25 Jun
2006
25 Jun
'06
10:58 p.m.
is there some sort of common format/size for PALs too
when reading (akin to
always being able to read a 27128 EPROM as a 16KB device regardless of who
actually manufactured it)? I'm concerned that this programmer might be too
NO!. In fact you can ruin the chip by getting the manufacturer wrong!.
There is a big difference between a PAL and an EPROM in this respect.
When an EPROM is used in the normal application circuit, it is read out,
and what you read out is simply the pattern of bits that you programmed
into the device. But when you use a PAL, you don't read out the fuse map
(think about how a PAL is actually constructed).
To read the fuse map out of a PAL, you have to get it into a
program/verify mode. Typically, this involved overvoltaging one or more
of the pins. Needless to say, if you get this wrong (and different
manufacturers did their own thing, many of them refused to document the
method except under an NDA :-(), you will damage the chip.
-tony