countzero wrote:
I use the willem I got from sivava. I burn 27c400s, 27c256s all the time and a few 27c800s now and then and it hasn't given any single problem to me yet...
I have also had good experiences with the Sivava Willem Programmer. It is worth keeping in mind that there are many sources of Willem programmers, some of which are not so good. Also, different layouts can have the configuration jumpers in different locations, and cheaper products will generally not be well legended or documented. The Sivava documentation is not written by a native user of English, though it is usable.
Sivava is not the cheapest source, but it is still pretty cheap. I also found their service to be fast and friendly.
I would recommend using a plug pack power supply with a Willem (not USB powered), and make sure that the jumpers are correctly configured for this power source (this is one way that cheaper Willems can cause headaches, as you may have to probe a board to trace the jumpers).
As for adapters, I have made my own using strip board, which is generally very easy to do (but do check all connections when doing this, and also use the programming software to do a voltage test to each pin, prior to plugging in a chip). An adapter is generally just a socket, a ribbon cable header, few connections, and possibly a few resistors or diodes. Cheap, quick, and easy to make.
One other tip for using the Willem software: I found it didn't work very well with Hex files (I suspect the software doesn't correctly Parse the file type headers). However, I had faultless results when using raw binary files.
For doing Amiga ROMs and others, you may need a program to edit hex files, split into low/even, high/odd bytes, and convert into binary files. I haven't done this for a while, but I think I mostly used WinHex for editing, and Groovy Hex Editor and Quick Number Base Converter for display.
Good luck, and hope it works out for you. I think it is really quite fun and satisfying to start programming your own chips, and universal programmers give you access to a wide variety of technologies, including micros etc.
Regards,
Oliver
edit- P.S.
I have only used the Willem with a parallel port. I had no problems with this. Win XP requires the use of a hack, to allow the programming software direct control of the port. XP would otherwise require port control to be arbitrated by an OS layer. This is not at all difficult to do, and only requires the installation of one small executable file. Additionally, the parallel port should be set to a particular operating mode in the BIOS. All this stuff is easy to set up, if you do choose a Willem.
