Re: Star Wars mathbox PROMs (and PROMs in general)

Once upon a time, Clay Cowgill wrote:
>
> Interesting point... Anyone know who's still making bipolar PROMs?

While we're at it, what's the deal with TI bipolars? Unlike EPROMs,
bipolars need to be programmed with the right algorithm. Heck, some
bipolars are "all 1s" and others are "all 0s" in their blank state.

Which brings me to the TI problem - I've got an EE Tools Allmax. Great
piece of hardware, burns most anything under the sun. The one thing it
won't burn is a TI bipolar. This is rather annoying, seeing as how most
of the local parts stores carry the TI parts, but not the NS or Signetics
equivalents.

What's really annoying - the Allmax *does* support the TI series of
EPROMs and PALs. Only the bipolar PROMs are unsupported.

Has anyone either:

a) Found a non-TI part that uses the same programming algorithm as
   the TI part?

b) Hacked the Allmax data files to figure out how to add support
   for different devices?

And now for the "now THAT'S a programming algorithm!" department:

The Allmax software is DOS-based, but runs fine in a DOS window.
Once, however, I was burning a 27512 and nudged the mouse out of
the window, losing window focus, and Windoze shoved the task into
the background.

I didn't notice until a few minutes later when it clued in to me
that the "whistling" sound of the burner had been constant for a
long time. Probably spent 3-4 minutes burning the same byte into
the poor 27512. Somehow the chip survived, apparently none the
worse for wear. The mind boggles...

Later,
Doug.

-- 
Douglas W. Jefferys           | 
Star Data Systems             | 
Email: djeffery@multipath.com |