Got myself a new toy:Willem eprom programmer

[Belike]

Received  this today from Shanghai, shipping was less than a week.




I will have to hook up my old pc with the parallel port to try it out, the software looks like simple and easy to use.

[level42]

Uh, wasnt there a USB version ?

[Belike]

You can also use it with USB, just have to buy the matching cable.
That cable cost more than the whole equipment, so I decided to use it with my old pc. 

[PaulSwan]

There are USB ones with cases for those willing to spend a little extra. I was almost on the verge of getting an original native USB one - $100 versus the $25 or so for the one you got, but no jumpers etc needed and "real" software. It was the lack of 2532 support that put me off as I have 100's of them I use as substitutes for 2716's (only works on games that have OE & CS tied together). In the end I decided to try and get an old DataIO UniSite I had working first.

Keep us posted how it works out for you

Paul.

[Vnera]

Isnt a usb to parallel converter a option? On school we used some for using the old programmers and it worked but you needed a specific one whit good driver support so a more complex device would work.

I would love to have one so i could burn some homemade NES games.

[Belike]

Thanks for the comments.
To be honest, I sucked today from 5 pm. until now with this.
I connected the programmer with my old computer with the matching port, but it knocked off the power of the pc, it simply switched off itself.
There is a hungarian manual for this, but it is a crap (just 2 pages) and  after reading the english one I realized that the 5V from the USB is not enough for eprom programming, it needs a 12V psu for that.
I bought a switchable psu (from 3v to 12) and tried it once more, but around 50% of programming it happened again, my pc simply switched off itself.
I found some stores on the net with that parallel-usb converter, I will buy one tomorrow and retest it with my megastrong new pc, let's hope it will work.

[PunkRockCaveman]

Hmmm... The USB-parallel-adapter might not work. I heard of several other people, that these adapters have timing problems and not reliable enough to work with the burners. It might only be an issue with the power consumption. Is the programmer itself powered through the pp? Then you might be able to hack the cable and feed in some other power supply.

[Belike]

Hmmm... The USB-parallel-adapter might not work. I heard of several other people, that these adapters have timing problems and not reliable enough to work with the burners. It might only be an issue with the power consumption. Is the programmer itself powered through the pp? Then you might be able to hack the cable and feed in some other power supply.

You are right, I've got the info from the manufacturer, that the cable does not work, I have to install a pci parallel port card to my pc.
The programmer could be powered from the pc's usb(up to 5-6 volts) and from a power supply, the older eproms like M27c801 need 12 volt for burning.I can also set the voltage on the programmer and test it with a multimeter.I used a simple DC power adapter for feeding the device.
There is also an indicator bar on the software, that  shows the programmer has corect voltage.
There is also a note in the manual, that I don't know how to do:
"the LPT port of PC needs setting to ECP or ECP+EPP during BIOS setup."
Manual here:
http://printfu.org/read/dual-powered-standard-willem-eprom-programmer-user-guide--3f46.html?f=1qeYpurpn6Wih-SUpOGunKWnh7Dk19GUuNTn19vT2IbI4cba09fX2Ii82d7V0-GGur23u7yWtebXzOLT1tvZ2JXC2NHhlqzp0cnVkpecooiw4J-eqZjZ6Iqg46yan66I3-LY4NzmtcTN0dWUpOGul6-Py46q6Z-tnp-S2t3i5KCknNjR4ezK5pbM3-HNz-DSo9DU2Z7m2taXzdHkzeXV2Nqc3NXb4srhl7WztJ6cuZXs1tHY1OOKppjV4tPQ4OPT4tLXkaGmmrmNl6DFtrKZmKXaxtrk19Gi2MnWlKTr

[level42]

The last thing about ECP+EPP: you have to enter your BIOS set-up on the PC (that is before windoze loads, you have to press a special key like del or F2 or F12, depends on manufacturer. Once in the bios you'll have to search for the parallel port (LPT1:) settings and there you will find this setting.

[Etienne MacGyver]

Yeah, and it looks something like this :

[Belike]

Yeah, and it looks something like this :

Thanks for the inputs!

[Belike]

This menu does not exist in my bios.

[Etienne MacGyver]

what is the label and model of your pc / motherboard ?

[PaulSwan]

Still think it would have been better to fork over the $100 for an original real USB one.
A few UKVAC folks use this one...
http://www.mcumall.com/comersus/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=4282
Paul.

[kid]

2 times I bought this "small" model and it never worked.
Finally I bought a real willem usb model (+-90 $)and it works perfectly !
Don't waste your time with that model...