Semi-OT: EPROM/PROM/PAL/.. programmer recommendations - test-drb@ccmp.vtda.org

3 Sep 2000

...
  For my money it is the Needham's EMP-20, nearly on
topic 
 since they were introduced in 1993 :-) 
Yup, ditto that, nice unit...

...
  Its a parallel port based device and their software
programs a _LOT_ of 
 devices. Further with just the base unit you can program a lot of stuff. 
 With three "personality" cards you can program every PIC made and nearly 
 every ATMEL part made. There personality cards cleverly use the SIMM socket 
...
  as a means for re-routing power/signals to the socket
that can accommodate 
...
  narrow or wide parts up to 64 pins. I also bought the
68 pin PLCC adapter 
 to program 68HC11's. The "downside" is that their software continues to be

...
  DOS based and so my DOS PC continues its life on my
workbench as primarily 
...
  a tool for operating such things. 
For a while, I had mine in my 160MHz 486 box (overclocked AMD5x86-133),
which dual-boots between DOS/WfW311 and Win95Retail, then moved it to a
DOS 5 machine that also hosts Linux on UMDOS partitions. 

Now it's in a pure DOS-only machine, running open-air (desktop box, no
cover).

-dq