shmups.system11.org

Hi all,

Im looking to get a newer better more capable EPROM programmer, i have 2 at the moment, i dont want to spend thousands, but not overly concerned with cost, just want it to do all i want it to do without a hitch.

I have had and used a TOP3000 for a long time, its generally pretty darn good, it works without an issue on x86 Windows XP, but when you go to anything x64 it has issues on odd occasions, usually when writing a 27C322.

I recently bought a RT809H, which i thought would be quite a great device, given it claims to be the best around... Well its a great device, but the software obviously lets it down at the moment and i havent been able to do much with it. It is great for automotive and TV EDID programming, but so far i cant get it to do much else and the software is not very good. At least it is regularly updated, so id say its all pretty newish.

I have had issues where i have tried programming MX29LV160TMC chips, and nothing seems to write to them.

Ive looked around at other programmers, but its not just the programmer that needs to do its bit, the software needs to work well too.

Cheers

I too am interested in hearing advice about programmer recommendations.

I have a tl866a programmer. It works pretty well for what it supports. But it does not support everything I want it to. And the software leaves a lot to be desired. It does not even have a way to convert ROM images between big vs little endian.

Recommendations will vary wildly depending on what you want to do with it.

High end Wellons do most of the stuff without issues, or, if you feel like taking out of the closet that old PC with parallel port, the old Datapaths will burn whatever you throw at them.

I'm happy with my GQ4x4 + ADP-054 adapter. It doesn't do GALs but I've built a minimal GALblaster and called it a day, this combination will let me burn most of the (E)EPROMs I'll ever need.

Ive got a PCI-E card for RS232 COMM port

The TOP3000 is generally pretty good and does GALs no worries, but i cant get it doing the EEPROMs for Dreamcast BIOS chips for some reason

I had some extra TL866 27c322 adapters i made, but i gave them away at a retro gaming meet

Digicoolthings makes the nicest of those adapters on ebay, IMO, and one of those with a cheap TL866 programmer will do the 27C322 chips (also 27C400, 800, 160) as long as you can split the file into up to eight 512kB chunks and program them bank by bank. Might cost $80-$90 in total?

Right. I've been debating buying one of those adapters or buying a whole new programmer.

They do one as parts too, for cheaper. It's on their website if not on Ebay.

I want a complete programmer that does everything straight away with no adaptors.