Need help with a BP Microsystems EP-1 Eprom programmer

Tornadoboy

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Need help with a BP Microsystems EP-1 Eprom programmer

HELP!

I just got my hands on a BP Microsystems EP-1 EPROM programmer and I can't get any of their damn software to work with it! Their website says their bpwsoft-03 software should be compatible, but it only seems to support LPT ports instead of the serial the programmer has.
 
Did you ever get your ep-1 to work? I have one that works just fine with the dos software.

If you still have problems let me know, maybe I can help.

Dennis
 
Side hobby of mine is tinkering with old EPROM burners.

I've got a couple of BP EPR-xx units (they even made a -16!) picked up from surplus stores over the years, but I don't have the ISA card that shipped with 'em. Were/are some of these units controllable by a serial or parallel cable? (old PC hardware and DOS isn't a problem for me.)

I've also got an old Logical Devices "Shooter" unit, if I could only figure out the pinout to the phone-jack-looking version of the serial port, and if someone had figured out how the little "programming modules" (tiny DIP chips, likely just really tiny bipolar PROMs) worked.
 
Side hobby of mine is tinkering with old EPROM burners.

I've got a couple of BP EPR-xx units (they even made a -16!) picked up from surplus stores over the years, but I don't have the ISA card that shipped with 'em. Were/are some of these units controllable by a serial or parallel cable? (old PC hardware and DOS isn't a problem for me.)

I've also got an old Logical Devices "Shooter" unit, if I could only figure out the pinout to the phone-jack-looking version of the serial port, and if someone had figured out how the little "programming modules" (tiny DIP chips, likely just really tiny bipolar PROMs) worked.

ouch. An eprom writer without its ISA card is a doorstop.

Shooter port pinout attached. The configuration plugs can be made from dip headers and bits of wire - sample attached.
 

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ouch. An eprom writer without its ISA card is a doorstop.

Shooter port pinout attached. The configuration plugs can be made from dip headers and bits of wire - sample attached.

Re: BP-1 stuff: Yeah, I'm pretty sure that some of the cards were compatible with more than one unit, so I'm just hanging onto the units until I find a unit with a card.

Thanks for the Shooter stuff - exactly what I was looking for. Trivial to build, but difficult to reverse-engineer from first principles!
 
Well, I tried quickly and easily registering on here, but the registration process here is draconian - I don't know any of the users to refer me, and just had to pay $2 via Paypal just to contribute this post.

Anyway, this post is all you will be seeing of me here. Below is a URL for the EP1 manual in PDF format (hint: it's serial, and you can use XMODEM to upload the EPROM images.) Also in the archive is the last firmware that I'm aware of for it - you need to put it on a 27256 EPROM and replace the one in the unit. I'll keep this file up until the end of September 2011.

http://dl.dropbox.com/u/19597743/ep1.zip

Questions to me can be directed to "acadiel" on AtariAge.com or at my site, www.hexbus.com
 
Thanks dude! I also passed this along to someone else who once emailed me about getting those things to work, I'll dig it up and give it a try!

BTW, love your site hexbus.com, I own a TI and ironically was poking around your page earlier this week, I may try to make one of your multi-carts some day!
 
I have this programmer and I have used it for a couple of months now.

It is a serial port programmer, not LPT. No external ISA card required, the command software is actually inside the unit. You will need a simple $3 adapter that is sold at places like Fry's. It is very nice in that you can connect it to just about any more modern computer's 9 pin serial port (COM1). I have mine hooked up to an XP Home box.

I never bothered with the old software for the burner, it is compatible with Windows Hyper Terminal, once you set it to use COM1. The manual has the max speed at 38,400. No other software is required, everything is self contained.

I would highly recommend you get yours upgraded, the commands are a lot easier to use.

Member Sprout upgraded mine. Depending on the version of the software, it can either be easy or will require wire jumpers to be installed at places around the board.

Either way, when you get in Hyper Terminal, simply hit enter and the burner should respond and list a software version. The commands you use will be tied to that version number.

It is a very nice burner for EPROMS up to 27512. Past that you will need something more modern.

EDIT: this is the best info I could find on that $3 adapter, I used to have the tiny box for it, but it's trashed. "DB-25 to DB-9 adapter"
 
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Thanks dude! I also passed this along to someone else who once emailed me about getting those things to work, I'll dig it up and give it a try!

BTW, love your site hexbus.com, I own a TI and ironically was poking around your page earlier this week, I may try to make one of your multi-carts some day!

Heh.. thanks :) Glad I could get distributed to where it's not just sitting on my hard drive.

There's actually another multicart being built where GROM is being emulated as well (a couple folks took my design and ran with it and souped it up quite a bit!) Look at the last few pages on this thread at AtariAge. http://www.atariage.com/forums/topic/183349-512k-cart-board-plcc-troubleshooting/page__st__50
 
Thanks again!

I got it to come up with the command menu and everything, but I'm having trouble figuring out how to tell it to program the chip with a specific file, any suggestions? Can you give me an example of the correct command?
 
The commands vary according to the software revision. Mine is version 3.20
1. When I first start mine I type PROTO for the protocol. I select 6. CRC XMODEM PROTOCOL FOR FILE TRANSFERS
2. I then use the CHIP command and select my chip
3. I type BLANK to make sure the chip is blank
4. Next command is PB for program binary. Then I go up to the GUI in Hyperterminal and send a file using the Xmodem protocol.

I loaned out my manual to a local member or I would try to help with whatever version of the programmer you have. He should be scanning it and then I'll get it back.

Try typing ? or HELP and it should give you a list of commands.
 
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The commands vary according to the software revision. Mine is version 3.20
1. When I first start mine I type PROTO for the protocol. I select 6. CRC XMODEM PROTOCOL FOR FILE TRANSFERS
2. I then use the CHIP command and select my chip
3. I type BLANK to make sure the chip is blank
4. Next command is PB for program binary. Then I go up to the GUI in Hyperterminal and send a file using the Xmodem protocol.

I loaned out my manual to a local member or I would try to help with whatever version of the programmer you have. He should be scanning it and then I'll get it back.

Try typing ? or HELP and it should give you a list of commands.

Thanks, that did it! I forgot about the menu options on Hyperterminal's tool bar, I was focused on what commands the programmer was showing.

AWESOME! I'm got about 2,000,000 pending projects that were waiting for me to figure out how to program 2716, 2732 and 2532's!
 
Pinout? I'm not sure what you mean.

By the way, by the looks of the board in these programmers they appear as though they would be reproducible, would people gain anything if I were to make Gerber files for it so people can make their own? Yeah it's WAY out of date but we tend to deal with EPROMs that old and the cheap newer programmers seem rather unreliable reading old stuff (at least in my experience), and we might be able to incorporate a few mods to make it easier to use.
 
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The power inlet look to be a 7 pin din type plug. A function for each pin there is what I'm after. Thank ya
 
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