30 Jun
2008
30 Jun
'08
11:26 a.m.
I'm looking at buying a Willem programmer to go with my Data I/O 29B.
Mostly I'll be using it for reading existing ROMs and programming
stuff bigger than the 29B can handle.
I've been looking at willem.org, on eBay, and at a couple of non-eBay
sources. The first most obvious problem is that none of the available
variants exactly match the willem.org board revisions, and I haven't
found any cross-reference information.
I'm probably not going for the new "true-USB" board. Any system I'll
run it with has parallel ports.
So...
1) I know a few folks on the list have willem boards. What board
version do you have, where did you get it (if you remember), and are
there any major pros and cons?
2) Does anybody here have experience with Kee Electronics?
http://www.keeelectronics.com/
I'd rather buy direct than off eBay, and they look like a good
product line.
3) Yes, I know the software's Windows-only. If anybody knows of a
sub-$100 programmer with OS X software, I'd be overjoyed to hear about
it. Otherwise, BFD; I have to keep a Windows box for work anyhow.
Any input is greatly appreciated.
Zane, I'm still getting a 554 reject from citrine.aracnet.com
Doc
30 Jun
30 Jun
11:32 a.m.
New subject: The first Programmer?
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/2188963/David-Caminer.html
I suppose someone will say it depends on what I mean by first and
programmer ...
Antonio
1 Jul
1 Jul
7:45 a.m.
New subject: The first Programmer?
On Jun 30, 2008, at 2:32 PM, Antonio Carlini wrote:
http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/obituaries/2188963/David-Caminer.html
I suppose someone will say it depends on what I mean by first and
programmer ...
Well...first or not, it's an interesting read!
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
30 Jun
30 Jun
3:09 p.m.
1) I know a few folks on the list have willem boards.
What board
version do you have, where did you get it (if you remember), and are
there any major pros and cons?
Mine is the single-sided (with lots of jumpers) V3.x you can find at
willem.org. Works flawlessly. BUT if you know which side you handle the
soldering iron, why not buying a bare board and building the kit? I could
even send you a complete kit, but I'm in Brazil and the postage will be way
high. If you don't mind waiting (I'll ship it in the cheapest way possible -
remember, I'm a third worlder :oD) I can send you even a complete kit I
haven't assembled.
I have a beeprog from Elnec. This is the best money ever spent. Ever.
Greetings from Brazil
Alexandre Souza
3:59 p.m.
Alexandre Souza wrote:
I have a beeprog from Elnec. This is the best money
ever spent. Ever.
I've got a PrEPROM-02aLV from them -- and a fantastic piece of kit it is, too.
It does just about any EPROM, most EEPROMs, and I suspect it might do serial
EEPROMs too. Software updates are frequently uploaded, and it works flawlessly
on every parallel-port-endowed machine I have. I've used it on XP Pro, Windows
2000 and (in the dim and distant past) Win98. Not a single problem on any of them.
Their after-sales service is fantastic. I tried to program a really old
Fujitsu 27128 chip, and it kept failing the Auto-ID and Device Insertion
checks (basically, a failure on auto-ID automatically fails DI as well). Turns
out someone entered a value in a data table wrong -- the chip ID was 2B04, and
the software wanted 2804 (or something like that). Within a couple of hours I
had a workaround ("do this to turn Auto-ID off") and the next software release
(a week later) had a full fix.
Admittedly it was a rather simple bug to fix, and it only covered one chip,
but it's nice to know the service is there. I really do fancy buying one of
their universal (pin-driver) programmers, though I doubt the pennies in my
'equipment and upgrades' budget will go quite that far :(
--
Phil.
classiccmp at philpem.me.uk
http://www.philpem.me.uk/
1 Jul
1 Jul
5:02 a.m.
Admittedly it was a rather simple bug to fix, and it
only covered one
chip,
but it's nice to know the service is there. I really do fancy buying one
of
their universal (pin-driver) programmers, though I doubt the pennies in my
'equipment and upgrades' budget will go quite that far :(
Phil, it is not THAT expensive. Take a look on used equipment on ebay,
you'll find nice offers with cheap prices :)
5:28 a.m.
On Mon, 30 Jun 2008, Doc Shipley wrote:
1) I know a few folks on the list have willem boards.
What board version do
you have, where did you get it (if you remember), and are there any major
pros and cons?
I bought a Sivava programmer, which is quite similar to the Willem PCB4.5.
The good news is that it was cheap (purchased directly from mfr in
Thailand), well built and arrived quickly. The bad news is that the
documentation is a mess and technical support from the vendor
non-existant. They have a perfect record of not replying to e-mails.
The folks on the Willem.org message board are quite helpful and
supportive, though.
Cons:
The board has a USB connector on it, but this is just for +5V power.
Don't even think about using it. Most USB ports cannot supply enough
current. There's a stand wall-wart coax plug for a 12V external supply.
That's what you should plan on.
The unit uses a small DC/DC step-up converter to provide, e.g 21V for
programming 2732s and the like. There are some known issues with quality
of power and regulation.
The vendor took a free design and software package, which unfortunately
were not under GPL, and made them closed and proprietary. He does not
participate in the community and will not answer questions regarding any
of his updates or changes. This has caused some hard feelings.
There are some questionable design shortcuts, primary of which is the
decision to drop only the VCCp voltage to 3.3V for newer parts while
driving the inputs of the device-under-programming from 5V TTL logic.
Not a good bet for longevity.
I ended up buying a little parts kit from one of the Willem message board
regulars to replace the entire power supply with one that's been properly
designed. Now, I have to provide, e.g. 23V externally to program a 2732A,
but it's a stable situation with no cutting of corners. The VCCp on the
the board is normally switched through a small PNP transistor that inserts
a non-linear voltage drop as a function of current. The kit adds a little
relay to directly switch VCCp and avoid the drop.
At $80 US delivered, I don't feel it was necessarily a bad investment but
go into it with your eyes open and with reasonable expectations.
2) Does anybody here have experience with Kee
Electronics?
http://www.keeelectronics.com/
I'd rather buy direct than off eBay, and they look like a good product
line.
Never heard of them. You can deal direct with Sivava through their web
site, FWIW.
3) Yes, I know the software's Windows-only. If
anybody knows of a sub-$100
programmer with OS X software, I'd be overjoyed to hear about it. Otherwise,
BFD; I have to keep a Windows box for work anyhow.
I just bit the bullet and use an old Dell box running Win98 to run the
programmer. The heck with Open Source purity.
Steve
--
10:28 a.m.
On Jul 1, 2008, at 8:28 AM, Steven Hirsch wrote:
The VCCp on the the board is normally switched
through a small
PNP transistor that inserts a non-linear voltage drop as a function
of current. The kit adds a little relay to directly switch VCCp
and avoid the drop.
Gads, a relay? I'd have used a MOSFET there.
-Dave
--
Dave McGuire
Port Charlotte, FL
12:47 p.m.
Doc Shipley wrote:
3) Yes, I know the software's Windows-only. If
anybody knows of a
sub-$100 programmer with OS X software, I'd be overjoyed to hear about
it. Otherwise, BFD; I have to keep a Windows box for work anyhow.
I've never tried it under Windows (I don't have Windows to try it on...)
but the Willem software works perfectly okay under wine.
Gordon
6018
days inactive
6019
days old
8 comments
7 participants
participants (7)
-
alexandre-listas＠e-secure.com.br -
arcarlini＠iee.org -
classiccmp＠philpem.me.uk -
doc＠mdrconsult.com -
gordonjcp＠gjcp.net -
mcguire＠neurotica.com -
snhirsch＠gmail.com