys,
  I need to pick some brains.  My Prop-1 does not connect as of tonight.  It's been working fine, but now it doesn't, and programming says Communication Error / Basic Stamps not Found.  Here's what I have, and what I've done:

It worked once this evening, then quit
I was using LED lights only for the program check here on the desk.
I have good LED lights on the board for switch position 1, and position 2
I keep everything disconnected from the prop-1 when loading
I changed BS1 Serial Adapters, and USB cable
I changed out the ULN
I tried loading different programs just for gee whiz.

No smoke was let out, and nothing looks burned.  It just quit. 

I have no idea what to do.  Any ideas??
Thanks

Steve

[aquawilly54]

More on this issue.

I keep playing with it just to see if anything changes.  It did.  It started to load, but half way through it stopped and said communication error / hardware problem.

I tried a few more times after checking connections.  It loaded, but it didn't play.  To my brain that rules out cables and connections.  If it's loaded but does not play, it would seem something internal gave way.
What do you think?

Steve

[JonnyMac]

Did you restart the editor? It's a long shot, but the BS1 serial coms used to be bit-banged out of a printer port, so simulating that over USB can sometimes be tricky.

[aquawilly54]

Well, I pretty much shut down everything last night, then tried it again a almost two hours later.  Same result.  After that (this afternoon) I was able to load the same program in to my other Prop-1 and play it.  Switching back to this one I got nothing, so I guess that's it. 

If anything else comes to mind I'm all ears.
Much appreciated.

Steve

[JonnyMac]

Is this a new board? If it is, you can return it to use for an exchange -- but I'm guessing you need it right now.

[aquawilly54]

Nope.  This one is about 3 years old.  Luckily what I had in store for this one can be done with a motion sensor light hack.  Guess I'll be spending some money next summer.

Thanks much.

Steve

[JonnyMac]

After Halloween you can send it in and we can look into repair it. Based on what you're telling me, the EEPROM seems to be having a problem.

Last ditch effort: Often stored boards will collect dust and debris. I always keep a 1.5" chip brush hand to clean PCBs. Scrub the board with a dry chip brush (make sure it's not powered or connected to anything), and then get a can of Dust-Off and go to town.

[aquawilly54]

That sounds like a plan.  I have the air, so I'll get a brush and give it a go.  If no go I'll contact you later on, and see what we can work out.

I really appreciate the help.
Happy Halloween.

Steve