eprom burner recommendations?

hindered

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What's the current consensus for a good eprom burner for the weekend hobbyist? I'd like something that handles a good variety of chips (80s through 90s would be best) and does not require an IDE slot as I no longer have any older PCs laying around, although if a good/cheap burner will only work with older technology, I could probably pick up an old 486 or something and set it up in my workshop.

Any suggestions? Links and supporting arguments would be much appreciated. Tell me what you own & what you like about it & what you don't like.
 
Depends on your budget...

I've got a "dual-powered" willem and it serves me well for my occasional burning needs. A lot of people on here hate Willems, but if you only need to program a few chips, that's what I would go for.
 
True USB EPROM chip Burner Programmer GQ-4x

I bought one of these off Ebay and after I made a power adapter to use with it for the 25v chips, it has been FLAWLESS! Cheap too! I bought it from the seller: mcumall_electronics_inc

It has burned everything I have thrown at, quickly and with no errors so far.
 
Another vote here for the GQ-4X. It's cheap and writes to quite a large amount of devices. The older Willem models (perhaps deservedly) had a reputation of being unreliable, but I've yet to have a problem with mine.
 
For erasing EPROMs, you'll need a UV eraser. Only EEPROMs can be erased in a programmer. Check eBay for erasers, since deals show up there fairly often.
 
For erasing EPROMs, you'll need a UV eraser. Only EEPROMs can be erased in a programmer. Check eBay for erasers, since deals show up there fairly often.

Makes sense, thanks.

Stupid question, and I'm 99% sure I know the answer to this, but the Willem programmer will also allow me to dump ROMs, right?
 
The True USB will burn most of the common chips - 2532, 2716, 2723, 2764, etc.

It won't burn proms, but I don't think any of the cheaper ones will.

I haven't dumped any roms on it, but read and save as should dump them just fine.

The real advantage with this programmer is speed and ease of use. Works with Win7 with just the USB port. As mentioned earlier, you can use an external power supply if you need to burn a higher voltage chip.

I have a Data i/o 29b to burn proms, but I haven't even managed to get it set up yet. With the TrueUSB, I installed the software, loaded the rom, and burned.

You can get one of the cheap erasers on their site for like $20.
 
Just ordered a GQ-4X myself today. My data i/o unisite doesn't work and I gave up on trying to get it going. Eventually maybe I'll buy another (and possibly use it to help get the 1st one working), but I've wasted enough time due to my stupid unisite, so I just want to start burning now! This thread helped push me over the edge on the decision. :)
 
Just ordered a GQ-4X myself today. My data i/o unisite doesn't work and I gave up on trying to get it going. Eventually maybe I'll buy another (and possibly use it to help get the 1st one working), but I've wasted enough time due to my stupid unisite, so I just want to start burning now! This thread helped push me over the edge on the decision. :)

I gave up on my unisite as well. I bought the 29b and it works - I just don't know how to get it to work on my old laptop. One of these days...

If enough of us request support for different chips, we might get them on the TrueUSB. It is actively updated, and the forum is fairly active (for a single device forum). He thinks he can add prom (82s129) support, but he doesn't have any chips to test. I sent him a link to find them a while back, but haven't heard anything.
 
Just ordered a GQ-4X myself today. My data i/o unisite doesn't work and I gave up on trying to get it going. Eventually maybe I'll buy another (and possibly use it to help get the 1st one working), but I've wasted enough time due to my stupid unisite, so I just want to start burning now! This thread helped push me over the edge on the decision. :)

You won't be disappointed, The GQ-X4 is a bad ass tool to have, it IS a Willem in sheeps clothing (seriously it is a willem inside) No jumpers, just load the chip and fry. Let us know how you like ok Shanman?
 
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Can someone please weigh in on the difference between the 3x and the 4x? (http://www.mcumall.com/comersus/store/comersus_dynamicIndex.asp)

As near as I can tell, the 3x is just the 4x with the outer shell removed.

I've sent an email to mcumall asking for clarification as well.


You will need less adapters with the 4x since it has a 40 pin ZIF instead of the 32 pin on the 3x. I think there are other differences as well, but it has been a while since I read the forums.

That being said, I haven't had to use an adapter yet, so I don't know how big of a deal it is. I bought the light pack so I have less adapters collecting dust. :)
 
You will need less adapters with the 4x since it has a 40 pin ZIF instead of the 32 pin on the 3x. I think there are other differences as well, but it has been a while since I read the forums.

That being said, I haven't had to use an adapter yet, so I don't know how big of a deal it is. I bought the light pack so I have less adapters collecting dust. :)

Thanks for the info -- I might end up getting the 4x light pack as well. That said, I'm kind of scared to order from the website I linked -- check out this very helpful email I got from them:

My Email Asking for Help said:
What's the difference between "True-USB PRO GQ-4X Willem Programmer Full Pack" and the GQ-3X Full pack?
Very Helpful Reply said:
Hi,

Thanks for the email.

They have different programmer: one is GQ-4X and another one is GQ-3X.

All other items are same.

Regards.

So, really, the difference between the GQ-4X and the GQ-3X is that one is the GQ-4X and the other is the GQ-3X? THANK YOU FOR HELPING.

Edit: I'll have to look on eBay tonight.

Double Edit: mcumall is the place ataridoctor bought it from as well, so I'll swallow my sarcasm and my fears and give them my business. :)
 
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Thanks for the info -- I might end up getting the 4x light pack as well. That said, I'm kind of scared to order from the website I linked -- check out this very helpful email I got from them:




So, really, the difference between the GQ-4X and the GQ-3X is that one is the GQ-4X and the other is the GQ-3X? THANK YOU FOR HELPING.

Edit: I'll have to look on eBay tonight.

Double Edit: mcumall is the place ataridoctor bought it from as well, so I'll swallow my sarcasm and my fears and give them my business. :)

They make it. You will be buying from them on ebay as well.
 
I gave up on my unisite as well. I bought the 29b and it works - I just don't know how to get it to work on my old laptop. One of these days...

If enough of us request support for different chips, we might get them on the TrueUSB. It is actively updated, and the forum is fairly active (for a single device forum). He thinks he can add prom (82s129) support, but he doesn't have any chips to test. I sent him a link to find them a while back, but haven't heard anything.

That's good to hear. I had a PM discussion with bit_slicer who is a fellow data i/o owner and he specifically mentioned that line of chips as an example of what I wouldn't be able to do (he said the proms were used on 70's and early 80's atari stuff a lot).
 
That's good to hear. I had a PM discussion with bit_slicer who is a fellow data i/o owner and he specifically mentioned that line of chips as an example of what I wouldn't be able to do (he said the proms were used on 70's and early 80's atari stuff a lot).

Hey! This is off topic, but I found that button -- it's sitting on my desk safe and sound. I'll drop it in the mail sometime this week.
 
That's good to hear. I had a PM discussion with bit_slicer who is a fellow data i/o owner and he specifically mentioned that line of chips as an example of what I wouldn't be able to do (he said the proms were used on 70's and early 80's atari stuff a lot).

I need to burn one for my DKJr board. At this point it would have been easier and cheaper to have someone else burn it, but I want to be able to do it here.
 
Aren't these posts usually followed by a "UV EPROM eraser recommendations"? :)

They usually seem to come up one right after the other.
 
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