EPROM sideline

From: Richard Erlacher <edick_at_idcomm.com>
Date: Tue Nov 2 13:37:36 1999

That's why I recommended the moderate "hack" that amounts to building a
circuit with cheap and available substitute(s) and make adapter cable(s) to
the various place(s) where such substitution will be needed.

Dick

-----Original Message-----
From: Eric Smith <eric_at_brouhaha.com>
To: Discussion re-collecting of classic computers
<classiccmp_at_u.washington.edu>
Date: Tuesday, November 02, 1999 11:50 AM
Subject: Re: EPROM sideline


>"Richard Erlacher" <edick_at_idcomm.com> wrote:
>> The OLD Pre-Unisite (model 2900 ??) programmer from DataI/O was what I
used
>> many years ago to program both the 5203 and the 1702. Surely they
haven't
>> entirely skipped those in the course of moving to the UniSit?, or have
they?
>
>You're thinking of the model 29 (and 29B). They've been out of support
>for quite some time, and they recently removed the last technical info
>(such as family and part codes) from their web site.
>
>> Unfortunately not. The UniSite is a good machine, and since it's
>> pin-driver technology could probably be made to do it, but Data I/O never
>> developed an algorithm for the 1700 series parts that I'm aware of.
>
>I'd be *very* surprised if the pin drivers came anywhere close to being
>able to suport the 1702 or 5203, or some of the very early exotic
>PROMs. The Unisite was designed to support mainstream parts being
>produced in the mid 80s, none of which required voltages above 25V or
>below ground.
>
>A friend just picked up a Unisite for $200. I've been looking for a good
>deal on one for 13 years, but I don't ever seem to find them. The closest
>I got was about four years ago; AT&T capital was selling one for $800
>and I might have been willing to buy, except that it had already sold
>the day before. Sigh.
>
>Data I/O recently (within the last few years) started putting some kind
>of 80 MB removable data storage device (disk? flash?) in their model 2900
>and 3900 programmers. When will they get a clue and put a friggin
>Ethernet interface on them? Geting bits into the programmer has always
>been their weak point. Their async serial ports are too slow (even
>at 115.2 Kbps) for dealing with modern EPROMs and flash parts. On the
>models with floppy drives, you'd think that sticking in a floppy with the
>data would be fast, but no, they've managed to make that ridiculously
>slow as well. Maybe they think this will get customers to buy more
>programmers from them: "Hmmm... for this product I'll need to burn
>sets of eight 32-megabit flash parts for each version of the software.
>It will take three hours each for the download. I can spend three work
>days for each version, or buy eight 2900s and do it all in three hours."
>On the other hand, Hanlon's razor says "never ascribe to malice that which
>can be adequately explained by stupidity."
Received on Tue Nov 02 1999 - 13:37:36 GMT