29 Jun
2009
29 Jun
'09
9:30 p.m.
I know a few folks here (besides myself) have
accumulated collections of
older-generation (i.e. "obsolete") fuse-PROMs, GALs, PALs, and so on. A
common
complaint is that modern programmers won't touch these devices -- negative
voltages (sometimes very high negative voltages) are required to program
some
of them, and for others the programming hardware just wasn't tested with
them.
Philip, maybe you should update your knowledge on modern programmers :o)
There are three kinds of programmers you can use on that
- Old ISA and parallel port programmers. It is easy to find an ALL-03A
or something like that, that programs even 1702.
- Modern home-built programmers - Willem/Willem USB come to mind. It
doesn't touch proms, gals, pals, but programs most everything else.
- Modern el-cheapo USB programmers from China. I have a wellom
programmer that programs everything but old 87xx and anything below 2716,
but do all kinds of GALs, PALs, PROMs and like. There is a more expensive
model that programs everything but I thought (WRONG!) that I'd never need
that.
In my experience, when confronted with the fact that
their programmers
don't
actually work, most programmer manufacturers seem to respond by asking why
you're even thinking about using 1702 EPROMs in their programmer, and
sooner-or-later admit that they actually didn't test them on anything more
recent than a programmer they last sold in the late 1980s, and that they
"just
ported the software across and thought it would work".
You're asking the wrong manufacturer. Try that with Elnec. You'll have a
great and pleasurefull surprise :)
A completely open-sourced device programmer. That is,
all the hardware
designs, PCB layouts, software and firmware are (or at least will be)
completely open. My "rough feature set" boils down to:
Willem USB anyone?
* 24, 32 or 40 individually-programmable pin
drivers. More or less if
you
like -- add or remove a few pin drivers. I think the upper maximum is
likely
to be around 64 pins, based on typical CPLD pin counts.
You hardly use 40, the best designs today uses 48