FS Parts: Needhams EMP-11, UV eraser and laptop - a complete eprom solution (round 10)

smalltownguy2

Well-known member

Donor 2013
Joined
Dec 30, 2008
Messages
17,076
Reaction score
2,650
Location
Osceola, Wisconsin
Rating - 100%
154   0   0
Needhams EMP-11, UV eraser and laptop - a complete eprom solution (round 10)

I've got another kit ready - just in time for your winter arcade projects.

Some of you may remember that I've sold a couple of eprom burning setups with some older laptops and Needham's EMP-10, and EMP-20 eprom burners with a UV eraser. I had a LOT of interest in them, so I reached out to Needhams to see if they could source me some of their remaining stock of vintage programmers. I've always loved the EMP line of programmers because the programming interface is dead simple to use, and the programmers are very reliable. They get me programmers when they can, and I put together kits when I can.

Alright, so here we go. $200 gets you:

Needham's EMP-11 programmer, with power supply, serial cable. 111A / 111B module included. Does all the 80s / 90's common board eproms, from 2716 all the way up to the 8meg eproms found on boards like Mortal Kombat and such.

IBM ThinkPad T42 laptop, running Windows XP. Boots and runs correctly, all drivers correctly installed, device manager is clean. Clean laptop with a newer hard drive. All updates applied. Battery does not hold a charge, bios battery is dead too. Hard drive is a new 60gb pata drive. WiFi works. If you'd like me to replace the bios and main batteries for you, add $20 and 5 working days before shipment.

This laptop will go online and browse various websites. It's got a Pentium M 1.7 with 512megs of ram. Plenty of horsepower to drive Windows XP. You can use this laptop to lookup / download schematics, browse and post to the forums, download and save game roms. Handy.

UV eraser. China special. Brand new. I have one just like it - works great.

This is basically a turn-key solution for reading, verifying, and programming your own eproms. No more waiting (OR PAYING!) for someone else to burn or verify roms for you - do it yourself!

The laptop is all set up to go; it boots to WinXP and the EMP software is already loaded. There's a shortcut link on the desktop to launch the EMP software. All you have to do is turn on the laptop, and double click the EMP program icon and that's it - you're ready to go. I will also offer as much phone support as you need to get comfortable using the system. I've been burning roms with Needham's equipment for 7 years now, so I'm more than happy to help someone get started. With so many freeplay and game mods out there that are just a rom hack, this is a very economical way to service and upgrade your games. Wanna burn your own versus games to change your Vs Excite Bike board into Vs Balloon Fight? No problem! Burn up some roms yourself. Wanna add freeplay with attract mode to your Pac board? No problem! Burn up a new rom for it. How about the Turbo Ninja roms for MK? Sure! Burn your own copy.

These packages see quite a bit of interest, and tend to sell quickly. I will have a few more bundles put together this winter, but most will cost a bit more as they will use more powerful equipment. This setup is what I would call a "low-end" setup - I will be listing more powerful equipment later this year.

As always, pics.


IMG_1526_zpshwxyxbll.jpg



IMG_1527_zpsdtjzhzzi.jpg



IMG_1528_zpssrvezrkb.jpg



IMG_1531_zps7iqthskw.jpg



IMG_1532_zpsfajxzxod.jpg
 
So the emp11 runs under WinXP? Is that the advantage compared to the emp10 which doesn't run under XP, correct?
 
I believe you can upgrade that laptop to 2GB of RAM for cheap, and it will run much better.

I have the same machine (t42/43), and it was one of the last 'genuine' Thinkpads from IBM, before they sold to Lenovo. It's very nicely built, and I love the keyboard. I still use mine every day.
 
Darn missed this one.. Brad I want the the next kit.
I pm You. Call me..

I just sent you a PM. Hopefully you'll get it this time.

I believe you can upgrade that laptop to 2GB of RAM for cheap, and it will run much better.

I have the same machine (t42/43), and it was one of the last 'genuine' Thinkpads from IBM, before they sold to Lenovo. It's very nicely built, and I love the keyboard. I still use mine every day.

Agreed. The T42's are a nice little laptop. Trouble with Windows XP is that you cna't run IE any higher than IE8, and some sites don't play nicely with IE8. Google Chrome works (the highest version supported by XP is 49.xxxx) but even that is somewhat flaky. I wonder if Firefox would run OK with Windows XP?
 
Agreed. The T42's are a nice little laptop. Trouble with Windows XP is that you cna't run IE any higher than IE8, and some sites don't play nicely with IE8. Google Chrome works (the highest version supported by XP is 49.xxxx) but even that is somewhat flaky. I wonder if Firefox would run OK with Windows XP?


I'm sending this message from basically that same laptop right now, using Chrome. Yeah, they're not supporting it anymore, but I find it works well enough for daily use still, with the last updated version.

Occasionally I'll notice something odd (like linked images to other sites on KLOV not always working, due to HTTPS handling), but if I absolutely need to see whatever it is, I'll fire up Firefox, and it works.
 
I am looking for an eprom burning solution, and like what you've put together. I was just wondering how this compares to a usb burner like the gq-4x? Any pros and cons between the two?
 
I have both an EMP-20 and the GQ-4X, and if I were to get one, I'd go with the GQ-4X.

I like these retro setups folks are selling (and am not trying to derail the OP at all here), and the EMP's are great programmers, but you get 95% of the capability in a much more convenient package with a GQ-4X, without needing to use an older PC, etc.

Ultimately it depends on what you are trying to burn. But you can look up any part to see if it's supported on either programmer. Unless you are doing a bunch of obscure stuff, the GQ-4X supports just about all of the common EPROMs you are going to deal with for arcade purposes. And it's USB, and the software is simple and intuitive. (Not that the EMP is that complicated, but things are just easier in Windows instead of DOS.)
 
Back
Top Bottom