9 replies to this topic

[Christari]

I have started playing with Batari Basic. I have also been reading a lot on eproms. I am confused as to how you would know what chip to burn a program to. Also, without a lot of money to spend, what is the best burner out right now for under $100? A lot of people like/dislike the willem. I noticed they have a new version out. Do these work for the money? Finally, can anyone lead me to how you do this? I am computer literate, but I am lost when it comes to this. I assume many of you have gone through this already and could offer me some great advice. Any help will be greatly appreciated. By this way, I will be running the burner on Vista.

[newcoleco]

I can't decide for you, but I'm using an eprom burner (with usb cable) available at Batronix web site.

My eprom burner (made by Batronix) works great with Windows 98SE, XP and Vista.

Batronix offer different models, maybe one of them will be not too expensive and do all you want and more.

[Wickeycolumbus]

Whatever you do, don't get the Willem. It is a complete waste of money because it does not program eproms, even though they advertize that they do. In order to program eproms with a willem, you need to modify it and it is hard to do. I am also happy with my batronix, you can buy it here:
http://www.progshop....programmer.html

be warned, it is a little over $100, but it is well worth the money.

[jdrose]

The Batronix looks good but, in addition to the price of the product, they want $60 to ship it. Approaching $300 for their basic EPROM programmer.

Anything similar made in the states?

[disjaukifa]

Just my two cents, I got the base BX32 . . . and freaking LOVE IT. Amazing programmer and it works natively on my Mac. I also have a Batronix USB Chip Programmer that I think I just sold as well! Nope still for sale!

Yeah they are expensive, but their software is first rate and I haven't found anything that comes close to quality and reliability!

[KevinMos3]

What about the TOP853 programmer, or the G540? I see a lot of those on ebay.

I've been wanting to get one for a while, but the price of the Batronix is way more than I can afford at this point. If neither of the above are good for our purposes, is there another that someone could recommend that is more affordable than the Batronix?

[Wickeycolumbus]

Wow, old thread

My only regret with the BX32 has been that I didn't spend the extra $34 to get the BX32P, or really splurge and get the BX40. With the BX32P, you get a better ZIF socket and about twice as many supported parts.

[KevinMos3]

Well, as I said, the Batronix is not an option. Does anyone know if the TOP853 programmer or the G540 will do what we need?

[jdrose]

TOP853 is made in China. That's neither good or bad. However, I have heard that the TOP853 has flaky software and that the programming voltages are not always to spec.

The G540 is made in China too. At $80 shipped, It is fairly affordable but I can't seem to find a comprehensive review of it on the net. What reviews I did find said that the programming voltages were erratic enough that it was unable to reliably erase some types of EEPROMS. That's not good.

Perhaps it is best to save up our coin and get the Batronix? I've read nothing but stellar reviews about them.

[GroovyBee]

You can get good deals on 2nd hand programmers from ebay. However, make sure they come with the software. The only downside is that you might need to use an old PC for its parallel port.