Customer Reviews

STAMP 2 Communications and Control Projects

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3 star:		(4)
2 star:		(1)
1 star:		(1)

 

 

I had high hopes for the book... but...

There are some nice projects in the book, but as I attempt to load the programs into my stamp2 I note that many have errors. Most of them are minor. They used the wrong symbol for comments. Easy to fix, just change and the stamp program points them out to you. But...

There were a couple of projects that I REALLY wanted to do, like the balloon telemetry device. Turns out the code is NOT for a stamp2.. it is for a stamp 1. As I understand it, the code is completely different. Another program wouldn't load either.. I haven't figured out why yet.. but I suspect it is the same problem.

Why do so many books or magazine articles have errors. Why risk spending the money on all the parts when it may well not work due to errors. Could authors please triple check!?

The book may still be worth it in that there are some fun prjects that DO seem to have good code. But.. are the parts diagrams right?

This book has a lot of interesting ideas and information, but it also raises a lot of questions.
First of all, the cover says that the enclosed "CD contains all the software, photos and schematics needed...", but that's not true - there are no photos or schematics on it.
A lot of the schematics have errors, some of them very major - the kind that would blow a fuse. The text likewise has errors. It sometimes refers to custom parts, but often doesn't specify where or how to get them. Sometimes it omits pin numbers on ICs. In general, it is useful to someone who knows the field, but can be lethal to a true beginner.
But my main problem is this -- where did the material come from? Some of the programs have other people's names in them. The text and some photos refer to printed circuit boards, but there are no pc board layouts in the book. At one point, the text says to mount the supplied components, suggesting that someone, somewhere markets that project as a kit of parts.
In any case, I feel that there is just too much material in this book to be the work of a single author who also happens to have a full-time job. I think it would have been nice to specifically credit the source for each individual project, so that the reader would have a place to go for further information.

A very catchy cover that promises to deliver some really interesting projects. Unfortunately, it is a dismal disappointment. I'm surprised that the "editor" even showed her name.
The text is badly written, with a lot of sentences repeated. I found this feature quite annoying. The author's writing style is tedious, but if you can't fall asleep at night, try getting through a chapter of this and you'll be snoozing in no time!
I guess you can use this book to "Stamp out insomnia"!

Written by an engineer from central New York, its no wonder the style is awful and the code doesn't work! Engineers in CNY are always rushed to get product out the door, whatever the cost to quality, and the fact that this book is rife with errors and typos only shows the lack of technical skills of the "editor".
Nice, pretty cover though.

This book has a lot of great ideas, but is littered with typos. It's almost as if the book was retyped by the publisher and never re-checked.

Also, the book is missing the Appendixes the author refers to.

If you can get past the typos, the book is ok. I didn't look at the CD.

In my opinion this book is poorly written, unorganized and difficult to understand. There are grammatical errors, discussions that refer to unprinted schematics, and numerous typos. If you are a Stamp expert, I guess this book would be of great value for the schematics alone, but for anyone trying to grasp advanced basic stamp concepts, leave this book on the shelf.

McGraw-Hill.

Maybe that counts as two words? How can one publisher have such a lock on this kind of material, and continue to produce such horrible books? For as far back as I can personally remember, these guys have put out pure [...] - books rife with errors, books that are pretty much useless (several of their robotics titles on my shelf are laughably horrid) Even their best book ever (in my opinion) Practical Electronics For Inventors by Paul Scherz had all sorts of errors - stuff that was maddening to me and my students for years. I haven't decided if I should risk the money on the new edition of that book or not...I really worry that while they may have fixed the old errors, they very well may have introduced a whole slew of new ones.

Anyone know how they can keep doing this? Because we keep buying their books, don't we? Just say no, and maybe, just maybe they'll get the message. And maybe other publishers can step in even more.

A guy can dream, no? :)

Stamp 2 Communications and Control Projects presents a well written book on Basic Stamp 2 projects. The contents focus and building Basic Stamp projects and less on the programming aspect of The Basic Stamp controller. The author however provides ample source code to work from and appears to assume you know at least some basics of programming the Stamp. The book also has a CD with circuit diagrams, images, and source code for the projects in the book.

It is a an excellent book on hooking up components with very good explanations. Some of the sections appeal to amateur radio related projects, a real bonus for many.