Perf Board = BS2-IC Carrier Board?

[indieFan]

Is a perf board the same thing that the BS2-IC carrier board is minus the extra components?

Thanks,
indieFan

[Adam Y.]

I believe it is. You can use perf board to create a carrier board if you want to.http://www.reprise.com/host/circuits/perfboard.asp

[Al Skierkiewicz]

Originally Posted by indieFan

Is a perf board the same thing that the BS2-IC carrier board is minus the extra components?

Thanks,
indieFan

Indiefan,
Yes and No.
The BS2-IC is a custom circuit that includes the basic stamp and external components needed for operation and programming. It is the size and pin configuration of a large dual inline I.C. It needs to be wired to a board or use one of the available boards (i.e. the basic stamp 2 carrier board) to allow adding other components or wiring. The carrier board has a battery connector, serial connector and reset switch, and header pins to make wiring easy. You could add all of these to perf board if you wanted to make your own but I wouldn't, the board is going to come pretested from Parallx.
The Basic Stamp Rev DX is a basic module with all the components needed to program and run with a 9 volt battery. This part has some perf board attached as well, for adding interface electronics on the board. (i.e. an A/D converter or current source for temperature probe or just a place to add some wires.)
Please note that Parallax recommends the BS2-IC for starters but it is currently on backorder.
Perfboard is available from Digikey and a few smaller versions are sold at Radio Shack.