Old EPROM questions again, EPROM Programmer

From: Joe R. <rigdonj_at_cfl.rr.com>
Date: Fri Jul 30 09:32:05 2004

At 01:04 AM 7/30/04 +0100, you wrote:
>> >> Well I know I'm a lot more selective about my TV and movies than the
>> >> majority of people but are you trying to tell me that there's NOTHING
worth
>> >> watching on TV or movies? What do you have against women, beer and
sports?
>> >
>> >I watch _very_ little TV, and wouldn't bother at all if I had to pay for
>> >the license (as opposed to watching my parents' set). UK TV is pretty
>> >darn awful....
>>
>> Same here but we now get enough channels that you can USUALLY find
>> something worth watching. The Discovery, Wings and History channels are
>
>Very different in the UK. Most of the stuff on the standard 5 channels is
>terrible, and from what I've seen, the digital/satellite/cable channels
>aren't much better. Serously, I'd much rather be using a soldering iron...
>
>> actually coming out with some pretty good stuff.
>
>> >I assume you think the chap who wrote 'The Voice of the Crystal' and
>> >'Instruments of Amplification' was wasting his time.
>>
>> I've never heard of either one.
>
>They're actually quite interesting books. 'The Voice of the Crystal' is
>about making crystal radios using _no_ commercial electronic components
>at all. He makes his own coils (trivial), detector (using a similar
>design to the ones made 100 years ago), variable capacitor (suprisinging
>hard to make, acually), headphones (both magnetic and crystal, the latter
>using the peizo-electric element from a cigarette lighter), etc.
>
>'Instruments of Amplification', IMHO is the more interesting book. He
>describes how to homebrew amplifying devices (not the circuits, which any
>of us could make). The 'microphonic relay' (electromagnets coupled to a
>carbon microphone-like thing), diode and triode valves (using filaments
>taken from light bulbs, in case you're wondering), transisotrs
>(point-contact ones using the crystal from a germanium diode, copper
>oxide ones made the hard way), and so on.

  They sound interesting. I'll see if I can find a couple of copies. You
might be intersted in this site
<http://home.earthlink.net/~lenyr/index.html>. He's build a lot of odd
electronic devices including Tunnel Diodes using the zinc coating on
galvanized sheet metal and borax rectifiers.



>
>Now, to be honext, the devices are terrible. If you want a triode to use,
>go and buy am ECC83 / 12AX7. If you want a tranistor, go and get a
>2N3904. It'll work a lot better, last a lot longer (his first home-made
>valves had filament lifetimes of a few minutes, his transistors broke
>down at a few volts), and be a lot cheaper.

  Same with the devices on the website that I pointed out but still it's an
interesting education into what can be done with simple materials and the
characteristics some materials that we seldom use any more.

 
>
>But IMHO you'll lear a lot if you read said books, and even more if you
>try to repeat and improve on the designs.
>
>> an EPROM programmer. I build that kind of thing when I was a kid and I just
>> don't see that I'd get anything out of building another one.
>
>There's probably little point if you've already built at least one
>programmer, or a similar insturment of similar complexity. But if you
>haven't, then you should have a go. As I aid, you'll learn a lot, not
>just about EPROMs...
>
>I think the best way to sum it up is to quote from a book written nearly
>100 years ago called 'Every Boy His Own Mechanic'. This chapter covers
>making a simple telephone system
>
>" For some years previous to 1914 the constructive instinct and ability
>inherent in many of us was almost snuffed out because most of the
>mechanical and electrical things we wished to possess were so cheap that
>they could be bought ready made. Often the prices quoted were actually
>below the cost to us of the raw materials, and so we came to think that
>constructive hobbies were a bit futile. Lots of those cheap things were
>amazingly good, but some where exasperatingly bad, and the bulk
>indifferent. Still, we bought the stuff, learned nothing from it, and
>clean missed all the solid satisfaction that lives for ever in building
>and contriving and creating
>
>Take the ready-made cheap telephone, for instance. How long did it take
>to get fed up with ringing and asking "are you there ?" Was it really
>worth the outlay of 15s to 45s? Frankly, no. Why? Because our purchase
>locked us out from all the subtle mysteries of an ever-wonderful
>instrument (simple though it may be), and we had been robbed of all the
>joy of its making. If it failed to act we discovered that we could not
>put it right. If it acted perfectly, we took the whole thing for granted
>and soon became bored. But to build up that same installation oneself in
>the face of difficulties from the homeliest of raw materials, and at last
>to have it (in litteral fact) voicing our triumph in our eager-listening
>ears - ah, that is a very different matter! "
>
>And that's why I still homebrew stuff....


  So do I but I have to draw the line somewhere and I just choose not to
spend time on readily available devices. I'd rather spend it on something
like the homemade tunnel diode where I'll learn more than I would bulding
EPROM programmers. I've build the programmers and frankly I didn't learn
much from it but maybe that's because I've done a LOT of work in digital
electronics.

     Joe
>
>-tony
>
Received on Fri Jul 30 2004 - 09:32:05 BST

This archive was generated by hypermail 2.3.0 : Fri Oct 10 2014 - 23:36:53 BST