23128 PROMs

[marmotking]

I have several rails of 23128 PROMs which I believe to be new and unprogrammed. I have no use for them and can't really find much information about them on the web. I'm hoping someone out there can tell me if they're useful? I don't have any facilities to easily test them or try to program them. If they're of any value to someone, let me know and I can send a lucky couple of respondants some of them...

 

[NobodyIsHere]

Hi,

Those PROMs are older 16K x 8 ROMs of the NMOS variety sometimes found in vintage computers and programmable devices. They require a PROM programmer which has the special high programming voltages necessary to burn the information into them. Many of the more recent EPROM programmers like Willem Programmer will not burn NMOS PROMs due to the higher (>12v) programming voltages required.

Here is the datasheet on these chips which should provide some answers on what they are. You should be able to at least read the contents of the 23128s with nearly any EPROM programmer but actually programming it is another thing altogether. (thanks to Rich's Classic Computing Pages for the link)

http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/

http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/pdf/ds_23128.pdf

Note, those are PROMs, not EPROMs or EEPROMs, so once they are programmed that is it for them. Effectively, they are one time programmable ROMs. They are 28 pin DIP packaged chips right? If so, I can use them.

Hope this helps!

Andrew Lynch