Questions about EEPROM PROM burners,etc

gutsman004

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Would it be wise purchasing one of these? Reason being is I have many Capcom CPS2 boards and I know they "suicide." I also know they can be phoenixed.Would getting one of these eventually help me be able to phoenix boards myself? I know there's a lot more to it.I don't know a whole lot about them,so I guess my main question would be what exactly can you use these for in relation to arcade games?
 
Unless your going to do alot of repair work and have alot of games its probably not cost effective to buy a burner. The burner is just part of the cost, then you have to buy eproms to have on hand.
If you need roms burned you can get them from www.hobbyroms.com.
 
You not only need an EPROM programmer, but also a UV eraser.

Make sure that whatever you buy will do the 16-bit EPROMs that you need for the CPS2 boards: 27C4096.

You can pick up a couple of decent ones for under $200 total. I wouldn't recommend a Willem type unless you feel like owning something you have to dink around with to get to work.

But, if you don't want to mess with it, you can buy pre-programmed ROMs from people like me or hobbyroms.

RJ
 
Yeah,I was really just looking to see if it was feasible (realistically and economically)to phoenix the boards myself.It sounds like I should just go the "pay someone else that has the knowledge to do it" route.So....yeah. Do you phoenix boards CPS2 boards channelmanic? If so,how much?
 
I do phoenix CPS2 boards. It runs $25 plus code (20 Euros) and shipping.

RJ
 
Make sure that whatever you buy will do the 16-bit EPROMs that you need for the CPS2 boards: 27C4096.


That's key !

The CPS-2 eproms are indeed 16-bit eproms (which have 40 pins ).

Many newer programmers need adapters for 16-bit eproms,
and some older programmers only have 32-pin sockets (..which obviously won't work ).

Common 16-bit eproms to look for as supported devices are:

27c1024 or 27c210 ( 64k x 16 = 1M )
27c2048 or 27c220 ( 128k x 16 = 2M )
27c4096 or 27c240 ( 256k x 16 = 4M )

Cheers,
Steph
 
And 27C400 = 256k x 16 (4Mb) which are Non-JEDEC pinout type EPROMs used in many CPS1 boards as graphics ROMs.

These non-JEDEC pinout chips are different in that instead of having address lines down one side and data along the other, they have one end of the chip with address and the other with data. It makes for easier PC board trace layouts.

RJ
 
Plenty of people have used them, but I wouldn't waste my money on a Willem programmer.
 
I have the True USB Willem from mcumall. It may not be the best, but it is only about $100 and it works on my win7 laptop. It has burned everything I need so far except proms. I also have a Unisite that I am trying to get working. When it is working, I think I will still use the willem for the chips it supports just because it is fast and easy. So far, it is only the proms that I haven't been able to burn, which is why I bought the unisite.
 
Minus 27C64's... I had nothing but trouble with my Willem... I had a special ritual I had to follow to burn pretty much anything else... low voltage, adjust timing... medium voltage, then hammer it home with higher voltage... that's the only way I could really get 2532's and the like to burn... if at all.

Picked up an Needham EMP-20, haven't looked back.

As for a UV eraser, I got one of the cheap ones on eBay, it's worked well enough for me, but now that the bulb is going out, I won't be replacing it. I think I'm just going to strap a couple of bulbs to the top of a shoebox and use it instead... When I order my EPROMs they're never blanked and having to to through, sometimes, 100+ EPROMs 5-6 at a time... ugggg. It just depends on what you need though.

Willems seem to work for some people, sometimes they don't. If you just need a couple of EPROMs burnt or read (Willem did a fine job of reading the chips, just shotty programing them) then a Williem might work for you... but I'd recommend against one if you can afford anything better.
 
Willems = total junk. If yours works, good for it - but it's not the norm, that's for sure. One guy I know got so fed up with his that he smashed it with a hammer (after spending hours trying to get the stupid thing to function...)

I love my Needham's PB-10. It's ancient, but it works flawlessly. I even rigged up an adapter so I can program 16 bit wide EPROMs with it :)

As for an eraser, you can either buy one, or make your own. I made one using a germicidal lamp tube from a pet store (they're used in pond filters to kill bacteria, and it's the proper wavelength UV for EPROMs). It's a full size lamp, so I can erase a good 15 chips at a time easy.

-Ian
 
Willems = total junk. If yours works, good for it - but it's not the norm, that's for sure. One guy I know got so fed up with his that he smashed it with a hammer (after spending hours trying to get the stupid thing to function...)

That hammer guy would be me... unless you know someone else that smashed theirs with a hammer. I couldn't motivate myself to get a new EPROM burner when I had the Willem hanging over my head sometimes working... but mainly fry'ng chips.

So.. one hammer and $70 (including shipping) later... got a good EMP-20 from a forum member. :) Haven't looked back since... loving it.
 
That hammer guy would be me... unless you know someone else that smashed theirs with a hammer. I couldn't motivate myself to get a new EPROM burner when I had the Willem hanging over my head sometimes working... but mainly fry'ng chips.

Hehe. Believe it or not, it was someone else...

So, now you know you're not the only one who's ever smashed a Willem in frustration.

-Ian
 
Willem = Junk for anything in the 27xx or 25xx series chips for classic games. Don't waste your money and more importantly time.

If you can't afford to buy the really good stuff from the 70's / 80's, look around for the Pocket Programmer II parallel port version. Still available from various places used. Expect to pay between $120 and $150 for a used one.

Burns 2516 to 2564 and 2716 to the largest 27xxx Nmos and (C) Cmos chips as well. Also does EEPROM and others. Never had a bad burn unless the chip was toast. RARELY had a good burn on a TOP series programmer with anything other than CMOS based 27's (e.g. 27C010) and even then sporrattic. No adaptors needed to do 25xx chips either like Willem/TOP.

It's reliable, consistent and programmed with a useable UI, not some Chinenglish hacked POS like the TOP series programmers. Has it's own power adaptor to ensure proper 12.5/21/25 volt power WITH enough amperage unlike the TOP and Willems that try to bump 200ma max 5V up to 21-25V out of your USB port.
 
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