8 Nov
2010
8 Nov
'10
3:33 p.m.
On Mon, 8 Nov 2010, Chris Elmquist wrote:
I was recently given an Advin Systems PILOT-142 device
programmer... but
of course no software with it.
I downloaded Advin's Captain v1.34 software for XP from their website,
where they claim support for the model -142 but after installing and
launching the software, it reports that it does not work with the
"revision" of my programmer.
There are no revision or series marks on the unit other than the PILOT-142
sticker above the power switch... so I don't know what makes it different.
Email to Advin says they have NO software that supports the -142 even
if their website says otherwise.
Advin are just useless.. I was contemplating the purchase of a smaller
Pilot programmer on eBay and dropped them a note to make sure that the
bipolar PROM family was covered. They told me to "..download the Captain
software and see what it offered on the menu". The implication being that
anything in the software was supported by the programmer. The software
featured all the PROM types I was interested in! Good news.
Bad News: $150 + shipping later, I discovered that it produced only errors
when trying to read a PROM. Dropped another note to their "tech support"
folks and a different person responded with "..oh, that model doesn't
support PROMs" (!) In frustration, I asked why I had been told to look at
the software for answers. The response was along the lines of "well after
you looked at it you should have contacted us to see what that hardware
actually covers...". Which, of course, had been the original question.
They are now prominently on my crap-list of vendors to avoid.
Steve
p.s. - Good luck with the software!
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