atrax27407 Posted October 11, 2014 Share Posted October 11, 2014 Anyone have a copy of the user manual in English? My Mandarin is a bit rusty. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lee Stewart Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 (edited) Anyone have a copy of the user manual in English? My Mandarin is a bit rusty. I haven't been able to find one except on a site (forgot where) that wants you to have purchased the MiniPRO from them. It's not too hard to figure out the interface. Searching online has yielded useful advice, such as not to check the "Check device ID" option in the Options box at the lower left because it never seems to work and prevents other commands from working properly. Tony seems to have figured out programming Atmega chips and I'm sure he'll be chiming in soon. ...lee Edited October 12, 2014 by Lee Stewart Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 I've got a MiniPro coming in a few days. Tony and I have been corresponding since he convinced me to buy one to replave my Genius 540. I managed to find a more recent version of the setup files - VN 6.1 done in July. Do you know if they have a web site in English where you can download updates to the software? The only one I can find is in Chinese which doesn't help much. At least the Genius had English downloads on its web site. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lee Stewart Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 I've got a MiniPro coming in a few days. Tony and I have been corresponding since he convinced me to buy one to replave my Genius 540. I managed to find a more recent version of the setup files - VN 6.1 done in July. Do you know if they have a web site in English where you can download updates to the software? The only one I can find is in Chinese which doesn't help much. At least the Genius had English downloads on its web site. The program has English as an option, so you won't have to worry on that score. Also, there's an online update option on the Help menu. You should be able to use Google Translate (or some such) to muddle through their website. ...lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 I found a 31-minute video on YouTube about the TL866. The guy even disassembles the device and then programs several chips with it (I guess he got it back together correctly). It seems very straightforward. I was able to find an updated version of the software - Vn 6.1 from July of this year. I'll wait and see which version is delivered along with the eprommer. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKRetrogamer Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 (edited) I received my minipro earlier this week and I agree with Lee, it's easy to muddle your way through. The help files are in Chinese too but there's an English version attached to this post. Just overwrite the version in the install directory. As you've found, the latest version of the programming software is v6.1, but the program will also detect the firmware revision of your programmer and offer an upgrade when the hardware is detected. The A revision of the hardware (apparently) has an ISP [in-Series Programming] interface and slightly revised firmware. There's an excellent (if somewhat long) thread on the EEVBLog forum. It sounds like it was Dave's disassembly video you've already seen. Here's a link to the EEVBlog discussion of this programmer which includes links to download a firmware hack, if you feel like adding the ISP interface at a later date. http://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/ MiniProHelp.zip Edited October 12, 2014 by UKRetrogamer 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 Absolutely great!!! I now have an English help file!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lee Stewart Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Absolutely great!!! I now have an English help file!! More like Chinglish, Bob! ...lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted October 12, 2014 Author Share Posted October 12, 2014 Better than Mandarin! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKRetrogamer Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 (edited) I don't know if you've looked but even the English help file doesn't tell you anything you probably couldn't figure out by menu-diving. All menus are in English and the options are fairly common for an EPROM programmer. You shouldn't have any problems operating it. I just wish there was an option in the software to ADD EPROMS to the built-in database of programmable devices. Since receiving mine, I've programmed a handful of low-capacity, 27-series EPROMS from the 80s which aren't listed in the known device list and it would've been nice to save the working settings back into the database instead of having to reach for data-sheets every time I pick one from my collection, especially when you consider a failure in a "trial" burn results in a 15-minute wait for the EPROM eraser to work its magic. Edited October 12, 2014 by UKRetrogamer Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lee Stewart Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 ... I just wish there was an option in the software to ADD EPROMS to the built-in database of programmable devices. Since receiving mine, I've programmed a handful of low-capacity, 27-series EPROMS from the 80s which aren't listed in the known device list and it would've been nice to save the working settings back into the database instead of having to reach for data-sheets every time I pick one from my collection, especially when you consider a failure in a "trial" burn results in a 15-minute wait for the EPROM eraser to work its magic. Can you not save your settings as a project? ...lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKRetrogamer Posted October 12, 2014 Share Posted October 12, 2014 Can you not save your settings as a project? ...lee That's exactly what I'm doing but it would be more natural to have the settings saved in the drop-down selection list like all the others. It's a pity the software doesn't make allowances for this. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Lee Stewart Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 That's exactly what I'm doing but it would be more natural to have the settings saved in the drop-down selection list like all the others. It's a pity the software doesn't make allowances for this. It's probably not a good idea; but, I bet you could hack InfoIC.dll to do your bidding. ...lee Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 At the end of the Chinglish help file, there is a form to email to AUTOELECTRIC with a request to add additional chips. As soon as my MiniPro arrives (you need the serial number), ,I'm going to send them a request to add both the TMS2532 and TMS2532A to the database. Both are handy for console ROMs and peripheral card DSRs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKRetrogamer Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 I'm going to send them a request to add both the TMS2532 and TMS2532A to the database. Both are handy for console ROMs and peripheral card DSRs. From reading the posts made by one of their resellers on the EEVBlog thread, I believe the manufacturer will add ICs as long as you're willing to send them a couple of samples. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazoo Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 At the end of the Chinglish help file, there is a form to email to AUTOELECTRIC with a request to add additional chips. As soon as my MiniPro arrives (you need the serial number), ,I'm going to send them a request to add both the TMS2532 and TMS2532A to the database. Both are handy for console ROMs and peripheral card DSRs. Both of those chips are easily programmable with an adapter to go from a 2732. I've made a few already. Gazoo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted October 13, 2014 Author Share Posted October 13, 2014 It is easier to just stuff them in the ZIF socket than to forage around for the adapter that you may have misplaced - again! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Gazoo Posted October 13, 2014 Share Posted October 13, 2014 My adapter has a zif socket, and it's always sitting right next to my MiniPro. . Gazoo 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 I found out something interesting! I had a bunch of AMD 27C040 chips that I got from a vendor in China (never again). The bloody things just wouldn't program and verify on my Genius 540 or initially on my MiniPro. I decided to give them one last chance before I threw them into the trash. So, I unchecked the "Check device ID" box and had at it. All of them programmed like a charm. What I can deduce from this exercise is that the chips were likely counterfeit and the device ID was wrong. The MiniPro handled them very nicely. There's more than one way to skin a cat! 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKRetrogamer Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 The Check device ID box is a PITA sometimes. I've been collecting data-sheets for the remaining EPROMs I have and setting the programmer according to the sheet, rather than select from the menu. If I've set from the data-sheet, I'll uncheck the Device ID box before programming and I've yet to program a chip and have it fail verification. It seems to me, the Check ID works well for modern devices but suffers from "false negative" syndrome when using older EPROMS like 27C64/27C128, etc. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+Ksarul Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 That is an interesting observation--I'll keep that in mind as a test for other chips that I get. Many thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 BTW, the MiniPro is MUCH faster than the Genius using both low and high capacity EPROMs. It sure makes putting projects together for the TI easy, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKRetrogamer Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 It's certainly much quicker than my previous EPROM burner. My first burner is still attached to my BBC Micro. Firmware updates stopped nearly 30 years ago. Burn time is around 10-15 minutes per EPROM. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
UKRetrogamer Posted October 18, 2014 Share Posted October 18, 2014 That is an interesting observation--I'll keep that in mind as a test for other chips that I get. Many thanks! Checking/setting from the data-sheet and then un-checking the Check Device ID box has allowed me to use some of my old 1980s CMOS EPROMs which I might otherwise have discarded. The clue was in the fact the Watford Electronics burner on my BBC Micro still wrote and verified chips which the TL866 failed to burn correctly until I read the data-sheets. Just thought it worth mentioning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
atrax27407 Posted October 18, 2014 Author Share Posted October 18, 2014 I've found that the Vpp info listed on the MiniPro is not always correct but you can change it with the drop down menu to the correct votage. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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