Eprom Programmer?

Fox1

Bub & Bob's Bubble Buddy,
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Cool. Is that one in the auction (the 16-bit adapter) alright?
 

Fox1

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Sounds good, I'll throw him an offer that's a few bucks off.
 

mainman

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Its a nice beginners setup but it's always best to get a programmer that supports 48 pins natively to future proof as your about to drop $160 on the GQ-4X and a 48 pin programmer would cost you the same if not just $20 more. In other words do it right the first time. The eraser they are throwing in isn't much of a incentive as it will only house around 6 chips or less at a time.

The GQ-4X seems to lack a TTL logic checker feature, also the device list doesn't include the commonly used GAL16V8D

You can get a top3000 with 64bit support and native 48 pin support for the same price.
http://www.ebay.com/itm/New-TOP3000...214?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item415086a776

This eraser might be a little more than you are willing to pay but believe me it is a investment that will quickly pay for itself by saving you a crap load of time when you are batch erasing chips
http://www.ebay.com/itm/BK-Precisio...476?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item43c69726d4
 
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Xian Xi

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I still have my TOP2049 and it works great for 98% of the arcade stuff I throw at it. I'd get the TOP3000 over that GQ-4X honestly but it all depends on how much you are going to get into it.
 

mainman

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I still have my TOP2049 and it works great for 98% of the arcade stuff I throw at it. I'd get the TOP3000 over that GQ-4X honestly but it all depends on how much you are going to get into it.

Yeap we both have the 2049, it is a great burner and it works for 98% of my project. It can still be bought and just ignore the disclaimers about the issue with the 27C line of chip as this problem has been 98% fixed for 4 years. The only issue I have is burning a certain brand of 27c4002 chips. THE BIG draw back is lack of 64 bit support.

http://aidetek.com/mm5/merchant.mvc?Screen=PROD&Store_Code=A&Product_Code=TOP2049&Category_Code=TOP
 

Tyranix95

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Its a nice beginners setup but it's always best to get a programmer that supports 48 pins natively ...

This. This. This. ^^^

And if you don't want to spend a fortune ($500+), then check the supported device list and make sure it programs the 27c series of chips if you plan on doing any NEO or Capcom stuff. Some of the newer, modern, entry-level programmers are dropping support for the legacy devices like the 27c322, which is necessary.

Also, make sure your program can support Pic & Gal chips. These will be very useful later on as your programming needs expand.
 
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GohanX

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Something that caught my eye in that thread... ALWAYS use an external a.c. adapter with that GQ4X, I don't care what tech support says.
 

mainman

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Something that caught my eye in that thread... ALWAYS use an external a.c. adapter with that GQ4X, I don't care what tech support says.

This is not a issue with the top programmer as I have NEVER had to use the included AC adapter in the 4 years I have owned it.
 

smkdan

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I can vouch for the TOP3000 too. 16bit EPROM support out of the box with no needed adapters is great. No problems with the stock PSU either. Up until now I used the 32bit software in WinXP Mode but I just tried the new 64bit software and it seems to work fine natively.
 

hungar

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This thread is just what I needed. I recently bought one of the cheap usb miniPro TL866 programmers and it doesn't natively support 27c400 which is very annoying. I don't suppose anyone knows if it can? Otherwise I think I'll cut my losses and go for a TOP3000.
 

Xian Xi

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This is not a issue with the top programmer as I have NEVER had to use the included AC adapter in the 4 years I have owned it.

Seriously? Damn, from day one I've always had the PSU plugged in. Never tried without it. Been like 4-5 years now.
 

channelmaniac

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http://www.eetools.com

You get what you pay for.

I can program 2716 through 27C322, fuse link PROMs, GAL/PAL/PEEL/PLA logic, Flash, serial and parallel EEPROMs, EAROMs, and more with my TopMax.

I'll be selling one for $245 + shipping if someone wants one. That's what I'll get for trading it in towards a TopMax 2 which I'll be doing in a week when I get home from Melbourne, Australia.
 

mainman

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Seriously? Damn, from day one I've always had the PSU plugged in. Never tried without it. Been like 4-5 years now.

Yeap never used the AC adapter. As a matter of fact this is a killer mobile setup with my samsung Q1 as I can program anywhere

100_2624_zps46c6e6a8.jpg


As for the eetools programmers, the equivalent eetools programmer models Topmax2 and Chipmax2 cost $800 and $550 respectively which is going to be well outside of 99% of everyone budget including me. The game killer for the eetool programmers is that their proprietary adapters for instance a dip to tsop adapter cost from $130 to hundreds more compared to the $25 you would pay for the same adapter for the top3000

The top3000 is a excellent hobbyist programmer that will handle all the chips you will come across in arcade equipment used from 89 onward including gal,flash, EEPROMs and etc. I will be upgrading to the 3000 soon as I recently discovered my 2049 will not program 89c51rc2 MCU correctly in addition to the fact I need a programmer with 64 bit support. BTW the 89c51rc2 I need to program is part of a advance non arcade related project and the actual part itself has only been on the market for a few years. My trusting 2049 will become my axillary programmer.
 
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channelmaniac

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I use the cheap generic adapters and they work well. Not sure where you got the idea that the cheap adapters wouldn't work with them.
 

kuze

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So you guys would recommend the top3000 over the wellon vp390?
 

mainman

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I use the cheap generic adapters and they work well. Not sure where you got the idea that the cheap adapters wouldn't work with them.

I got the ideal from the fact I tried to use my tsop adapter with the topmax2 at my work and it did not work.

So you guys would recommend the top3000 over the wellon vp390?

Slightly more expensive, I personally never used one. Most people I have know who owns a vp280 have praised it. There is one person who owns a vp280 who posted on this topic who had his 280 go randomly bad on him one day which required him to do surface mount repair on it. The vp390 is the next evolution in the vp line as the vp280 is no longer available for purchase
 
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Tyranix95

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So you guys would recommend the top3000 over the wellon vp390?

eetools are the best.

After that it's all who you want to roll with.

As for wellons: 280, 380, 480 are all good choices. But, hard to find 'cause these are discontinued models. The 390 is current, and should work fine.

... Most people I have know who owns a vp280 have praised it. There is one person who owns a vp280 who posted on this topic who had his 280 go randomly bad on him one day which required him to do surface mount repair on it. The vp380 is the next evolution in the vp line as the vp280 is no longer available for purchase

That was me. And I love it. But was having a bad day. Was multi-tasking (burning a 27C160, zipping a TTX2 Dump, and surfing the net) and my computer froze. Hit the re-boot button--Took the chip off the programmer--And tried the burn again. The software reported that there was a chip stuck on the top of the programmer, which there was not.

Posted the issue over in the Wellon tech forums. We ran the self-test. The programmer failed. Gave us a code. They had me replaced a few Super Diodes (Transistors) on the bottom of the socket board. And it was fixed. Their tech support was great--Very fast and knowledgeable. The longest part about the whole fix was ordering the parts from Digi-key, which took a few days, and the fact that tech was closed during the Chinese New-Year, which took a week. Other than that, the programmer is working great again.

Love this little thing.
 

GohanX

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Seriously? Damn, from day one I've always had the PSU plugged in. Never tried without it. Been like 4-5 years now.

I've read in some data sheets that some eeproms require higher voltages for writing to some chips, maybe the top has some way around it? With my GQ the only time I've had bad burns (outside of bad chips) is when I forget to plug the power cord in. It's only happened like once or twice though, and there have been plenty of times when I forgot to plug it in but the burned eprom was just fine.
 

mainman

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I've read in some data sheets that some eeproms require higher voltages for writing to some chips, maybe the top has some way around it? With my GQ the only time I've had bad burns (outside of bad chips) is when I forget to plug the power cord in. It's only happened like once or twice though, and there have been plenty of times when I forgot to plug it in but the burned eprom was just fine.

It's called a DC to DC converter and all modern programmers have one.
 

GohanX

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Modern, fuck that, I needs my cheap Chinese knockoff shit.
 
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