31 May
2000
31 May
'00
10:36 a.m.
ard(a)p850ug1.demon.co.uk (Tony Duell) wrote:
And most people (I am not one, but) tend to _read_
unknown EPROMs in an
EPROM _programmer_. Most programmers have this facility, and it saves
them having to wire up ZIF sockets, a PSU, buffers back to I/O ports on a
host computer, etc. Which means that finger trouble, or a fault in the
programmer, could wipe the EPROM.
Which is why I always used to leave my EPROM programmer set for a
Vpp of 5V (back when devices used Vcc=5V and Vpp typically of 12.5V, 21V,
or 25V). That way even if I accidentally told it to program, nothing
would happen (unless the part was a 5V-only EEPROM).
However, the more recent EPROM programmers I'm using don't have such
an option.
Anyhow, there are lots of ways to accidentally damage a part, even if
you don't put it in an EPROM programmer and tell it to program.