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eprom programmers

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luckybob

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I've been putting off getting an eeprom programmer for quite a while now. Long story short, I just borked a working motherboard with the wrong bios. I now have 2 motherboards, a scsi card, and a video card that now need their eeproms examined.

So I figure, I might as well get one. I was looking to get one of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/221038304677 If their page can be believed, it supports all the chips that I want to mess with. Or should I invest in a better unit? I also realize I would need a UV eraser. as half the chips i'm using are the window style. 27c256's to be exact, so I was also going to get one of these: http://www.ebay.com/itm/120922088392

I was also looking at this unit: http://www.ebay.com/itm/280933865106 I must admit, being able to play with ddr spi information does have its appeal.
 
Hi, I have one of the import EPROM programmers you show in the first link and it has worked OK for me. However I needed to also program the MCM68766 EPROM for my PC-Retro project (IBM PC Clone) so I bought a used BP-Microsystems EP-1140, and I run it from a Windows 95 box. The BP unit is a very solid commercial unit and I really like it alot. (Note that the import programmer on EBAY shows a USB plug, but that is only for supplying power.)

I also bought one of the import UV eraser units in the second link and it worked OK for a couple of hours and stopped. I ended up taking the unit apart, doing diagnostics, looking for replacement bulbs and finally decided life was too short. So I bought a used Spectroline PE-14 and I have already used it for about 50 hours, no problems.

A photo of my setup is attached.bpmicro.jpg
 
I had in mind the 20- and 24-pin devices, such as GAL16V8--they're not JTAG-programmable. You find them all over the place in 80's devices.
 
Chuck(G) said:
I had in mind the 20- and 24-pin devices, such as GAL16V8--they're not JTAG-programmable. You find them all over the place in 80's devices.
Click to expand...

Yes I agree, and for new breadboards, PALs and GALs in 20 or 24 pin 'skinny DIP' packages take up little space without surface mount hassle. A must for any device programmer is to handle the PALCE22V10 and the GAL16V8 as they are electrically erasable for error prone guys like me. Also the GAL16V8 or PAL16V8 are very useful as a universal replacement of practically any bipolar PAL of from the 80's.
-Dave
 
For testing purposes you can use 29c256 instead of 27c256. Same pinout but they are flash chips so no need to mess with UV erasing.
 
dave_m said:
Yes I agree, and for new breadboards, PALs and GALs in 20 or 24 pin 'skinny DIP' packages take up little space without surface mount hassle. A must for any device programmer is to handle the PALCE22V10 and the GAL16V8 as they are electrically erasable for error prone guys like me. Also the GAL16V8 or PAL16V8 are very useful as a universal replacement of practically any bipolar PAL of from the 80's.
-Dave
Click to expand...

Is this much of an issue? I have only one device with what look like a pal/gal. I'm not planning on messing with it anytime in the near future. If the first programmer wont program these, can you recommend one that will? I believe pat mentioned the GQ-4X. While they look more professional, they also ring in at a full c-note in price.
 
luckybob said:
Is this much of an issue? I have only one device with what look like a pal/gal. I'm not planning on messing with it anytime in the near future. If the first programmer wont program these, can you recommend one that will? I believe pat mentioned the GQ-4X. While they look more professional, they also ring in at a full c-note in price.
Click to expand...

For your case, it doesn't look like PAL programming is needed. If you are interested in only 27C256 and later devices, the first item you listed should be OK. However I like the GQ-4X for modern parts as the GQ family of programmers has a good track record.
 
next paycheck, i'm pulling the trigger and getting what I listed on the first post. I'm going to get one of the uv erasers as well. I have quite a few windowed roms so it will get some use.

Thanks for the input!
 
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