Blocky on OSX cant compile 08M

dutchbird

New Member
Hi !
I just tried the Blocky software on Mac OSX and found that it detects my 08M protoboards, But in the settings I can only select the 08M2 type. When I want to program the Picaxe, this fails with the following error message :
Error from compiler
Error: Incorrect hardware connected - PICAXE-08M v9.2 (expected PICAXE-08M2)

:-( Any one know how to fix this ? Thanks !
 
Last edited:

hippy

Technical Support
Staff member
On all platforms, the Blockly software only supports the M2, X1 and X2 PICAXE devices.
 
Last edited:

stevesmythe

Senior Member
I don't know about Mac OSX, but on a PC, the Blockly for Picaxe (PE6) version (as opposed to the Blockly app version) does support the 08 and the 08M as well as the M2 versions.
 

Attachments

hippy

Technical Support
Staff member
aj, so much for being a compatible replacement ;-) thanks !
That's compatible in that the 08M2 can be a drop-in replacement for an 08M and can do everything an 08M can do and a lot more besides.

It does not mean an 08M can do all an 08M2 does or that code created for an 08M2 will download or run on an 08M.

Blockly supports the M2, X1 and X2. Within PE6, Blockly will do its best with other devices selected but there may be issues which arise with that, blocks which can be selected but not used and so on.

Outside PE6, Blockly only allows selection of M2, X1 and X2 devices to prevent those issues which may arise, and therefore only allows direct download into those M2, X1 and X2 devices.
 

dutchbird

New Member
@Hippy : thanks for explaining and I understand you need to draw the line somewhere, but ... If I look 'inside' the OSX App I can see the internal 'compilers' directory which does include a compiler for the 08 and 08M (see screenshot).
So it looks like the functionality is there but chosen not to expose this as a feature.
@stevesmythe : Thanks, but I'd rather not setup a complete Windows env. just to jun this App, and as you can see from the screenshot, it looks like there is a compiler for the 08M ... so this keeps me wondering why :)

Cheers ! Richard
 

Attachments

hippy

Technical Support
Staff member
So it looks like the functionality is there but chosen not to expose this as a feature.
The compilers are there but that's only half the story. It is the Blockly editor itself, handling and converting blocks to code which the compiler then handles, which is not fully implemented other than for those devices which are supported.
 

Technical

Technical Support
Staff member
... so this keeps me wondering why :)
There is a simple reason why, Blockly was developed several years after the 08M had been discontinued and replaced by the 08M2. We can't constantly develop new resources for chips that were replaced many years ago. There are several technical reasons why the app does not support older chips, particularly the on-screen javascript simulation engine the app uses (which is different to the simulation engine used within PE6).

As all your project boards will support the 08M2 already, the simplest solution is to just swap out the old 08M chip for an 08M2 chip.
 

dutchbird

New Member
Thanks for all the comments. I just some 08M still lying around and was being cheap :) I ordered some 08M2 this week and they just got delivered. Blocky works like a charm with them. I'm guessing I can do the complete development of my project (a simple 12V LED strip dimmer) with the 08M2 and if I want to can program the original 08M with the resulting BASIC code using the Axepad for OSX and clean out my stock of the 08M. Prototyping this weekend :) and then some 3D design for the enclosure. Cheers ! Richard
 

inglewoodpete

Senior Member
I'm guessing I can do the complete development of my project (a simple 12V LED strip dimmer) with the 08M2 and if I want to can program the original 08M with the resulting BASIC code using the Axepad for OSX and clean out my stock of the 08M. Prototyping this weekend :) and then some 3D design for the enclosure. Cheers ! Richard
Yes, great way to use up older, lower spec components. I still have a couple of 14Ms - for their pin count, they were particularly hard to fit a program into.
 

stevesmythe

Senior Member
As all your project boards will support the 08M2 already, the simplest solution is to just swap out the old 08M chip for an 08M2 chip.
Please don't remove the 08M option from PE6/Blockly. I have some boards with surface mount 08Ms - bought from RevEd! I did try and swap one for a surface mount 08M2 but made a hash of the soldering so I'd rather not try again.
 
Top