13 Mar
2015
13 Mar
'15
12:34 p.m.
So, I need to add a PROM burner to my collection of stuff, and I'd like to ask
for recommendations.
I'm looking for something that's easy to find on eBay, not _too_ expensive,
and can handle (via the appropriate adapters, which should also be relatively
easy to find) a very wide range of old PROMs/EPROMs from back in the day.
(I.e. ability to support modern chips is not really an issue.)
The ability to read them would be a real plus (no idea if that's a common
capability or not). Serial interface preferred, but I could work with parallel
(again, no idea what was usual).
Thanks in advance for any insight!
Noel
13 Mar
13 Mar
12:36 p.m.
Noel wrote....
----
So, I need to add a PROM burner to my collection of stuff, and I'd like to
ask for recommendations.
[snip]
----
Data I/O 29B with Unipak2
13 Mar
13 Mar
9:51 p.m.
On 03/13/2015 11:34 AM, Noel Chiappa wrote:
So, I need to add a PROM burner to my collection of
stuff, and I'd like to ask
for recommendations.
The ability to read them would be a real plus (no idea if that's a common
capability or not).
Yes, they all need this capability, as that's how you
verify
the write got all the bits
set correctly.
I have a Logical Devices Allpro 88, with the ISA card that
controls it, if that is
of any interest to anybody. I do NOT have a copy of the
software for it.
I use a Xeltek Superpro/Z, which supports most EPROMS going
way back.
It supports the 2732, and may support some 16K EPROMS, too.
You won't
find ANYTHING that supports 1702 devices, they needed 80 V
to program.
I doubt you will find anything with a serial interface.
Jon
10:01 p.m.
I'm not sure how old or unusual you're trying to read or write but I've
been very satisfied with my GQ-4X USB that I got on eBay... Great deal at
$100.
Best,
Sean
On Fri, Mar 13, 2015 at 9:51 PM, Jon Elson <elson at pico-systems.com> wrote:
On 03/13/2015 11:34 AM, Noel Chiappa wrote:
So, I need to add a PROM burner to my collection
of stuff, and I'd like
to ask
for recommendations.
The ability to read them would be a real plus (no idea if that's a common
capability or not).
Yes, they all need this capability, as that's how you verify the write got
all the bits
set correctly.
I have a Logical Devices Allpro 88, with the ISA card that controls it, if
that is
of any interest to anybody. I do NOT have a copy of the software for it.
I use a Xeltek Superpro/Z, which supports most EPROMS going way back.
It supports the 2732, and may support some 16K EPROMS, too. You won't
find ANYTHING that supports 1702 devices, they needed 80 V to program.
I doubt you will find anything with a serial interface.
Jon
10:08 p.m.
On 03/13/2015 06:51 PM, Jon Elson wrote:
I use a Xeltek Superpro/Z, which supports most EPROMS
going way back.
It supports the 2732, and may support some 16K EPROMS, too. You won't
find ANYTHING that supports 1702 devices, they needed 80 V to program.
Well, as with any tool, it depends on what you're planning on doing.
Do you foresee the need to program PALs? GALs? MCUs?
How about testing old TTL packages?
Do you need program the old 3-rail EPROMs? (e.g. 2704, 2708)?
I like the Xeltek Superpro as well. I'm a little shy about the Chinese
USB models because you don't know what the heck is in them. But you
can't beat the price. Some folks like the Willem-based programmers.
--Chuck
14 Mar
14 Mar
6:11 a.m.
On Fri, 13 Mar 2015, Chuck Guzis wrote:
On 03/13/2015 06:51 PM, Jon Elson wrote:
Most of the Chinese made programmers I've seen have been either outright
copies or variations of Willem's designs. I seem to remember some of his
later board versions used a relay which would allow them to program
devices that required more current during programming.
http://web.archive.org/web/20090501014807/http://www.willem.org/
I use a Xeltek Superpro/Z, which supports most
EPROMS going way back.
It supports the 2732, and may support some 16K EPROMS, too. You won't
find ANYTHING that supports 1702 devices, they needed 80 V to program.
Well, as with any tool, it depends on what you're planning on doing.
Do you foresee the need to program PALs? GALs? MCUs?
How about testing old TTL packages?
Do you need program the old 3-rail EPROMs? (e.g. 2704, 2708)?
I like the Xeltek Superpro as well. I'm a little shy about the Chinese
USB models because you don't know what the heck is in them. But you
can't beat the price. Some folks like the Willem-based programmers. 
13 Mar
13 Mar
10:31 p.m.
On 2015-03-14 02:51, Jon Elson wrote:
On 03/13/2015 11:34 AM, Noel Chiappa wrote:
There definitely exist PROM programmers with serial interface, even if
none are made any longer.
If anyone happen to have, or stumble on a PKW-1000, I wrote a program
for RSX-11M-PLUS to use it from there.
Johnny
--
Johnny Billquist || "I'm on a bus
|| on a psychedelic trip
email: bqt at softjar.se || Reading murder books
pdp is alive! || tryin' to stay hip" - B. Idol
So, I need to add a PROM burner to my collection
of stuff, and I'd
like to ask
for recommendations.
The ability to read them would be a real plus (no idea if that's a common
capability or not).
Yes, they all need this capability, as that's how you
verify the write
got all the bits
set correctly.
I have a Logical Devices Allpro 88, with the ISA card that controls it,
if that is
of any interest to anybody. I do NOT have a copy of the software for it.
I use a Xeltek Superpro/Z, which supports most EPROMS going way back.
It supports the 2732, and may support some 16K EPROMS, too. You won't
find ANYTHING that supports 1702 devices, they needed 80 V to program.
I doubt you will find anything with a serial interface.
14 Mar
14 Mar
1:20 a.m.
I believe he said his primary interest was the old bipolar proms (82S141,
82S129, etc.). I didn't think the more "modern" ones mentioned earlier in
this thread would do those but I could be wrong.
The data I/O 29B most definitely has a serial port, does the old bipolars,
and is somewhat frequently on ebay. The serial port has 3 modes; one is
designed to hook up a dumb terminal to and it presents menus. The second is
a simple protocol you can type by hand. I think the third is for use with an
external computer (and they provide dos-based "Prom-Link" which provides
full control over the programmer).
J
11:47 a.m.
On 03/14/2015 12:20 AM, Jay West wrote:
I believe he said his primary interest was the old bipolar proms (82S141,
82S129, etc.). I didn't think the more "modern" ones mentioned earlier in
this thread would do those but I could be wrong.
My Xeltek Superpro/Z supports Lattice GAL 16, 18, 20 and 22
parts, as well as PALCE.
Also, Microchip 93L, and a few Nat Semi GAL 16, 20 and 22 parts.
They don't even show Signetics as a manufacturer, and I
didn't see any
82S types there.
Jon
1:30 p.m.
On 03/14/2015 08:47 AM, Jon Elson wrote:
My Xeltek Superpro/Z supports Lattice GAL 16, 18, 20
and 22 parts, as
well as PALCE.
Also, Microchip 93L, and a few Nat Semi GAL 16, 20 and 22 parts.
They don't even show Signetics as a manufacturer, and I didn't see any
82S types there.
ISTR that TI took over the line years back and re-christened it as
SBP... parts. Of course, my memory could be playing tricks with me.
--Chuck
4:23 p.m.
On Sat, Mar 14, 2015 at 11:30 AM, Chuck Guzis <cclist at sydex.com> wrote:
ISTR that TI took over the line years back and
re-christened it as SBP...
parts. Of course, my memory could be playing tricks with me.
TI cloned some of the other vendor's popular programmable devices, but
they didn't take over anyone else's line in that time frame.
One of the most notable cases was TI offering equivalents to MMI PALs,
which may have briefly had part numbers in TI's existing SBP (Schottky
Bipolar PROM) family, but mostly were seen with the TIBPAL prefix. TI
may or may not have had an agreement with MMI, but TI apparently had
their own silicon designs, because the device programming specs were
NOT compatible with MMI's, even though the non-programming
functionality was identical.
TI's bipolar PROMs originally had 74 series part numbers (e.g.,
74S471), but they decided to make them a separate "SBP" family. That
happened at roughly but not exactly the same time that TI switched the
bipolar programmable devices from NiCr fuses to TiW for higher
reliability (less fuse regrowth). IIRC, the new part numbers were
SBP1nnn for NiCr and SPB2nnn for TiW. The later TI bipolar
programmable devices such as PALs used the TiW fuse technology from
the outset.
4:21 p.m.
Actually the Andromeda Eprom Programmer handles almost all the early devices including
reading the 1702, if you get the extra modules.
I can burn 1702s if anyone needs that, however I do charge for that service.
John -#)#
On Mar 13, 2015, at 6:51 PM, Jon Elson <elson at
pico-systems.com> wrote:
On 03/13/2015 11:34 AM, Noel Chiappa wrote:
So, I need to add a PROM burner to my collection of stuff, and I'd like to ask
for recommendations.
The ability to read them would be a real plus (no idea if that's a common
capability or not).
Yes, they all need this capability, as that's how you
verify the write got all the bits
set correctly.
I have a Logical Devices Allpro 88, with the ISA card that controls it, if that is
of any interest to anybody. I do NOT have a copy of the software for it.
I use a Xeltek Superpro/Z, which supports most EPROMS going way back.
It supports the 2732, and may support some 16K EPROMS, too. You won't
find ANYTHING that supports 1702 devices, they needed 80 V to program.
I doubt you will find anything with a serial interface.
Jon
9:02 p.m.
On Sat, 14 Mar 2015, John Robertson wrote:
Actually the Andromeda Eprom Programmer handles almost
all the early
devices including reading the 1702, if you get the extra modules. I can
burn 1702s if anyone needs that, however I do charge for that service.
I'll second the recommendation for the Andromeda programmer. They sell
bare boards and schematics if you want to build the various personality
cards. I cobbled together the PROM programmer for mine and it works
great. The only downside is setting up 20-odd jumpers for the various
pinouts. I ended up building pre-wired plugs after a few rounds.
--
16 Mar
16 Mar
9:32 a.m.
There are several BP-1200 units on EBay for in the $200-250 range "or best
offer".? I'm thinking you could pick one up for less than $200.
While the BP-1200's do have the drawback of no longer being supported, the software is
still available for download from the BPM Micro ftp site (BP Micro changed their name to
BPM micro a few years back).? These programmers will program just about any 5V part out
there.? They are rock solid and are built to last.? One of these with a 48-pn socket will
cover just about any vintage computing application except, as mentioned elsewhere, the
1702/1702A.
Compared with the cheap Chinese programmers, this has the disadvantage of only programming
5V parts, and parts are no longer being added. It requires a parallel port rather than a
USB port.? It has the advantage of a truly comprehensive list of 5V parts, including the
bipolar PROMS, etc.? And it will last forever.
The Data I/O Unisite and 3900 series is still supported and there is an excellent support
group on Yahoo Groups.? These do tend to be more expensive, as are the adapters, but these
are also built like tanks.? They have the advantage of having all the software on board
(and someone developed a DIY hard disk interface, so upgrading is not terribly
expensive).? They only require a serial terminal or terminal emulator and a serial port (a
USB-serial adapter will do.)
The Xeltek's also look very versatile, and are supported, but not cheap.
Dave
On Friday, March 13, 2015 11:34 AM, Noel Chiappa <jnc at mercury.lcs.mit.edu>
wrote:
So, I need to add a PROM burner to my collection of stuff, and I'd like to ask
for recommendations.
I'm looking for something that's easy to find on eBay, not _too_ expensive,
and can handle (via the appropriate adapters, which should also be relatively
easy to find) a very wide range of old PROMs/EPROMs from back in the day.
(I.e. ability to support modern chips is not really an issue.)
The ability to read them would be a real plus (no idea if that's a common
capability or not). Serial interface preferred, but I could work with parallel
(again, no idea what was usual).
Thanks in advance for any insight!
? ? ? Noel
3413
days inactive
3416
days old
14 comments
12 participants
participants (12)
-
a1a96636＠telus.net -
bqt＠update.uu.se -
cclist＠sydex.com -
dfnr2＠yahoo.com -
elson＠pico-systems.com -
jnc＠mercury.lcs.mit.edu -
jwest＠classiccmp.org -
linimon＠lonesome.com -
scaron＠umich.edu -
snhirsch＠gmail.com -
spacewar＠gmail.com -
tothwolf＠concentric.net