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EEVblog => EEVblog Specific => Topic started by: EEVblog on January 16, 2013, 11:58:08 pm

Title: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: EEVblog on January 16, 2013, 11:58:08 pm
Is a sub $50 universal programmer from ebay any good?
Dave checks out the MiniPro TL866 programmer:
http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/ (http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/)

EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FLG03f_ua5g#ws)

Dave.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ttp on January 17, 2013, 03:09:57 am
Not bad for the price. On "Select Device" (around 14:00) I could see "Logic IC" (bottom choice) - does it test and/or autodetect 7400 and 4000 series chips?

Well, just downloaded the software to check it out and can answer my own question - it does test quite a few logic chips.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: robrenz on January 17, 2013, 03:19:40 am
Am I correct that this is the Gizmo I would use to read the firmware off the eprom of my digital readout that is no longer supported so I could save the data and also write a backup chip?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ttp on January 17, 2013, 03:36:31 am
You are correct, as long as your chip is supported by the Gizmo.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ttp on January 17, 2013, 03:41:54 am
Dave, .chm file is a help file for the software, I suspect one on CD is english, the downloaded version of software comes with chinese help only. Not that you need help if you used programming software in the past but could be useful sometimes.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: george graves on January 17, 2013, 04:04:37 am
What about the ICSP header?  Did it work?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: stevesousa on January 17, 2013, 04:09:11 am
Hello:

It seems the only difference between the A and CS version is the ISP, could you check that the software actually allows you to do ISP on the (much cheaper) CS version?
To do that, just select one of the microchip pics that says "(ISP)" and give it a go.
And could you please go to help-about and see what the test says, apparently they have some detection for pirated adapters...

Thank you

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: JoannaK on January 17, 2013, 05:02:35 am
Merely 50$ for a nice looking 'universal' programmer. Based on your review that programmer hardware seems to be real good, layout looks solid, there are plenty of voltage/IO confirurations available and with the extra add-on modules it should read a lot of old stuff. And there even is overcurrent protection?

I wonder if I should get one of these just to read back all the old 16C84:s and Eproms of the 10-20 year old projects I still have around. After that I'd just need some disassemblers and time.

(added later)

Could someone with this MiniPro Tl866 (dave, someone else?) check that it does support the old Pic16C84. I tried to check their website, but can't find any mention.

Realated to previous, is there any particular Pic14-bit Disassembler (16c84) anyone is willing to recommend?

(edit.. even later.. How many errors can I make at one post.. I need more coffee, a lot more)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: notsob on January 17, 2013, 06:34:35 am
I notice that Lynx in India (an active member on this forum) are listed as Agents for 'Autoelectric' on the Chinese website.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on January 17, 2013, 07:59:22 am
Dave, the device creates a virtual serial port? What is the USB VID:PID ?

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on January 17, 2013, 11:59:30 am
I notice that Lynx in India (an active member on this forum) are listed as Agents for 'Autoelectric' on the Chinese website.

Well,
      I Am Thier Authorised Distributor In India .I Have Many Comments Of What Dave Had In This Video Of His  .You Can Find My Name Here - >  http://www.autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/order.htm (http://www.autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/order.htm) .Let Me Post All i Have Got Into This Thread .Dave i Am Stepping On Your Tail Lol  :-DD
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mikeselectricstuff on January 17, 2013, 01:54:48 pm
Quote
It seems the only difference between the A and CS version is the ISP, could you check that the software actually allows you to do ISP on the (much cheaper) CS version?
Is it actually the case that the CS is cheaper ?
I'd have thought the CS stands for Chip Soccket, and the A version is a cheaper one that doesn't have the upper PCB fitted?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on January 17, 2013, 02:18:48 pm
Hi  All ,
    i have a lot of stuff to share with you people  .

To dave
www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnyc155TJBs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=dnyc155TJBs#)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on January 17, 2013, 02:21:32 pm
Quote
It seems the only difference between the A and CS version is the ISP, could you check that the software actually allows you to do ISP on the (much cheaper) CS version?
Is it actually the case that the CS is cheaper ?
I'd have thought the CS stands for Chip Soccket, and the A version is a cheaper one that doesn't have the upper PCB fitted?

Mike  ,
    You Are Wrong I Have Explained This In My Above Post Please 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: UPI on January 17, 2013, 02:33:15 pm
I sure wish it supported the AM27S291.  :(

I can't see spending the big bucks for a Xeltek SuperPro 5000E just for this one application.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on January 17, 2013, 02:38:41 pm
I sure wish it supported the AM27S291.  :(

I can't see spending the big bucks for a Xeltek SuperPro 5000E just for this one application.

Well,
    Please Send Me The Datasheet of This To onlinesales@lynx-india.com Or sales@lynxdealerstore.com and i Will Forward To Them If They Can Do It Next Update Will Have it In The Support List .Well Xeltek Has Gone Nuts .I Am In Touch With them For Distribution in india .They Have So Much Lower Pricing For End User in China Market That I Shiver By Just Seeing The difference ,They Are Or Are Not Wanting to control this It sucks Big Time .As a Manufacturer its thier responsibility ,Plus No Manufacturer like to talk to a distributor who asked these kind of question ,Cos they have no answer to it .The only difference is that they say if you buy from usa you get support .Means what email support well i can give that at my end only  .
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: free_electron on January 17, 2013, 02:56:15 pm
Turn Off The Stupid Capitalisation Of Each And Every Word In The Sentence. It Makes My Eyes Water !
Especially if the Capitalisation algorithm flicks 'I' to 'i' when it's not supposed to !
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jnd on January 17, 2013, 02:58:33 pm
  • You were talking about firmware .Well when ever there is a update of software ,Like its ver 5.80 now and you put a programmer to the new software ,it will ask you to update programmer software ,fair enough ,do you know 6 months back it supported 6750++ device only and today it does support 13071 devices .Autoelectric team needs a pat on its back for this  .

I smell bullshit on this one. Often these numbers are very inflated because it counts every number or letter variation available even if it's just different package or temperature version which makes no difference to the programming. Or like the generic EPROM profiles which are listed under 10 different manufacturers. Elnec is at least honest in this counting and they describe how it's done (http://www.elnec.com/elnec-device-counter/#explanation).

Also compare their update logs, this is rather short one for the MiniPro (http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/MinProUpdate.htm), I don't see the thousands added there. Compare it to Elnec's extensive list (http://www.elnec.com/sw/pg4udrev.txt).

  • Yes its a kick ass programmer that can be used in production level environments also .I sell it to companies who make stuff and sells them to big American companies who make thousands of dollars selling that to Americans  lol  .So For you xeltek and elnec are production level stuff well sure they might be but they cannot match or beat the rate of this programmer in support Versus pricing of device support .Let Me Give You a example the Super M is the base level product right they sell it for USD 595/- IMHO .In china there stuff sells much less and they say those are pirated units .Well my foot they are 100% original and actual xeltek ,They cannot regulate thier own pricing  .elnec has done that but there is a beeprog model that was cloned and people should not buy it  .13000+ library of all stuff mostely used my repairmen and people like you me  .

Well as Dave showed some of the devices program rather slowly so it's not suited for high amount of ICs unless you have dedicated person sitting there all day. Even the cheaper Elnec programmer has HW button for repeated programming. For example I can program AT89C2051 under 10 seconds including actually exchanging chips in the socket and labeling each of them. You can't really compare support for $50 programmer and professional device which has 5000 new devices per year and these are real numbers, not those inflated ones. When I need support they reply to me the next day, fix errors in few days by new SW release and can implement new algorithms on demand quite quickly (haven't tested this one yet). I doubt you can really claim that for your programmer.

One thing Elnec has overpriced are those reductions for various packages. They are really expensive compared to the stuff you get bundled with MiniPro, but at least they will last for a longer time, which is again point for production level stuff.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on January 17, 2013, 03:00:46 pm
Turn Off The Stupid Capitalisation Of Each And Every Word In The Sentence. It Makes My Eyes Water !
Especially if the Capitalisation algorithm flicks 'I' to 'i' when it's not supposed to !

Well,
       i have this very very dirty habit and the only dirty habit lol .I always try n not to do it .Will try .I would love your views ,You are the man  :D
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on January 17, 2013, 03:23:28 pm
Quote
I smell bullshit on this one. Often these numbers are very inflated because it counts every number or letter variation available even if it's just different package or temperature version which makes no difference to the programming. Or like the generic EPROM profiles which are listed under 10 different manufacturers. Elnec is at least honest in this counting and they describe how it's done (http://www.elnec.com/elnec-device-counter/#explanation).

Also compare their update logs, this is rather short one for the MiniPro (http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/MinProUpdate.htm), I don't see the thousands added there. Compare it to Elnec's extensive list (http://www.elnec.com/sw/pg4udrev.txt).

Well,
      Which Programmer of elnec are you trying to compare with this programmer ? .Secondly not many people will know the interface of the software was like willem earlier .Then they added this interface ,you had to select the device in a pull down menu earlier  .even if you say they inflate the device count ,i really cannot find anything it does not support for computer repair tech and other budding enginners  .Its a Impressive feat when you can get a programmer at your doorstep @ USd 50 Right .Elnec cannot do this in thier dreams .Cos they keep bullshitting about chinese quality and blah blah .This programmer has one slick internal organisation of semiconductors and the guy knows what the hell he is doing . I am not one to defend autoelectric to elnec but man we are talking of 50 dollars here

Quote
Well as Dave showed some of the devices program rather slowly so it's not suited for high amount of ICs unless you have dedicated person sitting there all day. Even the cheaper Elnec programmer has HW button for repeated programming. For example I can program AT89C2051 under 10 seconds including actually exchanging chips in the socket and labeling each of them. You can't really compare support for $50 programmer and professional device which has 5000 new devices per year and these are real numbers, not those inflated ones. When I need support they reply to me the next day, fix errors in few days by new SW release and can implement new algorithms on demand quite quickly (haven't tested this one yet). I doubt you can really claim that for your programmer.

Well,
     i have no idea but generally the programmer programs everything @ fine speed . We should not be bend upon proving each other viewpoints negatively .You Come To My Country you can get a guy sitting whole day writing eproms .it depends on many specifics boss .

Quote
One thing Elnec has overpriced are those reductions for various packages. They are really expensive compared to the stuff you get bundled with MiniPro, but at least they will last for a longer time, which is again point for production level stuff.

Well,
    you meant the adapters dave is talking about ? .i could not get this to my head ,care to explain please
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Markybhoy on January 17, 2013, 04:03:57 pm
I think the scratched off chip is identified in this vid

http://youtu.be/j0qJzarQxww (http://youtu.be/j0qJzarQxww)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jnd on January 17, 2013, 04:08:50 pm
Quote
I smell bullshit on this one. Often these numbers are very inflated because it counts every number or letter variation available even if it's just different package or temperature version which makes no difference to the programming. Or like the generic EPROM profiles which are listed under 10 different manufacturers. Elnec is at least honest in this counting and they describe how it's done (http://www.elnec.com/elnec-device-counter/#explanation).

Also compare their update logs, this is rather short one for the MiniPro (http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/MinProUpdate.htm), I don't see the thousands added there. Compare it to Elnec's extensive list (http://www.elnec.com/sw/pg4udrev.txt).

Well,
      Which Programmer of elnec are you trying to compare with this programmer ? .Secondly not many people will know the interface of the software was like willem earlier .Then they added this interface ,you had to select the device in a pull down menu earlier  .even if you say they inflate the device count ,i really cannot find anything it does not support for computer repair tech and other budding enginners  .Its a Impressive feat when you can get a programmer at your doorstep @ USd 50 Right .Elnec cannot do this in thier dreams .Cos they keep bullshitting about chinese quality and blah blah .This programmer has one slick internal organisation of semiconductors and the guy knows what the hell he is doing . I am not one to defend autoelectric to elnec but man we are talking of 50 dollars here

We have SmartProg2 here. I know, it's a bit more than $50 but the support (both devices and personal support) is worth the difference.

You highlighted the high count of supported devices and I don't like that some product is being marketed with hard to believe numbers. We all care about the actual supported chip types and models and not that Autoelectric team can update their device counter the fastest. For some repair shops it may be good enough, for my hobbyist needs it wouldn't be that useful. I get there is no support for 8708 memory since it needs negative voltage (even the Elnec needs special adapter for this) but there is no support for 8748 or 8742 chips. You may say that's too old. OK, looking at new families, for example AVR Xmega or Tiny are missing. These use different algoritms, PDI and TPI respectively. No PIC24s and higher.

Quote
One thing Elnec has overpriced are those reductions for various packages. They are really expensive compared to the stuff you get bundled with MiniPro, but at least they will last for a longer time, which is again point for production level stuff.

Well,
    you meant the adapters dave is talking about ? .i could not get this to my head ,care to explain please

Yes I mean those adapters. Good enough for hobbyists I guess, I just noted that professional programmer accessories is very expensive.

I'm not saying the MiniPro is bad for the price, just that each of these has its market.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on January 17, 2013, 04:09:44 pm
I think the scratched off chip is identified in this vid

http://youtu.be/j0qJzarQxww (http://youtu.be/j0qJzarQxww)

Well,
    few days back i tried to register on his forum and he rejected it lol .mighe be dave can comment on the find he is the expert after all
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on January 17, 2013, 04:23:24 pm
Quote
We have SmartProg2 here. I know, it's a bit more than $50 but the support (both devices and personal support) is worth the difference.You highlighted the high count of supported devices and I don't like that some product is being marketed with hard to believe numbers. We all care about the actual supported chip types and models and not that Autoelectric team can update their device counter the fastest. For some repair shops it may be good enough, for my hobbyist needs it wouldn't be that useful. I get there is no support for 8708 memory since it needs negative voltage (even the Elnec needs special adapter for this) but there is no support for 8748 or 8742 chips. You may say that's too old. OK, looking at new families, for example AVR Xmega or Tiny are missing. These use different algoritms, PDI and TPI respectively. No PIC24s and higher.

Hee Hee ,

       I Bit Expensive man its expensiveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee .BTW as i said it depends what you you are into .Like i am into Repairing of IT products and Data Recovery .It works beautifully for Me  .


Quote
Yes I mean those adapters. Good enough for hobbyists I guess, I just noted that professional programmer accessories is very expensive.I'm not saying the MiniPro is bad for the price, just that each of these has its market.

Sure ,
      BTW Dave is wrong .Programmer comes with zero adapters .the chap who is selling to dave is bundling those and he is bundling the most hopeless once out there .If i was the one using i would never use a basic plcc adapter .I would use a ZIFF .BTW this is for anyone .Lets assume we are using a socket of ABCD company on the pcb from a chinese adapter manufacturer selling for USd 25 and the same ABCD socket is in a elnec and xeltek .they Are Selling for USD 250/- .Whats the difference Cos the ziff socket on the top pcb is same company .This is a example i am saying .what socket is being used can be checked .I would also say that a a better ziff socket in this programmer is needed .Might be something like that stupid TOP series programmer .That has a sexy Ziff dip socket man very rugged  .
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kyndal on January 17, 2013, 04:27:26 pm
Dave should populate the ICSP header and just give it a shot..
but its probably disabled in firmware..

can we just flash the other firmware on it ??

/Kyndal
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on January 17, 2013, 04:40:55 pm
Dave should populate the ICSP header and just give it a shot..
but its probably disabled in firmware..

can we just flash the other firmware on it ??

/Kyndal

Well,
     i think he should not otherwise like that wellon it will end up in the bin lol .i am sure there is a different firmware to it .Also he will need us or a new tl866a to see if he can do that this will be a great hack if possible .In my case i could make a pcb adapter and do isp programming if required as i am just learning 8051 mcu's these days .ideal brain can never stop working lol
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: andersm on January 17, 2013, 06:04:58 pm
We have SmartProg2 here. I know, it's a bit more than $50 but the support (both devices and personal support) is worth the difference.
Yeah, over $500 definitely qualifies as "a bit".
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: marmad on January 17, 2013, 07:09:55 pm
Yeah, over $500 definitely qualifies as "a bit".

 ;D

And programmers are one of those pieces of equipment which, IMO, have been massively overpriced for the actual complexity - and the hardware/software received. And then you have companies like Xeltek constantly cranking out 'newer' models - and then ending support on 'older' models: I'm currently running a patched x64 driver created by another user because Xeltek is not providing x64 drivers for certain older models.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on January 17, 2013, 07:25:23 pm
Yeah, over $500 definitely qualifies as "a bit".

 ;D

And programmers are one of those pieces of equipment which, IMO, have been massively overpriced for the actual complexity - and the hardware/software received. And then you have companies like Xeltek constantly cranking out 'newer' models - and then ending support on 'older' models: I'm currently running a patched x64 driver created by another user because Xeltek is not providing x64 drivers for certain older models.

Sir ,
  mind sharing the model and more details of that patched driver ? .interesting info
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: marmad on January 17, 2013, 07:47:09 pm
  mind sharing the model and more details of that patched driver ? .interesting info
Model is SuperPro 280U - an older USB programmer from Xeltek - which I spent a few hundred bucks for. The patched driver you can find via this page. (http://www.arcades.plus.com/Superpro280U.htm)

The quote from Xeltek (mentioned on the linked page above) explaining why they aren't providing 64-bit drivers for their older USB programmers reminds me why I really love some equipment manufacturers - and how gosh-darned upset I get when devices get cloned:

"...working on 64bit platform requires tremendous effort from our side".
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jnd on January 17, 2013, 08:02:06 pm
Yeah, over $500 definitely qualifies as "a bit".

 ;D

And programmers are one of those pieces of equipment which, IMO, have been massively overpriced for the actual complexity - and the hardware/software received. And then you have companies like Xeltek constantly cranking out 'newer' models - and then ending support on 'older' models: I'm currently running a patched x64 driver created by another user because Xeltek is not providing x64 drivers for certain older models.
Question is how much do you think they are overpriced. You can get the hardware parts alone for cheap, yes. But to have the whole product cheap, you have to cut payments to all the people doing R&D, assembly, testing, support, documentation and all their equipment. The difference between low cost project like this and professional, massively overpriced, product is still pretty evident. Like many people said before, making the hardware is easy but programmers rely on quality software, documentation and quick support. $50 programmer won't get you detailed built-in notes for every single chip or API/library for external control or on demand updates for any chip which is verified with actual IC, not just datasheets.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: EEVblog on January 17, 2013, 08:08:21 pm
Is it actually the case that the CS is cheaper ?
I'd have thought the CS stands for Chip Soccket, and the A version is a cheaper one that doesn't have the upper PCB fitted?

It appears not.
Martin has done a video showing the A model that has the upper board and ZIF socket + ICSP.

Dave.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on January 17, 2013, 08:13:58 pm
Is it actually the case that the CS is cheaper ?
I'd have thought the CS stands for Chip Soccket, and the A version is a cheaper one that doesn't have the upper PCB fitted?

It appears not.
Martin has done a video showing the A model that has the upper board and ZIF socket + ICSP.

Dave.

Dave ,
   Can you share the link ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: free_electron on January 17, 2013, 08:36:52 pm
MiniPro and HDMI Adapter (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=j0qJzarQxww#ws)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on January 17, 2013, 08:49:45 pm
Vincent,
    I will dig more on this tommorow and revert back .Might be i get some more info out there  .Plan to teardown both the models and  also the adapters .
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: EEVblog on January 17, 2013, 09:00:57 pm
Yeah, over $500 definitely qualifies as "a bit".

And programmers are one of those pieces of equipment which, IMO, have been massively overpriced for the actual complexity - and the hardware/software received. And then you have companies like Xeltek constantly cranking out 'newer' models - and then ending support on 'older' models: I'm currently running a patched x64 driver created by another user because Xeltek is not providing x64 drivers for certain older models.
Question is how much do you think they are overpriced. You can get the hardware parts alone for cheap, yes. But to have the whole product cheap, you have to cut payments to all the people doing R&D, assembly, testing, support, documentation and all their equipment. The difference between low cost project like this and professional, massively overpriced, product is still pretty evident. Like many people said before, making the hardware is easy but programmers rely on quality software, documentation and quick support. $50 programmer won't get you detailed built-in notes for every single chip or API/library for external control or on demand updates for any chip which is verified with actual IC, not just datasheets.

It's takes a LOT of effort to support programmers, I know, I used to do it in a small way selling my own EPROM programmer software. And that was just for EPROM's, let alone all the other devices available today.
Xeltek is an American company paying American wages. They might manufacture in china, and have a small group in Korea, but there are a lot of American workers. They have also been around since 1987. Do you think AutoElectric will still be around in that time frame?
Good support from a good company costs money.
In a business environment, the cost of a programmer is trivial compared to the cost of time and loss of business if your tool doesn't work properly.
You can't complain about them not offering latest OS support to an old tool, that is common in the industry across all sorts of products. But if you have an issue, and you are genuine customer, I'm sure they'll help you out.

With Autoelectric (and other cheap programmers) you pay your $50 and take your chances. If you want better piece of mind and support, you have to pay for it.

Dave.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: marmad on January 17, 2013, 09:19:17 pm
You can't complain about them not offering latest OS support to an old tool, that is common in the industry across all sorts of products. But if you have an issue, and you are genuine customer, I'm sure they'll help you out.

Sorry, but this is just not true. The Xeltek programmer I own was first released a couple of years AFTER XP 64-bit was released, and there was a large base of users (including myself) clamoring for 64-bit support from Xeltek for a long time (with the above posted quote their general response). They basically made the decision not to bother with putting ANY time into offering 64-bit drivers except with newer models they released. This has nothing to do with the latest OS support (unless you consider a 2001 OS as the latest) - it's just a lazy and/or stupid business practice - and I don't doubt they lost some previous customers because of it. They certainly lost my business.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on January 17, 2013, 09:24:13 pm
Quote
It's takes a LOT of effort to support programmers, I know, I used to do it in a small way selling my own EPROM programmer software. And that was just for EPROM's, let alone all the other devices available today.

   Well since the time you did it and now things have changed ,you have powerful mcu.easy tools even visual software to do coding things have changed  .

Quote
Xeltek is an American company paying American wages. They might manufacture in china, and have a small group in Korea, but there are a lot of American workers. They have also been around since 1987. Do you think AutoElectric will still be around in that time frame? .Good support from a good company costs money.In a business environment, the cost of a programmer is trivial compared to the cost of time and loss of business if your tool doesn't work properly.You can't complain about them not offering latest OS support to an old tool, that is common in the industry across all sorts of products. But if you have an issue, and you are genuine customer, I'm sure they'll help you out.

      Well They Sell a Superpro M @ USD 595 in US .Same product 100% original sells @ USD 300 Approx in china .A guy like you or me who buy it from either source is a genuine customer .Now they tell me that they will support the American guy cos he paid more and not the guy who got 100% original product from china @ less price .This is BS and double standards .Dave why are we even comparing TL866CS and TL866A to Xeltek and Elnec .Its out of the question .Lets compare it with willem ,nano ,the gx some thing something ,sofitech [ though sofitech is just a serial programmer and does not do older parallel ic ] and many other low cost programmers  .According to you Weilei Wellon brand Programmer is what "Heap of crap " .Well i can tell you that they are dedicated people making programmers  .Thier VP-990 and VP-590 Are Kick Ass programmers and can give the expensive brands run for thier money .I cannot remember but many many people rebrand and sell thier stuff .One so called indian universal programmer company called uc micro also .Thier website is www.ucmicrosys.com (http://www.ucmicrosys.com) .As a reseller i can sell Autoelectric in low end ,wellon vp-590 in mid and vp-990 in high end and if i can review those properly i am sure it can give the big daddies run for its money man .My 50% business is selling programmers and i do a lot of checking here and thier to get the best deals and the best stuff for selling  .i do not say you guys cannot have your viewpoints but i can seriously suggest these three programmers to anyone looking out for one  .

Quote
With Autoelectric (and other cheap programmers) you pay your $50 and take your chances. If you want better piece of mind and support, you have to pay for it.

Haa Haa ,
 Well sure we want peace of mind hence we just come to eevblog and discuss,fight,etc etc .You know something this blog is a goldmine of ideas and i love it .I would love to be here most of the time of the day .Try downloading sofitech programmer also from www.sofi-tech.com (http://www.sofi-tech.com) .they also have a open source 8051 programmer called the willar SP200S simple version and is a great diy 8051 programmer .I sell it its cool and the software too is nice .

PS  :i would love a thread where we discuss the big daddies out there in programmers
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on January 17, 2013, 09:37:41 pm
hi ,
 has anyone seen this -> http://www.ebay.com/itm/Willem-Programmer-40pin-ZIF-True-USB-Universal-High-Speed-Generation-Automatic-/261154425579?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cce044aeb (http://www.ebay.com/itm/Willem-Programmer-40pin-ZIF-True-USB-Universal-High-Speed-Generation-Automatic-/261154425579?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3cce044aeb) .How is the software like can someone share the same please .
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: EEVblog on January 17, 2013, 10:25:25 pm
Sorry, but this is just not true.

It's true that it takes a lot of resources to maintain and upgrade many different products.

Quote
The Xeltek programmer I own was first released a couple of years AFTER XP 64-bit was released, and there was a large base of users (including myself) clamoring for 64-bit support from Xeltek for a long time (with the above posted quote their general response). They basically made the decision not to bother with putting ANY time into offering 64-bit drivers except with newer models they released. This has nothing to do with the latest OS support (unless you consider a 2001 OS as the latest) - it's just a lazy and/or stupid business practice - and I don't doubt they lost some previous customers because of it. They certainly lost my business.

So you know their business that intimately you can make the call that they are just being lazy, and that there are no other factors involved?
What if they have looked at it and it simply does not business sense for them to do so?
How "large" is that base of users who actually want that support really? A few dozen people on a forum having a whinge maybe?
What if trying to update and maintain that old programmer as well as all their new ones would strain that company resources so much that ALL the products and support would suffer? Or heck, the company is then stretched so thinly resource wise that they ended up losing rep, sales, and eventually folding. Then where will you be?

The model you are complaining about, the SuperPro 280U, dates from 2003, making it 10 years old!

Sorry, but the reality always comes down to does it make business sense to maintain older products, and for how long. They are not stupid or lazy, just making a call that it's not in best interest to update a 10 year legacy product to the latest O/S.

Dave.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: EEVblog on January 17, 2013, 10:29:58 pm
Dave why are we even comparing TL866CS and TL866A to Xeltek and Elnec .

I am not comparing them, some other people on the forum are. Please do not confuse other people's posts as being my opinion.

Dave.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: marmad on January 17, 2013, 10:39:47 pm
The model you are complaining about, the SuperPro 280U, dates from 2003, making it 10 years old!

And continually sold by them until at least 2011 - but that's not the point. 64-bit Windows has been around for 12 years - that's the point. But in any case, we have different opinions on the subject, and I just won't buy my next programmer from Xeltek.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: EEVblog on January 17, 2013, 10:49:40 pm
And continually sold by them until at least 2011

And anyone who bought it in 2011 knowing it didn't have 64bit support, and knowing (or should have known) it dates from 2003, should have reasoned that maybe, if they haven't done so after all this time, they weren't ever to release a 64bit version. They only have themselves to blame I think.
Offering a product for that long is actually a good thing, it means that customers who's processes dictate that they cannot change their tools easily are able to continue to buy it. I note that Xeltek will also service old products as well.

Whenever I buy a programmer, I always check if it's a) the latest model, and b) does it support all current O/S flavours.

Dave.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: alm on January 17, 2013, 11:06:15 pm
Sorry, but this is just not true. The Xeltek programmer I own was first released a couple of years AFTER XP 64-bit was released, and there was a large base of users (including myself) clamoring for 64-bit support from Xeltek for a long time (with the above posted quote their general response).

Windows XP 64-bit was essentially a desktop version of Windows 2003 server, and never had proper hardware support. Even support from the major hardware manufacturers was lacking. I think you can cut a small niche manufacturer some slack for not supporting it. Windows Vista 64-bit only saw limited adoption for business applications. Windows 7 64-bit was the first 64-bit desktop Windows version that was widely adopted by businesses. In 2003, 64-bit Windows versions were usually limited to servers or workstation applications requiring lots of RAM. EEPROM programming falls in neither of these categories.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on January 18, 2013, 12:05:12 am
I believe that WinXp 64 bit flavors until 2005 was IA-64 (Itanium) architecture. x86-64 was after 2005.

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: MickM on January 19, 2013, 08:44:18 pm
Hi;
  I just downloaded the app.
http://down.autoelectric.cn:8087/minipro/minipro_setup.rar (http://down.autoelectric.cn:8087/minipro/minipro_setup.rar)

I installed it under Linux Mint 13 x64, using wine. (Ubuntu based)
I was not able to install the USB driver, it said to contact the manufacturer for a 64 bit version.

Then I ran the app "MiniPro.exe" under wine.
It seems to work just fine.

As I do not have the hardware (yet), I cannot test it.

I will be ordering up one.

Mick M


edit - will installing the ICSP connector make the CS into an A?
Dave ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: gamozo on January 20, 2013, 10:09:49 am
Hehe, you had '27128' in the search filter box, which is why I presume you were not able to find your devices until the reinstall.

-Brandon
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on January 20, 2013, 10:38:19 am
Waiting for the hardware, it will be coming sometime soon.......

Will see how it works under Wine too, otherwise I will have to install a VM on the laptop and run the Win7 that it came with ( used once to make the backup DVD's ( 2 sets) just in case) in a VM or as a non networked version.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on January 20, 2013, 12:26:39 pm
Waiting for the hardware, it will be coming sometime soon.......

Will see how it works under Wine too, otherwise I will have to install a VM on the laptop and run the Win7 that it came with ( used once to make the backup DVD's ( 2 sets) just in case) in a VM or as a non networked version.

SeanB ,
     you Work totally On Linux ? .
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on January 20, 2013, 12:46:31 pm
At work currently, as the XP box died ( used really for outlook, and the odd bit of writing in word) a slow lingering death ( and not only from creeping slowness from patch tuesday). So in the interim I am using linux on my laptop there, where I use the web view of outlook ( works well enough) and Gimp ( usual thing for photo's and other photo editing) and an older version of open office. works well enough, and have been using linux as a desktop for years, started with Redhat  years ago and migrated to Ubuntu.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on January 20, 2013, 01:58:25 pm
I sure wish it supported the AM27S291.  :(

I can't see spending the big bucks for a Xeltek SuperPro 5000E just for this one application.

Sir ,
     i forwarded the datasheet you send me .Sir says he could not find much useful info in it .But he says if you can send him one sample he can try and add the support  .

@ All ,
         Could you please pass on all the chinglish issues .I will solve them in the future updates please .

@ dave ,
      Could you please post in the blog and youtube that people can pass chinglish issues to my email id sales[At]lynxdealerstore.com .

Note : Replace [at] With @  ;)
Title: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: baoshi on January 20, 2013, 04:10:09 pm
Hi,
Can anyone having this programmer check if the AVR mega and tiny programming is in HVSP mode? If that is the case this will be very useful for rescuing those dead chips because of wrong fuse setting.

thanks

Bob
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: notsob on January 20, 2013, 08:28:47 pm
aoshi, if you have a few 'dead' ones, there is this, not sure if he still sells pbs

http://mdiy.pl/atmega-fusebit-doctor-hvpp/?lang=en (http://mdiy.pl/atmega-fusebit-doctor-hvpp/?lang=en)
Title: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: baoshi on January 21, 2013, 08:02:29 am
aoshi, if you have a few 'dead' ones, there is this, not sure if he still sells pbs

http://mdiy.pl/atmega-fusebit-doctor-hvpp/?lang=en (http://mdiy.pl/atmega-fusebit-doctor-hvpp/?lang=en)

Looks interesting, but I didn't find any costing info.
Another one I know of is the HV rescue shield from Mightyohm. However, although the cost is only $20, shipping charge is $16+ to my country :(

Anyway I already ordered a Tl866cs from China, about same price as Dave's :D
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on January 21, 2013, 10:30:51 am
aoshi, if you have a few 'dead' ones, there is this, not sure if he still sells pbs

http://mdiy.pl/atmega-fusebit-doctor-hvpp/?lang=en (http://mdiy.pl/atmega-fusebit-doctor-hvpp/?lang=en)

Looks interesting, but I didn't find any costing info.
Another one I know of is the HV rescue shield from Mightyohm. However, although the cost is only $20, shipping charge is $16+ to my country :(

Anyway I already ordered a Tl866cs from China, about same price as Dave's :D

Hi ,
     Please share The Link With Others .
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: baoshi on January 22, 2013, 03:48:38 am

Hi ,
     Please share The Link With Others .

Well it is from Taobao aka Chinese eBay. The actual link is below. There are couple of sellers selling TL866CS at RMB258 bundled with several SOP adaptors. However order from them directly may be problematic for many peoples here because you need a China bank account, communicate with them in Chinese and most sellers do not ship overseas.

But I understand in many countries there are agents doing concierge services from Taobao.com. I'm using www.sgalipay.com (http://www.sgalipay.com) in Singapore. Ian of dangerousprototype had one blog http://dangerousprototypes.com/2012/10/02/shopping-taobao-our-first-steps/ (http://dangerousprototypes.com/2012/10/02/shopping-taobao-our-first-steps/) on how to shop from US.

The shop link is: http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.5.0.41.rz3cTZ&id=12823433153 (http://item.taobao.com/item.htm?spm=a1z09.5.0.41.rz3cTZ&id=12823433153)
As I'm not affiliated to any particular shops, here is the "search" link that gives you all shops
http://s.taobao.com/search?q=TL866CS&searcy_type=item&s_from=newHeader&source=&ssid=s5-e&search=y (http://s.taobao.com/search?q=TL866CS&searcy_type=item&s_from=newHeader&source=&ssid=s5-e&search=y)
 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: diogoc on January 22, 2013, 08:38:47 am

edit - will installing the ICSP connector make the CS into an A?
Dave ?

No, it is limited in firmware
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: MickM on January 22, 2013, 10:55:34 am
Hi diogoc;
  thanks for the answer.
Now I know what to order.

Mick M
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: olsenn on January 24, 2013, 07:22:07 pm
Quote
Can anyone having this programmer check if the AVR mega and tiny programming is in HVSP mode? If that is the case this will be very useful for rescuing those dead chips because of wrong fuse setting.


According to the official website: autoelectric.cn, the MiniPro does indeed program Atmel AVR IC's in your choice of ISP or parrallel (HV) programming. However, I'm not sure if this still applies to the TL866CS or just the TL866A.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: amiq on January 26, 2013, 07:58:02 pm

@ All ,
         Could you please pass on all the chinglish issues .I will solve them in the future updates please .

@ dave ,
      Could you please post in the blog and youtube that people can pass chinglish issues to my email id sales[At]lynxdealerstore.com .

Note : Replace [at] With @  ;)

When running the application on any of the laptops that I have access too (all Dell's with Intel Mobile series 4  chipsets and running XPSP3) a bug in the gui is apparent - the application window does not scale itself correctly.  Since you cannot manual adjust the window size the scroll bars have to be used to view the contents of the window.



Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: doktori on January 26, 2013, 11:21:27 pm
Hi - just received a TL866 off of Ebay.  I am having the same GUI issues as a recent poster.
I used the MiniPro 5.80 software & 3.2.59 hardware on a desktop AMD - WinXP
and an Intel i3 laptop with Win7 - 64 bit.  Changing the program start properties from 'Normal Window' to 'Maximized' helps the display some but many items are still shown in the wrong locations.

I have tried changing display resolutions, compatibility settings,  reload the software, etc. and still a screwy GUI.

The programmer works fine but you can't select anything in the IC CONFIG MENU because the VPP-VDD-VCC-DELAY all appear in the middle of the data table.............

I hope this gets fixed in a new release because I'm stumped...

Doktori
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: abzman on January 27, 2013, 09:46:53 pm
I just got mine yesterday.  I was playing around dumping old bios roms that I had salvaged a long time ago when I was pleased to find that the "Logic IC" does, in fact, test 74xx, 40xx, and mc14xxx chips.  When he heard that my friend bought one on the spot! I would be really excited if I can send in bugs that I find and chips that I would like to see supported to the software developers.  I have yet to try out my ICSP header I soldered in, but I plan to later tonight or tomorrow, the software doesn't seem to know what model it is.  The pic18f87j50 (if they are all the same) has a programming header right on the board, I may try dumping and backing up the firmware just in case they try to remove ICSP functionality on future firmware updates. 

I was able to check all the logic ICs on my 'SD systems z80 starter kit' except the 21L02 sram, 2316 prom, 75452 nand gates, and the mc14538.  With a little more support for discreet logic chips I can see this programmer as an invaluable tool in debugging vintage computers.  The one thing I was surprised about was the lack of 74xx595/597 support.  Isn't that one of the most common hobbyist 74-series chips used today? I could totally see myself using this programmer weekly for years to come if support is continually added as it looks like it might be. 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: MickM on January 30, 2013, 02:45:20 pm
Hi abzman;

  Did the ISP header work?
Also were you able to read the PIC?

I have not ordered one yet - awaiting your results.

Mick M
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: OZ1LQB on January 30, 2013, 05:08:17 pm
Hi all..
i bought one of these because of david's video..
I am very happy with it..
I tried to put the ISP header in and it told me that the tl866cs is a limited version
so for me no luck..
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: abzman on January 31, 2013, 10:36:27 am
friend hasn't gotten his in yet, and I got a bit sidetracked working on something else, will attempt hopefully tomorrow
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: spagamoto on February 01, 2013, 06:05:51 am
Just playing around with the software, considering purchasing this thing.

For all y'all experiencing GUI issues, try this tool. It lets you resize any window.
ResizeEnable
http://www.digitallis.co.uk/pc/downloads.html (http://www.digitallis.co.uk/pc/downloads.html)

Works pretty well. Just resize it so the scrollbars go away. I still get some GUI oddness but I can fix most of it by switching tabs using those skinny buttons on the top right. I had thought it was a resolution problem but I've tried a bunch of resolutions right up to 1920x1200 to no avail. Annoying.

Amarbir, any chance for a bugfix? I'm on XP SP3.

[EDIT] Actually, I can't get all the parts of the UI to show. Was about to buy this thing but until the software gets fixed I'm going to keep looking...
[EDIT2] Decided to mess with this more. Seems to be an XP problem. Issue happens under my other WinXP machine, but not on my Win7 laptop. I however need it to work on my WinXP machine.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on February 01, 2013, 07:16:42 am
Just playing around with the software, considering purchasing this thing.

For all y'all experiencing GUI issues, try this tool. It lets you resize any window.
ResizeEnable
http://www.digitallis.co.uk/pc/downloads.html (http://www.digitallis.co.uk/pc/downloads.html)

Works pretty well. Just resize it so the scrollbars go away. I still get some GUI oddness but I can fix most of it by switching tabs using those skinny buttons on the top right. I had thought it was a resolution problem but I've tried a bunch of resolutions right up to 1920x1200 to no avail. Annoying.

Amarbir, any chance for a bugfix? I'm on XP SP3.

[EDIT] Actually, I can't get all the parts of the UI to show. Was about to buy this thing but until the software gets fixed I'm going to keep looking...
[EDIT2] Decided to mess with this more. Seems to be an XP problem. Issue happens under my other WinXP machine, but not on my Win7 laptop. I however need it to work on my WinXP machine.

Correct ,
 This issue is only in some machine .My IBM thinkpad running XP does not have it my HP Nx6325 Has It  .

Note :  By Adding Headers CS Can Never Become A
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on February 01, 2013, 03:07:41 pm
Just got mine. Thanks Frankie, arrived in one piece, nicely packed and with all the adaptors ( could have used the PLCC extractor last week, but a screwdriver worked well enough to get the prom out, must look at the old one to see what the difference is in the versions in that phone) and with some nice looking stamps.

Tried it out after updating Wine, but Mmmm, no comms. Must look into getting it to work, might have to install a VM to use it. Rebooted into the original Win7 ( wow, so long since the upgrade to Ubuntu, must edit out all those old kernels from it, to get the boot menu all onto one page again) for the second time. Installed the software and plugged it in. Do test and it wants to upgrade the firmware, so did it.

Dug out some old eproms, and they do read, and are blank ( should be, they were erased a few times in the eraser some years ago, and were new anyway) so wrote them all to 00. Verified and they pass. Tried an old used eprom from a fax that was wacked by lightning, and it read it. Then wrote all to 00, and it did it.

I see the windowing issue, but it works fine with Win7.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: abzman on February 01, 2013, 08:29:45 pm
ok, I knocked together an icsp header cable for the atmega328 and indeed the software reports 'TL866CS ICSP Programming is limited!'

new plan, my tl866cs reports
ID 04d8:e11c Microchip Technology Inc.
in lsusb on linux, anyone have a tl866a and want to see if it's different?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on February 26, 2013, 07:07:32 pm
Finally got cheesed off with rebooting and installed Virtualbox from Oracle ( not the one in the repository, though I tried that first then uninstalled it as I needed the Oracle USB abilities as well) and it works well. Found a still in box copy of Win98 ( must have missed installing it on a machine some years ago, still has the stickers and the boot diskette in the package) and a copy of XP as well. XP installed a lot faster on the VM than what I remember from doing it on bare metal, hardware sure has changed from installing it on a 128M 450MHz Celeron, now it has a core or two to use, and is blissfully unaware it is on a VM. Gave up on passing files to it ( might look it up later to get stuff out, but I can mount the VM as a disk when it is off) and made an ISO to pass the 2 files I wanted to pass to it, then mounted it and installed the minipro software, driver and it connected first time, passed self test and worked. Pared it down by getting most of the bloatware off it as well.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: zaphar on February 28, 2013, 11:24:42 am
Tried it out after updating Wine, but Mmmm, no comms.

You've used a virtual machine to get it running, but is Wine a definite no-go? I'm considering getting one of these but would really like to stay in Linux to use it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 28, 2013, 04:42:47 pm
For all experiencing GUI issues try this:

1. Insert your Windows Xp installation CD.
2. Go to Control Panel->Regional and Language option and select Languages tab.
3. Check Install files for East Asian languages. Reboot computer.
4. Go to Control Panel->Regional and Language option and select Advanced tab.
5. Select Chinese(PRC) in the Language for non-Unicode programs dropdown combo. Reboot computer.
6. After reboot select English (or whatever you have) in Language for non-Unicode programs dropdown combo. Reboot again.

These operations will install all necessary fonts and files for chinesse language.
Enjoy!
 

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: olsenn on February 28, 2013, 05:38:18 pm
Linux sucks! Install Windows 7 or XP and be done with it
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on February 28, 2013, 06:09:25 pm
Tried it out after updating Wine, but Mmmm, no comms.

You've used a virtual machine to get it running, but is Wine a definite no-go? I'm considering getting one of these but would really like to stay in Linux to use it.

wine is still a work in progress for USB direct communications, so I used a sledgehammer. As a plus now I can use a few of those DMM and other programs that are windoze only, and I did, after some digging, find a XP install disk. Anybody want a copy of Win98, got a few of those coasters around still, even got a few CD's of the service packs and all the updates as well.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: zaphar on February 28, 2013, 11:21:53 pm
Linux sucks! Install Windows 7 or XP and be done with it

Meh, if you use anything beyond point and click, you might take the opposing view.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: notsob on March 11, 2013, 10:36:29 pm
For those with a TL866, version 5.91 of the software has been released
http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/ (http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/)

probably better to use chrome browser as it will auto translate for you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: spagamoto on March 12, 2013, 06:27:38 am
For all experiencing GUI issues try this:

You are a genius. Worked perfectly. I actually stopped short of changing the non-unicode language. Just installing the east-asian languages and rebooting worked great!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on March 12, 2013, 11:29:17 am
I'm expecting mine to arrive, just want to prepare, does the program run smoothly in virtualised XP using VMWare at win 7 x64 host ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on March 12, 2013, 03:56:37 pm
Yes, it runs in a VM, only caveat is you need to use the Oracle VM as it handles raw USB. I am using it in a VM under Ubuntu.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on March 12, 2013, 06:36:10 pm
So no love for VMware ? I thought it has those raw usb thingy capability ?  ???

Anyway, that Oracle VM is the same as VirtualBox right ? I'll use it if VMWare failed me, thanks !
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on March 12, 2013, 07:19:52 pm
Same as virtualbox, just the non free version ( but still no cost), and it is very odd to have a XP startup on a Linux box without a dual boot. My other favourite is Dosbox, very nice.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on March 12, 2013, 07:25:56 pm
.... it is very odd to have a XP startup on a Linux box without a dual boot. My other favourite is Dosbox, very nice.
Wait till you see dosbox port to ios and booting up a windows 3.1 inside ipad tablet ! I've done that, really, it feels so surreal ! ;D
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on March 12, 2013, 07:43:00 pm
Running games in Dosbox that when they first came out needed a gaming machine, but now will run in a window on a desktop and run faster...........
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on March 16, 2013, 09:00:25 am
Just an update, the latest MiniPro v5.91 program runs flawlessly at Win XP SP3 inside VMWare Player version 4.0.4 running at Win 7 x64 host.

Regarding the program's gui problem at XP, the solution posted by radioman fixed it  :-+ , and only needs up to step 3 (and reboot). It doesn't need to proceed to step 4 which is to install Chinese language as pointed out by spagamoto.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on March 18, 2013, 12:17:03 pm
For all experiencing GUI issues try this:

1. Insert your Windows Xp installation CD.
2. Go to Control Panel->Regional and Language option and select Languages tab.
3. Check Install files for East Asian languages. Reboot computer.
4. Go to Control Panel->Regional and Language option and select Advanced tab.
5. Select Chinese(PRC) in the Language for non-Unicode programs dropdown combo. Reboot computer.
6. After reboot select English (or whatever you have) in Language for non-Unicode programs dropdown combo. Reboot again.

These operations will install all necessary fonts and files for chinesse language.
Enjoy!

Well,
      :-+ :-+ thanks a billion Times .Just Till Step 3 Its OK Works
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 19, 2013, 07:23:23 pm
Hi guys! yes, step 3 is enough and do the job. Step 4,5,6 actually is a trick for preserving installed files in case you change the language for non-unicode programs. If you have English as language for non-unicode programs and you do not change that setting,  yes only step 3 is needed, but if you change to a diferrent language for non-unicode and do not take step 4 then OS will replace Chinese fonts with another files and after first reboot the problem will reapear.

And now  for programmers/connoisseurs:
The problem is  a non existing monospaced(fixed) font in Win XP. They use C++ MFC framework for programming and a frame/dialog template model. And yes in case of changing dialog font,  the parent frame must be resized to fit the new size of child dialog, but I believe they hard coded size values, and if dialog is resized to fit new content, parent frame remain smaller than dialog template and system will add scrollbars. Its a dumb bug.
Cheers!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: GregerG on March 23, 2013, 10:14:41 am
Does anyone have the ICSP connector pinout?
Also ordered the CS version but got no connector soldered to it...

Cheers
//Greg
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: casinada on March 23, 2013, 07:31:19 pm
GregerG,
If you read the whole thread you'll find out that other people tried to do the same but without success. The CS is limited probably by firmware.  |O
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on April 23, 2013, 04:55:06 am
It is possible to reflash firmware. All you need is the full version of firmware and a pic programmer. I managed to do that, but is somewhat risky to brick the device. For all interested I have the full version of firmware, but at this moment I can't post it. Also I've done reverse engineering of the schematic diagram for this programmer:
TL866.pdf (http://bit.ly/14NkFMI)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on April 23, 2013, 07:57:43 am
As far as I know the software for both models is equal, the decision what model it is depends on the contents of the EEPROM.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on April 23, 2013, 08:48:03 am
Nope. The controller is Pic18F87j50 and has no internal Eeprom. Its same hardware for both CS and A version, but firmware is diferrent. Internal flash memory map  look like this:
00000-017FF=Boot loader
01800-1FFFF=main firmware.
The firmware upgrade process will reflash only second portion(01800-1FFFF), and boot loader code contains device version and serial code. The file update.dat contains encrypted firmware  for both version  and is transmitted encrypted over usb. The decryption key is contained in the bootloader and decryption is done also by the bootloader which remain unchanged for entire life of the programmer. The hard work was the firmware decryption (done by an Ukrainian guy). Unfortunately erasing microcontroller and reprogram it does not preserve original device serial number, but I think it is possible to patch .hex with original serial number.
Cheers and 73.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on April 24, 2013, 04:19:30 pm
Nope. The controller is Pic18F87j50 and has no internal Eeprom. Its same hardware for both CS and A version, but firmware is diferrent. Internal flash memory map  look like this:
00000-017FF=Boot loader
01800-FFFFF=main firmware.
The firmware upgrade process will reflash only second portion(01800-fffff), and boot loader code contains device version and serial code. The file update.dat contains encrypted firmware  for both version  and is transmitted encrypted over usb. The decryption key is contained in the bootloader and decryption is done also by the bootloader which remain unchanged for entire life of the programmer. The hard work was the firmware decryption (done by an Ukrainian guy). Unfortunately erasing microcontroller and reprogram it does not preserve original device serial number, but I think it is possible to patch .hex with original serial number.
Cheers and 73.

Well,
      Thats One Brilliant Reverse Eng Done There Boss .If You Use Your Own Serial Code And Device Version What Happens ? .BTW with serial code you mean serial number right ? and by device code you mean if its CS or A .
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on April 24, 2013, 06:31:51 pm
Well, yes I mean serial number, right. I don't know if CS or A depends on devcode, it is there by reference only. About your own serial number and devcode, I've looked at minipro software  and  I'm not seen anything suspect, it is only displayed in the about box. Probably in the future, developers will implement something like a black list to ban some devices, I don't know. Right now I'm not have enough spare time to study disassembled firmware. The schematic diagram is for didactic/repair purpose. If anyone want to look, here is firmware:
TL866A_firmware.zip  (http://bit.ly/12guRXa)
You will need an pic programmer (pickit2 or another TL866A is good) to reflash the firmware.
Hook the programmer to the J1 connector, load the hex file and reflash. The serial number and devcode will be changed, but don't worry it will work. If the programmer is an CS version then will be transformed into the full A version, just solder an connector on the unpopulated ICSP and voila! I'm not responsible for bricked devices, you are just warned.
Cheers!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on April 24, 2013, 06:56:16 pm
Well, yes I mean serial number, right. I don't know if CS or A depends on devcode, it is there by reference only. About your own serial number and devcode, I've looked at minipro software  and  I'm not seen anything suspect, it is only displayed in the about box. Probably in the future, developers will implement something like a black list to ban some devices, I don't know. Right now I'm not have enough spare time to study disassembled firmware. The schematic diagram is for didactic/repair purpose. If anyone want to look, here is firmware:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/i7jjr3s9wet4kf0/TL866A_firmware.zip  (https://www.dropbox.com/s/i7jjr3s9wet4kf0/TL866A_firmware.zip)
You will need an pic programmer (pickit2 or another TL866A is good) to reflash the firmware.
Hook the programmer to the J1 connector, load the hex file and reflash. The serial number and devcode will be changed, but don't worry it will work. If the programmer is an CS version then will be transformed into the full A version, just solder an connector on the unpopulated ICSP and voila! I'm not responsible for bricked devices, you are just warned.
Cheers!

Well,
      Its late nigh here but this is bliss hee hee .Will trouble you more  :-DD
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on April 24, 2013, 07:05:13 pm
He he! OK.  :D no problem, but this week I'm not at home, next week maybe. I post from my smartphone, I don't have my engineering arsenal with me  >:D just few files in smartphone and nothing else!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on April 30, 2013, 12:34:40 pm
For anyone interested I wrote a small utility which generates the full TL866A firmware, based on custom serial. The software allows and firmware update (like minipro but with more options). For full firmware upgrade you will need an pic programmer and firmware hex file generated by this utility; for regular upgrade you will need the update.dat file from minipro software and this software utility. If you have Windows XP make sure you have installed  net framework  (at least version 2.0). The software is not finished yet, but if someone wants to try it is ok, because I have not enough time available.
Sugestions, questions and opinions are welcome, thank you.
Updated: May 08,2013. Fixed minor bugs, please redownload.
Updated May 16,2013. Fixed schematic diagram drawing mistake.
Updated November 23,2013. Introduced firmware dump option.
Updated November 25,2013. Introduced CS firmware generator.
Updated November 30,2013. New version.
Updated February   8,2014.   New version.
Updated May          5,2016.   New version.
TL866 firmware updater (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 04, 2013, 11:45:43 am
Because i received a few emails asking me for firmware upgrade procedure, i decided to write detailed instructions on how to do this. BTW my english sucks, if someone do not understand something, please reply here. Thank you.
TL866 Upgrade procedure (http://bit.ly/13bM8DH)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Amarbir[Lynx-India] on May 04, 2013, 12:11:32 pm
Because i received a few emails asking me for firmware upgrade procedure, i decided to write detailed instructions on how to do this. BTW my english sucks, if someone do not understand something, please reply here. Thank you.
TL866 Upgrade procedure (http://bit.ly/13bM8DH)

Thanks ,
 For The Amazing Job Done And Sharing It Freely With All Of Us .Do Let me Know If I Can Do Something For You in Return Ever From India  .
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 04, 2013, 12:34:29 pm
Well Thanks for the kind words Amarbir, i decided to do that because i found no information on how to repair this device. After couple of mails exchanged with some guys from autoelectric, they decided that in case of an corrupted firmware you must buy another device, and i don't want to do this. The hard job was with decryption, very complex alogorithm btw., but good knowledge of assembler and programming gives positive result. Now, if this can help anyone in this world having the same problem why not to share?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: computar on May 05, 2013, 03:44:47 pm
Hi radioman,

thank you for your work on the tl866!
When i am looking at the schematics, it occurs that the voltage generators for VDD and VPP are controlled by just 3bits each.
Is that correct? How is it possible to support such a big range of chips with voltage generators like these?

thank you
C   
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on May 05, 2013, 05:34:30 pm
Radioman, just a suggestion, you should create a new thread maybe under "Projects, Designs, and Technical Stuff" section for that excellent mod you've done there  :-+, rather than buried deep under in this gigantic thread unnoticed, you deserved better and big an applause from greater audience. 

Thanks for your effort & sharing it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 05, 2013, 08:10:22 pm
@computar, yes the voltage generators are controlled by 3bits each, this is correct. For 3bits we have 2^3=8 values of voltage for each voltage generated and I think that is enough.  The big range of chips are not so big, they artificially inflated the supported list, you will find the same chip under many manufacturers and several package types, but in fact is just the same chip.

@BravoV, thanks for suggestion, perhaps this is what i do in the future, right now i will stay here a while. As i seen, many youtubers who watched Dave review landed here and this is good, not to say that a search on Google by tl866 firmware or tl866 schematic will give us first result this thread. But if the project will advance i will create a new thread as you suggested me, thanks again.
For statistical purposes i monitored the links posted and well, people are interested, over 30 countries so far  :) and this is not real statistics btw. My goal is if possible, to document the protocol used by this device and to help the open source/Linux community because they have always been less privileged. But this is hard work, the manufacturer should do this, but they are not interested, they only provide Windows support and if you have a major problem, like for ex. a firmware corruption then you must buy another device, they will not give you a new firmware, its a shame. But for $50 we want too much. Ok. i was bad, is Easter in my country and i should be good these days.
Cheers!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on May 06, 2013, 02:06:44 am
My goal is if possible, to document the protocol used by this device and to help the open source/Linux community because they have always been less privileged. But this is hard work, the manufacturer should do this, but they are not interested, they only provide Windows support and if you have a major problem, like for ex. a firmware corruption then you must buy another device, they will not give you a new firmware, its a shame.

I don't think the manufacturer will ever release the protocol or open up to public, its like dog eat dog business in China, once opened wide, tons of this TL866 clone copies will flood the market like there is no tomorrow.  :-DD
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 06, 2013, 05:16:06 am
I don't think the manufacturer will ever release the protocol or open up to public, its like dog eat dog business in China, once opened wide, tons of this TL866 clone copies will flood the market like there is no tomorrow.  :-DD
Well, you right, Chinese are known as copycats. Probably they work hard these days  to release first clone of the TL866, he he!. I've seen in the downloaded links referrers a lot of countries marked as unknown, I expected to be from China. We will see what will happen. The protocol itself is not very complicated, i discovered myself a couple of commands, you only need an USB sniffer and a little bit of imagination. The chips database is separated from the main program and I think it is easy to dump the content in the another well known  database file, like sqlite or something. Once we have the protocol and chip database an open source cross platform project can be started. But this means time and possible the manufacturer will abandon this programmer, we will see. Btw in my country when you write something complicated with few words we call this "wood language"; sorry if my English is wood.  :-DD
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: diogoc on May 06, 2013, 07:56:43 am
Thanks for your hard work  ;)

I just afraid that with that manufacturers leave this device and we do not have more updates and so no new devices supported by the programmer

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 06, 2013, 08:26:53 am
Well I don't think so, I think they will release a a patch to stop clones, but in the same time they must support existing devices, its a trap, we will see. I talked with some guys from technical support and they are very reticent, the only help  that they will give you is "reinstall driver" or "try to another computer" and shit like this. Man I know what a driver is, I wrote a few, and I know how things works i say.  After that they will ignore you. So I make my own support like in Linux, he he! If they have balls it will continue to provide software releases.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: diogoc on May 06, 2013, 09:10:32 am
 :-DD we will see if they have balls

As a suggestion you can make a clone of tsop adapter too :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on May 06, 2013, 09:19:25 am
I talked with some guys from technical support ...........
Huh ? How ? Thru phone ?  :o

I've tried email few times their support asking for adding a new chip which should be very easy to implement and still no reply, also asked Franky (iloveelectronics) for help since he is Chinese to post a request in their language, and still no luck.  :(

What I want is pretty simple, its just adding a support for a F-RAM chip FM1608 which is drop in replacement for the notorious Maxim DS1225 battery backed up SRAM which already supported at TL866. The only difference is just a really-really minor signaling sequence. I ended with 3 wasted F-RAM chips -> HERE (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/tektronix-2465b-oscilloscope-teardown/msg213270/#msg213270).  Yeah, partly also my own fault as a noob. :'(
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 06, 2013, 05:08:52 pm
Huh ? How ? Thru phone ?  :o

Email, my bad. Well, they responded me every time no problem, but responses were stupid. Nice 2465B teardown btw, sorry about your wasted F-Rams, perhaps the FM1608 will be supported ,who knows.

@diogoc, i'm not a cloner, sorry about that, i only want to help people repairing their devices.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on May 07, 2013, 12:39:31 am
radioman, share their support email please ? The one that replies.  ::)

And I assumed you were using English right ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 07, 2013, 10:15:24 am
radioman, share their support email please ? The one that replies.  ::)

And I assumed you were using English right ?

English right.

Quote
My request:
Hello! I purchased an TL866A from eBay and after changing from minipro software version 5.80 to 5.91 and after request from software to reflash internal firmware, the programmer is now dead. I think the internal firmware is corupted, device is not seen anymore by the software, and by the computer. The little yellow LED its not blinking anymore when I put the USB cable into the device. My request is if possible to reflash internal firmware (I had another tl866 programmer), because the USB method its not working anymore. I can't imagine how easy was to brick this $100 device. Just click reflash firmware, and after that the software hang's about 10 seconds and that was, not seen anymore as device by the computer.
Thank you for support!
Quote
Response:
The most likely cause is that the USB driver error, and so can not find the device.
Normal , even if the upgrade fails, you can refresh also.
put your device into another computer  USB interface and give it a try, see the USB port does not respond?
Quote
Me again:
Well, first thank you for response, second, I tried this on three different computers and same result. Device is not seen by the computers, its not appears in device manager in any form. I tried even a Usbview utility and he's tell my that USB port is not used by any device. Its appears blank port. I tried another TL866 from a friend of mine an that is working properly, just this is has a problem. I notice at the working one when I put the cable in USB socket, the yellow led blinks. My TL866 do not blink the yellow led.
To resume: I have two TL866A.
device no 1 its working when is plugged in the USB port.
device no2 do not work, is appears like is not connected to the computer, only red led is light, the yellow led do not blink. This issue appeared after an failed firmware upgrade. What should I do next?
Quote
Their response:
Hi
You may remove USB driver, and restart windows.then reinstall USB driver.
When failed firmware upgrade it is allowed  to reflash the firmware.
Quote
Me:
But the programmer is not present as USB device man, minipro software do not see the programmer. I can't reflash from minipro software. It is possible to reflash internal microcontroller by other method? I need the internal firmware of microcontroller to reflash manually via another programmer. Can you give me the firmware hex file? if you don't give me the firmware file then I drop the programmer to bin, and I will buy another TL866A, but what should I do if corruption of firmware will happen again? i'm not so glad to buy a programmer every 30 days. Why internal firmware is not well protected from corruption? in case of computer crash during flash upgrade, the programmer firmware will be overwritten and customers cannot do anything for device restoration. Who guarantee me if I buy another programmer it will not happen again? well questions and questions. I will be very glad if you will answer me to this questions, and tell me how to restore device in its working state.
Thanks for support again.
Quote
he:
As pic shown, the connection of a 100 ohm resistor, you can reflash
after the Upgrade is completed , and remove it.
Quote
Me:
OK, i soldered a 100ohm resistor between  3.3V and pin36 of microcontroller, it has no effect, same result, device is not seen by the computer. The red LED stay light, the yellow LED its not blinking. Minipro software not see the programmer, is not appearing in the device manager / UsbView. I think the internal firmware of microcontroller has been compomissed. What is the unsoldered  J1 connector? its appear like a standard LVP ICSP programming interface. Bellow is the soldered resistor like you teel me:
So what to do?
And after that total silence, i tried another email but no response. So here i started reverse engineering, now you know. The data corruption was caused by a faulty usb hub, so beware.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on May 07, 2013, 04:51:43 pm
Damn, thats frustrating.  :--

Is this "autoelector@yahoo.com" email you're using for that communication ? Got this from their web site.

If its not, then share it please, at least you got replies rather than me that got no reply at all.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 07, 2013, 05:24:20 pm
@BravoV, yes the address is "autoelector@yahoo.com", I will send them an email to give me the usb command protocol, just for fun >:D
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on May 16, 2013, 08:13:19 pm
Thanks radioman, my TL866CS is now a TL866A  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 16, 2013, 08:50:48 pm
Hi PA0PBZ,  glad to see you happy, thanks for your feedback. The schematic diagram swapped VCC and GND drawing issue on J1 is corrected now, please download again on posted links or here:
TL866 firmware updater (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq)
Related to PicKit3 hex issue i will investigate, but from what you say me in PM most likely is a software issue. The hex file was tested on another TL866A and PicKit2, and worked. Do you solder any connector on unpopulated ICSP?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on May 16, 2013, 08:59:28 pm
Related to PicKit3 hex issue i will investigate, but from what you say me in PM most likely is a software issue. The hex file was tested on another TL866A and PicKit2, and worked.

It loaded fine in MPLAB, but not in the standalone PICkit 3 programmer. I think it's more or less abandoned by microchip, I had a hard time finding it. So don't worry, it is probably some weird stuff in that program, although it could load a hex file that it produced itself.

Quote
Do you solder any connector on unpopulated ICSP?

Yes, fortunately I had some strips in stock so I just cut off 6 pins and soldered it in place. Tomorrow I will check if it will read/program some chips and report back.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on May 18, 2013, 12:55:39 pm
I did some testing with a few PIC chips and found something strange.
First test was with a 12F629, which worked ok in the ZIF socket and with the PICkit 3. Connected to the ICSP connector it said "wrong device id", it was reading 3E while it should read 7C. Hmm, that is 00111110 when it should be 01111100. So I hooked up a scope (x10 probe) to the PGD pin to see what was going on and then it was reading ok... What? I then placed a 47P cap from PGD to ground and it worked ok. I tried the same with a 16F630 and it also needed the cap or the scope. Then I tried a 18F252 but could not get it to work at all, device id stayed at 0000. Same for another 18F.

It looks like a timing error somehow, but it is hard to tell when it works ok trying to measure it...
Anyone else seeing the same or care to try?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 18, 2013, 02:11:45 pm
Sounds like a pullups/pulldowns resistors for me, maybe the CS variant does not have these resistors soldered? if you look on the schematic diagram at cpu section you will see ten 51K resistors wich are controlled by the RB1 line, check if those resistors are soldered:
(https://lh4.googleusercontent.com/-vbyqnDrOiRU/UZeJFXYzWRI/AAAAAAAAAFc/JedMrshKyM4/s800/resistors.jpg)
Here are only nine resistors, one is soldered on the reverse side of the pcb.

Also at the suggestion of PA0PBZ i have to fix a bug in the hex file generator wich cause pickit3 software to not load generated hex. Thank you!
Download here or on any posted links: TL866 firmware updater (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on May 18, 2013, 03:20:16 pm
No, all the resistors are there. I can't find any unpopulated parts at first sight, but I did not take it apart, hate to put the leds back.

I did some more testing and found that it works ok with the scope probe on either clock or data. Measured the probe and it is 12M/13pF. And indeed, when I put a 15pF cap on the clock or data line everything is fine. Using a pull up or down resistor makes no difference. Also, it seems that it only has trouble reading the id, the first thing it does. When I uncheck "Check device ID" it reads the program memory fine.

I wonder what those 10 resistors are supposed to do, they are also on some pins that are not connected to the ICSP.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 18, 2013, 03:55:42 pm
hmm... seems like a timming problem, AFAIK they implemented serial communication as bitbanging in software, probably they set the clock frequency too high. Also check if the cable you use is not to long. The ten resistors are needed probably by the i2c and spi communication on ZIF socket.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on May 18, 2013, 05:23:01 pm
I looked at the timing to see if it was on the edge of failing, but it looks fine to me. I even decoded what it does getting the ID and it all makes sense, set address, inc address a few times and then a read command. Looks like it reads the data on the falling clock, and from programmer -> PIC it changes the data in the middle of the high clock, and from PIC-> programmer the data is changed at the rising clock. There is a bit of crosstalk between the clock and data but nothing serious I think. Unfortunately I have not yet found a way to measure without fixing the problem.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 18, 2013, 07:32:16 pm
The two diagrams looks good, the read from pic is a little bit strange but the PGD line is set by the pic in this case, probably the read routine in the main software is reading the PGD too early, I think. The CPU frequency is set to 48MHz now, maybe slowing down a little bit can resolve this issue, but you have to deal with the config bytes (cpdiv0 and cpdiv1 if I remember correctly), I have programmed a couple of atmel avr's and  pic18f but don't have any problems yet.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on May 19, 2013, 01:23:23 pm
Well, I managed to get a scope shot from both the good and the bad read by connecting the scope to the ZIF socket, which is in parallel with the ICSP connector. Looks like it shifts the data one bit indeed, which I already suspected.
Reading the ID of a 12F629 which should be 7C (01111100) I see 3E (00111110) when things go wrong, see attachment.
Doing the same with a 16F630 (ID 86, 10000110) it reads 23 (00100011) in error. I'd almost think that the PIC sees an extra clock cycle, that would explain the shift. The only thing is, I don't see it on the scope screen. And still, a 15pF cap over the clock line at the PIC fixes it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 19, 2013, 03:07:43 pm
Well done, this definitively is a firmware bug, try to slow down the cpu core speed by tweaking cpdiv0,cpdiv1 config bits; i wonder if the error is constant at different cpu core clock frequencies.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on May 19, 2013, 03:52:12 pm
Well done, this definitively is a firmware bug...

I don't believe in a software bug, there is no extra clock pulse to be seen and the data is coming out of the PIC, not the programmer. It looks like the PIC sees an extra clock pulse but I can't see it with the scope. Also I still don't see how a 15pF cap can cure it if it is a software bug. It must be something in the hardware, I only wish that I could see it on the scope. Oh well, maybe just a little bit more fiddling...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 19, 2013, 04:15:09 pm
Oh... well, data coming out of the PIC not programmer, i was thinking that data was out from programmer. This is very strange indeed. 15pF cap on the line makes me think about the line impedance too high and a small cap value matter. How the supply voltage is applied to the PIC? maybe a decoupling cap on the PIC voltage rail is needed?
Strange, very strange to tell.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on May 19, 2013, 04:27:09 pm
The PIC ID is coming from the PIC of course  :)
I tried all kinds of decoupling and pull up and down stuff, but that did not make any difference. However, I think I captured the problem part, it looks like a bad clock that appears just before the PIC spits out the ID, see attachment. A bit weird, because all the other clock edges look much better.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on May 19, 2013, 04:33:23 pm
Probably the extra capacitance delays the signal so the latch internal to the programmer gets a valid data level, most likely it is being latched just as the signal is being changed, and depending on the device, temperature and supply voltage it will read one or the other. The delay slows it down to a time afterwards when it is stable,

Had plenty of fun with this on cards that would nominally be perfectly functional, but just would not work with each other. Change one or the other and it works. Then take to operating temp of 120C and see if it still works, if not try another card. then take to the ATE and let it run through diagnostics for 5 hours and see if it fails, generally not, but it might do so again in a year.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 19, 2013, 04:36:44 pm
Looks like a clock edge jitter for me, but what could cause it?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 19, 2013, 05:03:26 pm
The clock line is ringing at the rising edge and after a while it stabilizes, but hmm... clock line is driven by the programmer, maybe a series resistor with clock line help?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on May 19, 2013, 05:05:15 pm
Probably the extra capacitance delays the signal so the latch internal to the programmer gets a valid data level, most likely it is being latched just as the signal is being changed, and depending on the device, temperature and supply voltage it will read one or the other.

The clock goes to the PIC, it looks like the PIC sees an extra clock cycle and starts to spit out the data bits one clock early (01111100 -> 00111110)
I also don't see why the clock is only 4 Volt, this pic is a 5 Volt device so that makes it only worse.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on May 19, 2013, 05:11:48 pm
The clock line is ringing at the rising edge and after a while it stabilizes, but hmm... clock line is driven by the programmer, maybe a series resistor with clock line help?

This is the clock as it is on the ZIF socket, I can't measure on the PIC because that makes the problem go away. What worries me is that this programmer should do its work without the extra stuff, if I can't trust it I don't want to use it. I'm using the cable that I got with my (chinese clone) PICkit 3, it is not exeptionally long. Compared do what I see in the pictures of the TL866A it is even shorter, although it looks like the wires are thicker in the original.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 19, 2013, 05:20:10 pm
Quote
The clock goes to the PIC, it looks like the PIC sees an extra clock cycle and starts to spit out the data bits one clock early (01111100 -> 00111110)
I also don't see why the clock is only 4 Volt, this pic is a 5 Volt device so that makes it only worse.

Oh! that make sense, i think that programmer icsp voltage is only 3.3v an this could cause this issue.

Quote
This is the clock as it is on the ZIF socket, I can't measure on the PIC because that makes the problem go away. What worries me is that this programmer should do its work without the extra stuff, if I can't trust it I don't want to use it. I'm using the cable that I got with my (chinese clone) PICkit 3, it is not exeptionally long. Compared do what I see in the pictures of the TL866A it is even shorter, although it looks like the wires are thicker in the original.
Well, cheap and bad design, i'm sure they not tested it well for every case...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ju1ce on May 28, 2013, 04:06:20 am
Is this device able to reset AVR fuses using high voltage programming?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: c4757p on May 28, 2013, 04:10:13 am
Yes.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ju1ce on May 28, 2013, 03:07:20 pm
Yes.
Thanks for the info.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Eight8 on May 31, 2013, 11:43:19 pm
Awesome work Radioman and all the worked on decrypting the firmware.  :)

I shall have to do some reading.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: abzman on June 12, 2013, 10:56:58 am
yup, I tested a few AVRs the moment it showed up as an 'a' model, took more work than I thought, chicken and egg problem.  for those without a pickit2 or 3 or any pic programmer because you bought THIS to be a pic programmer see:

http://www.members.aon.at/electronics/pic/picpgm/ (http://www.members.aon.at/electronics/pic/picpgm/)
http://picpgm.picprojects.net/hardware.html#LVP_PROGRAMMER (http://picpgm.picprojects.net/hardware.html#LVP_PROGRAMMER)

or if you want to read about someone going slightly mad, read my experiences here:
http://abzman2k.wordpress.com/2013/06/12/upgrading-the-tl866cs-or-misadventures-with-pics/ (http://abzman2k.wordpress.com/2013/06/12/upgrading-the-tl866cs-or-misadventures-with-pics/)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on June 13, 2013, 09:36:26 pm
abzman, i read the whole article and i like it, a true hacker! glad to see you happy at the end.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: digsys on June 13, 2013, 10:58:49 pm
My A version arrived yesterday. If there's anything you want checked, let me know.
I only bought it as a backup of my Galep IV, who take forever to fix bugs and reneged on making driver software available. bastids
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: abzman on June 14, 2013, 01:48:27 am
So, here's a thought if this project becomes more community oriented.  The MC3406 needs a resistor divider set on the comparator inverting input, originally I thought to use an i2c controlled pot, but the i2c lines are taken up, maybe bit banging a spi digital pot like the ad8402 to control the voltages in a much finer way than the 3bit control we have now.  This may require other changes than just stripping off the resistors and transistors that are currently on the inputs and replacing them with this digital pot, but I don't know exactly what.  This would of course require the designing of a custom firmware and probably a new GUI, but if we eventually get our own chip database going then we might want a wider range of voltages available and this seemed like a simple (hardware) mod that would allow that. 
Just a thought, I'm not sure I'm up to anything as radical as re-writing the PIC's firmware, but I wanted to put it out there. 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mladen82 on June 18, 2013, 11:45:33 am
Did anyone notice that even no memory chip at programmer, software reading is ''succesfuly''  :-DD
anyway works good for now  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sparkyuiop on June 20, 2013, 10:07:55 am
For all experiencing GUI issues try this:

1. Insert your Windows Xp installation CD.
2. Go to Control Panel->Regional...

Thanks allot Radioman, you are a superstar! Minipro software now displays correctly without resizing the window and that only improved it, not cure it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Prema on June 23, 2013, 08:41:43 pm
I have a few SOIC8 which I am trying to re-program. Since this is an ongoing project and I'll have to re-flash the chips a lot of times, I would like to re-flash in-curcuit.
While a college had no trouble with another programmer the TL866 voltage-protection seams to prevent it on any of the chips:

(http://imageshack.us/a/img194/4634/dv2g.jpg)

Any ideas how to disable or work around that protection, or getting it done any other way with the TL866 are more than welcome!

THX in advance.    :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on June 25, 2013, 07:49:24 pm
This is overcurrent  protection not voltage-protection. How do you connect the chip to the programmer? The overcurrent protection cannot be disabled because is working at the firmware level.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: c4757p on June 25, 2013, 07:55:13 pm
Pop it open and check for shorts.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Prema on June 26, 2013, 06:33:23 am
It's connected via a testing clip. The clip works perfect with the TL866 for all chips except in-circuit. I have tried 4 different boards and I get that message with all of them. Even shortened the cable to like 10cm...may have to build an external socket for the project as there are no 150mil sockets except the giant ones that we use in programmers. It's just annoying that I need to do all that work while another programmer just works on the same boards in-circuit, maybe that current protection is just too sensitive...just wish we could manually disable it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: digsys on June 26, 2013, 06:49:45 am
Is the board to program powered up? or are you supplying Vcc? If you're supplying Vcc, then maybe it's reading current draw of the board?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on June 26, 2013, 06:57:26 am
I think that board is drawing too much, if is exceeding 100mA then the overcurrent protection will be triggered in about 100uS.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Prema on June 26, 2013, 06:59:30 am
Boards are not powered. Only source is the TL866. Yeah maybe the boards draw too much and I should use another power source?!?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: abzman on June 26, 2013, 09:08:22 am
if you power the board such that the chip gets the same power that you're trying to program with (either supply the board with power as it normally gets it, or inject power in parallel with the programmer) and nothing else is trying to talk to the chip (so try not to power up the entire board then) then I see no reason it won't work.   
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on June 26, 2013, 09:57:54 am
that boards have electrolytic caps on the power rail? maybe is the charging shock and programmer overcurrent is triggered too fast. Anyway this overcurrent protection can be disabled in hardware but you have to modify something in the programmer PCB. If you have schematic diagram of this programmer (posted in this thread) look for C22 and short it, this will disable the overcurrent protection (the OVC signal). But please do this with care. Another option is to put a bigger cap. in parallel with C22, the ovc detection will be delayed and is possible to work.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on June 26, 2013, 06:45:29 pm
I will have to look at that on mine, possibly put a switch to disable it as well. I have some 8748 MCU's I want to read which it says it can do the CMOS version of, but I have the NMOS ones which have a higher current draw.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Prema on June 28, 2013, 02:59:05 pm
THX@ALL

BIG THX@radioman, I shorted c22 and it successfully disabled the oc-protection, but the chips now read a device ID of 0000.
So I de-soldered the chip and it reads and writes it no problem...building an adapter for an external socket now...wish it would have worked in-circuit.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on July 10, 2013, 10:29:41 am
Try to select 29F033C and disable the check device ID. These chips are pin to pin compatible, not sure about programming algorithms.
Here is the official chip support list: http://www.autoelectric.cn/minipro/MiniProSupportList.txt (http://www.autoelectric.cn/minipro/MiniProSupportList.txt), use CTRL+F to find.
What is the adapter you posted? look like DIP36 SNES ROM, if yes i think you must use something like DIP36 to DIP40 adapter or desolder the chip and use a standard TSOP 40 adapter.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElektroQuark on July 10, 2013, 01:40:48 pm
Any clue on how to add devices?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: krivx on July 10, 2013, 01:46:18 pm
A lot of sellers are bundling the TL866 with adapters, has anyone figured out the best value or best range of adapters available?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kn33 on July 14, 2013, 11:09:29 am
Hello Everyone, I just registered to say that I have personally worked with the engineer/programmer in china, I provided him samples and he implemented them into software within 3 days! He advertises this on all the chinese forums because competition in china is steep, the support is worth every penny and more Name is wong or wang (been a while) I also acted as an intermediary between himself and Atmel in order to receive the programming algo's for a few PLC's where an NDA was required (ATF22, ATF15). his first email response was very brief, but he soon warmed up. just email him @ autoelector@yahoo.com, get his address and send him 2 or 3 sample chips. :-+ :-+ :-+ :-+ :-+ :clap: :clap: :clap: :clap: :box: :box: :box: :box: :box:


His Engrish is poor, but serviceable, I wrote everything in english and google translated chinese, got the job done. still need to send him a couple atmega 2650's so he can impliment isp programming for those

(another edit) He also was willing to implement chip specific adapters of my design, dream come true guys, Hit him up guys, help make this the best programmer PERIOD
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: itsdavid on July 15, 2013, 09:12:11 am
Hey everyone,

I'm pretty new EE in general. It's always just been a hobby after I took my physics course. I purchased the TL866A in hopes that I could tinker and learn.

Unfortunately, like Prema, every time I try to read a SOIC 8 chip in-circuit (the clip was included in my purchase), I get the over-current error. I've tried several different SOIC 8 chips in-circuit.

This time, I'm trying to clone my gate opener so I don't need to call the housing authority to register a new one.

The chip is a Microchip 12LCE519-4I SOIC 8. In the program, I selected PIC12LCE519 SOIC 8.

I also tried shorting C22 as radioman suggested, and it seems to work! But due to my inexperience, I'm not sure if it's truly working. First, there is no chip ID, but I noticed that  "Read ID" function seems to be associated with the chip type? As in, some chips the option is there and some chips it's grayed out. Is that normal? Also, which I click the "Config" tab after reading the chip, it gives me a warning "The Value must less than 0x0FFF!" So I'm not sure if this is because I overrode the overcurrent protection. I know Prema just desoldered it, but I'm still "developing" my IC desoldering skills and would like to first see if it's possible to do it in-circuit.

I'll attach some screen shots after reading the chip. Can someone people look over them to see if it seems right?

Any input into my situation or just the "over-current protection" in general would be appreciated.

Thanks!!

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kn33 on July 17, 2013, 03:29:13 am
Hey everyone,

I'm pretty new EE in general. It's always just been a hobby after I took my physics course. I purchased the TL866A in hopes that I could tinker and learn.

Unfortunately, like Prema, every time I try to read a SOIC 8 chip in-circuit (the clip was included in my purchase), I get the over-current error. I've tried several different SOIC 8 chips in-circuit.

This time, I'm trying to clone my gate opener so I don't need to call the housing authority to register a new one.

The chip is a Microchip 12LCE519-4I SOIC 8. In the program, I selected PIC12LCE519 SOIC 8.

I also tried shorting C22 as radioman suggested, and it seems to work! But due to my inexperience, I'm not sure if it's truly working. First, there is no chip ID, but I noticed that  "Read ID" function seems to be associated with the chip type? As in, some chips the option is there and some chips it's grayed out. Is that normal? Also, which I click the "Config" tab after reading the chip, it gives me a warning "The Value must less than 0x0FFF!" So I'm not sure if this is because I overrode the overcurrent protection. I know Prema just desoldered it, but I'm still "developing" my IC desoldering skills and would like to first see if it's possible to do it in-circuit.

I'll attach some screen shots after reading the chip. Can someone people look over them to see if it seems right?

Any input into my situation or just the "over-current protection" in general would be appreciated.

Thanks!!


I'll tell you right now FOR SURE that the OC-protection is because the entire board you are trying to program on is being partially powered through the soic which is drawing too much power from the programmer. try clipping (or desolder/lift) either the vcc or gound on the chip (or both) and then program. then just a dab of solder and everythings back to normal. you just need to prevent the board from drawing extra current from the programmer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: itsdavid on July 17, 2013, 03:37:26 am
Hey everyone,

I'm pretty new EE in general. It's always just been a hobby after I took my physics course. I purchased the TL866A in hopes that I could tinker and learn.

Unfortunately, like Prema, every time I try to read a SOIC 8 chip in-circuit (the clip was included in my purchase), I get the over-current error. I've tried several different SOIC 8 chips in-circuit.

This time, I'm trying to clone my gate opener so I don't need to call the housing authority to register a new one.

The chip is a Microchip 12LCE519-4I SOIC 8. In the program, I selected PIC12LCE519 SOIC 8.

I also tried shorting C22 as radioman suggested, and it seems to work! But due to my inexperience, I'm not sure if it's truly working. First, there is no chip ID, but I noticed that  "Read ID" function seems to be associated with the chip type? As in, some chips the option is there and some chips it's grayed out. Is that normal? Also, which I click the "Config" tab after reading the chip, it gives me a warning "The Value must less than 0x0FFF!" So I'm not sure if this is because I overrode the overcurrent protection. I know Prema just desoldered it, but I'm still "developing" my IC desoldering skills and would like to first see if it's possible to do it in-circuit.

I'll attach some screen shots after reading the chip. Can someone people look over them to see if it seems right?

Any input into my situation or just the "over-current protection" in general would be appreciated.

Thanks!!


I'll tell you right now FOR SURE that the OC-protection is because the entire board you are trying to program on is being partially powered through the soic which is drawing too much power from the programmer. try clipping (or desolder/lift) either the vcc or gound on the chip (or both) and then program. then just a dab of solder and everythings back to normal. you just need to prevent the board from drawing extra current from the programmer.

Thanks for the input, I'll try to look up the data sheet and try it. On a side note, when I short C22 it does seem to be reading something. Is there any danger in disabling OC-protection aside from it not properly reading/programming? Could it damage the IC or the programmer itself?

Thanks!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on July 17, 2013, 08:30:56 am
Hello Everyone, I just registered to say that I have personally worked with the engineer/programmer in china

He also was willing to implement chip specific adapters of my design, dream come true guys, Hit him up guys, help make this the best programmer PERIOD
Hey kn33,

Mind ask the programmer to support the Ramtron (Cypress Semi) FM1608 F-RAM chip please ?

Actually from programming point of view, since the current TL866 already supports the Dallas DS-1225 chip, it should be easy with just little change in the program to support it.

Datasheet for DS-1225 -> Here (PDF) (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/need-help-in-finding-bbsram-replacement-(decoding-comparing-two-datasheets)/?action=dlattach;attach=43089) <- Currently this chip is already supported.  :-+

Datashet for FM1608 -> Here (PDF) (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/need-help-in-finding-bbsram-replacement-(decoding-comparing-two-datasheets)/?action=dlattach;attach=43090) <- Need just a "little"  ;) modification on the DS-1225 code to support this chip.

Tell the programmer that the only difference is the DS1225Y needs the Chip Enable (CE) pin to be enabled "once" for multiple read/write operations, while the FM1608 needs the CE pin to be "toggled or switched to low state" at every read/write, the memory address changed and latched on CE 's edge, not the state/condition of the CE pin, whiled everything else are identical.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kn33 on July 17, 2013, 06:00:51 pm
He would require 2-3 samples be sent to him. I'll try to get hold of him and get the address again, It's been about a year since we've spoke. but I'm SURE he'll impliment it  :clap:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on July 18, 2013, 12:43:33 am
He would require 2-3 samples be sent to him. I'll try to get hold of him and get the address again, It's been about a year since we've spoke. but I'm SURE he'll impliment it  :clap:

Sure, any proof that your friend there can really program this thing ?  ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: itsdavid on July 18, 2013, 10:08:59 am
So I thought I'd try programming without desoldering the Vcc or ground, but I got this error: ERROR! Code Address:0x0003FF Buf_Val:0x0C74 IC_Val:0x0C00

 Does anyone know what it means? As far as I could tell, it doesn't explain why, just the position, the current data, and what I want to change it to.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on July 18, 2013, 11:38:01 am
I think that chip is an OTP (One Time Programmable) or ROM based one, so you will not be able to erase it or reprogram it.
Since address 3FFF contains 0C00 and you want to program it to 0C74 it has to fail: you can't make 1's out of zeros.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: amyk on July 19, 2013, 11:04:34 am
Correct, the PIC12LCE519 is OTP (http://www.microchip.com/wwwproducts/Devices.aspx?dDocName=en010109).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: itsdavid on July 19, 2013, 04:56:49 pm
Thanks!! That makes a lot of sense now. Whats interesting is that even though its OTP, 0C00 actually started as 0C74 before I tried programming it and got the error (this is the only block code that is different between remotes). So it seems like it did change a little for some reason (unfortunate because now I seemed to have ruined it). I suppose my best bet to order a new chip and try to program it.


By the way, I used the link AmyK provided (thanks!) for the PIC12LCE519-041 page and it said the product is "mature" and to consider the PIC12F629 family which seems to have flash memory. Would I be able to replace the the chip with the?

Here are the data sheets 

PIC12LCE519
http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/40139e.pdf (http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/40139e.pdf)

PIC12F629
http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/41190G.pdf (http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/41190G.pdf)


Thanks again for all the help!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: MrAureliusR on July 23, 2013, 07:21:49 am
@itsdavid there's not much point in replacing it if you're able to buy the original off of mouser or digikey. Especially if you're cloning a gate opener your best bet is to stick with the same part. Its possible the source would need to be recompiled with a different toolchain or something with the new chip. Those 'mature' and 'nearing end of life' warnings are for people who are designing products with the chip and who will need thousands of them over the next few years. they're basically saying don't start a new design from scratch with this chip, start with this other one which we'll be making for the next 5 years.

Typed using Hacker's Keyboard for Android

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: itsdavid on July 23, 2013, 08:05:13 pm
@itsdavid there's not much point in replacing it if you're able to buy the original off of mouser or digikey. Especially if you're cloning a gate opener your best bet is to stick with the same part. Its possible the source would need to be recompiled with a different toolchain or something with the new chip. Those 'mature' and 'nearing end of life' warnings are for people who are designing products with the chip and who will need thousands of them over the next few years. they're basically saying don't start a new design from scratch with this chip, start with this other one which we'll be making for the next 5 years.

Typed using Hacker's Keyboard for Android

Thanks MrAureliusR!
Yeah, what you said makes a lot of sense. I guess I thought it would be nice if I could reprogram it whenever I needed without replacing the IC (since the newer one has flash memory). Also, the PIC12LCE519 is harder to to find. I assume the "L" in the model number suggests its lower voltage (compared to the more common PIC12CE519). Additionally, the newer chip has one less block. It stops at 000003FE, while the older one stops at 000003FF. The last block is actually the only block that is different between remotes. I'm not sure why it has one less block when all the specs seem greater, I think I have a lot to learn about programming and ICs lol. Thanks for all the help!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bryan on August 10, 2013, 09:52:03 pm
Will the TL866CS work under Win 8 64 bit?. Any workaround
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: cube1us on August 11, 2013, 01:10:34 am
YES IT DOES work just fine under Windows 7 64 bit!  I have one (the "A" model), and the software (MiniPro) works under Win 7 64 Bit just great.  The postings on eBay, etc. that still say no 64 bit are just out of date.  You do have to be running the latest version, though:  MiniPro v5.91, which you can download from http://www.autoelectric.cn/minipro/MinProUpdate.htm (http://www.autoelectric.cn/minipro/MinProUpdate.htm)  (Use Google Chrome and have it translate the Chinese for you). 

In fact I never bothered to install from the CD that I got with my unit - I just downloaded it and installed it from the web.  Actually did that before I purchased the unit - even installed the USB driver ahead of time.

This device is GREAT.  I have tested it with old (UV) EPROMS (it won't program 2716 and only some 2732, and I have read the larger ones, but haven't tried programming them), GALs (e.g. GAL16V8), Microchip micros (in particular 16F877) using the output from Microchip's XC8, and used it to test some TTL chips.  All worked perfectly fine.  I even built a little adapter cable so I could use the ICSP (I have the "A" suffix model) with my old meLabs X1 board.  Worked great.

I love it, and you just can't beat the price on eBay.  (I paid $85.99, for the unit and a bunch of adapters and PLCC puller).  Go for it.  It is a GREAT unit.

Once I even put a chip (I think it was a GAL) one row down in the ZIF socket.  The software noticed, and no harm was done to the GAL at all.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bryan on August 11, 2013, 11:09:03 am
That's great about Win 7 64 bit but what about Win 8 64 bit.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on August 11, 2013, 11:28:40 am
Not that much difference between Win7 and Win 8 under the hood , just drivers need to be signed in most cases and somewhat better security. You will get a nag screen about unsigned drivers during install, and will have to install anyway.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bryan on August 12, 2013, 09:18:02 am
Thanks, found the DPInst64.ex in a  folder called Win64. Trying to install it brings up the following message.

You do not have sufficient security privileges to install hardware on this computer.  Contact your administrator or log in as ..

I am the administrator. Do I need to install this some other way.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on August 12, 2013, 09:34:50 am
Did you try Right Click -> Run as Administrator?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bryan on August 12, 2013, 05:05:16 pm
Thanks...that did the trick. :-[
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: MrAureliusR on August 13, 2013, 03:07:02 am
This device is GREAT.  I have tested it with old (UV) EPROMS (it won't program 2716 and only some 2732, and I have read the larger ones, but haven't tried programming them), GALs (e.g. GAL16V8), Microchip micros (in particular 16F877) using the output from Microchip's XC8, and used it to test some TTL chips.  All worked perfectly fine.

I've got two windowed EPROMs, they're both Texas Instruments TMS 2716, one is the classic 'purple and gold' colour scheme, it says TMS2716JL. Date code 18th week of 1978!! Other one says TMS2716-45JL (I'm guessing for 450ns? Or 45?). Date code 23rd week of 1986. The actual date codes read P7818 and MAP8623 ... don't know what the letters mean.

When I pop them in, I can read them and they read all EB's. If I pop them out, it reads all FF's ... it's funny that it will read at all with no chip in place. I can also program with nothing in the socket, and it works successfully. However, if I put either of them in it instantly stops with 'OverCurrent Protection action! External short circuit/IC reverse or damaged!' ... I know that even though these are both old chips, they were sold to me in MINT condition, never once used or programmed. I don't know if that is a good or bad thing but I figured that the 1986 one at least would program. No matter what options I change it just won't work. For the record, I'm picking the TMS2716 @DIP24 from the list, which is exactly what both of these are...

Dave had the same problem with the 27C128 but then his other EPROM in the video did successfully program...

Should I bother shorting out that cap (C22)? If I wreck the chip I won't mind but if I wreck the programmer I'll be pretty pissed at myself... I get the feeling it's not actually shorting, the hardware is just tripping accidentally because the programmer is using 21V maybe? I don't know. Also, in my experience, blank chips read FF. Are old EPROM's different? I don't have a 'real' eraser, but I can always leave them on the windowsill for a week in the bright sun and see if anything changes? Or can anyone think of a good hack to make a UV eraser? I suppose I could always just buy a UV bulb, make a little box with foil to reflect the UV, and stick them in there for 10-15 minutes. I've got some good project boxes that need a use...

[EDIT: I just wanted to add that the Logic IC test feature of this thing is GREAT!!!! I've used it COUNTLESS times and it works like a charm! I've even intentionally damaged certain sections of chips (on purpose or by accident) and it detects the error every time! Of course, the list could use some expanding, but so far the list does contain more than just basic logic gates - for example a 74LS138, which is a 3-to-8 line demultiplexer/decoder chip... if it can test that then surely it wouldn't be too hard to implement a whole host of other 7400 and 4000 series ICs. But I'm not complaining -- this thing is awesome!]
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on August 13, 2013, 05:36:00 pm
Chips are probably OK, just they draw va little too much power for the programmer to handle. I would suggest a switch to short out the overcurrent protection so you can have it selectable for these high power devices. An old original 2716 can draw up to 200mA just in normal operation, the CMOS ones draw practically nothing.

I intend to do the mod so I can read and program some older 8748 parts and read them ( as a backup in case the original ones die and I will then be SOL) safely, as they also are current hogs. I will also likely add a 5V external socket to provide the extra power for this to be done safely.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: fluxcapacitor on August 16, 2013, 03:35:35 am
'OverCurrent Protection action! External short circuit/IC reverse or damaged!'

Use a powered USB hub without anything else attatched,apart from the tl866 .Works for me .
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: cube1us on August 19, 2013, 02:23:23 am
I tried the USB hub route with my 2716's and 2732's and it made no difference.  That may help on some systems that are not supplying enough current on their USB ports - but I suspect that if that were the case one would not see the overcurrent protection message.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: fluxcapacitor on August 19, 2013, 02:41:57 am
Have you updated to 5.91 firmware ? .This post may be of interest to you,he even mentions eevblog ! :

http://www.insentricity.com/a.cl/196/ItsNotStupidItsEnhanced (http://www.insentricity.com/a.cl/196/ItsNotStupidItsEnhanced)

"I moved the burner to the computer in my entertainment center running Windows 7 and it worked fine there. I was able to set the voltage to 21V and try burning a 2732. The first one I tried kept stopping every 2-3 bytes and telling me it wasn't able to burn. If I clicked it and made it try again it would get a little further each time. But doing a 1k ROM 2-3 bytes at a time was going to take forever. I grabbed another 2732 and it worked better, it would do 100 bytes at a time. After several tries I was able to get the second 2732 to burn and verify successfully. I think the 2732s really want 25V, but it worked and I was happy."
Title: Getting started with TL866 programming.... Suggestions?
Post by: Electro Fan on August 19, 2013, 11:31:32 pm
Hi, I'm kind late to this thread but I've watched Dave's video and some related videos and cruised through the first 13 pages here.

I can't say that I have a good understanding of programmers or that I even have a good first use but I'd like to jump in and learn to copy/clone some chips and in the process learn about firmware - so I'm thinking about purchasing a TL866A primarily as a learning (personal R&D) tool.

Does anyone have some suggested 101-102 type links that would help a first time user get started with the overall process and maybe pick a few initial projects just for the sake of learning?  (If you have any projects that would be both reasonably simple/doable and that would help learn the fundamentals please feel free to suggest them.)

Thanks!  EF
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: olsenn on August 19, 2013, 11:39:06 pm
Quote
Hi, I'm kind late to this thread but I've watched Dave's video and some related videos and cruised through the first 13 pages here.

I can't say that I have a good understanding of programmers or that I even have a good first use but I'd like to jump in and learn to copy/clone some chips and in the process learn about firmware - so I'm thinking about purchasing a TL866A primarily as a learning (personal R&D) tool.

Does anyone have some suggested 101-102 type links that would help a first time user get started with the overall process and maybe pick a few initial projects just for the sake of learning?  (If you have any projects that would be both reasonably simple/doable and that would help learn the fundamentals please feel free to suggest them.)

These programmers are fairly simple. They are mostly for programming memory chips, which unlike programming a microcontroller, doesn't have a syntax/language. You can enter any data you want to program into a memory chip. The TL866CS can also be used to upload/download a .hex fire onto/from a PIC or AVR MCU, and (at least in the case of AVR) set fuse settings. The actual programming is still done in AVR Studio or MPLAB etc.

May I ask what you are looking for a programmer for? Do you have a project in mind that does/might require a universal programmer?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Electro Fan on August 20, 2013, 02:33:17 am
Quote
Hi, I'm kind late to this thread but I've watched Dave's video and some related videos and cruised through the first 13 pages here.

I can't say that I have a good understanding of programmers or that I even have a good first use but I'd like to jump in and learn to copy/clone some chips and in the process learn about firmware - so I'm thinking about purchasing a TL866A primarily as a learning (personal R&D) tool.

Does anyone have some suggested 101-102 type links that would help a first time user get started with the overall process and maybe pick a few initial projects just for the sake of learning?  (If you have any projects that would be both reasonably simple/doable and that would help learn the fundamentals please feel free to suggest them.)

These programmers are fairly simple. They are mostly for programming memory chips, which unlike programming a microcontroller, doesn't have a syntax/language. You can enter any data you want to program into a memory chip. The TL866CS can also be used to upload/download a .hex fire onto/from a PIC or AVR MCU, and (at least in the case of AVR) set fuse settings. The actual programming is still done in AVR Studio or MPLAB etc.

May I ask what you are looking for a programmer for? Do you have a project in mind that does/might require a universal programmer?

Thanks - that was a helpful orientation; I am starting at square 1 on this.  Based on your post I get that the "programmer" really is just for reading and/or writing a hex file to/from a PIC or AVR MCU, and (in the case of AVR) setting fuse settings - none of which I have had a reason to do but I'm inclined to start trying/learning just for the sake of learning.  The closest I've come to any such projects would be building simple projects with the Arduino, which gives me some exposure to AVR.

For now, I'm inclined to just see if I can take data off of one chip and write it to another and then see if I can modify it, etc.  Learning the chip families alone seems like it could take awhile, but I'd like to start somewhere where I can get some hands-on experience.  Nothing like learning by doing. :)

Do you have any favorite/popular chips that might make sense to start with just to read and write?  (I know that's probably like asking if you have any favorite foods that might be representative of all foods.)  Any reason not to give it a try with an ATmega328?  Or is there something that would be a better to experiment with?  Theoretically, if I could write to a "backup" ATmega328 I could pop the newly written backup chip into my Arduino to see if it still runs my programs :).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: alm on August 20, 2013, 09:41:38 am
For MCU programming you definitely want a programmer with in-system programming (called ISP for AVRs and ICSP for PICs). Unplugging the micro to program gets old really fast when going through iterative compile-program-test cycles. You can always wire a DIP IC up on a devboard or breadboard with a programming header. I believe standard Arduino Uno includes an ISP header you can directly plug a programmer into.

I would also tend to go with something supported by the manufacturer (eg. AVRISP Mk. II or PICkit 3). This allows you to directly program a chip from the manufacturer supplied IDE (or any other IDE). If you want to save money, at least get something with wide community support (eg. USBasp). This makes troubleshooting and finding help much easier.

I see nothing wrong with starting with an ATmega328, it's a versatile chip that's very popular due to its use in the Arduino. I don't see the point of reading the firmware from an existing MCU, however. Commercial designs will usually have the lock bit set, preventing you from reading the firmware but returning garbage instead. And if you want to modify some Arduino code, then the source to everything is right there on their website. Even if you get the firmware and manage to dissasamble it, then it's still much harder to read than well documented assembler or C code with proper variable and function names.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Electro Fan on August 20, 2013, 08:34:42 pm
Thanks ALM,

I understand the TL866A is going to be operating at a lower level than than say the Arduino IDE; I'm just challenging myself to see if I can figure out the TL866A (and the general environment of such a programmer).  In the process I'd like to find the intersection between what can be done from the PC with the Arduino IDE (or maybe with WinAVR or Atmel Studio) and what can be done with the TL866A and the software that comes with the TL866A.  It's like I've been reading about Rome for a long time and I'm ready to go on site seeing tour. :)

I saw this thread that seems to be touching on some similar questions:
http://forum.pjrc.com/threads/19212-Better-alternative-to-arduino-IDE (http://forum.pjrc.com/threads/19212-Better-alternative-to-arduino-IDE)

I think I'm on a different path than many users here who have lots of skill and experience and who use test equipment largely to test, design, debug, build, etc.  I use the equipment almost entirely as a "learning platform".  With a small power supply, a couple DMMs, a scope, a couple breadboards, some parts, and a few other things I can tinker, hypothesize, test, figure out (slowly) what works and what doesn't, what causes what and what doesn't.  It's a journey more than a specific destination although I have a few small objectives that I hope to accomplish as I get a few things figured out.  For starters, I want to prove I can learn/understand, configure and control analog circuits well enough to (among other things) convert A to D to encode specific bit streams and then (with a scope and a serial decoder) I want to prove I can decode my home made bit streams.  Along the way I'm trying to learn to harness the notion of pullup and pulldown resistors - I know, pretty basic.  (The other day I managed to follow a circuit diagram (not just a fritzing illustration) to make some stuff happen with a 555; it worked on the second try and I was pleasantly surprised.)

Beyond this 101 stuff I'm trying to not only experience the intersection between analog and digital but also gain some hands-on experience with how basic analog circuits and functions get embedded and accessed and managed on chips.  In 102 or 201 I hope to figure out how to work with I2C and SPI.  JTAG entirely fascinates me.  No doubt, I see a ton of hardware, firmware, and software learning ahead on the "hands-on" road from analog to digital.

One of the reasons I'd like a highly dependable power supply is that I'd like to know that the values I'm seeing when working with the fundamentals (volts and amps along with ohms and watts) are pretty reliable so I don't have to wonder if it's my calculations or the gear that's causing a different than expected result (I'm steadily working my way thru stuff like burden voltage.)  In general, to help avoid errors and confusion I like my rulers to be accurately ruled so as to help avoid this:  |O :-DD

(And of course I'd like a power supply that protects my other gear, DUTs, and generally keeps me safe.)

So .... back to the TL866A, the TL866A might (metaphorically) be a diving board to help learn what goes on in the deep end  ;D

To me, this forum is a gateway to a huge amount of learning opportunities.  It is a great place with lots of deluxe people and I appreciate all the info and advice.

EF
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: MrAureliusR on August 21, 2013, 04:13:16 am
I have to suggest - get yourself the TL866A (or whichever has the ICSP port) instead. Its got the in circuit programming header built-in so you can tinker with both in one package. Its slightly more expensive but probably worth it.

Typed using Hacker's Keyboard for Android

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: joh on August 21, 2013, 03:28:25 pm
Many thanks @radioman and your gifted Russion cryptographer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on August 24, 2013, 04:31:30 pm
Hello,

I own a TL866A and when I tried to read/write a ST93CS46 in-system I got the over current protection error. I then proceeded to short C22 as suggested here (Thanks everyone!) and it worked. But I couldn't find an answer if that could be dangerous to the TL866A (Someone said it's not dangerous to the chip...)? I guess that protection is in place for a reason?
There were some mentions about people wishing for Linux support, did anyone contact AutoElectric with that wish? This device would be great if had linux support (and later down the road ability to add your own chips - anyone contacted them about that?)

Also thanks to everyone, this thread was full of useful information. You rock!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on August 24, 2013, 04:46:26 pm
Linux support is by using Oracle Virtualbox and a copy of XP inside it. A little like a sledgehammer for a peanut, but it does work.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 24, 2013, 08:46:21 pm
Shorting C22 will disable only over current protection notifications, not over current protection itself. When i worked in the reverse engineering of this programmer, i developed a custom firmware to help me, and if i remember correctly, i tested this ovc protection by putting a pin driver to VDD and GND  simultaneously for about one hour. A couple of transistors/resistors became warm but nothing serious.

Regarding to Linux support, well, i sent a few emails to Autoelectric with that wish but no response.  :(
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: .::Rizwan::. on August 24, 2013, 09:49:16 pm
@radioman
So you suggest that shorting C22 for getting work done regarding incircuit Read write operations is safe?
If yes then we can make a simple switch to make & break short to be on safe side.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 24, 2013, 10:20:10 pm
Yes you can try this, but remember: by shorting the C22 the over current protection will not be disabled, instead the ovc signal will never inform the uC about the over current condition and this will allow the firmware to continue the read/write procedure. The ovc signal work at the interrupt  level of the uC, once triggered, the internal firmware will reset the pin drivers in hi-z state and abort current operation, then the pc software will be informed about this situation. Due to the in circuit connection, the ovc signal can be false triggered and this will stop the read/write operation. shorting the C22 can help in some situations but is not a universal solution, depends on the situation. You can try to mount a switch for that purpose and when needed to short the C22 easily, and yes this is safe for both programmer and the chip.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: .::Rizwan::. on August 24, 2013, 10:32:30 pm
As per my experience, it always false triggered when using incircuit.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on August 25, 2013, 04:59:15 pm
@radioman
Thanks for all the info and great work you did.
When you reverse engineered this stuff, did you maybe look at the USB communication between the device and the program? I guess it should be preatty straight forward protocol/communication?
I'll probably do some sniffing and poking in that direction.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 25, 2013, 06:13:32 pm
When you reverse engineered this stuff, did you maybe look at the USB communication between the device and the program? I guess it should be pretty straight forward protocol/communication?
I'll probably do some sniffing and poking in that direction.

Yes i have looked at the USB communication protocol, but believe me it's a nightmare. In bootloader mode there are only four commands for ex. (reset,erase,write,report) but these are simple commands. In normal mode are a lot of commands and reverse engineering them is not so easy, you must know how the pc software and uC firmware works,for example as a hint, at this moment all the supported chips are grouped by categories, every category is implemented as unique protocol/algorithm in the software/firmware and afaik these protocols/algorithm are 41 in number  in the current firmware implementation, plus the control commands. Yes sniffing is easy to do but interpreting the result is hard, the pc software is a mess, adding a new chip is done by recompiling the source, there is no config files, nothing, nada, and most of the chips info are hardcoded in infoic.dll and the main software minipro.exe, the system is closed, the only way is the hard work in the reverse eng. communication protocol, good luck!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on August 25, 2013, 07:44:47 pm
When you reverse engineered this stuff, did you maybe look at the USB communication between the device and the program? I guess it should be pretty straight forward protocol/communication?
I'll probably do some sniffing and poking in that direction.

Yes i have looked at the USB communication protocol, but believe me it's a nightmare. In bootloader mode there are only four commands for ex. (reset,erase,write,report) but these are simple commands. In normal mode are a lot of commands and reverse engineering them is not so easy, you must know how the pc software and uC firmware works,for example as a hint, at this moment all the supported chips are grouped by categories, every category is implemented as unique protocol/algorithm in the software/firmware and afaik these protocols/algorithm are 41 in number  in the current firmware implementation, plus the control commands. Yes sniffing is easy to do but interpreting the result is hard, the pc software is a mess, adding a new chip is done by recompiling the source, there is no config files, nothing, nada, and most of the chips info are hardcoded in infoic.dll and the main software minipro.exe, the system is closed, the only way is the hard work in the reverse eng. communication protocol, good luck!
Damn, I thought they're using a simpler interface (but on the other hand I don't know anything about programming chips)... So with each PC software update comes a new FW for the device.
And here I am, dreaming of a device with configurable and drivable pins via PC software and whatnot.  :-DD
Maybe one day...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: krivx on August 26, 2013, 06:22:07 pm
I've been playing with a TL866 and some old EPROMs and had an odd problem. If I read some old 27c256 chips the correct chip ID is recognized and the dumps have correct data (I can see interesting ASCII strings with error messages, instructions and so on). If I try some AM27c512 chips, an incorrect chip ID is recognized and the data doesn't correct (no obvious patterns or strings). This is the case for 5 chips that I've tried. Also, with the AM27c512 if I click "Chip ID" repeatedly a different chip ID is sometimes reported. I'm not sure what's going on, can the TL866 read a 27c512? Or are all my chips bad? I could understand that the incorrect ID value was written to them when programmed but changing chip ID is confusing. I haven't tried erasing and reprogramming one yet.

edit: I found an AT27c512R (PLCC package) and that reads fine...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: olsenn on August 26, 2013, 06:41:46 pm
Quote
Damn, I thought they're using a simpler interface (but on the other hand I don't know anything about programming chips)... So with each PC software update comes a new FW for the device.
And here I am, dreaming of a device with configurable and drivable pins via PC software and whatnot.

Sounds to me like you are looking for an Arduino or general purpose microcontroller. Even a Bus Pirate perhaps. Only limitation here is that you're limited to TTL/CMOS voltage levels. Boost converters are available pre-designed in IC's, and you can easily use a digital pot to lower voltage.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: .::Rizwan::. on August 26, 2013, 07:26:09 pm
One thing to confirm?
As on My TL866A Board C22 is in parallell with R40 and D14.
Is it same on others too?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 26, 2013, 08:03:32 pm
One thing to confirm?
As on My TL866A Board C22 is in parallell with R40 and D14.
Is it same on others too?
you have good eyes! yes, this is correct. C22, R40, D14 are all in parallel, check the schematic diagram posted in this thread.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on August 30, 2013, 08:29:46 pm
Quote
Damn, I thought they're using a simpler interface (but on the other hand I don't know anything about programming chips)... So with each PC software update comes a new FW for the device.
And here I am, dreaming of a device with configurable and drivable pins via PC software and whatnot.

Sounds to me like you are looking for an Arduino or general purpose microcontroller. Even a Bus Pirate perhaps. Only limitation here is that you're limited to TTL/CMOS voltage levels. Boost converters are available pre-designed in IC's, and you can easily use a digital pot to lower voltage.
Yeah, a second look at Bus Pirate and I believe that's something I'm looking for, but with more programmers/chips support. But I'll sure have a closer look at how the supported "programmers" work with Bus Pirate.  Thanks for pointing it out (I was aware of Bus Pirate, but didn't look into it to realise it can program some chips too).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Fagear on August 31, 2013, 05:43:39 pm
I've ordered TL866A after I saw Dave's video. :) Actually there were some adapters with TL866A that seller included (SO-8 clip with no need to desolder, SO-8 150 mil ZIF, SO-8 200~208 mil ZIF, SOP28-DIP28, PLCC32-DIP32, PLCC44-DIP40 and some else and a PLCC extractor as well). I've bought it for 90$ US which is about 3000 rubles here in Russia. For example in popular local electronics shops in here you can buy some other programmers from 8000 rubles at minimum and further to 15000...30000 rubles (450$...900$). :o And you don't even know will they work under Win7 or not, do they support all chips that you used to use and so on.

I'm very happy with this device. I have tried ISP cable - works well with AVRs. Tested read-write with many EPROMs, EEPROMs and flash chips (some old 27C64, 27C256, 27C512 and so on, SST49FL004A, SST39SF020A, AT29C010, P28F001, MX28F2000, SPH29EE010 and others, many 8-pin EEPROMs). I've even "tested tester" ;D of RAM chips - checked some old SRAM L2-cache DIPs. :-+

Everything works very well. Driver and software works under Windows 7 x64 and Windows XP SP3 with no difference. Driver installs easily and with no problems, software runs stable, keyboard shortcuts are pretty usefull, buttons/windows don't confuse me at all.

Only under XP I have issue with wrong size fonts and UI falling apart, but solution from post #71 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg196623/#msg196623) doesn't work for me because after this actions some (not all) russian-language software refused to work and in some other cases I had hieroglyphs instead of cyrillic letters (but yes, this actions had fixed UI of software). So I had to revert everything back. Also latest version of software (5.91) have some "chinglish" in it. Screenshots are in attachment.  And chinese style of starting most (but not all) words from capital letter is pretty annoying. :-\

[dave_style]
Overall opinion: huge thumbs up! :-+
Software UI: thumbs sideways. ???
[/dave_style]
 ;D
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: joh on August 31, 2013, 07:43:59 pm
Has anyone managed to use the ISP connector of the TL866A with ATTiny84 chips? My upgraded (CS->A) makes the ISP connector unavailable when selecting ATTiny84 but is usable for the ATMega328 family.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Fagear on August 31, 2013, 07:53:05 pm
Has anyone managed to use the ISP connector of the TL866A with ATTiny84 chips? My upgraded (CS->A) makes the ISP connector unavailable when selecting ATTiny84 but is usable for the ATMega328 family.
I don't have an ATtiny84 to test, but yes, software blocks out the "ICSP port" option when ATtiny84 selected. However with little trusty software "Enable button" I can unblock UI radio button and switch to "ICSP port" and software allows me to read data from ICSP (all zeroes while nothing connected).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: joh on August 31, 2013, 08:04:07 pm
"Enable button" sounds handy, do you have a link? I did Google but got lots of stuff.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Fagear on August 31, 2013, 08:09:15 pm
"Enable button" sounds handy, do you have a link? I did Google but got lots of stuff.
Try this link (http://download.ware.ru/win/28253_Enable%20button.exe). MD5: 28d10f5ea6f3b1e5de4074aa5294ef92. Run this programm, switch to window with blocked elements and run mouse cursor over them - they will unlock! ;)

Btw I had some issue with ZIF socket on my TL866 - sometimes it accidently come open. And I already done a fix to it, I'll add photos later.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: joh on August 31, 2013, 08:18:18 pm
Thanks for the code link. Odd thing for me running Win7x64 is that just having your code running automatically unlocks the ICSP button when I start up MiniPro 5.91.

If your code isn't running ICSP is locked.

Big thanks you!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: joh on August 31, 2013, 08:37:13 pm
It is more complicated than I thought. Reading from the ATTiny84V does not work even though the button is accepted. It reads a bad signature and all zero's as contents. If I select ATMega328P I can read the contents fine.
Also, if you select the information button for the ICSP wiring you get a message:

File not found: c:\MiniPro\5-9-1\img\ICP000.JPG

I guess the ISCP wiring could be different between the ATMega328p and the ATTiny84V.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: fluxcapacitor on August 31, 2013, 10:58:41 pm
The button was greyed out for a reason.The ATMega328p are 28 and 32 pin .The problem you are having with the ATtiny84 might be because the fuse bit is set,someone more knowledgable here should be able to help you with that .
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: joh on September 01, 2013, 08:26:13 am
The button was greyed out for a reason.
Absolutely, I don't think there is support in the code for the T84 via the ICSP connector.

I don't believe any lock bits are set as I can program the chip using other equipment.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: fluxcapacitor on September 01, 2013, 01:43:27 pm
The latest software version is V5.91 ,according to the changelog some corrections were made :

Correction: ATTINY24/44/84/25/45/85 Extended Fuse bits programming errors .

Do you have version 5.91 ? maybe the bug isnt fixed correctly .

Check the pinout on the datasheet: http://www.datasheetdir.com/ATTINY84V-10SSU+AVR-microcontrollers (http://www.datasheetdir.com/ATTINY84V-10SSU+AVR-microcontrollers)
Find the correct datasheet for your part.

http://www.autoelectric.cn/minipro/MinProAVR.htm (http://www.autoelectric.cn/minipro/MinProAVR.htm)  (use google translate)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: joh on September 01, 2013, 05:01:16 pm
http://www.autoelectric.cn/minipro/MinProAVR.htm (http://www.autoelectric.cn/minipro/MinProAVR.htm)  (use google translate)

Odd, the ATTiny84 isn't included on the above link.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: joh on September 01, 2013, 05:05:42 pm
Having identified that the ATTiny84 doesn't appear on the list I also note that the ATTiny85 does appear but this selection also greys out the ICSP option. I wonder if this is because these devices don't support HVPP only HVSP.

I am using 5.91.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on September 01, 2013, 07:56:23 pm
I wonder if this is because these devices don't support HVPP only HVSP.

Nope. Atmel AVR devices currently supported in TL866 are splitted into two categories:

These devices support parallel and icsp(serial) programming.
Code: [Select]
Type:113(0x71)
AT90S1200, AT90S2313, AT90S2333, AT90S4414, AT90S4433, AT90S4434, AT90S8515, AT90S8535, AT90SLS2313, AT90SLS2333, AT90SLS4414, AT90SLS4433,
AT90SLS4434, AT90SLS8515, AT90SLS8535, ATMEGA8, ATMEGA8L, ATMEGA8A, ATMEGA16, ATMEGA16L, ATMEGA16A, ATMEGA32, ATMEGA32L, ATMEGA32A, ATMEGA48,
ATMEGA48V, ATMEGA48A, ATMEGA48PA, ATMEGA64, ATMEGA64A, ATMEGA64L, ATMEGA88, ATMEGA88V, ATMEGA88A, ATMEGA88PA , ATMEGA128, ATMEGA128A, ATMEGA128L,
ATMEGA162, ATMEGA162V, ATMEGA164A , ATMEGA164PA , ATMEGA165A, ATMEGA165P, ATMEGA165PA, ATMEGA165PV, ATMEGA168, ATMEGA168A, ATMEGA168PA,
ATMEGA168V, ATMEGA169A, ATMEGA169P, ATMEGA169PA, ATMEGA169PV, ATMEGA324A , ATMEGA324PA , ATMEGA325A, ATMEGA325PA, ATMEGA328, ATMEGA328P,
ATMEGA329A, ATMEGA329PA, ATMEGA644A , ATMEGA644PA, ATMEGA645A, ATMEGA645P, ATMEGA649A, ATMEGA649P, ATMEGA1284 , ATMEGA1284P , ATMEGA8515,
ATMEGA8515L, ATMEGA8535, ATMEGA8535L, ATTINY26, ATTINY26L, ATTINY28L, ATTINY28V, ATTINY2313, ATTINY2313V, ATTINY2313A, ATTINY4313


These devices only support serial programming (low voltage-icsp and hvsp).
Code: [Select]
Type:115(0x73)
ATTINY11, ATTINY11L, ATTINY12, ATTINY12V, ATTINY12L, ATTINY13, ATTINY13V, ATTINY13A, ATTINY15, ATTINY15L, ATTINY15L, ATTINY24, ATTINY24A
ATTINY24V, ATTINY25, ATTINY25V, ATTINY44, ATTINY44A, ATTINY44V, ATTINY45, ATTINY45V, ATTINY84, ATTINY84A, ATTINY84V, ATTINY85, ATTINY85V

The 113 and 115 types are programming algorithms implemented in firmware, and as you can see both categories is supporting low voltage serial programming (icsp) but is implemented only in the first category(113).

If you will try to unlock the icsp button for one of the device in the second category then it will not work, the minipro software send the command correctly (tested myself) but the firmware will ignore icsp parameter.
USB sniffer:
Code: [Select]
ATTINY84 no ICSP
03 73 12 00 02 00 40 00 00 16 00 00 00 20 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

ATTINY84  ICSP on
03 73 12 00 02 00 40 00 00 16 00 81 00 20 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
The first two parameters tels to the firmware to switch to type 0x73(115) algorithm and the 12-th parameter to switch the ICSP on, but it has no effect for type 115(0x73) devices.
For devices in the first category(113) the ICSP are fully implemented but for some unknown reason only MEGA devices have the ICSP button active, the AT90S's and ATTINY26,28,2313 and 4313 are icsp option locked (but its working, tested myself).

In conclusion: Its a firmware issue(incomplete).

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: joh on September 01, 2013, 08:01:47 pm
Comprehensive response! Many thanks radioman.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: fluxcapacitor on September 01, 2013, 09:46:34 pm
excellent radioman .
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: .::Rizwan::. on September 02, 2013, 01:41:55 pm
Excellent Reverse Engineering "radioman"
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: MrAureliusR on September 03, 2013, 02:19:53 am
I added the 6-pin header to my TL866CS but it won't allow me to program via ICSP... anyone else had this problem? I get the error 'ICSP Programming is Limited!'

I guess I need to flash the TL866A firmware? Anyone have a copy? I'll have to use my AVR ISP I guess, with the other 6-pin header on the board  :-DD

EDIT: Never mind, found the firmware earlier in the thread. I won't put the page number because I display the max number of posts per page...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: krivx on September 03, 2013, 01:51:07 pm
I added the 6-pin header to my TL866CS but it won't allow me to program via ICSP... anyone else had this problem? I get the error 'ICSP Programming is Limited!'

I guess I need to flash the TL866A firmware? Anyone have a copy? I'll have to use my AVR ISP I guess, with the other 6-pin header on the board  :-DD

EDIT: Never mind, found the firmware earlier in the thread. I won't put the page number because I display the max number of posts per page...

The bold title at the top of each post is a link, so you could link directly to the post.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Fagear on September 04, 2013, 07:37:34 pm
As I promised: some improvements to TL866 that I did.
My device was accidentally unlocking the ZIF socket sometimes. And visually there was pretty big and uneven gap between ZIF socket parts. And also, plastic of the socket started to wiggle while the whole device with PCB and soldered pins of the socket were fixed.

Step 1): undo 4 screws from case and 2 screws from ZIF socket
Step 2): apply some hot glue between bottom part of the socket and PCB while applying pressure on top of the socket with your finger
Step 3): lift top part of ZIF socket with screw driver
Step 4): remove all burrs from middle (moving) and top parts of the socket that were left after manufacturing
Step 5): remove some plastic from place where lever goes by scratching it with a knife
Step 6): put it all together

Sorry if I confused some words or terms, I'm from Russia, English is not my first language. ::)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: joh on September 04, 2013, 08:36:10 pm
Nice one, thanks for posting. If mine ever falls apart I will take courage from your success.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Prema on September 28, 2013, 12:34:45 pm
I have board here with two unsupported SOIC8:

Gigadevice:

AH1315 - 25B16BSIG 
AH1316 - 25B32BSIG

Any ideas how to request support or read/write them in any other way?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on September 28, 2013, 02:05:19 pm
I can not find anything, are you sure these chips are correct? Gigadevice chips supported in TL866 are 25xxx SPI eeprom series (GD25xxx), do  you have any datasheet for these chips? please post entire marking of these chips or a photo.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Prema on September 28, 2013, 03:46:41 pm
There is only the Gigadevice Logo on them and this:

AH1315 - 25B16BSIG - E4T490
AH1316 - 25B32BSIG - E51367
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on September 28, 2013, 07:16:34 pm
25B16BSIG=25C16, 25B32BSIG=25C32? put the device in the soic8 adapter and do a 25 autoselect an see if is autodetected.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Electro Fan on September 28, 2013, 09:52:22 pm
Not sure if any noticed this (or has any interest), but one of the sellers of the TL866 offers a black ziff socket as an option vs. the very popular green socket (he also sells the green socket version):

http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-MiniPro-TL866A-Programmer-EEPROM-SPI-FLASH-AVR-GAL-PIC-with-ICSP-Function-/321085707041?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac2331321#ht_9190wt_1071 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/USB-MiniPro-TL866A-Programmer-EEPROM-SPI-FLASH-AVR-GAL-PIC-with-ICSP-Function-/321085707041?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item4ac2331321#ht_9190wt_1071)
- the seller has lots of packages depending on which/how many adapter sockets you want

In corresponding with the seller he has been very responsive.  He says that the black socket is more robust than the green socket.  He thinks it might not matter for occassional users but for users that are doing lots of diagnostics/repairs, etc. he believes the black socket will hold up better.  I think he also believes it will make better contact with the chip pins; it's also supposed to be easier to remove/replace if needed.

Also, related to the TL866 it looks like there are users who would like to do inline serial programming; for inline serial progamming it would seem that it might be easier and not all that much more expensive to just start with the TL866A version than the TL866CS version.

Just a couple tidbits.  Sorry if some of this is redundant with previous posts.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bilko on September 28, 2013, 10:32:50 pm
Not sure if any noticed this (or has any interest), but one of the sellers of the TL866 offers a black ziff socket as an option vs. the very popular green socket (he also sells the green socket version):


Just to add, if you buy the regular green socket version there is nothing stopping you from buying a genuine, quality 3M or Aries Zif socket and using this in the green socket, no soldering required.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Electro Fan on September 29, 2013, 04:14:38 am
Not sure if any noticed this (or has any interest), but one of the sellers of the TL866 offers a black ziff socket as an option vs. the very popular green socket (he also sells the green socket version):


Just to add, if you buy the regular green socket version there is nothing stopping you from buying a genuine, quality 3M or Aries Zif socket and using this in the green socket, no soldering required.

I don't have any vested interested in this and I'm still figuring out what's what but it was my impression that the green socket is a 3M socket (maybe there are different versions made by 3M?) and that it is soldered in place.  I'm pretty sure the seller says the black socket can be removed without soldering.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: MrAureliusR on September 29, 2013, 04:17:19 am
The green socket says 3M on it but I'd bet a thousand dollars it's an imitation.  ;) It seems to be relatively strong though, I've inserted and removed chips well over a hundred times now with no issues whatsoever.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: JTR on September 30, 2013, 03:28:01 pm
And the black "aries" Zif sockets require so much physical force to open and close it tends to get tiresome rather quickly and then there is the mechanical force that is transferred through the PCB.  Very hard to open and close these with just one hand.

The 3M clones (genuine 3M parts cost > $10) are just much nicer to work with and will hold up for a long time as long as some care is used in inserting the chips correctly and they are soldered with the zif socket in the open position. Very important!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Prema on October 02, 2013, 05:31:51 pm
25B16BSIG=25C16, 25B32BSIG=25C32? put the device in the soic8 adapter and do a 25 autoselect an see if is autodetected.

THX! They where compatible with GD25Q16 / GD25Q32. :D
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: casinada on October 03, 2013, 05:01:46 am
Just have to be careful and make sure that the programmer is not counterfeit. According to the site there is no counterfeit programmer yet, however; there are some adapters that are counterfeit already.
http://www.autoelectric.cn/minipro/TSOP48_identification.htm (http://www.autoelectric.cn/minipro/TSOP48_identification.htm)
I ordered an 866A from e**y and I suppose to get it tomorrow. My EMP-20 is obsolete and works for old parts but the original company doesn't exist anymore and to use I have to have an old Win XP box with a parallel port.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: elcomtel on October 03, 2013, 02:40:48 pm
On the subject of ZIF sockets.

Personally I own a Advantech Labtool-48 universal programmer (LPT interface) that I purchased 10 years ago. Support was dropped in 2002 so no new devices (PIC, AVR, large SPI EEPROMs) have been added to the Labtool-48. After reading this TL866 forum I decided to order the TL866A to make up for where the Labtool-48 left off. I prefer the Labtool-48 over the TL866A in the first instance,  but if my Labtool-48 doesn't support a post 2002 device then the TL866A will hopefully provide a degree of redundancy.

I couldn't help but notice all the problems people were having with the 40 pin ZIF socket supplied with the TL866. I'm not too fond of the solutions that have been suggested to improve the behaviors of the supplied ZIF socket in particular the use of 'hot melt glue' and the likes. I discovered that element14 sells original 40 pin 3M ZIF sockets for $48AUD ($46USD) which is what the whole TL866A programmer is worth.

After some research on eBay I came across a very reasonable alternative at $13 USD for 2 pcs.

Please see:

http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251211812118 (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/251211812118)
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/280738795538 (http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/280738795538)

The attached photos better illustrate the alternative replacement.

The ZIF socket lever is clearly well constructed (all metal construction) and the outside ZIF socket body appears to be one solid piece of plastic. I will be ordering these ZIF sockets on eBay as I can clearly see there are issues with the supplied TL866. As yet I cannot comment on the quality of the eBay source of ZIF socket that I propose, but I think that it is a possible good choice.

I'll try and get back to this forum in the following weeks as my order makes its long journey on the slow boat from China.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bingo600 on October 09, 2013, 02:52:15 pm
I just bought an eprom eraser here www.ebay.com/itm/320934383467 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/320934383467)

And tested it with my programmer ....
The Eraser works excellent ......


I found some (10+) TMS2516/32/64 in the drawer , that apparently aren't supported  :-\

From the DS i can see two problems

1: VPP  25v   (the 866 supports 21v)

2: Programming pulse duration  45..55 mS  (the 866 supports max 1000uS)

Does anyone think that they can be programmed with 21v ?
If not , it doesn't make much sense to ask for a programming pulse extension

/Bingo
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on October 09, 2013, 03:01:30 pm
I found some (10+) TMS2516/32/64 in the drawer , that apparently aren't supported  :-\

These things are like 30 years old...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Kjelt on October 09, 2013, 03:17:10 pm
I wouldn,t recommend using the 25xx series for a new design LOL  :-DD serious though rather use the 27xx series because those can be found everywhere and programmed, the 25xx series have also another different pinlayout.
Even in old pinnball machines the 25xx gets replaced by an 27xx.
If you must program these build your own conversion board wit 27xx to 25xx pin layout and make a voltagedetector that switches on if Vpp> 12V and use lab PSU for 25V to switch.
Then program them numerous times till code is verified then double it for intance in your example thirty times. Other alternative is to build your own programmer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bingo600 on October 09, 2013, 03:30:37 pm
I found some (10+) TMS2516/32/64 in the drawer , that apparently aren't supported  :-\

These things are like 30 years old...

Well i'm vintage too  ;)

I got them from a "Pollin misc. chip bag" , but might just drop them.
They seem not worth wasting drawer space on.

Thnx guyzz

/Bingo

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on October 10, 2013, 03:36:33 pm
First time caller long time listener. I thank you all for the great info on the TL866, especially for the "upgrade" which went off without a hitch. My only problem now is the software for the thing. I can save a project and it will ask for attributes. I assume this is able to accept any info as well. Well I put in the checksum & chip etc. When I reload the project, the chip is not selected automatically, nor is the info in the attributes/description. I have to load the chip after the popup warning and then reload the bin or hex file. All I see in the  description is the mpj filename and path. No descriptive note that I was asked to put in there when I first saved the file. What a piece of work. Is anyone else able to tell me if this is the way it is working for them as well or is it just me. thanks.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on October 10, 2013, 07:18:22 pm
25xx series also needs a substrate bias of -21V, if not there and allowed to float to a positive voltage near Vcc they tend to complain by glowing red hot ( if the 5V rail can support the current) and then blowing the top off. I have seen a few do that, though most just did not work.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: amyk on October 11, 2013, 01:49:22 pm
25xx series also needs a substrate bias of -21V, if not there and allowed to float to a positive voltage near Vcc they tend to complain by glowing red hot ( if the 5V rail can support the current) and then blowing the top off. I have seen a few do that, though most just did not work.
TMS25xx are single-supply +5V, perhaps you were thinking of even earlier EPROMs?
Title: Re: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: MrAureliusR on October 11, 2013, 05:43:22 pm

I couldn't help but notice all the problems people were having with the 40 pin ZIF socket supplied with the TL866.

The ZIF socket lever is clearly well constructed (all metal construction) and the outside ZIF socket body appears to be one solid piece of plastic. I will be ordering these ZIF sockets on eBay as I can clearly see there are issues with the supplied TL866.

What, you mean the ONE GUY on this thread who was having trouble and then posted a simple fix? And what about all of us who then said "Hey, actually the ZIF sockets are quite nice. They are actually smoother and easier to work with than the genuine 3M ones."

Typed using Hacker's Keyboard for Android

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Kjelt on October 17, 2013, 08:40:23 pm
My TL866 arrived today, no nice box around it just wrapped in bubble plastick. The sticker on the back is an exact copy of the one Dave showed in his video, so is there only one SN  :o or just one sticker  ;D   Opened it up, looks the same as Dave got but different name on the PCB, there is now XG 2013 Design on the pcb's. So are these all copies from eachother or is there really only one manufacturer? Anyway tested it with some old eproms and eeproms and it seems to work.  :-+ Excellent value for the money.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Sjaak on October 20, 2013, 05:54:33 pm
Anything know on the internal workings of the software? It would be cool to add chips yourself. I've got a couple of chips that are not direct supported but could be with a few tweaks.

Otherwise i'm very happy with the programer :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: joh on October 22, 2013, 01:59:58 pm
I have just noted that my TL866 displays the extended fuse setting on my ATMEGA328P in a strange manner. TL866 show value FD while avrdude shows 05 which is more typical.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Kjelt on October 22, 2013, 05:57:17 pm
I have just noted that my TL866 displays the extended fuse setting on my ATMEGA328P in a strange manner. TL866 show value FD while avrdude shows 05 which is more typical.
I am not familiar with the ATMEGA328P but looking in the datasheet under the extended fuse byte it states clearly that only the last three bits are programmable (and these match in both cases) and the other 5 bits are not programmable and are default '1' .
So it looks to me that the TL866 has the right value and the avrdude not.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: joh on October 22, 2013, 06:17:10 pm
Many thanks for that, sorry I didn't do my research properly.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on October 23, 2013, 01:10:54 pm
I'm wondering if anyone has tried programming ST M35080 chips? They have the first few bits protected/only allow incremental writing (incremental registers) but I would need to completely reprogram it. But it looks like it doesen't know how to do that unfortunately :/ Or I'm doing something wrong.
Also there seems to be lack of software updates/chips. Was anyone in contact with that programmer whose mail is listed here somewhere? 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bilko on October 26, 2013, 09:13:14 pm
When I insert an unknown Eprom into the programmer, and select read, I get the correct device ID code but how do I then select the correct chip type to program ?
Doesn't the software read the code and offer the correct chip ?
If not why not, the information is in the software.. |O
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bilko on October 28, 2013, 02:03:58 am
I hope that the manufacturer is reading this thread. After spending an inordinate amount of time trying to google an Eprom ID code for an unmarked device that I had, I wondered why the software for the 866 can't search its Eprom database and find the correct chip.

If it can do this already, would somebody care to explain how to do this, I couldn't find anything in the menus or in the Chinese help file that I have.
Title: Lost a surface mount capacitor from my TL866CS programmer
Post by: sparkyuiop on October 31, 2013, 10:42:38 pm
Hello. I'm hoping someone may be able to help me find the capacitance rating for the "C60" capacitor that I accidentally knocked off the PCB and lost from my TL866CS programmer.

I'm hoping it may also be possible to use a standard cap rather than the SMD type?

At present when I power it on it says the over-voltage protection is on and fails the self check. The yellow LED does also no longer flash.
Programming is still possible but it's not reliable.

Any help much much appreciated.
Regards

Phill Thorne
(http://i279.photobucket.com/albums/kk139/sparkyuiop/tl866cs.jpg)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bilko on October 31, 2013, 10:55:40 pm
1uF

see here schematic

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg222247/?topicseen#msg222247 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg222247/?topicseen#msg222247)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: MrAureliusR on November 01, 2013, 04:19:48 am
Also, you can use any type of cap, as long as it is 1uF and you can get the pins neatly soldered, and you can bend the cap out of the way. I'd go for a disc ceramic or similar. I replaced the overcurrent cap (C22) with a higher value one to try and fix the overcurrent when programming EPROM's that are old (1980's and earlier) and I used a disc cap, just soldered it and flattened it against the board. Works like a charm.

Well, it didn't fix the problem (entirely) but it still passes all it's self-tests. By the way, upgrading the CS to the A is very easy! If you want help doing it just shoot me a PM.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mos6502 on November 01, 2013, 04:18:37 pm
That update hack is neat. What I did was to hack the MiniPro.exe. All you have to do is change these bytes with a hex editor:

0x01648 0x75 to 0xEB
0x11BBA 0x75 to 0xEB
0x23B34 0x75 to 0xEB

These are valid for the 5.91 .exe.

This changes a few JNZs that check for the programmer version to JMPs ... so the program will think your programmer is a TL866A.

I'd love it if someone could try it out and confirm it's working. I haven't added the header to my programmer yet.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on November 02, 2013, 07:06:43 am
That update hack is neat. What I did was to hack the MiniPro.exe. All you have to do is change these bytes with a hex editor:

0x01648 0x75 to 0xEB
0x11BBA 0x75 to 0xEB
0x23B34 0x75 to 0xEB

These are valid for the 5.91 .exe.

This changes a few JNZs that check for the programmer version to JMPs ... so the program will think your programmer is a TL866A.

I'd love it if someone could try it out and confirm it's working. I haven't added the header to my programmer yet.
the program will think that but the firmware not, its not so easy!
Even if the program send the command correctly the firmware will ignore the icsp parameter and the programmer will perform only ZIF socket  programming.
Also if you change 0x01648 0x75 to 0xEB and do a firmware update you will end with random bytes programmed instead of correct firmware, see my updater here:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg225443/#msg225443 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg225443/#msg225443) ; load the update.dat file, check the TL866A version an click reflash. The programmer will be switched in bootloader mode,  reflashed and it will remain in bootloader mode instead of normal mode, because of main firmware is wrong. You will need to reflash the entire internal microcontroler firmware to A version because the CS is limited to ZIF operations only.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mos6502 on November 02, 2013, 07:31:17 am
Thanks for the explanation. Would've been too easy. I thought the difference was simply an ID string in the firmware.

I actually thought about trying to trick MiniProg.exe into flashing the A version of the firmware, but I really didn't get anywhere and eventually I gave up.

I did realize that the firmware was somehow encrypted. Do you know what encryption method is used?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on November 02, 2013, 08:20:41 am
I did realize that the firmware was somehow encrypted. Do you know what encryption method is used?

Just Xoring each byte of the firmware against to the two random generated lookup tables and biwise operations between some bytes. But the encryption is done with different tables; for ex. the update.dat file is encrypted against one table; the minipro.exe will decrypt this file and send the firmware to the bootloader, then the bootloader will decrypt the received data against another random table and will reprogram the internal PIC flash, so this is kind of two level encryption; also the first level encryption data has dummy bytes inserted at some offsets, the bootloader will just trim these dummy bytes before decryption and so on.

Moreover, the devcode and serial code encryption is evil, besides xoring against a random table  they added crc16 and byte swap! This is insane!
The weakness of this method is that if the data contains large blocks of FF's then you can detect the encryption pattern.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bobkat2769 on November 12, 2013, 02:19:54 am
I just got one of these programmers with all the adapters and I really like it. *=^.^=*

But, after reading all 18 pages of this thread... *thud!* =x.X=;;

... I was wondering if that programmer someone had been in contact with at Autoelectric would be willing to add more logic chips types to the software?

If they are, should I send them a list of the unsupported devices I'd like to be able to test?

Anyway, any help on this would be much appreciated if possible.

Thanks!

BobKat
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: fluxcapacitor on November 12, 2013, 02:53:25 am
ask amarbir ,he`s the indian distributor for autoelectric.Send him a pm

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/microcontrollers/help-in-copying-a-set-of-eprom-%2827c256%29-and-programable-memory-9306/15/ (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/microcontrollers/help-in-copying-a-set-of-eprom-%2827c256%29-and-programable-memory-9306/15/)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on November 12, 2013, 09:20:31 pm
I have sent them a mail to the address posted in this thread asking for implementation of some NEC chips (Looks quite simple to program them with UART) but haven't heard back. So I don't know... If anyone gets ahold of a contact (that actually responds) I would appreciate it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: fluxcapacitor on November 13, 2013, 12:42:22 am
I have sent them a mail to the address posted in this thread asking for implementation of some NEC chips (Looks quite simple to program them with UART) but haven't heard back. So I don't know... If anyone gets ahold of a contact (that actually responds) I would appreciate it.

try these.If you do try and contact them,you may have to translate your message to chinese, if they dont understand english ?

Haikou Xin Electronics Co. Workers
Address: Haikou City, Hainan Province, Nanhai West Avenue
Contact: Wang Xin EMAIL: autoelector@yahoo.com
Phone: 13198907988 QQ: 532007590
Phone 0898 -68,681,816
FAX :0898-68681815

http://www.autoelectric.cn (http://www.autoelectric.cn) China Hainan
TEL: 0898 68681816 FAX :0898-68681815 Mobile: 13198907988
Haikou Xin Engineering Electronics Co., Ltd. Technical support: Wang Xin QQ: 532007590

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sparkyuiop on November 15, 2013, 08:50:25 pm
Also, you can use any type of cap...

Thanks for your help everyone but the 1uf didn't change anything. I tried a ceramic (orange type) and a 1uf / 50v canister type with same result. Going to check I have put LED's in right way. Don't know it that would cause an issue or not but the yellow one doesn't light up at all. It is connected to the correct circuit traces and the LED works so time to desolder again and have a butchers at the anode and cathode!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on November 18, 2013, 03:30:10 pm
Finally got a replay on one of my mails.
If anyone is writing to them on autoelector@yahoo.com - be sure to translate it to chinese (I used google translate) and they will replay.

But unfortunately they replayed that they'll think about adding new chips in 2014 if they have time (if that translated correctly). :/
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: zerocool80 on November 23, 2013, 12:48:42 pm
Hi there,

is it also possible to upgrade my tl866cs to a tl866a with a 2013 build board inside?

regards Christian
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on November 23, 2013, 04:06:55 pm
Hi there,

is it also possible to upgrade my tl866cs to a tl866a with a 2013 build board inside?

regards Christian

Yes, you can. But please wait a little because I will release an update of my firmware generator with ability to backup your internal firmware first before reflashing. Also I will need an CS dump for my analysis purpose.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: olsenn on November 23, 2013, 04:19:39 pm
I have to say that I am very impressed with my TL866CS. I was previously looking at the $500 - $1000 universal programmers from Batronic, Xeltek, etc; and this little guy seems to program even more chips than those, and it only costs $50. It might be a little slower, but I don't gang program with it -- only one chip at a time.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: zerocool80 on November 23, 2013, 08:10:27 pm
Yes, you can. But please wait a little because I will release an update of my firmware generator with ability to backup your internal firmware first before reflashing. Also I will need an CS dump for my analysis purpose.


Sounds good:-)
I can wait. what do you think is a little? ;-)
I have to organize another Pic Programmer at first , but thats no Problem..
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on November 23, 2013, 09:12:28 pm
Sounds good:-)
I can wait. what do you think is a little? ;-)
I have to organize another Pic Programmer at first , but thats no Problem..

Here is the updated firmware generator, now with the option to backup your firmware first.
TL866 firmware updater (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq)

How to backup your firmware:
1.In the hardware tab, browse for update.dat file (you will find this file in the minipro installation folder)
2.Check the option "Use firmware dumper"
3.Select your programmer version (CS/A). This is very important!
4.Press "Reflash" button
After reflash the "Dump" button will become active, just press this button and you will be prompted to save your own internal firmware in hex format.
Now your firmware is saved. Just unckeck the "Use firmware dumper" and press the "Reflash" button again. This will restore the normal function of the programmer.

This firmware dumper was tested on TL866A but not on CS because i don't have one. Good luck!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: zerocool80 on November 23, 2013, 10:43:25 pm

Here is the updated firmware generator, now with the option to backup your firmware first.
TL866 firmware updater (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq)

How to backup your firmware:
1.In the hardware tab, browse for update.dat file (you will find this file in the minipro installation folder)
2.Check the option "Use firmware dumper"
3.Select your programmer version (CS/A). This is very important!
4.Press "Reflash" button
After reflash the "Dump" button will become active, just press this button and you will be prompted to save your own internal firmware in hex format.
Now your firmware is saved. Just unckeck the "Use firmware dumper" and press the "Reflash" button again. This will restore the normal function of the programmer.

This firmware dumper was tested on TL866A but not on CS because i don't have one. Good luck!


Hi,
seems to work also on the CS Version :-)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on November 24, 2013, 06:50:58 am
Hi,
seems to work also on the CS Version :-)

Thanks for your feedback @zerocool80! the hex file dump is valid. Now you can upgrade CS to A if you want.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on November 24, 2013, 09:48:30 am
Hi there,

is it also possible to upgrade my tl866cs to a tl866a with a 2013 build board inside?

regards Christian

Whats the different between old board and new 2013 board ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on November 24, 2013, 09:53:58 am

Whats the different between old board and new 2013 board ?
Nothing! they are identical. Only the silkscreen marking with PCB manufacturing date.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on November 24, 2013, 09:57:59 am

Whats the different between old board and new 2013 board ?
Nothing! they are identical. Only the silkscreen marking with PCB manufacturing date.

As I guessed, just don't believe they will be bothered with the troubles and extra cost revising the board layout and components changes if its not "desperately" needed.

Could this means radioman's hack is not that popular yet that A version sale is not affected significantly ?  >:D
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on November 24, 2013, 10:05:11 am
Could this means radioman's hack is not that popular yet that A version sale is not affected significantly ?  >:D

Really? :'( Then check this: http://www.sivava.com/slt866_willem-usb.html (http://www.sivava.com/slt866_willem-usb.html) or this: http://www.sivava.com/willem_programmer-svv.html (http://www.sivava.com/willem_programmer-svv.html)
Rebranded version or copy/clone? Ah! and the name SLT866 is funny also.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on November 24, 2013, 10:10:34 am
Really? :'( Then check this: http://www.sivava.com/slt866_willem-usb.html (http://www.sivava.com/slt866_willem-usb.html) or this: http://www.sivava.com/willem_programmer-svv.html (http://www.sivava.com/willem_programmer-svv.html)
Rebranded version or copy/clone? Ah! and the name SLT866 is funny also.

Hey radioman, don't be sad, your work there definitely one of the kind on this earth here.  :-+

Interesting on that Willem programmer, just curious if the program can be used on this TL866 ?  >:D
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on November 24, 2013, 10:24:51 am

Interesting on that Willem programmer, just curious if the program can be used on this TL866 ?  >:D

The program is very interesting: http://www.darkwire.com.au/html/willem_usb_programmer.html (http://www.darkwire.com.au/html/willem_usb_programmer.html) 

sounds familiar?  ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on November 24, 2013, 10:33:18 am
LOL ... ok, seen enough and "pretty convincing"  >:D , no more details needed.  :-DD
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on November 24, 2013, 10:43:02 am
Yeah, in the title bar is displayed "Willem EPROM 5.80 programmer" but at the hardware interface is TL866CS, right. The GUI issue in XP is as it should be, even the "scoket" is there LOL... >:D
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: FishMan on November 25, 2013, 08:58:53 am
Is it possible to make/buy a cable to go from the 6 pin ICP port, to a standard 10pin/6pin DIP header ?
I have had a "Google", but nothing obvious comes up.
Thanks,
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: fluxcapacitor on November 25, 2013, 03:17:06 pm
Heres another copy/clone by Kee Electronics.I was going to buy one of these before i bought the minipro last year.

http://www.keeelectronics.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=33 (http://www.keeelectronics.com/catalog/product_info.php?cPath=22&products_id=33)



Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on November 25, 2013, 07:07:50 pm
Because one of the forum users asked me how to downgrade from A to CS i have updated my firmware generator with option to generate both A and CS versions of the firmware. Thanks to @zerocool80 which provided me a valid CS dump.

Download here:
TL866 firmware updater (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: trisonic on November 25, 2013, 07:14:21 pm
Because one of the forum users asked me how to downgrade from A to CS i have updated my firmware generator with option to generate both A and CS versions of the firmware. Thanks to @zerocool80 which provided me a valid CS dump.

Download here:
TL866 firmware updater (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq)

now its a complete tool! thanks radioman! :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: MrAureliusR on November 26, 2013, 02:18:40 am
Is it possible to make/buy a cable to go from the 6 pin ICP port, to a standard 10pin/6pin DIP header ?
I have had a "Google", but nothing obvious comes up.
Thanks,

Yes of course it is. Very simple to do. Just buy a 6 pin SIP cable (such as this one from SparkFun (https://www.sparkfun.com/products/10371). I'm sure you can find others on different websites, that particular cable just jumped to mind) and some SIP and DIP pin headers. Solder a 6-pin SIP header onto some veroboard or protoboard, and then either a 6-pin or 10-pin (or both) DIP header on the other side. Solder wires between the correct signal pins and voila! You've got your very own conversion board. I have a bunch of these that I've made for converting between 10-pin and 6-pin AVR headers. It's a great, simple skill to develop. Interface boards such as these are always handy - it seems you never have the right cable when you need it!

EDIT: By 'other side' I mean the opposite end of the board, not the actual opposite side. You want all the pins pointing up on the same side, and all the connections on the other. I can post pictures of my 6-pin to 10-pin boards if you want
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on November 26, 2013, 02:24:14 am
Because one of the forum users asked me how to downgrade from A to CS i have updated my firmware generator with option to generate both A and CS versions of the firmware. Thanks to @zerocool80 which provided me a valid CS dump.

Download here:
TL866 firmware updater (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq)

But why ?  ::)

Returning a product ?  :-//
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on November 26, 2013, 05:52:18 am
Because one of the forum users asked me how to downgrade from A to CS i have updated my firmware generator with option to generate both A and CS versions of the firmware. Thanks to @zerocool80 which provided me a valid CS dump.

Download here:
TL866 firmware updater (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq)

But why ?  ::)

Returning a product ?  :-//
I don't know, but I had a nice discussion in private with him about encryption method used, how data packets is transmitted over USB and so on, he want to learn, so he asked me if it's possible to downgrade for no particular reason; so this was a two step update: added option to backup firmware, someone provided me an cs dump and then added the cs firmware generation. Technically there's no difference between the two versions of bootloader, only decryption key table is different. Of course the big difference is the main firmware, which in cs is a reduced version.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: FishMan on November 26, 2013, 08:16:04 am
Solder a 6-pin SIP header onto some veroboard or protoboard, and then either a 6-pin or 10-pin (or both) DIP header on the other side. Solder wires between the correct signal pins and voila! You've got your very own conversion board.
Thanks, sounds a good idea, but the main problem I'm having is which pins go to which pins?
I have a pinout diagram for a 10 and 6 pin DIP with MISO, MOSI, SCK, RES, etc. and a 6 pin SIP with PGC, PGD, etc.
How do they equate to each other ?
Thanks,
Paul
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: lalder1 on November 27, 2013, 03:06:59 pm
Does any one know if this will program mach210. if it does not can anyone recommend a similar programer that would. i just cant see spending around 1000 $ just for one chip seems this programer will handle the rest of my chips. thanks for the help....
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on November 28, 2013, 11:52:52 pm
Does any one know if this will program mach210. if it does not can anyone recommend a similar programer that would. i just cant see spending around 1000 $ just for one chip seems this programer will handle the rest of my chips. thanks for the help....
There's a supported chips list here: http://www.autoelectric.cn/minipro/MiniProSupportList.txt (http://www.autoelectric.cn/minipro/MiniProSupportList.txt)
And I don't see mach210 in there - so I would say it doesen't support it.
You can write to autoelector@yahoo.com (translate your text to chinese) if they're willing to implement it. They said to me that they'll consider new chips in the 2014 :/
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on November 30, 2013, 11:27:27 am
For those who do not have a dedicated Pic programmer and want to upgrade from CS to A i have updated my firmware generator and now there's an easy and safe way to do that: just select the firmware version you want and click reflash.

Download here:
TL866 firmware updater (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq)


Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ubistvo on December 04, 2013, 09:52:10 pm
Hello
I am new here
I am Zoran from SERBIA
I also buy TL866CS but i did not get PSOP44 adapter and now i need so much
I asking is anybody here have schematic for adapter PSOP44 i have main board V3 TSOP48 SOP44 I just need how to connect 29f400 to read and write.
I buy some adapter PSOP44(http://www.programatory.com/niemcy/data/adapterypl/psop44zifdip44/psop44zifdip44a.jpg (http://www.programatory.com/niemcy/data/adapterypl/psop44zifdip44/psop44zifdip44a.jpg))
and just need to connect here(http://i01.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/755/826/490/490826755_843.jpg (http://i01.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/755/826/490/490826755_843.jpg))
Thank you
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bobkat2769 on December 05, 2013, 06:48:23 am
Hello
I am new here
I am Zoran from SERBIA
I also buy TL866CS but i did not get PSOP44 adapter and now i need so much
I asking is anybody here have schematic for adapter PSOP44 i have main board V3 TSOP48 SOP44 I just need how to connect 29f400 to read and write.
I buy some adapter PSOP44(http://www.programatory.com/niemcy/data/adapterypl/psop44zifdip44/psop44zifdip44a.jpg (http://www.programatory.com/niemcy/data/adapterypl/psop44zifdip44/psop44zifdip44a.jpg))
and just need to connect here(http://i01.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/755/826/490/490826755_843.jpg (http://i01.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/755/826/490/490826755_843.jpg))
Thank you

You bought the wrong adapter. They sell standard adapters for all of the 40-pin programmers like this and many others. If I were you I would just return that 44-pin adapter and get the proper adapter unless someone here has one already and wants to take the time to trace it and check for errors. That's not something I'd care to try.  |O :-DMM

This is the adapter you want. I was only able to find one seller that had it by itself and not part of an adapter set and they ship internationally from Hong Kong.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/PSOP44-adapter-for-TL866CS-TL866A-programmer-29F800-29LV800-39VF800-/131004691743 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/PSOP44-adapter-for-TL866CS-TL866A-programmer-29F800-29LV800-39VF800-/131004691743)

If I were you I'd just order this one and save yourself a lot of time banging your head against the wall. =^.^=;;
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ubistvo on December 05, 2013, 12:06:20 pm
I know that they have but I am from SERBIA and we can not buy still by ebay and from china they are close way
So i am stuck with this adapter and if someone have a time to trace me from original adapter i will be thanks for that
Thank you
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: FishMan on December 05, 2013, 12:31:49 pm
Solder a 6-pin SIP header onto some veroboard or protoboard, and then either a 6-pin or 10-pin (or both) DIP header on the other side. Solder wires between the correct signal pins and voila! You've got your very own conversion board.
Thanks, sounds a good idea, but the main problem I'm having is which pins go to which pins?
I have a pinout diagram for a 10 and 6 pin DIP with MISO, MOSI, SCK, RES, etc. and a 6 pin SIP with PGC, PGD, etc.
How do they equate to each other ?
Thanks,
Paul

Bump ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bobkat2769 on December 05, 2013, 06:48:37 pm
I know that they have but I am from SERBIA and we can not buy still by ebay and from china they are close way
So i am stuck with this adapter and if someone have a time to trace me from original adapter i will be thanks for that
Thank you
I didn't know that Serbia couldn't use paypal, unlike most of the world.

I did a little research into your problem but couldn't find anything definite. From what little I could find out the major problem seems to be paypal not verifying accounts in your country but no reason was given.

You know, I just checked the Paypal main site, and it does list Serbia as a country they serve. So you might want to try and open a Paypal account again. If you have problems contact CS to get help opening your account. Once you have a paypal account you should have no problems on ebay with most international sellers like the ones in Hong Kong that sell the adapter you need.

If you still can't open a paypal account then you might want to contact the seller for alternate payment. Most likely if you can offer them some kind of reliable international way to pay them they will ship to you. Also, if you have any friends in nearby countries that don't have the payment problem you can always buy through them.

A third option is to check into an Asian brokering company. I've used a few for buying things on the Japanese auction sites like Yahoo and others. It cost me a little more, but I was able to buy items I could not otherwise purchase like rare CDs that are only available in Japan.

And, IIRC, someone was talking about how to use them in this thread or another here on EEVblog. So you might want to read this thread from the beginning or search for it here on the forums.

I hope this info helps you and others in your situation.

BobKat
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on December 05, 2013, 06:51:34 pm
Solder a 6-pin SIP header onto some veroboard or protoboard, and then either a 6-pin or 10-pin (or both) DIP header on the other side. Solder wires between the correct signal pins and voila! You've got your very own conversion board.
Thanks, sounds a good idea, but the main problem I'm having is which pins go to which pins?
I have a pinout diagram for a 10 and 6 pin DIP with MISO, MOSI, SCK, RES, etc. and a 6 pin SIP with PGC, PGD, etc.
How do they equate to each other ?
Thanks,
Paul

Bump ?

Here:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: FishMan on December 05, 2013, 06:54:48 pm
Here:
Super!
Thanks.
Paul
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: morfej on December 06, 2013, 12:03:47 pm
Anybody could advice what to check if self check result is like attached picture ... so "Overcurrent protection action, Short circuit" on pin no 4 ?

I just received programmer and tried to id and read 29F800BB TSOP which I tested with GQ-4X just fine. TL866A can't identify the chip at all.

br
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on December 06, 2013, 12:11:27 pm
Anybody could advice what to check if self check result is like attached picture ... so "Overcurrent protection action, Short circuit" on pin no 4 ?


If it does the same without the chip check the adapter.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: morfej on December 06, 2013, 12:17:51 pm
Self check is run without the adapter, nothing attached on ZIF socket of TL866A.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ubistvo on December 06, 2013, 01:16:43 pm
I know that they have but I am from SERBIA and we can not buy still by ebay and from china they are close way
So i am stuck with this adapter and if someone have a time to trace me from original adapter i will be thanks for that
Thank you
I didn't know that Serbia couldn't use paypal, unlike most of the world.

I did a little research into your problem but couldn't find anything definite. From what little I could find out the major problem seems to be paypal not verifying accounts in your country but no reason was given.

You know, I just checked the Paypal main site, and it does list Serbia as a country they serve. So you might want to try and open a Paypal account again. If you have problems contact CS to get help opening your account. Once you have a paypal account you should have no problems on ebay with most international sellers like the ones in Hong Kong that sell the adapter you need.

If you still can't open a paypal account then you might want to contact the seller for alternate payment. Most likely if you can offer them some kind of reliable international way to pay them they will ship to you. Also, if you have any friends in nearby countries that don't have the payment problem you can always buy through them.

A third option is to check into an Asian brokering company. I've used a few for buying things on the Japanese auction sites like Yahoo and others. It cost me a little more, but I was able to buy items I could not otherwise purchase like rare CDs that are only available in Japan.

And, IIRC, someone was talking about how to use them in this thread or another here on EEVblog. So you might want to read this thread from the beginning or search for it here on the forums.

I hope this info helps you and others in your situation.

BobKat

OK
Thanks
I will try
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on December 06, 2013, 05:30:23 pm
Anybody could advice what to check if self check result is like attached picture ... so "Overcurrent protection action, Short circuit" on pin no 4 ?

I just received programmer and tried to id and read 29F800BB TSOP which I tested with GQ-4X just fine. TL866A can't identify the chip at all.

br

Seems like a VPP pin driver is burned or stuck; please check with an voltmeter between ground (the metallic shield of the USB connector) and the ZIF socket pin 4. If you have some voltage reading then the VPP pin 4 driver is bad.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: AlessandroAU on December 14, 2013, 05:36:54 pm
Has anyone noticed this, not sure all the devices this applies to but on some PICS some fuse settings are inverted! Here for example on a 18F2550 for everything apart from CP, CPD, WRT and EBTR are inverted!, a checkbox = 0 and not 1. This left me scratching my head for abit more than I'd like to admit when my program wouldn't run  :-DD

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Kjelt on December 14, 2013, 09:13:18 pm
Has anyone noticed this, not sure all the devices this applies to but on some PICS some fuse settings are inverted!
Yes that is thanks to Microchip, see datasheet page 282, paragraph 25.1
Quote
The configuration bits can be programmed (read as ‘0’) or left unprogrammed (read as ‘1’) to select various
device configurations. These bits are mapped starting at program memory location 300000h.
So a '1' means that this feature is off. The values in the program look correct but they have choosen to implement the checkbox that if you check it that feature is on, so a '0'. They even say it in that picture (Note: checked is zero) , how much more clearer would you like it?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: AlessandroAU on December 15, 2013, 02:13:42 am
Hmm did I not realise!, PIC programming software I have used in the past has handled it oppositely. 

However the C\code projection related bits would still inverted then? I have programmed the above chip with code protection set to on (no checkmark) and I was definitely able to read back from the device.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Kjelt on December 15, 2013, 12:02:30 pm
However the C\code projection related bits would still inverted then? I have programmed the above chip with code protection set to on (no checkmark) and I was definitely able to read back from the device.
Again, a checkmark means ON! (So the actual bit is set to zero). So no checkmark is OFF! (actual bit set to one), so it is correct.
If you want code protection set the checkmark.  ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: piolo on December 16, 2013, 04:58:06 pm
 :clap:tank you RADIOMAN for your greatest work, i had buy a willem tru usb on SIVAVA.com and i transform it in TL866A , i have a question: can i use it as the same at JTAG or BDM (with another software or modifing and reflashing pic18F87J50) if yes how i can do, and wich software use for this?
you are very best ! :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: chino705 on December 17, 2013, 06:05:54 am
Really awesome your work Radioman. Deserves recognition and gratitude of all.
Hopefully you can do the same with the very expensive and almost useless EMP30, the elusive of Needhams
I do not really think it's worth,it´s cost $ 1000 and did not have the fourth part of the work that I have met with TL866CS
Thank you very much, greetings from the Caribbean
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: chino705 on December 17, 2013, 06:50:44 am
Recently my acer S231HL LED monitor, lost settings screen
I need flash chip ID display, is a ST404RP.is possible with the TL866CS?
If that is not possible, how I can do
can someone upload the datasheet of this IC ST404RP
thanks in advance, I really need help
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: piolo on December 17, 2013, 07:51:41 am
 :-//you need to perform radioman tool(cs...to A) for use isp out .
After this are you sjure is correct St404? It is a jfet on alldatasheet.com, :scared: see here.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on December 17, 2013, 05:42:39 pm
  i had buy a willem tru usb on SIVAVA.com and i transform it in TL866A , i have a question: can i use it as the same at JTAG or BDM (with another software or modifing and reflashing pic18F87J50) if yes how i can do, and wich software use for this?

I am very curious what is inside of this willem true usb programmer, if you can please post a picture with PCB. Regarding to JTAG and  BDM  i don't know, maybe is possible with a custom firmware but such custom firmware does not exist right now.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: chino705 on December 18, 2013, 04:04:47 am
Piolo Thanks, yes that's right st404rp,is not a jfet, I attached picture to see,need help
I reiterate thank you in advance
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Kjelt on December 18, 2013, 08:37:56 am
Piolo Thanks, yes that's right st404rp,is not a jfet, I attached picture to see,need help
I reiterate thank you in advance
Ok if you look at your 2nd picture it says on the pcb EEP_WP this is probably the WriteProtect signal for an EEProm.
Furthermore you can see SDA and SCL so this would be an I2C eeprom.
Do some fingerprinting (which pin is Vdd which Vss which SDA which SCL and which is EEP-WP), then also connect for instance a buspirate and get the I2C address of this chip and you already are 80% there.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on December 18, 2013, 11:06:14 am
Piolo Thanks, yes that's right st404rp,is not a jfet, I attached picture to see,need help
I reiterate thank you in advance

This is an 24C04-R i2c eeprom from ST in TSSOP8 package (1.8-5.5V supply voltage) http://www.st.com/web/catalog/mmc/FM76/CL1276/SC112/PF63769 (http://www.st.com/web/catalog/mmc/FM76/CL1276/SC112/PF63769)

Also check this: http://www.st.com/web/en/catalog/mmc/FM76/CL1276/SC112 (http://www.st.com/web/en/catalog/mmc/FM76/CL1276/SC112)

And yes you can program this eeprom  with TL866.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: piolo on December 18, 2013, 11:40:34 am
HI,  RADIOMAN
Esecuse me for my bad English…
you can see your own post on page 19 on this thread:
Really?  Then check this: http://www.sivava.com/slt866_willem-usb.html (http://www.sivava.com/slt866_willem-usb.html) or this: http://www.sivava.com/willem_programmer-svv.html (http://www.sivava.com/willem_programmer-svv.html)
Rebranded version or copy/clone? Ah! and the name SLT866 is funny also.

The program is very interesting: http://www.darkwire.com.au/html/willem_usb_programmer.html (http://www.darkwire.com.au/html/willem_usb_programmer.html) 

sounds familiar?   
I had exactly this.
Reguard other use, This is an example of multi interface that use a pic
http://dangerousprototypes.com/docs/Bus_Pirate (http://dangerousprototypes.com/docs/Bus_Pirate)
This is an example of usb JTAG programmer
http://team-xecuter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71204 (http://team-xecuter.com/forums/showthread.php?t=71204)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on December 18, 2013, 11:55:33 am
HI,  RADIOMAN
Esecuse me for my bad English…
No problem, i am not a native English speaker too  ;D

very interesting pictures! thanks! the run and power Leds wires are soldered by you? and what ICSP in is?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: piolo on December 18, 2013, 05:07:18 pm
led wire is original,
icsp in is for reflash pic 18F87J50, only your last tool permit to reflash with usb.....(CS to A version)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on December 18, 2013, 05:16:45 pm
led wire is original,
icsp in is for reflash pic 18F87J50, only your last tool permit to reflash with usb.....(CS to A version)
Ah, yes i see now! The J1 connector right! I wonder why Sivava.com changed the case only?  :-//
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: piolo on December 18, 2013, 06:03:42 pm
I don't now but it is a TL 866....
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: casinada on December 21, 2013, 12:33:43 am
Is there any trick to be able to write to a 25Q064A? I tried all possible options and no luck.
I also ordered SSTVF064C (Microchip bought SST sometime back) and same thing.
The exact chips are not listed, the closest ones are the Renesas R1EX25064A and the Xicor X25F064, both in SOIC8 package.
Any help would be appreciated. I tested the TL866  and worked fine programming Eproms  and Flash memories of the parallel type, nothing serial type.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheBay on December 21, 2013, 11:37:43 pm
Didn't realise these have been covered in here, what a great little programmer, I have the TL866A which actually cost me less than the CS version, got it next day delivered in the UK, the CS versions were a couple of quid more but came with 9 adapters, however I ordered the 9 adapters for my A from Hong Kong for very little money.

Mine also has the removable Black Aries ZIF socket, which I like, seems sturdy.

I don't use any other programmer now, this has replaced far more expensive stuff, what a great little tool and I urge anyone to consider this who needs a programmer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bimmeristi on December 31, 2013, 09:35:17 am
Hi!

This my first post here. I send email to seller for adding support for TMS87PC110. He wrote "The manufacturer will publish the new designed version software early 2014. Then we can ask him if he can add TMS87PC110"

I don't have any experience this tool yet, i bought it for backup tool (car chips/flash)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: trisonic on December 31, 2013, 11:03:23 am
The manufacturer will publish the new designed version software early 2014.

radioman: stay tuned! ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on December 31, 2013, 11:30:46 am
"The manufacturer will publish the new designed version software early 2014."
Can't wait!
I'm very curious what kind of new design? Repainted interface? And just when I was about to release a new version of my tool!
Quote
radioman: stay tuned!
Always!
Anyway a happy new year to all!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: chino705 on January 06, 2014, 05:55:03 am
  Greetings and congratulations to everyone in the new year.
  Radioman, I want to bring to the forum, the next question
  be possible in the near future, with the marvelous TL866CS program, the following:
   HYNIX: HY27U/HY29F......
   MICRON: MT29F......
   SAMSUNG: K9F/K9K/K9G......

   On the other hand, what criteria you judge these two usb programmers :

   TNM 2000+ USB MINI Universal Programmer
   TNM 5000+ USB MINI Universal Programmer

   BEST regards
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on January 07, 2014, 10:18:32 am
  Radioman, I want to bring to the forum, the next question
  be possible in the near future, with the marvelous TL866CS program, the following:
   HYNIX: HY27U/HY29F......
   MICRON: MT29F......
   SAMSUNG: K9F/K9K/K9G......
Maybe will be supported i don't know.
On the other hand, what criteria you judge these two usb programmers :

   TNM 2000+ USB MINI Universal Programmer
   TNM 5000+ USB MINI Universal Programmer
Well, at first sight the 5000+ is from another league, 48pin socket, jtag, FPGA, CPLD over 21000 devices!
The 2000+ model well, is more like TL866 (but more expensive) but from what i see its supporting JTAG and supported devices is over 7000.
Regarding to PC software well its OK, but below of TL866 minipro.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: NateOcean on January 07, 2014, 06:42:22 pm
Here's a brief analysis I thought I'd share with you.  (My first post here, so be gentle.)

I ran the MiniPro device list thru Excel and sliced-and-diced the data a bit.
I was mainly interested in how many unique devices were really supported.
So regardless of manufacturer or package type, each listed device was reduced to the industry standard part number.
Then the number of devices in the MiniPro list that map to that industry standard list was totaled.
And then the entire list was sorted based on most popular to least.

For example, the single part with the most number of manufacturers and packaging implementations is the serial 9346 eeprom.
Of the total number of parts in the 13137 long MiniPro list, the 9346 serial eeprom accounts for 524 of those parts....about 4%.

If you include the top three parts on the list (9345, 9356, 9366... all serial eeproms) all possible manufacturers and packaging options account for 1354 of the 13137 listed MiniPro parts.  Three parts account for over 10%!

The attached graph shows the cumulative effect of how a few parts dominate the MiniPro list.
Further, note how list is inflated by the number of Serial eeProm entires.

Here's part of the list. 
This shows that of the 1044 unique industry part numbers in the MiniPro list of 13137, that only 34 of 1044 unique parts are needed to account for 50% (6579 entries) of MiniPro's 13137 entries .
The graph shows that only 157 devices are needed to account for 10003 of the 13137 entries.

      part        count         rank   cumulative         pcnt
      9346          524            1          524            4
      9356          415            2          939            7
      9366          415            3         1354           10
      2402          331            4         1685           13
      2408          305            5         1990           15
      2404          304            6         2294           17
      2416          301            7         2595           20
      9386          290            8         2885           22
     29800          268            9         3153           24
     29400          244           10         3397           26
     29002          226           11         3623           28
      2401          184           12         3807           29
      9376          184           13         3991           30
      2432          183           14         4174           32
      2464          176           15         4350           33
     24256          150           16         4500           34
      2516          149           17         4649           35
     27256          142           18         4791           36
     27010          141           19         4932           38
     29040          135           20         5067           39
     27512          133           21         5200           40
     24128          131           22         5331           41
     29200          124           23         5455           42
      2532          120           24         5575           42
     49002          116           25         5691           43
      2864          112           26         5803           44
     25040          105           27         5908           45
     29160          104           28         6012           46
        74          102           29         6114           47
     25512          100           30         6214           47
      2580           94           31         6308           48
     25080           91           32         6399           49
     25020           90           33         6489           49
      2540           90           34         6579           50
     27020           89           35         6668           51
. . . . .
    252005           11          157        10003           76
. . . . .
    628512            1         1041        13134          100
      8956            1         1042        13135          100
      9310            1         1043        13136          100
      9395            1         1044        13137          100



The second part of the analysis placed each of the 13137 listed parts into 1 of 40 part series.
This makes it clear how a few predominate serial eeprom families along with the 29-series flash, and 27-series UV eproms account for the vast majority of the MiniPro's repertoire.

Here's the report sorted by family:


          TOTAL          13137
          family         count
    1     14000 CMOS        30
    2     24 Series       2525
    3     25 Series       1925
    4     26 Series         42
    5     27 Series        941
    6     28 Series        757
    7     29 Series       2466
    8     35 Series         12
    9     36 Series          4
   10     37 Series         12
   11     39 Series        165
   12     4000 CMOS         34
   13     45 Series         15
   14     49 Series        462
   15     54 Series          4
   16     57 Series          8
   17     58 Series         26
   18     59 Series         72
   19     61 Series          4
   20     7400 Series      102
   21     87 Series         76
   22     89 Series        102
   23     90 Series         19
   24     93 Series       1993
   25     ATMEGA            59
   26     ATTINY            66
   27     DS12 Series       19
   28     GAL Series        24
   29     PIC Series       910
   30     STM35 Series       8
   31     STM50 Series      60
   32     STM95 Series      89
   33     BR90 Series       21
   34     BR95 Series       10
   35     PCF Series         5
   36     SM39 Series        5
   37     SM79 Series        8
   38     SM89 Series       28
   39     W78 Series        20
   40     uncategorized      9
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on January 08, 2014, 08:07:06 am
Here's a brief analysis I thought I'd share with you.  (My first post here, so be gentle.)
Welcome to the forum NateOcean! Good job with this analysis!
Yes I know that the supported device list is somewhat artificially inflated, it is more like a database. For example there are only 40 programming algorithms implemented in the current firmware, so every supported device belongs to one of these algorithms; if I remember correctly approx. 6000+ devices (serial eeproms) are mapped in only three programming algorithms (24-i2c, 93-microwire and 25-spi), so if they want to add a new chip and this chip already have a programming algorithm implemented then is simple, is just a copy paste with name and eventually chip ID changed!

On the other hand if they want to add a new chip which doesn't have a preexisting algorithm implemented then they must implement it in firmware first and after that to add the newly created algorithm in PC software client, test it, release a new version, and every user must reflash this new version.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timberwolf on January 13, 2014, 10:15:22 pm
I have one of these programmers on order, just waiting for it to arrive.

I was wondering if anyone has done any work on disassembling the firmware?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timberwolf on January 19, 2014, 10:59:57 pm
my programmer arrived, thanks to this forum my TL866CS is now a TL866A :)
The help file was in Chinese and nobody seems to have an English version so by way of contributing back to the site I created an English version of the help file. It's far from perfect but definitely a step in the right direction.

replace the MiniProHelp.chm file in the folder where you installed the programmer software with the one in the zip file.
(rename the original first just in case there are any problems but there shouldn't be)

https://www.dropbox.com/s/hglk40qhs745rmm/MiniProHelp.zip (https://www.dropbox.com/s/hglk40qhs745rmm/MiniProHelp.zip)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Thor-Arne on January 19, 2014, 11:57:16 pm
Thanks  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on January 20, 2014, 02:50:02 am
my programmer arrived, thanks to this forum my TL866CS is now a TL866A :)
Congratulations! What method you used for conversion (external programmer or direct firmware reflash)?
Regarding to your question about firmware disassembling, yes I did some disassembling; in fact serial/device Id decryption and other features of my tool is based on the firmware disassembly  ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timberwolf on January 20, 2014, 10:29:46 am
I used your tool to generate the firmware images and also to reflash the firmware.
Later on I connected a pickit2 to the internal programming header in debugger mode. This was only partially successful as the debugger has to add some code and every so often the programmer stops working presumably because it fails to checksum. I recover it by using the pickit2 to reflag the device.
I couldn't get the save current firmware to work, no idea how to load the dumper or where to get it from.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timberwolf on January 20, 2014, 10:39:59 am
I didn't like any of the free disassemblers I could find so I wrote an intelligent disassembler for this specific pic, just adding some refinements and then I'll start seriously trying to reverse engineer the firmware concentrating on the programming routines as you seem to have the downloader well in hand
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on January 20, 2014, 04:08:35 pm
I couldn't get the save current firmware to work, no idea how to load the dumper or where to get it from.
The firmware dumper must be programmed into device to work with! it is nothing more than a custom firmware. You need to browse for update.dat file, check the "Use firmware dumper" radio button and click Reflash. After that the dump button will become active and you can save the current firmware. After you end with the dumper you must write a working firmware (A or CS) at your choice; so check "TL866A firmware" or "TL866CS firmware" and click reflash again! this will restore your device.

I didn't like any of the free disassemblers I could find so I wrote an intelligent disassembler for this specific pic, just adding some refinements and then I'll start seriously trying to reverse engineer the firmware concentrating on the programming routines as you seem to have the downloader well in hand
I don't like PIC asm at all with those RAM banks switching and crappy asm syntax, it is very hard to follow the program flow, but well I can live with that  :)
For me MPLABX and its disassembler/debugger was enough for my needs. Also if you need any help please tell me i can help as far i can including the source code for my custom "dumper" firmware.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timberwolf on January 20, 2014, 04:52:35 pm
Where would I have found the dumper software to program into the device?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on January 20, 2014, 06:11:39 pm
Where would I have found the dumper software to program into the device?
The firmware dumper is a binary resource in tl866.exe file not a separate bin file  ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timberwolf on January 21, 2014, 01:23:26 am
the disassembler is coming on quite well, this is a snippet of the output it is producing:


0000187A 0E40                  MOVLW   0x40
0000187C 5C26                  SUBWF   RAM_AT_26, W, ACCESS
0000187E E103                  BNZ     L_01886
00001880 9C90                  BCF     LATH, 0x6, ACCESS   ; Make RH6 Pin (VID_10) Low
00001882 9E90                  BCF     LATH, 0x7, ACCESS   ; Make RH7 Pin (VID_11) Low
00001884 948E                  BCF     LATF, 0x2, ACCESS   ; Make RF2 Pin (VID_12) Low
00001886 AE18    L_01886:      BTFSS   RAM_AT_18, 0x7, ACCESS
00001888 D003                  BRA     L_01890
0000188A 0EF0'                 MOVLW   0xF0


it tries to follow the program flow starting at the reset and interrupt vectors to find out what is code and what is data. It also comments using the pin names from the schematic where possible.

what would be useful is a pointer to where to patch the bootloader such that it always passes the validation of the main code so that I can load the debugger without it failing
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on January 21, 2014, 01:54:38 am
So the plan is to make it "open" ? That will be great if it works !  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timberwolf on January 21, 2014, 01:23:59 pm
I'm ok with making my stuff open.

It would be good to come up with our own firmware and PC application that is compatible with the original but that has extra devices and features
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on January 21, 2014, 01:41:47 pm
That would be great indeed. I would like to offer my help but I'm currently studying for some exams and I will be able to offer some help (I'm a CS student, but not much experience with pics/mcus) in a ~month time (if you would accept/need help of course).

And thanks to all the work you two heroes do! I'm sure I'm not the only one dreaming of a somehow open programmer (I found some interesting chips that use basicly UART to program them - but autoelectric people are not interested it seems.)
Title: Support for Atmel GALs?
Post by: tcleavela on January 21, 2014, 07:08:17 pm
Does this device truly support Atmel's GALs? I see support for the ATF16V8B but I'm skeptical as the algorithm for programming these is different than that for Lattice's GALs.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: dupontg on January 21, 2014, 09:46:58 pm
it works very well with Lattice GAL..But not with PALCE AMD...For Atmel I never use..
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Fritz on January 22, 2014, 08:34:07 pm
Hi,

It would be good to come up with our own firmware and PC application that is compatible with the original but that has extra devices and features

that would indeed be great! Currently I'm using OSX and the only way to use this programmer is by using a virtual machine on my computer running Window$. Until the last update, VirtualBox would refuse to connect the TL866 to the virtual machine, so I had to use Parallels to make any use out of it.
I think that the TL866 would be interesting for more hackers if they could use it directly with the operation system of their choice.
I am willing to support with software development as soon as the protocol has been sucessfully reverse engineered and documented...

Cheers
Carsten
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timberwolf on January 23, 2014, 01:17:19 pm
Another option is to just use the hardware and write our own software from scratch, especially if we make the programmer look like a standard serial port
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on January 23, 2014, 07:35:51 pm
That's what I was thinking about some time ago. But I don't have the correct knowledge/experience on how to design the overall system for this. How much logic would be needed in the device and how much in the software on the PC itself.
So if someone can shed some light on what other programmers use and what would be a good system design - I can help with the implementation.

Also if someone is interested in private (or public, but for that github and bitbucket are probably better for public stuff) project hosting/repository (via GitLab: git, wiki, issues, ...) send me a message and I can set up something.
Title: Re: Support for Atmel GALs?
Post by: radzio on January 24, 2014, 08:09:27 pm
Does this device truly support Atmel's GALs? I see support for the ATF16V8B but I'm skeptical as the algorithm for programming these is different than that for Lattice's GALs.

I'm using TL866 with ATF16V8B and it support these devices. But... sometimes I get "Overcurrent protection error" with some parts. Sometimes this is temporarily error, sometimes is permanent.  All devices are "new".
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: aissaok on January 24, 2014, 08:29:02 pm
how to remove protection for winbond 25q64fv
minipro with tl866
(http://im39.gulfup.com/sQrH2.png) (http://www.gulfup.com/?mm6nv8)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on January 24, 2014, 08:31:39 pm
how to remove protection for winbond 25q64fv
minipro with tl866

what?  :o
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: aissaok on January 24, 2014, 08:57:58 pm
when I  program winbond 25q64fv
  with minipro tl866  it comes this message
(http://im32.gulfup.com/dOana.png) (http://www.gulfup.com/?JIK0U5)
how to clear otp
(http://im37.gulfup.com/stnqN.png) (http://www.gulfup.com/?5n5zbs)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on January 24, 2014, 09:12:04 pm
OTP means One Time Programmable, once they are set there's nothing you can do.



Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: aissaok on January 24, 2014, 09:21:50 pm
there is a programateur (nandprog) when you  can be erased serial number
this option is Q64FVS8_SRegister
(http://im33.gulfup.com/ADLPM.png) (http://www.gulfup.com/?tiIxDl)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: aissaok on January 27, 2014, 06:36:50 pm
helo
here is th site of nandprog
http://www.freewebs.com/easyflash/ (http://www.freewebs.com/easyflash/)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rastro on January 28, 2014, 11:35:28 pm
...

that would indeed be great! Currently I'm using OSX and the only way to use this programmer is by using a virtual machine on my computer running Window$. Until the last update, VirtualBox would refuse to connect the TL866 to the virtual machine, so I had to use Parallels to make any use out of it.
...

TL866 does work, just use the Oracle virtualbox install, not the repository version. The repo one does not handle the USB passthrough correctly, though it will do media and HID devices perfectly, it will not do other classes of device. All you lose is the automatic update, you will have to watch kernel versioning, though if you install the repository version first it does then keep the kernel updated, as the Oracle one uninstalls it partially during install.

I'm currently trying to get my TL866 running under virtualbox but can not get the virtual machine to attach to the usb. I think this is referred to as "USB pass through".  According to prior blog comments this may be due to the software source.  Could someone explain the difference between "Oracle virtualbox install" and "repository version".  More specifically where do I go to get the correct install.

My Setup:
Virtualbox: 4.3.6 r91406 (from:https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Downloads)
HOST: OSX 10.9.1
VM:   W2K

Thanks
Rastro
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on January 29, 2014, 06:47:33 pm
Install the extensions pack from there as well, and it will do the usb passthrough with no problems.

I am having issues with the latest, so use the 4.22 version and packs.

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Download_Old_Builds_4_2 (https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Download_Old_Builds_4_2)

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rastro on January 29, 2014, 09:45:51 pm
Install the extensions pack from there as well, and it will do the usb passthrough with no problems.

I am having issues with the latest, so use the 4.22 version and packs.

https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Download_Old_Builds_4_2 (https://www.virtualbox.org/wiki/Download_Old_Builds_4_2)
Thanks for the recommendations.  Unfortunately I was not successful. 

I tried using 2 older Virtual box revisions (4.2.22 and 4.2.20 ) along with their respective extension pack but I still could not get it to "usb pass through".  I can see the MiniPro as a choice in the device drop down menu, but when selected it will not put a check mark next to the device.  If I return to the drop down menu and try enable it again I get an error message stating that the device is servicing another request - I assume it's referring to the initial request.  If I replug in the usb I can repeat the process with the same results.

I also tried the above attempts with "Enable USB 2 (EHCI) controller" ON/OFF with both VB revisions.

My system information shows the USB:
MiniPro TL-866 Programmer  :

  Product ID:   0xe11c
  Vendor ID:   0x04d8  (Microchip Technology Inc.)
  Version:    0.00
  Speed:   Up to 12 Mb/sec
  Manufacturer:   www.autoelectric.com (http://www.autoelectric.com)     
  Location ID:   0x14400000 / 1
  Current Available (mA):   500
  Current Required (mA):   100

The only other thing that I can think of is OSX Maverick compatibility or security feature.

Any further guidance would be welcome.

Thanks
rastro
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bimmeristi on February 07, 2014, 01:26:16 pm
Hi!


Is there tutorial or how to read 29F400xx etc chips with this tool?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 07, 2014, 04:09:35 pm
The new 6.0 version of minipro software was released: http://www.autoelectric.cn/minipro/minipro_setup.rar (http://www.autoelectric.cn/minipro/minipro_setup.rar)

From manufacturer changelog:

2014.01.07 V6.00
Support Chip count: 13183

New chips:
MD25D40/80/16 GD25Q128C GD25Q128B
N25Q032A N25Q064A AT25DF641
Micropchip 93LC46X/56X/66X/76X etc.

Correction: Micropchip 24LC65

Improvements:
Windows 8 support.
Up to four programers simultaneously.
Improved Gui for different  display DPI.

Also my firmware updater/generator still working  :)  the update.dat file structure was not changed, this is good for me!

I will release an advanced version of my tool with the ability to change bootloader version, device serial number and copy protect bit on the fly; one of forum member tested this new version and the result was good.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on February 07, 2014, 04:15:13 pm
Hey radioman, thanks for the news !  :-+

Also my firmware updater/generator still working  :)  the update.dat file structure was not changed, this is good for me!

I will release an advanced version of my tool with the ability to change bootloader version, device serial number and copy protect bit on the fly; one of forum member tested this new version and the result was good.

 :clap:  :clap:  :clap:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Florin9doi on February 07, 2014, 05:41:40 pm
@radioman
I used your tool to update CS to A. Now can I use official software to update firmware for v6??
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 07, 2014, 05:45:56 pm
@radioman
I used your tool to update CS to A. Now can I use official software to update firmware for v6??

Yes, you can Florin!
 
Da-mi un pm te rog!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 07, 2014, 11:54:47 pm
Here is the new version of my firmware updater: TL866 firmware updater (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq)
Now you can transform your device version (by changing bootloader version) on the fly, without need of an external programmer. In my previous version the bootloader remained unchanged, and firmware upgrades from minipro software was not possible. 

Also you can change code protection bit and device serial number, just in case, who knows what autoelectric is planning, but from what i seen in their "new redesigned interface" probably not.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: casinada on February 08, 2014, 12:10:20 am
Thanks Radioman for your magic software. I don't need to use because I have the A version but your dedication is appreciated.
I downloaded the new version and it told me to update "Firewire" :) I assume they meant firmware. Went to tools, reflash firmware and everything is good :)
Now it supports the chips I needed to program to repair an HP Envy 20 motherboard last month :( a little bit late ......
I hope they keep supporting the unit for a long time. :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 08, 2014, 12:20:51 am
I downloaded the new version and it told me to update "Firewire" :) I assume they meant firmware.

Well, this is better than "Update your 1394"  >:D
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElektroQuark on February 08, 2014, 07:36:38 am
Mine has updated "fireware".
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mladen82 on February 08, 2014, 11:08:14 am
Hello!
I have problems with programming bios chip MX29LV800CTTC (from an notebook)
I can read and erase chip, but when i try to programm with new BIOS rom file i getting error
(http://s11.postimg.org/yc8qlxs8v/error.jpg) (http://postimg.org/image/yc8qlxs8v/)

There is NO error when i tried to program with FFFFFs!!!

I tried both adapters  adapter with soldering the chip and adapter without soldering needed so i assume is not ''bad connection'' issue.

Is there problem with the chip or something else?

Thanks in advance.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 08, 2014, 11:21:12 am
Click Read ID button first and see if the chip is detected in the product identification field.

Oh, now i see in the screenshot the 00C2 22DA chip ID.

Erase memory first and do a blank check to see if is erased.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mladen82 on February 08, 2014, 12:00:56 pm
Device is blank for sure, when is erased.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 08, 2014, 12:07:05 pm
Fill the buffer with different data patterns like 5555 and AAAA and write to see if the memory is good.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mladen82 on February 08, 2014, 12:19:07 pm
I getting errors with 5555 and with AAAA, only with FFFFs no error.
Sometimes i get erro on 0x0002 adress, and sometimes on 004020 or something like that.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 08, 2014, 12:37:57 pm
Must be a bad pin contact or something to zif40 adapter, if you get verify errors at random addresses. Also you don't have verify errors with FF's because of pull-up resistors on the data bus, so if a pin has a bad contact then that pin will be always read as 1.

Try to insert TSOP48 adapter in another position in the ZIF40 socket maybe is a bad contact.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: aissaok on February 08, 2014, 01:21:18 pm
hello
Please show the operation of transforming minipro cs minipro tl866 tl866 A
step by step
thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 08, 2014, 01:49:24 pm
@aissaok, what kind of transformation, hardware or software?

In hardware yo must solder a 6-pin connector to unpopulated ICSP header:
(https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/?action=dlattach;attach=80449;image)
After that you must reflash your device with A firmware and this can be done in different ways depending on if you have an pic programmer or not.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: aissaok on February 08, 2014, 02:18:17 pm
transformation software
I do not have a PIC programmer
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mladen82 on February 08, 2014, 03:06:47 pm
Must be a bad pin contact or something to zif40 adapter, if you get verify errors at random addresses. Also you don't have verify errors with FF's because of pull-up resistors on the data bus, so if a pin has a bad contact then that pin will be always read as 1.

Try to insert TSOP48 adapter in another position in the ZIF40 socket maybe is a bad contact.
probably TSOP48 adapter is poor quality
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 08, 2014, 03:18:29 pm
transformation software
I do not have a PIC programmer

well, in this case you can do it in two ways: a simple and safe method and a dangerous and "complicate" method.

The simple method of changing from TL866CS to TL866A version:
1. download my firmware updater here: TL866 firmware updater (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq) and unzip it.
2. connect your device to USB cable.
3. run TL866.exe from the above downloaded archive
4. in the update.dat file section browse for that file (you can find this file in the minipro installation folder)
5. in the "Firmware to write" section select TL866A firmware
6. click reflash button
Your device will be reflashed with the A firmware version.
Done!
The only drawback of this method is that future firmware upgrades can be done only with my tool, the minipro software will revert to original "CS" version.

The dangerous and complicated method:
1. run TL866.exe from downloaded archive
2. in the update.dat file section browse for that file (you can find this file in the minipro installation folder)
3. in the "Firmware to write" section select firmware dumper
4. click reflash button
now a custom firmware will be programmed into your device, just wait to finish
5. The Advanced button will become available, just click it and another window will appear!
6. in this advanced window we have three fields: Bootloader section, Copy protection section and device serial number section
7. in the Bootloader section select "A Bootloader" and click Write button
now your bootloader will be reflashed.
8. just close this advanced window and from main window in the "Firmware to write" section select TL866A firmware
9. click reflash button
now your device will be reflashed with the A version firmware.
done!
With this method your device will be permanently transformed to A version and future upgrades will be possible from minipro software. But why is this method dangerous? because if something goes bad (power failure, computer crash etc.) during  bootloader reflash your device will be bricked (and you will need an external programmer).

@mladen82, maybe!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: aissaok on February 08, 2014, 07:26:47 pm
thank you  radioman
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: dupontg on February 14, 2014, 04:50:12 am
Super job.!! thank you Radioman  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TiN on February 15, 2014, 06:30:11 pm
Hmm, seem TL866 not supporting DS1245Y NVRAM read/write, only test :(
Any way to hack for support? :)\

P.S. Used radioman's tool to update CS to A too, just for sake of it. Worked flawlessly, thumbs up for neat tool!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tusznioo on February 15, 2014, 11:23:10 pm
Please identify the selected memory circled in the picture?? maybe someone has an original charge??
The problem is that the upgrade to v6.00, the program sees the adapter is fake.
Thanks you in advance for any help.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: hikariuk on February 16, 2014, 12:35:47 pm
Sorry, but this is just not true. The Xeltek programmer I own was first released a couple of years AFTER XP 64-bit was released, and there was a large base of users (including myself) clamoring for 64-bit support from Xeltek for a long time (with the above posted quote their general response). They basically made the decision not to bother with putting ANY time into offering 64-bit drivers except with newer models they released. This has nothing to do with the latest OS support (unless you consider a 2001 OS as the latest) - it's just a lazy and/or stupid business practice - and I don't doubt they lost some previous customers because of it. They certainly lost my business.

They weren't alone in refusing to support XP 64-bit.  At the time it just wasn't worth the effort for most companies to do it.  It was only when Vista (or more likely 7) was available that 64-bit versions of Windows on workstations became common enough to make it worth the effort.  There are a few bad habits you have to reverse when you're making a 64-bit clean driver (assuming that a pointer is freely assignable to an int is the big one).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: dupontg on February 16, 2014, 03:26:10 pm
Please identify the selected memory circled in the picture?? maybe someone has an original charge??
The problem is that the upgrade to v6.00, the program sees the adapter is fake.
Thanks you in advance for any help.


Hello,
I think it's a PIC12F629 family...
It looks useless to do the job..
It's function is only for checking if the adapter is genuine.
The data between the TL866 and the adapter is different each time and impossible to simulate.
And of course the PIC program is protected and impossible to read.
The only solution is to disconnect the control in the TL866 firmware..
help Radioman ;-)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 16, 2014, 07:27:34 pm
Quote
I think it's a PIC12F629 family...
Nope. It's an ATTiny13A

Quote
The data between the TL866 and the adapter is different each time and impossible to simulate.
How do you found this?  >:D
Quote
The only solution is to disconnect the control in the TL866 firmware..
help Radioman ;-)
Unfortunately i don't have an TSOP adapter (yet), but i will not patch the TL866 firmware. The firmware will and must remain intact as is provided by the manufacturer.
The best solution is:
1. Return the adapter and ask the seller to provide a genuine one.
2. Hack the encryption algorithm used in that chip and reprogram it to act as "genuine" one.

Obviously you must find the hardware differences (if any) between V0, V3 and a fake adapter.
Hint: The firmware sends an encrypted block of 10bytes (question) to the adapter and also wants 10bytes (answer) from the adapter.  ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on February 16, 2014, 07:38:08 pm
Hint: The firmware sends an encrypted block of 10bytes (question) to the adapter and also wants 10bytes (answer) from the adapter.  ;)

So all you have to do is send each possible combination to a genuine adapter, record al the answers and put them in a uC  ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 16, 2014, 07:46:17 pm
So all you have to do is send each possible combination to a genuine adapter, record al the answers and put them in a uC  ;)
Not so easy! Every time the firmware sends a different encrypted token and that attiny is responding its answer according to received token!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tusznioo on February 16, 2014, 07:51:01 pm
And of ATTiny13A  program is protected and impossible to read?
Is there a chance that in a simple way to do this?
Do you still buy a new original adapter?

As I bought this adapter TSOP48 I thought is original.
And can go back to the older firmware V5.91? How to do it?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 16, 2014, 08:02:14 pm
And of ATTiny13A  program is protected and impossible to read?
Obviously...
Quote
Is there a chance that in a simple way to do this?
I don't know yet...
Quote
Do you still buy a new original adapter?
yes i will buy one (but not right now, i don't need one yet)

Ahh... i found that picture in computer. Here:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tusznioo on February 16, 2014, 08:10:53 pm
That remains for me as far buying a new original adapter TSOP.

Thanks for concrete answers
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 16, 2014, 08:14:18 pm
That remains for me as far buying a new original adapter TSOP.
Thanks for concrete answers
Unfortunately yes...

But if you need that adapter right now then you can revert to minipro 5.91; use my firmware updater to rollback the firmware to the 3.2.61 version and use 5.91 software version.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tusznioo on February 16, 2014, 08:21:00 pm
use my firmware updater to rollback the firmware to the 3.2.61 version and use 5.91 software version.

How to do it in a simple way?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 16, 2014, 08:23:08 pm
use my firmware updater to rollback the firmware to the 3.2.61 version and use 5.91 software version.

How to do it in a simple way?

do you still have the old 5.91 minipro software?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tusznioo on February 16, 2014, 08:31:58 pm
use my firmware updater to rollback the firmware to the 3.2.61 version and use 5.91 software version.

How to do it in a simple way?

do you still have the old 5.91 minipro software?
Now I have v6.00
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 16, 2014, 08:53:11 pm
Now I have v6.00

Ok. you don't have the 5.91 version, download it here: Minipro V5.91 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/b3h3e7axrf47vr3/MiniProV591.zip)  and unzip it somewhere in a folder.

then download my firmware updater here: TL866 firmware updater (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq) and unzip it.
In my firmware updater folder you will find a exe file called TL866.exe; run it!
Once the firmware updater starts, browse for a file called update.dat in the above downloaded 5.91 minipro folder.
Click the reflash button!
Done. You should have now the 3.2.61 firmware version. Just use minipro.exe from the 5.91 folder to work.
If you will later want to use the 6.0 version of minipro you will be asked to reflash the firmware and obviously the minipro 6.0 version will upgrade the firmware again to 3.2.62 version.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tusznioo on February 16, 2014, 09:57:55 pm
Thanks. Work
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tusznioo on February 17, 2014, 02:41:56 pm
I bought today TSOP48 adapter and works with version v6.00
The photo on the left is FAKE, and the right working
(http://)


If someone has an idea how to fix broken this post.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: matekhr on February 17, 2014, 07:01:14 pm
It's my first post here, but I read this thread from the beginning.
Thanks all contributors for a good work, especially radioman :)

My TSOP adapter looks like the right one on the previous picture, and it's OK with v6.00!!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: matekhr on February 17, 2014, 07:11:23 pm
Here's the photo, to make it more visible :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: dupontg on February 18, 2014, 04:58:02 am
Hello Radioman,
I had tested the chip last month,and forget the reference..
It is certainly a attiny  and not a PIC because the gnd is on the pin4 and +5v on the pin8

I have read the communication between TL866 and adapter with a "Salae" 8 bits device and software,
pin 2 and 3 are connected to pin 7and 8 of the TL866 through 1,1K
one give a clock signal and the other data..
Each time you click on the "help/about/tsop48detect",you can record a communication on three parts.
and it's never the same   :-\

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 19, 2014, 09:42:33 pm
I have read the communication between TL866 and adapter with a "Salae" 8 bits device and software,
pin 2 and 3 are connected to pin 7and 8 of the TL866 through 1,1K
one give a clock signal and the other data..
Each time you click on the "help/about/tsop48detect",you can record a communication on three parts.
and it's never the same   :-\

Yes i know...  The encryption used is very tricky, the first part is simple, but to understand the whole i need to decipher the next two data blocks. Thanks again for your sample captures.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: plexus on February 21, 2014, 02:40:23 am
Woohoo! Finally signed up on the forum. Been a viewer for sometime now but never used the forum. Why am I here? I was watching this video and it was killing me that Dave didn't see why the first launch of the software was only showing a sub-set of the parts in the search. This thread has 27 pages and I would have loved to read them all to see if someone caught this, but I just can't do 27 pages. Sorry....

So Dave... why was the software only showing a sub-set of the devices? What does a search normally consist of? Parameters, yes, like company, etc. and... yes? KEYWORDS! https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/smiley_laughing.gif (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/Smileys/default/smiley_laughing.gif) You had 27128 in the keyword field. I don't know why it was showing 512 parts but I am pretty sure it was filtering on the keyword you entered.

At least I am pretty sure that's what was doing it.

Hey. Im a user experience architect. I notice these things.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eLAB on February 25, 2014, 09:10:07 pm
I bought today TSOP48 adapter and works with version v6.00
The photo on the left is FAKE, and the right working
(http://)


If someone has an idea how to fix broken this post.

Here's the photo, to make it more visible :)


Hi guys,

decided to buy TL866CS but now I have problem . Where to buy 100% genuine TSOP-48 adapter?

For guys which already bought genuine adapters, where did You bought it or can You recommend me ebay seller which have genuine TSOP-48 adapters?

There is two sellers with good offers , but not sure about them.
1. sailingobd
2. sunwenjun

Thanx in advance!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 25, 2014, 09:57:26 pm
sunwenjun is an authorised autoelectric dealer, so this should be OK (I bought my TL866 from him), I don't believe that a guy like him with so great reputation on eBay will sell fake devices.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eLAB on February 25, 2014, 10:03:22 pm
sunwenjun is an authorised autoelectric dealer, so this should be OK (I bought my TL866 from him), I don't believe that a guy like him with so great reputation on eBay will sell fake devices.

Thank You radioman!

O.K. this is second vote for him  ;) ....I sent to him question, does his TSOP-48 adapters works with newest 6.00 sw. Now wait for his answer....
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on February 25, 2014, 10:19:00 pm
O.K. this is second vote for him  ;) ....I sent to him question, does his TSOP-48 adapters works with newest 6.00 sw. Now wait for his answer....
Will work trust me!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: matekhr on February 26, 2014, 08:33:42 am
I bought my adapters here:

http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-100-Original-TSOP32-40-48-Adapters-MiniPro-TL866-Programmer-TSOP32-TSOP40-TSOP48-SOP44-SOP56/998303469.html (http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-100-Original-TSOP32-40-48-Adapters-MiniPro-TL866-Programmer-TSOP32-TSOP40-TSOP48-SOP44-SOP56/998303469.html)

Well, maybe I was just lucky enough to got working adapters, or these guys are selling original adapters, too. :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eLAB on February 26, 2014, 04:06:15 pm
Well....even radioman`s advice was to buy from sunwenjun I order it from sailingobd (reason is bunch of adapters, and his TSOP-48 adapters looks exactly like on matekhr`s  photos). Here is link :

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TL866CS-programmer-21-adapters-TL866-AVR-Bios-PLCC-MCU-Flash-EPROM-IC-Programmer-/191069191391?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c7c9c7cdf (http://www.ebay.com/itm/TL866CS-programmer-21-adapters-TL866-AVR-Bios-PLCC-MCU-Flash-EPROM-IC-Programmer-/191069191391?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c7c9c7cdf)

I asked seller does his TSOP-48 adapter is genuine and work with newest software, he told me, all is genuine and in case that adapter not work with 6.00 or any newer version he will refund me.
Well, we will see....at least we will have info about one more ebay seller.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eLAB on February 26, 2014, 07:59:28 pm
Until waiting for programmer to come.....this must be shared!

https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro (https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro)   - Linux version for TL866!!!  :clap:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bingo600 on February 27, 2014, 06:03:49 am
Until waiting for programmer to come.....this must be shared!

https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro (https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro)   - Linux version for TL866!!!  :clap:

This is great news.
Saves me from having to dualboot , when using the programmer

/Bingo
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on February 27, 2014, 06:26:42 am
Until waiting for programmer to come.....this must be shared!

https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro (https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro)   - Linux version for TL866!!!  :clap:

Not a linux nor a programmer guy here, if its possible by design, does this mean I can request and hopefully you're wiling to implement a new type memory device that is not supported at the original TL866 windoze program ?  8)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on February 27, 2014, 07:20:00 pm
Until waiting for programmer to come.....this must be shared!

https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro (https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro)   - Linux version for TL866!!!  :clap:

Not a linux nor a programmer guy here, if its possible by design, does this mean I can request and hopefully you're wiling to implement a new type memory device that is not supported at the original TL866 windoze program ?  8)

I didn't have time to look at it in detail (and my minipro knowledge isn't that good) but unfortunately no. At least not at the moment, but looks like a good start to something. Now only if radioman ports his utility to linux - we would have a good starting toolbox on linux. Preatty please (I can help, depending on the language/framework/libraries used)?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eLAB on February 27, 2014, 07:21:52 pm
It`s not my work so I can not say more. You will must to ask author, but if You see more contributors at github...You can expect a lot.
I just spread a word...the bigger team, better result.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on February 27, 2014, 07:25:10 pm
I was so excited before that I forgot to thanks eLAB for the link and the author for his work.

eLAB: If you're in contact with him, could you ask him to register here? Or maybe he hangs out in any english forums? If not - would he be interested in a mailinglist or some other sort of mass communication?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eLAB on February 27, 2014, 07:39:10 pm
I was so excited before that I forgot to thanks eLAB for the link and the author for his work.

eLAB: If you're in contact with him, could you ask him to register here? Or maybe he hangs out in any english forums? If not - would he be interested in a mailinglist or some other sort of mass communication?

Please, try to register at github and contact him, I`m not in contact with author.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on February 27, 2014, 10:48:45 pm
I was so excited before that I forgot to thanks eLAB for the link and the author for his work.

eLAB: If you're in contact with him, could you ask him to register here? Or maybe he hangs out in any english forums? If not - would he be interested in a mailinglist or some other sort of mass communication?

Please, try to register at github and contact him, I`m not in contact with author.

Oh sorry then I misunderstood you. I'm already a member of github and I'll contact him.
Thanks again for the link!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: linux-works on March 01, 2014, 04:01:29 pm
I bought the bigger pkg that sunwenjun has (went for the A model and it seems there is a 'black zif socket' version, now).  has anyone seen the new magical black socket?  are we trading one color of fake for another or is this really a better made socket?

for a few extra dollars, I will give it a try.  this is the one I bought:

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TL866A-USB-Universal-Programmer-Black-Socket-EEPROM-SPI-FLASH-GAL-AVR-MCU-PIC-/321085130796 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/TL866A-USB-Universal-Programmer-Black-Socket-EEPROM-SPI-FLASH-GAL-AVR-MCU-PIC-/321085130796)

I added an extra $15 for 'faster shipping' and we'll see how long it takes.  I'm in somewhat of a hurry, as my tek scope is now disassembled on the bench waiting for this thing to come so I can copy the dallas chip and 'save my settings' ;)

I doubt I'll need any of those extra adapters but better to be safe and get them now than sorry and wish I had gotton them.

will report back when it arrives.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on March 02, 2014, 08:30:00 am
Hey linux-works,

Assuming you're a linux programmer, aren't you ? Please, if you had a chance, take a peek at above linux based programmer, whether its possible to make it to support the Cypress Semi FM1608 "F-RAM" chip ? Datasheet -> Here (http://www.cypress.com/?docID=43874)

Why ? Simple, since you have the Tek 2465B, and the main reason you bought this is you're going to backup & refresh the Dallas DS1225Y chip, right ?  >:D I'm trying to find a better alternative to this pesky battery based SRAM chip with above F-RAM based chip. ::)

The only differences from Dallas is only this ->

"DS1225 needs the Chip Enable (CE) pin to be enabled "once" for multiple read/write operations, while the FM1608 needs the CE pin to be "toggled or switched to low state" at every read/write operation, the memory address changed and latched on CE 's edge, not the state/condition of the CE pin, whiled everything else are identical."

I have these below sitting gathering dust since I bought them on impulse without checking the details and I was "assuming" its compatible with the DS1225.  |O

(https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/tektronix-2465b-oscilloscope-teardown/?action=dlattach;attach=43243;image)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: linux-works on March 02, 2014, 08:41:32 am
I already downloaded the github kit, created a debian pkg and installed it.  so at least I know it builds.  I have not looked at it yet but I plan to, and try it along with the windows standard version.

yes, initially will use it to copy the old dallas battery ram chip to a new one.  will be glad to have a chip burner on hand even though it won't get used every day.

I can look into that chip of yours.  can't promise anything but I'll give it a look.  haven't even checked what the linux version of the software is written in, but I do C for a living so if its something close to C I might be able to hack it.

the programmer should be here in about 2 weeks.  it does not look like 'fast shipping' is going to be all that fast and my scope refurb task is going to be somewhat blocked by this.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on March 02, 2014, 08:58:26 am
... I do C for a living so if its something close to C I might be able to hack it.

That sounds more than enough to me, thank you !  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eLAB on March 02, 2014, 10:56:43 pm
I bought the bigger pkg that sunwenjun has (went for the A model and it seems there is a 'black zif socket' version, now).  has anyone seen the new magical black socket?  are we trading one color of fake for another or is this really a better made socket?

Well from my experience from much better and very expensive programmer (VP-990), black ARIES socket was complete..crap.
After two year,  frequently I saw warnings about bad contacts at pins. At the end, socket was removed and I could see...all pins was bad inside socket (oxidation). Bought green socket, 3M (gold plated or looks like  :)), now works perfect.


haven't even checked what the linux version of the software is written in, but I do C for a living so if its something close to C I might be able to hack it.

Just to answer :

-   C     = 96.6%   
-   C++ = 3.4%


Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: linux-works on March 03, 2014, 12:09:53 am
then again, who knows: is the green one real or fake?  black one real or fake?  given that they are all probably fakes, which is the one that sucks less? ;)

worst case, I can replace with a real genuine one.  I see some real old surplus ones locally, although it looks like they might be dirty and cleaning them might be more trouble than its worth.

as soon as my programmer gets here, I'll be motivated to look at the C code. I'd love to have linux support and not have to boot windows or VM's or any of that nonsense.  too bad the vendors still mostly ignore linux even though its EASIER (and cheaper) to develop for/on linux than any other platform.  sigh...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: fluxcapacitor on March 03, 2014, 05:20:44 pm
theres a russian language version of the tl-866 ,rebranded as wizardprog 87 with the 3M socket ,and wizardprog 77 with the aries socket

http://www.wizardprog.com/ (http://www.wizardprog.com/)

http://www.willem-ua.com/forum/25-243-1 (http://www.willem-ua.com/forum/25-243-1)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: olsenn on March 03, 2014, 05:27:37 pm
Does anyone know any way of copy-pasting ASCII text into a memory chip using the TL866? I am finding that I can manually type each character in, but although a "paste" option appears apon right-clicking the feild, it doesn't do anything.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: fluxcapacitor on March 03, 2014, 05:34:59 pm
try pressing ctrl-V on the keyboard,it might work.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Florin9doi on March 03, 2014, 05:36:32 pm
Is there anyone who have this adapter: http://i.imgur.com/DJ5IrzQ.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/DJ5IrzQ.jpg) ? I'd like to know what is U2.

Does anyone know any way of copy-pasting ASCII text into a memory chip using the TL866? I am finding that I can manually type each character in, but although a "paste" option appears apon right-clicking the feild, it doesn't do anything.
Save it with Ctrl+S and use a external hex-editor to edit it then open it with Ctrl+O and flash it
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: olsenn on March 03, 2014, 05:56:07 pm
Quote
Save it with Ctrl+S and use a external hex-editor to edit it then open it with Ctrl+O and flash it

Nice!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eLAB on March 04, 2014, 06:48:48 pm
Is there anyone who have this adapter: http://i.imgur.com/DJ5IrzQ.jpg (http://i.imgur.com/DJ5IrzQ.jpg) ? I'd like to know what is U2.

U2  :o !!!?? It`s famous rock band from Ireland, the best album is "Joshua tree", song "Where the streets have no name"   :-DD...sorry, I coudn`t resist  ;)

In Your case:  U2=74HC244


Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Florin9doi on March 04, 2014, 07:57:58 pm
thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: JD72 on March 05, 2014, 08:37:59 pm
If you want to save money, buy TL866 at AliExpress.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: autocargo on March 07, 2014, 08:30:19 am
Hello everybody, I'm new here. Searching for solutions to my TL866CS programmer I come to this place. Lots of interesting information's here. I've been reading whole thread and there's plenty of useful things. Congratulation to all contributors.
Now the problem I encounter... Reading 29F200 flash memory (sop44)...   I'm getting different read every time, also when verifying. Checked adapters and good contact, ID is all good. If I'm reading different flash memory ex 29F400 (tsop48) there's no problem. Anybody encounter this? Thanks.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElektroQuark on March 07, 2014, 08:32:28 am
Are you reading it with the exact adapter the MiniPro asks you for?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: digsys on March 07, 2014, 11:09:21 am
Quote from: autocargo
.... Reading 29F200 flash memory (sop44) ... I'm getting different read every time, also when verifying ...
I have no problems with 29F100s and others in that series type. Have you looked at a memory dump? How many bytes look wrong?
There's usually huge chunks of FFs or 00s. Is it very slow memory? Maybe CS etc is too fast?
I've had similar problems in the past and have to ADD pull-up resnets on the address lines, and pull-dn on the data bus. app 33-100K
I even made a custom adapter with selectable jumpers. If you have an oscilloscope, you'll see immediately if all the address / data lines
are "clean", or if there's loading / timing issues.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: autocargo on March 07, 2014, 12:34:11 pm
Thank for quick replying.
@ EdoNork  -  Yes I'm using the right adapters. In software we can find the right adapters to use once we select the right eeprom/memory/flash etc....

@ digsys -     Different checksum at every read/verify, sometime around 12000 differences sometime around 3000 difference (never the same number of differences, always different read) .
 I've tried AM29F200BB and AM29F200AB they are found on cars ecu. I think they are fast chips since the car injection map is loaded into this flash memories. My old parallel port Willem PCB.5 reads them spot on.... I've made solder on type adapter for my Willem but they don't last so many soldering/unsoldering....
Would love to be able to read them into supplied TL866 adapter because they don't need any soldering.
 Your custom adapter solution looks interesting, would you mind posting a picture? Sorry I don't have any oscilloscope... Back on my problem.... Could be related to speed/timing issues? I even tried a usb powered hub thinking my laptop could not supply enough juice to programmer...  Still no luck....Thanks.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eLAB on March 07, 2014, 12:48:23 pm
Well, probably this is not a reason but it`s worth to try:

- try to wash pins fom 29F200 with alcohol (or some other cleaner) and gently pass thru all pins with some precise tweezers....then try read it with ZIF socket. ZIFs are very good, but only way to have 100% good contact is to solder IC (soldering adapter). 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: linux-works on March 07, 2014, 07:59:37 pm
mine came today (dhl):

(http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3072/12995460813_4523bc052a_o.jpg)

some kind of 'gift' (lol) was included, too.  kind of funny.  it has a scent; maybe its meant to be hung up to make the room smell 'different'?  not sure.

this is the item I ordered, and I paid $15 extra for faster shipping, which really was pretty good (other sellers wanted much more for 'faster shipping').

http://www.ebay.com/itm/321085130796 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/321085130796)

I will try using it today and see how it goes.  just in time to copy my dallas chip data on my tek scope over to a new nvram module!

(I wonder if I put that gift into my scope, maybe it will make the scope smell nice, too?  LOL)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: AssimilatorX on March 08, 2014, 12:06:40 pm
Thanks,

I am new on the forum.

Just made modification on my Willem Pro TL866CS it works nice as a TL866A . Other than the firmware and the icsp port nothing missing from the board, only had to solder the ICSP header on.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Tidusback on March 11, 2014, 02:45:52 pm
I bought a minipro tl866 cs and updated it to ver.6. At first it works fine but then i notice that I cant select the erase function or the erase button doesnt work. Did you encounter this guys? Help is greatly appreciated. Tnx
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Tidusback on March 11, 2014, 02:49:06 pm
I notice that Lynx in India (an active member on this forum) are listed as Agents for 'Autoelectric' on the Chinese website.

Well,
      I Am Thier Authorised Distributor In India .I Have Many Comments Of What Dave Had In This Video Of His  .You Can Find My Name Here - >  http://www.autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/order.htm (http://www.autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/order.htm) .Let Me Post All i Have Got Into This Thread .Dave i Am Stepping On Your Tail Lol  :-DD
Hi lynx,
I bought a minipro tl866 cs and updated it to ver.6, I notice that the erase function doesnt work or am I missing something? Can you help me pls?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: dupontg on March 14, 2014, 12:54:16 am
Hi ,
the erase fonction is depending of the selected chip..
for example it is grayed whith a 27256 UVPROM
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: linux-works on March 14, 2014, 01:03:38 am
sorry if this is too obvious a question, but I can't seem to find an english link to click on to get the latest firmware/software.  can anyone provide it?  should I just go with the latest downloadable, or is there a 'good' version to stay with?

I've installed the version that came on the cdrom and that worked, but I don't see an obvious link for latest support code.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: dupontg on March 14, 2014, 01:42:57 am
Hi,
only click on help....>update on line..
then come a page ,with on the bottom left V6.00 in red and on the right "something1" and "something2" in blue...
click on "something1 or 2 for downloading the update.
the direct adress is "http://www.autoelectric.cn/minipro/minipro_setup.rar"
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: linux-works on March 14, 2014, 03:54:43 am
LOL

thanks.  I guess I was able to follow that.

vendor: is it really too much to ask for, to have a few languages that let users pick updates without having to guess what 'something1' means? ;)

....would be nice.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bbarry on March 16, 2014, 03:46:53 pm
anybody know where to get the 25 spi flash adapter board as mine is missing.


or a diagram how U2 is wired.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: spiridonas on March 18, 2014, 11:08:13 pm
 (Hello everybody, I'm new here. Searching for solutions to my TL866CS programmer I come to this place. Lots of interesting information's here. I've been reading whole thread and there's plenty of useful things. Congratulation to all contributors.
Now the problem I encounter... Reading 29F200 flash memory (sop44)...   I'm getting different read every time, also when verifying. Checked adapters and good contact, ID is all good. If I'm reading different flash memory ex 29F400 (tsop48) there's no problem. Anybody encounter this? Thanks.)


Hi I have exact the same problem with autocarg. I tried to read and write many times the flash 29F400BB sop44 but every time with different  checksum. Please any help for this problem.
Many thanks in advance.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sv2hqx on March 19, 2014, 07:42:15 am
(Hello everybody, I'm new here. Searching for solutions to my TL866CS programmer I come to this place. Lots of interesting information's here. I've been reading whole thread and there's plenty of useful things. Congratulation to all contributors.
Now the problem I encounter... Reading 29F200 flash memory (sop44)...   I'm getting different read every time, also when verifying. Checked adapters and good contact, ID is all good. If I'm reading different flash memory ex 29F400 (tsop48) there's no problem. Anybody encounter this? Thanks.)


Hi I have exact the same problem with autocarg. I tried to read and write many times the flash 29F400BB sop44 but every time with different  checksum. Please any help for this problem.
Many thanks in advance.

hi
what of type adapter you use
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: spiridonas on March 19, 2014, 08:40:28 am
Hi I use this adapter please see the attachments pics my programmer is tl866a.
Thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sv2hqx on March 19, 2014, 09:16:37 am
Hi I use this adapter please see the attachments pics my programmer is tl866a.
Thanks

read something similar
on post 379
may by roll back to 5.91 or bad adapter

????????
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: spiridonas on March 19, 2014, 10:39:18 am
I try to update to version 6 but says message fake adapter and I reflash again to 5.91 + firmware, now don't  appear message fake adapter but I can't read / write correct the flash 29f400 ( every time different checksum)
what is bad ?
1)base adapter
2) sop 44 adapter
3) programmer tl866a

Thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on March 19, 2014, 11:17:27 am
"Base adapter" if I understand you correctly. That's the one with some chips on it (your first picture, left one) is not genuine. Radioman has been working on a solution for that, but I don't know how far he has come with this.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 19, 2014, 04:16:15 pm
@spiridonas the answer is in your questions! :)
Now the problem I encounter... Reading 29F200 flash memory (sop44)...   I'm getting different read every time, also when verifying. Checked adapters and good contact, ID is all good. If I'm reading different flash memory ex 29F400 (tsop48) there's no problem.

Hi I have exact the same problem with autocarg. I tried to read and write many times the flash 29F400BB sop44 but every time with different  checksum. Please any help for this problem.
Many thanks in advance.

what is bad ?
1)base adapter
2) sop 44 adapter
3) programmer tl866a

Thanks
TL866 and base adapter can be excluded because you can read and write the TSOP48 chip variant.
Remain the sop44 adapter (might be a bad pin contact) or the memory chip itself.

"Base adapter" if I understand you correctly. That's the one with some chips on it (your first picture, left one) is not genuine. Radioman has been working on a solution for that, but I don't know how far he has come with this.
Is far enough! i have an experimental replacement firmware for that Attiny13, and also the first version of Linux version of my firmware updater is ready to be tested here:
https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866 (https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866)

There's no do documentation yet on how to compile but i will update the readme file soon. Who want to contribute are welcome. Thanks.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eprom on March 19, 2014, 05:49:24 pm
(
Now the problem I encounter... Reading 29F200 flash memory (sop44)...   I'm getting different read every time, also when verifying. Checked adapters and good contact, ID is all good. If I'm reading different flash memory ex 29F400 (tsop48) there's no problem. Anybody encounter this? Thanks.)

I have the same Problem with AMD 29F800BB (also SOP).
Each read generates a new checksum.
Random filled buffer is not programmable.
So maybe a general problem?

I use the Version 6.0 with V3 Adapter.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on March 19, 2014, 05:56:05 pm
Is far enough! i have an experimental replacement firmware for that Attiny13, and also the first version of Linux version of my firmware updater is ready to be tested here:
https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866 (https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866)

There's no do documentation yet on how to compile but i will update the readme file soon. Who want to contribute are welcome. Thanks.

Hey radioman, I'm a noob when it comes to programming, let alone using Linux  ???, just a stupid question if you don't mind.  ;D

As long its supported by the existing hardware design, will your work there open the "opportunity" to support other chip that is not officially supported ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 19, 2014, 07:40:51 pm
Hey radioman, I'm a noob when it comes to programming, let alone using Linux  ???, just a stupid question if you don't mind.  ;D

As long its supported by the existing hardware design, will your work there open the "opportunity" to support other chip that is not officially supported ?

well, the response is yes and no :) how the whole thing is working? simple, we have three major layers here:
1.PC software application
2.Device firmware
3.Hardware

The PC software application do not talk directly with the hardware but with the device firmware instead. The device firmware is implemented as a collection of programming
algorithms; for example the 24C (i2c) series have a dedicated algorithm in firmware, 25 spi series have another dedicated algorithm and so on. Currently the 3.2.62 firmware version have exactly 41 programming algorithms.
 All of those >13000 supported chips belongs to one of the 41 programming algorithms, so if we want to add a new chip,
then that chip must have the programming algorithm implemented in firmware, if no we are out of luck :(

The PC software is nothing more than a chip database manager which sends simple programming primitives to the device firmware which in turn do all the dirty job!
So programming a chip is like this:
1.PC software sends a simple command to the firmware like "Select protocol nr. X", the device firmware will then switch to that programming algorithm
2.PC software sends/receive data blocks to/from firmware, the firmware will do the dirty job of manipulating pin drivers and talking with the chip

The problem is not the PC client software but the device firmware! Simple eh?

Yes i know FM1608 , DS-1225  ;)

Here is the supported chip list arranged by programming  algorithm

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Kjelt on March 19, 2014, 07:48:26 pm
What we actually need is an open hard and software universal programmer, that would be a great forum team effort.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eprom on March 19, 2014, 08:12:20 pm
Hi I use this adapter please see the attachments pics my programmer is tl866a.
Thanks

The Solution is on the second Picture, the Bottom of the SOP-Adapter.
Look at the lower left corner, there is one wire which ends without any connection. This is A15, so one Adressline is floating.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 19, 2014, 08:27:22 pm
Look at the lower left corner, there is one wire which ends without any connection. This is A15, so one Adressline is floating.

Huh! wireless connection  :o this is advanced tehnology...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: linux-works on March 19, 2014, 08:34:08 pm
its the 'randomness bit'.  leave it alone or you'll lose all your entropy!

(lol.  no, not serious.)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on March 19, 2014, 08:50:45 pm
Hey radioman, I'm a noob when it comes to programming, let alone using Linux  ???, just a stupid question if you don't mind.  ;D

As long its supported by the existing hardware design, will your work there open the "opportunity" to support other chip that is not officially supported ?

well, the response is yes and no :) how the whole thing is working? simple, we have three major layers here:
1.PC software application
2.Device firmware
3.Hardware

The PC software application do not talk directly with the hardware but with the device firmware instead. The device firmware is implemented as a collection of programming
algorithms; for example the 24C (i2c) series have a dedicated algorithm in firmware, 25 spi series have another dedicated algorithm and so on. Currently the 3.2.62 firmware version have exactly 41 programming algorithms.
 All of those >13000 supported chips belongs to one of the 41 programming algorithms, so if we want to add a new chip,
then that chip must have the programming algorithm implemented in firmware, if no we are out of luck :(

The PC software is nothing more than a chip database manager which sends simple programming primitives to the device firmware which in turn do all the dirty job!
So programming a chip is like this:
1.PC software sends a simple command to the firmware like "Select protocol nr. X", the device firmware will then switch to that programming algorithm
2.PC software sends/receive data blocks to/from firmware, the firmware will do the dirty job of manipulating pin drivers and talking with the chip

The problem is not the PC client software but the device firmware! Simple eh?

Yes i know FM1608 , DS-1225  ;)

Here is the supported chip list arranged by programming  algorithm
What about reverse engineering the firmware/fw algorithms? So there's already an open source PC client software, there's the updater that can be used to interchange the FWs, there's the schematic and a lot of other info (let's say which algorithms have the most devices in the list). I know that's not easy - but what I'm wondering if it's feasible? I tried to look up different programmer designs/protocols but didn't find much info on what a good design of such a system/protocol would be. So I'm wondering, would a completely new system/protocol be better? There doesen't seem to be much open source programmers which could be used as a base software or are they?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: matekhr on March 19, 2014, 08:56:29 pm
Look at the lower left corner, there is one wire which ends without any connection. This is A15, so one Adressline is floating.

Huh! wireless connection  :o this is advanced tehnology...

Here's my old fashioned, non wireless model:

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 19, 2014, 09:26:22 pm
Good! now we have two sop44 adapters version, wired and wireless, this is just amazing  >:D

What about reverse engineering the firmware/fw algorithms? So there's already an open source PC client software, there's the updater that can be used to interchange the FWs, there's the schematic and a lot of other info (let's say which algorithms have the most devices in the list). I know that's not easy - but what I'm wondering if it's feasible? I tried to look up different programmer designs/protocols but didn't find much info on what a good design of such a system/protocol would be. So I'm wondering, would a completely new system/protocol be better? There doesen't seem to be much open source programmers which could be used as a base software or are they?

Yes, if we keep the bootloader, a new firmware can be made to work with those unsupported chips.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on March 20, 2014, 03:02:15 am
The problem is not the PC client software but the device firmware! Simple eh?

Appreciate the long post in explaining that, its crystal clear now !  :clap:

Cmiiw, the mechanism here is like the old day computing buzz word ... "client & server" thingy  ::) , the client is just the pretty front end, while the "server" part is that poor little mcu that is doing all the dirty works.

I guess the real challenge & probably hard work is on the reverse engineering the whole circuit diagram + the mcu's code, aren't they ?  ???


Yes i know FM1608 , DS-1225  ;)

Hey, thanks a lot for remembering that !  :-+

If you seriously decided to implement that "someday"  8), just PM me, I will be happy to send you the Ramtron FM1608-120-BG f-ram chip for you to play with.  :P

Your skill sets regarding this matter, and the persistence all this time are a proven track record.  :clap:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: romantronixlab on March 20, 2014, 12:11:36 pm
Going Back to sellers on eBay I saw see-ic had good prices on the programmer and adapters, Has anyone bought and item from them, are they reliable?
eBay auction: #http://www.ebay.com/itm/170979794939?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649
eBay auction: #http://www.ebay.com/itm/170979738011?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on March 20, 2014, 02:54:38 pm
Going Back to sellers on eBay I saw see-ic had good prices on the programmer and adapters, Has anyone bought and item from them, are they reliable?
eBay auction: #http://www.ebay.com/itm/170979794939?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649
eBay auction: #http://www.ebay.com/itm/170979738011?ssPageName=STRK:MESINDXX:IT&_trksid=p3984.m1436.l2649
I bought the TL866CS with some adapters for a friend from them (CS + the second link adapters it seems) - no TSOP tho. So I don't know if they sell the genuine TSOP adapters (or their quality) but otherwise they were good. The package was quickly shipped and neatly packaged. Stuff looked ok and worked good. So quite decent seller from my experience (but I didn't deal a lot with them).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eLAB on March 21, 2014, 11:20:42 am
Check this seller (I bought from him and few more friends)..before buying I asked him about TSOP-48 adapter is it genuine or fake? He sent me pictures to see that it`s genuine adapter. In the meanwhile seller was added pictures and explanation in his auctions.
Also, if You  check here on forum You will see that genuine adapter looks exactly like on his pictures.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TL866CS-programmer-17-adapters-TL866-AVR-Bios-PLCC-MCU-Flash-EPROM-IC-Programmer-/191103978753?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c7eaf4d01 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/TL866CS-programmer-17-adapters-TL866-AVR-Bios-PLCC-MCU-Flash-EPROM-IC-Programmer-/191103978753?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c7eaf4d01)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Harald on March 22, 2014, 01:59:02 am
Hi. I'm quite new to all this stuff and I'd like to find out whether this TL866 might be the programmer that I need.
I have downloaded and installed MiniPro 5.80 last night, but I couldn't find every option available, so please help.

Is there a way to set up manually the device code for I2C devices? For example, the device code for 24c02 is 1010 and I suppose this code is automatically used when 24c02 is selected. I don't know the type of the devices that I'm trying to read from, so I can't select their type from the list, but their device code is 1110. Using a ByVac bv4221-v2, after the command "x", the device answered "ec" and I was able to read from it using the command "s-ed", as expected.

Since "ec" = 11101100 and "ed" = 11101101 , that means the control code for this unknown device is 1110 and the chip enable bits are 110. As far as I noticed, in some programming software there is an option to select the chip enable bits, but in some other software there is not such option. Apparently, the latter assume that for every device the chip enable bits are 000, which is obviously wrong.

As I said, I'm quite new to this field and if I got something wrong, please correct me. But at this moment, I'm under the impression that this is what I need, a programmer that will allow me to select the device code and the chip enable bits. Is TL866 such a programmer? Many thanks.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bimmeristi on March 22, 2014, 08:38:45 pm
Hi. I'm quite new to all this stuff and I'd like to find out whether this TL866 might be the programmer that I need.
I have downloaded and installed MiniPro 5.80 last night, but I couldn't find every option available, so please help.

Sorry, but can't help more. If you use 5.80 version, its old. Please look here: http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/MinProUpdate.htm (http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/MinProUpdate.htm)


Regards
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: linux-works on March 22, 2014, 09:38:53 pm
direct links seem to be:

 http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/minipro_setup.rar (http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/minipro_setup.rar)

and

 http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/MiniProHelp.rar (http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/MiniProHelp.rar)

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bimmeristi on March 23, 2014, 07:42:09 pm
Who can help with this. I need to know can i use TL866A like this and what pins are where?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on March 24, 2014, 01:51:11 pm
That looks like a standard ICSP. Select ICSP in the software and click on the info button. And you'll see how to connect this up.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bimmeristi on March 24, 2014, 05:14:59 pm
That looks like a standard ICSP. Select ICSP in the software and click on the info button. And you'll see how to connect this up.


I check this. Thanks!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 24, 2014, 05:35:37 pm
Here in this post: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg342728/#msg342728 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg342728/#msg342728)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: trisonic on March 24, 2014, 07:39:27 pm
Here in this post: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg342728/#msg342728 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg342728/#msg342728)

i think that we need a little wiki
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on March 24, 2014, 08:53:29 pm
Here in this post: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg342728/#msg342728 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg342728/#msg342728)

i think that we need a little wiki
Working on it, didn't have time (as I had some faculty stuff to do) to put any work into it, I have set up a mediawiki instance at http://minipro.txt.si (http://minipro.txt.si) though. There's basicly nothing in that wiki as of yet and I still have some work to wrap up before I'm going to have some more time to add content - but anyone is welcome to add/edit stuff to it. I'm also planing a minor "mirror" (of the official binaries, schematics, windows/linux builds of the various softwares for the TL866). Any feedback is welcome! Also if anyone is looking for any hosted services in relation to the TL866 (I don't know, project management ala gitlab, ....) I'd be happy to help!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Sjaak on March 25, 2014, 09:30:16 pm
It is a shame all the gore details are in the programmer and not into the PC side of things.

I would have guessed the programmer had some simple primitives like put Vpp on pin x, Vcc on pin y and GND on pin z. Should be relative simple to implement IMHO.

If there is a proper schematic I'm willing to help as I've some experience in PIC24F area (did a lot of programming on the BusPirate)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 26, 2014, 12:31:33 am
It is a shame all the gore details are in the programmer and not into the PC side of things.
Sorry but this is not entirely true.
I would have guessed the programmer had some simple primitives like put Vpp on pin x, Vcc on pin y and GND on pin z. Should be relative simple to implement IMHO.
You guessed well, the device has already implemented such programming primitives, they use these primitives for device self check and logic ic verify. The reason of why these primitives are not used in normal device programming is that it will be very slow to program a device in a such manner.
Remember that the PIC18F87J50 is a full speed (12Mbps) device and the transfer type is of type 'bulk';
this means that the bandwidth is not guaranteed and maximum packet size is 64 bytes.
Depending on the usb host and OS the minimum packet latency will be somewhere between 3 and 10ms. So even if the data length is 1 byte or 64 bytes the transfer time will be the same, but will be more efficient for large amount of data.
Let's say we want to program a device with 64K bytes in this manner, normally with the existing firmware primitives we can set all of those 40pins in one USB transfer and let's suppose that the USB latency is 5ms. Now with this setup we transfer one data byte in 5ms and one address increment command in another 5ms! the total amount of time will be ~10 minutes for a 64K device not counting the verify time. This is why the programming algorithms are implemented in firmware, because is more efficient to transfer large amounts of data over the usb and let the firmware to do the job much faster.

Actually the TL866 have only 39 control primitives and these primitives are grouped in categories like get device info, reset, start session, end session, erase chip, get chip Id, read data block, write data block and several pin and pin driver manipulation primitives.

If there is a proper schematic I'm willing to help as I've some experience in PIC24F area (did a lot of programming on the BusPirate)
Good to know, you are welcome, the schematic diagram is posted here in this thread.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on March 26, 2014, 01:40:59 am
It is a shame all the gore details are in the programmer and not into the PC side of things.

I would have guessed the programmer had some simple primitives like put Vpp on pin x, Vcc on pin y and GND on pin z. Should be relative simple to implement IMHO.

If there is a proper schematic I'm willing to help as I've some experience in PIC24F area (did a lot of programming on the BusPirate)
I quickly copy pasted (and uploaded) some stuff (including the answer Radioman gave to you) to http://minipro.txt.si/index.php?title=Design (http://minipro.txt.si/index.php?title=Design) (check the both PDFs for more in depth info). I know it's quick'n'dirty but at least it's a start.
I'll also add the two open source programs/projects there are mentioned in this topic (Radiomans TL866 Updater and the linux client).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eLAB on March 26, 2014, 12:05:41 pm
Programmer arrived, immediately checked TSOP-48 adapter,  reporting V3, so it is genuine ! :-+

This seller is also good and verified personaly ;) ...probably this will help someone.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TL866CS-programmer-17-adapters-TL866-AVR-Bios-PLCC-MCU-Flash-EPROM-IC-Programmer-/191103978753?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c7eaf4d01 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/TL866CS-programmer-17-adapters-TL866-AVR-Bios-PLCC-MCU-Flash-EPROM-IC-Programmer-/191103978753?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item2c7eaf4d01)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mserifov on March 28, 2014, 09:18:47 pm
Hello to evrybody.  http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/minipro_setup.rar (http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/minipro_setup.rar)

Link is not working. Please can some one upload for me and rest of people the V6.00

Thank you in advance.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: braselectron on March 29, 2014, 12:19:22 am
I also notice that today the http://www.autoelectric.cn (http://www.autoelectric.cn) is down or high load too.

I downloaded a few days ago.  I uploaded it to the following cloud drive:

http://www.mediafire.com/download/73yg5p47qy8ci80/MiniProV600_setup.7z (http://www.mediafire.com/download/73yg5p47qy8ci80/MiniProV600_setup.7z)

Notice that if you need a update/upgrade of firmware when you first run, you will need to wait their site be available again.

I found a english manual here: http://mediafire.com/?ufx1kkk4jtyjove (http://mediafire.com/?ufx1kkk4jtyjove)

Have fun!

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: amer70 on March 29, 2014, 05:13:03 pm
hi

can the minipro  tl866 support nand flash in open source software
https://hackingbtbusinesshub.wordpress.com/category/hamming-code/ (https://hackingbtbusinesshub.wordpress.com/category/hamming-code/)
http://hackaday.com/2012/09/20/reading-bare-nand-flash-chips-with-a-microcontroller/ (http://hackaday.com/2012/09/20/reading-bare-nand-flash-chips-with-a-microcontroller/)
http://www.ejtag.ru/images/shop/usb-nand.jpg (http://www.ejtag.ru/images/shop/usb-nand.jpg)

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: le_stauss on April 02, 2014, 08:05:14 pm
Hi,
Thanks radioman for your wonderful work

I hope like @amer70 that one day, the tl866 can work with big flash !

thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rastro on April 02, 2014, 10:20:19 pm
Finally got my MiniPro working with Mac OS 10.92 Mavericks and VirtualBox/Windows XP.
Previous Post: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg377895/#msg377895 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg377895/#msg377895)

Initially I had the following error:
Failed to attach the USB device www.autoelectric.com (http://www.autoelectric.com) MiniPro TL-866 Programmer to the virtual machine ...

This Was The Fix:
=======================================================================================
Virtual Box  4.2.10 R93012 with extension pack
Host: Mac Mini Maverick OS X 10.92
VM:   Microsoft XP (very basic installation)
MiniPro TL-866: assumes that vendor ID = 04D8; product ID = E11C

Select Windows XP virtual machine and open settings => ports => USB
- Check 'USB Controller'
- Check 'Enable USB 2.0 (EHCI) Controller'
- Add a new USB filter by selecting plus "+" icon on the right of window.
- Edit the new filter
-- Name: ... your choice
-- Vendor ID: 04D8
--Product ID: E11C
--Remote: NO
-- NOTE ... leave all other fields blank

Leave MiniPro TL-866 unconnected from USB while starting the WIN-XP virtual machine.
After VM is completely booted and logged in plug in the MiniPro.  My system then came up with a window that shows a new USB device was detected.  Proceded with the normal MiniPro install and verify operation.

I was not able to get this to operate with WIN2000 but I do not think this was a VirtualBox issue since is was able to pass through the USB device.

Happy Programming
Rastro
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on April 03, 2014, 01:21:04 am
Hey Rastro, thanks for the tips on Mac OS, cause I've been bugged "a lot"  :-\ by a friend which is a hobbyist that uses Mac OS and experienced the same problem, and I just can't help him cause I don't know anything about Apple platform at all. Yes, its my own fault that introduced this Minipro to him from the 1st place. :-[

Forwarding your tips to him now.  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: nova100 on April 12, 2014, 12:39:36 am
Now I have v6.00

Ok. you don't have the 5.91 version, download it here: Minipro V5.91 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/b3h3e7axrf47vr3/MiniProV591.zip)  and unzip it somewhere in a folder.

then download my firmware updater here: TL866 firmware updater (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq) and unzip it.
In my firmware updater folder you will find a exe file called TL866.exe; run it!
Once the firmware updater starts, browse for a file called update.dat in the above downloaded 5.91 minipro folder.
Click the reflash button!
Done. You should have now the 3.2.61 firmware version. Just use minipro.exe from the 5.91 folder to work.
If you will later want to use the 6.0 version of minipro you will be asked to reflash the firmware and obviously the minipro 6.0 version will upgrade the firmware again to 3.2.62 version.

Do I need to determine the type of programmr cs or a

and one thing i did Updated to version v6  with a bios chip in zip soket Does this damage the tl886cs
 and thank for all of u and Special thanks to radioman
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bryan on April 12, 2014, 09:17:12 am
What is the difference between the TL866CS and the TL866A ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: le_stauss on April 12, 2014, 11:36:04 am
@Bryan,
make a little effort, read some pages of this thread and you can find your answer.
This is a very interresting thread.
bye
good week
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bryan on April 13, 2014, 10:11:57 am
So the A version supports ICSP whereas the CS does not. But the CS version can be modified via firmware update and a header installed to convert to a A model if one desires?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: linux-works on April 13, 2014, 02:33:36 pm
yes, you have to hack the cs into an a-version.

I bought the a-version since it was not much more expensive, no hacking needed and no danger of having to 'keep up' with any hacks if they change the firmware structure in the future.  the cost difference was just not enough to care about, for me, at least.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bryan on April 14, 2014, 10:58:57 am
Think you are right, probably better just to go for a A version. I tend to play around with Atmel and Arduino projects and they MCU's typically need a crystal attached, so the ICSP may be a better option.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ficho on April 15, 2014, 02:41:12 pm
@radioman
It would be interesting to hear your approach figuring out the flash decryption routing ...
Since it is a 8bit micro controller it should use some simple decryption routines or some look up tables as you have written in some of your post's.

Regards ficho
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on April 15, 2014, 06:15:02 pm
@radioman
It would be interesting to hear your approach figuring out the flash decryption routing ...
Since it is a 8bit micro controller it should use some simple decryption routines or some look up tables as you have written in some of your post's.

Hi @ficho and welcome to the forum! well, this can be a long forum post explaining how the "encryption" works but instead you should read the source code of the firmware updater here https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866 (https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866). You right it uses some kind of lookup table for decryption. 

Right now i'm quite busy working on the linux version of minipro software. Many TL866 users using Linux as their primary OS use VirtualBox only to run a simple windows executable; while this can be a solution, a better approach is to run the minipro.exe directly under linux through wine! Unfortunately while the application is running normally it can not access the hardware directly due to the different platform implementation. And here i am, developing a simple bridge between the minipro software and linux usb hardware as a simple wine library; you copy a simple .dll file in the minipro directory and you're done!

The first tests sounds promising (Xubuntu 13.10):
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ficho on April 15, 2014, 07:35:29 pm
Hi radioman,
I checked your project https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866 very nice work you have done there :), creating a Linux project is interesting and needs a lot of time and work.
Implementing new algorithm's would be also interesting, as I can see no Motorola mcu's are included in support list.

Regards ficho
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bryan on April 16, 2014, 06:35:17 am
Have been looking at the offerings on Ebay and have seen a number of TL866A's advertised. When looking at the pictures, the back of the units show TL866CS. Seller modifying them and pawning them off as A's?. Or do they all say TL866CS.

http://www.ebay.com/itm/TL866A-MiniPro-USB-Programmer-EEPROM-SPI-FLASH-AVR-GAL-PIC-with-ICSP-Function-/131167866552?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e8a36ceb8 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/TL866A-MiniPro-USB-Programmer-EEPROM-SPI-FLASH-AVR-GAL-PIC-with-ICSP-Function-/131167866552?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item1e8a36ceb8)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: casinada on April 16, 2014, 06:49:15 am
Probably the pictures got mixed up as the ICSP port is open and it has the connector is there. If you're considering to purchase from that seller you should ash them first.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bryan on April 19, 2014, 06:46:18 am
I asked but so far no response from the seller. Not sure how easy it would be to modify a CS to a A as to where it would be practical in terms of selling. Not that much of a price difference. Curious if others have a "A" model but the bottom sticker is marked "CS"
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on April 21, 2014, 10:52:18 pm
I bought the bigger pkg that sunwenjun has (went for the A model and it seems there is a 'black zif socket' version, now).  has anyone seen the new magical black socket?  are we trading one color of fake for another or is this really a better made socket?
Did you ever get the tl866a? Anything special about the black socket? :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: linux-works on April 21, 2014, 11:12:33 pm
yes, I got it a long time ago.  it seems to be fairly decent.  the green ones seem a bit cheaper to me, but I don't have the green one that is the alternate for this seller.  its hard to know if this is anything special or not, but I don't have a problem with the black one that I got.  does not seem to be too bad and I've seen worse before.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on April 22, 2014, 01:30:30 am
I have one on order (black socket), but I've been using an Andromeda Labs EPROM+ for years. Rock solid, but it uses parallel. I still have access to parallel on my PC and laptop (via dock), but I thought I'd check out the TL866A anyway.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Jose Luis Collado on April 25, 2014, 10:09:51 pm
Hi ! Having problems with the TL866CS trying to program an ATMEGA328: reads OK, but when loading and HEX file to program I get the mesasge "Invalid Format". Am I missing something ? Using Arduino's bootloader HEX file, so I know it's valid and the same chip can be programmed with this same file using an AduinoISP.

Any help appreciated. Thanks and Regards.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on April 25, 2014, 11:04:03 pm
Hi ! Having problems with the TL866CS trying to program an ATMEGA328: reads OK, but when loading and HEX file to program I get the mesasge "Invalid Format". Am I missing something ? Using Arduino's bootloader HEX file, so I know it's valid and the same chip can be programmed with this same file using an AduinoISP.
I found this post (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/beginners/from-arduino-to-something-more-permanent/msg344292/#msg344292) on EEVblog...

Also sounds like someone ran into something similar here (http://openenergymonitor.org/emon/node/3857). And here (http://forum.arduino.cc/index.php/topic,151021.0.html).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: linux-works on April 25, 2014, 11:04:28 pm
I have a spare 328 chip here and that programmer.  which hex file are you trying, and I'll see if it works on mine.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Jose Luis Collado on April 26, 2014, 02:15:31 am
Hi Linux-works ! If you have the Arduino IDE installed you will find the file:
\Arduino\hardware\arduino\bootloaders\optiboot\optiboot_atmega328.hex
If not, it's the same as the one provided in the Optiboot site.

Thanks a lot for your help !
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Jose Luis Collado on April 26, 2014, 02:30:01 am
Thanks tsmith35, in my case I can program successfully with another programmer (arduinoISP), but I fail with the MiniPro at opening the same Hex file... Since there are no file format options to select using Hex files with the MiniPro software, I can't  select the proper format ( Intel 8 bit)... Anyway I think it's the de-facto standard for Hex files.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bimmeristi on May 01, 2014, 01:01:19 pm
I need to read/write two chips(M27C2001-10C6) for MB w210 remap. Is there any what need to know, or can i read/write with default TL866 settings?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: trisonic on May 02, 2014, 01:43:43 pm
I need to read/write two chips(M27C2001-10C6) for MB w210 remap. Is there any what need to know, or can i read/write with default TL866 settings?

yes, you can program the M27C2001
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: wd5gnr on May 04, 2014, 05:57:11 am
I have been playing with https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro/ and I notice that even PICs with two config words (like 16F886) only have one config word. I tried a simple patch, but it looks like the underlying firmware may only read a fixed block.

Just a point to consider if anyone is interested. I don't know if the "official software" has the same issue or not.

Actually, that's not true. I opened V6 under Wine -- you can't actually connect to the USB but you can see the UI. Both config words are there. So it is possible.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: iesn on May 04, 2014, 12:21:10 pm
I wonder if this is because these devices don't support HVPP only HVSP.

Nope. Atmel AVR devices currently supported in TL866 are splitted into two categories:

These devices support parallel and icsp(serial) programming.
Code: [Select]
Type:113(0x71)
AT90S1200, AT90S2313, AT90S2333, AT90S4414, AT90S4433, AT90S4434, AT90S8515, AT90S8535, AT90SLS2313, AT90SLS2333, AT90SLS4414, AT90SLS4433,
AT90SLS4434, AT90SLS8515, AT90SLS8535, ATMEGA8, ATMEGA8L, ATMEGA8A, ATMEGA16, ATMEGA16L, ATMEGA16A, ATMEGA32, ATMEGA32L, ATMEGA32A, ATMEGA48,
ATMEGA48V, ATMEGA48A, ATMEGA48PA, ATMEGA64, ATMEGA64A, ATMEGA64L, ATMEGA88, ATMEGA88V, ATMEGA88A, ATMEGA88PA , ATMEGA128, ATMEGA128A, ATMEGA128L,
ATMEGA162, ATMEGA162V, ATMEGA164A , ATMEGA164PA , ATMEGA165A, ATMEGA165P, ATMEGA165PA, ATMEGA165PV, ATMEGA168, ATMEGA168A, ATMEGA168PA,
ATMEGA168V, ATMEGA169A, ATMEGA169P, ATMEGA169PA, ATMEGA169PV, ATMEGA324A , ATMEGA324PA , ATMEGA325A, ATMEGA325PA, ATMEGA328, ATMEGA328P,
ATMEGA329A, ATMEGA329PA, ATMEGA644A , ATMEGA644PA, ATMEGA645A, ATMEGA645P, ATMEGA649A, ATMEGA649P, ATMEGA1284 , ATMEGA1284P , ATMEGA8515,
ATMEGA8515L, ATMEGA8535, ATMEGA8535L, ATTINY26, ATTINY26L, ATTINY28L, ATTINY28V, ATTINY2313, ATTINY2313V, ATTINY2313A, ATTINY4313


These devices only support serial programming (low voltage-icsp and hvsp).
Code: [Select]
Type:115(0x73)
ATTINY11, ATTINY11L, ATTINY12, ATTINY12V, ATTINY12L, ATTINY13, ATTINY13V, ATTINY13A, ATTINY15, ATTINY15L, ATTINY15L, ATTINY24, ATTINY24A
ATTINY24V, ATTINY25, ATTINY25V, ATTINY44, ATTINY44A, ATTINY44V, ATTINY45, ATTINY45V, ATTINY84, ATTINY84A, ATTINY84V, ATTINY85, ATTINY85V

The 113 and 115 types are programming algorithms implemented in firmware, and as you can see both categories is supporting low voltage serial programming (icsp) but is implemented only in the first category(113).

If you will try to unlock the icsp button for one of the device in the second category then it will not work, the minipro software send the command correctly (tested myself) but the firmware will ignore icsp parameter.
USB sniffer:
Code: [Select]
ATTINY84 no ICSP
03 73 12 00 02 00 40 00 00 16 00 00 00 20 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00

ATTINY84  ICSP on
03 73 12 00 02 00 40 00 00 16 00 81 00 20 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00
The first two parameters tels to the firmware to switch to type 0x73(115) algorithm and the 12-th parameter to switch the ICSP on, but it has no effect for type 115(0x73) devices.
For devices in the first category(113) the ICSP are fully implemented but for some unknown reason only MEGA devices have the ICSP button active, the AT90S's and ATTINY26,28,2313 and 4313 are icsp option locked (but its working, tested myself).

In conclusion: Its a firmware issue(incomplete).

Hello at all from Spain,

Please forgive my English language but is not my native language.

I discover this wander full topic due to a search for AT866. Due to an error I buy a AT866A but I receive a AT866CS device. I follow the radioman steps and I change them in AT866A. I work in the electronics repair field ( big machine electronic modules,  tractors, harvester etc. ) with a various eeprom, flash, micro... and I wan to give a try at this low cost programmer.

Because for a few chips ICSP connector is inactive, I use Enable Button ( at90s8535 ). Unfortunately I can't read this micro at90s8535. Radioman say it can be read. What is wrong ? I try ATMEGA 16, it work. I read at90s8535 with an USBASP and it work.

Any idea ?

Thank you kindly in advance.

Dan

   
P.S. Many thanks goes to Radioman for yours great and hard work.

a completion... I can not read with usbASP eeprom from AT90S8535 I can read only code memory, when I try to read eeprom avrdude says " vrdude -C avrdude.conf -c usbasp -p 8535 -U eeprom:r:"C:\Users\JohnDoe\Desktop\AT90S8535 - eeprom.hex":i -q



avrdude: warning: cannot set sck period. please check for usbasp firmware update.
avrdude: AVR device initialized and ready to accept instructions
avrdude: Device signature = 0x000102
avrdude: Expected signature for AT90S8535 is 1E 93 03
         Double check chip, or use -F to override this check.

avrdude done.  Thank you.
 "
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ficho on May 04, 2014, 05:00:26 pm
HI,
Something about AVR ISP, some of them have configuration bit where ISP can be disabled and then osc type can be set to external osc, in config bit by mistake and then the ISP will not work for sure !!! (you have to connect it to an external osc to reprogram config bits ).

regards ficho
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: wd5gnr on May 04, 2014, 07:30:43 pm
In a fit of boredom, I put together a GUI to drive the CLI tool. That's funny, because I don't actually use GUIs much myself, but....

This is just an early release and it works but isn't very useful. I have some wrapper ideas though that I may implement sometime later.. although as a CLI and this would be the GUI wrapper:

https://github.com/wd5gnr/qtl866

You need QT Creator to compile this. If you haven't used that before, run QT creator, open the .pro file and then press the big green RUN button ;-)

Screenshot attached.

Ok, I added one more thing of interest to the git repo (and will attach here too). A shell script: miniprohex -- It can figure out that if you provide a file with .hex or .srec that you mean for it to be an Intel hex or S-record file. It uses srec_cat (which needs to be on the path) to do the conversion on the way in or out. This doesn't work for fuses of course.

If you want to use it from the CLI you are good to go. If you want to use it from the GUI, open the options and point to it instead of minipro. srec_copy makes long records by default so add --obs 16 to the command line if you want "normal" 16 byte records.

Probably needs enhancements, but maybe you'll find one or the other useful.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bogdan2013 on May 05, 2014, 02:13:37 pm
Hello all ! Could someone to give me the 6.00 software because I can't do anything with the programmer (just to check the device ID) at this time and their servers looks to be shuted down . Thanks !
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: linux-works on May 05, 2014, 02:41:24 pm
http://www.mediafire.com/download/73yg5p47qy8ci80/MiniProV600_setup.7z (http://www.mediafire.com/download/73yg5p47qy8ci80/MiniProV600_setup.7z)

as was posted, just 2 pages back!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bogdan2013 on May 05, 2014, 04:43:39 pm
Thanks ! I searched but maybe I don't saw . Thanks again and sorry !
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: casinada on May 05, 2014, 06:23:19 pm
http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/MinProUpdate.htm (http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/MinProUpdate.htm)

No problems downloading here :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: linux-works on May 05, 2014, 06:38:00 pm
they are not always online, so having a 2nd download site helps the users, here.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eLAB on May 10, 2014, 01:54:34 pm
For Radioman,

just visited github, if I understood well linux usb wrapper for Minipro is finished and working (of course under wine)?!  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: wd5gnr on May 10, 2014, 02:48:37 pm
This one does not require wine: https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro

And if you prefer a GUI, I put a wrapper over that program: https://github.com/wd5gnr/qtl866

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: wd5gnr on May 10, 2014, 04:03:16 pm
By the way, I noticed a bug on the Windows software that I doubt it related to the USB patch for Linux.

Programming an 16F886 didn't quite work right. The problem turned out to be that the config word was not programmed. If you try to program the user ID, the config word doesn't get programmed. If you untick the user ID, the config word gets programmed and everything is fine. I don't know if this would apply to other PICs or not.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tibimakai on May 11, 2014, 05:45:35 am
Just registered, hi to everybody.
I'm a total beginner when comes to programming and I need some help.
I have some Kenwood navigation units that have a common issue, corrupt EEPROM, that causing a rebooting issue.
Somebody repairs these, but I'm trying to do this on my own.
The chip is not in the supported list, it's a Toshiba TC58NVG1S3ETAI0. Here is the datasheet:
http://www.toshiba.com/taec/components/Datasheet/TC58NVG1S3ETAI0.pdf (http://www.toshiba.com/taec/components/Datasheet/TC58NVG1S3ETAI0.pdf)
I have read the whole 35 pages and I would really like to do this, but I'm not sure if it's possible.
Radioman, salut din SUA, ex Clujean.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sv2hqx on May 11, 2014, 08:20:55 am
By the way, I noticed a bug on the Windows software that I doubt it related to the USB patch for Linux.

Programming an 16F886 didn't quite work right. The problem turned out to be that the config word was not programmed. If you try to program the user ID, the config word doesn't get programmed. If you untick the user ID, the config word gets programmed and everything is fine. I don't know if this would apply to other PICs or not.



My opinion
This hapends to me on 27sf512
The different what I see on my second programmer (batronix) is that tl 856 did not focus on the really size of ROM while batronix reads more lines
Batronix reads half line more
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eLAB on May 12, 2014, 02:12:32 pm
This one does not require wine: https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro

And if you prefer a GUI, I put a wrapper over that program: https://github.com/wd5gnr/qtl866

Big thanx!  :-+ ....will try also.
I want to totally abandon Windows OS and switch to Linux....all jobs is possible to do in Linux, only programmers was problem (till now WinXP in Virtualbox was a solution).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: wd5gnr on May 12, 2014, 06:07:28 pm
I had a slight omission from the miniprohex script on Github so if you grabbed it earlier, you might want to update.

https://github.com/wd5gnr/qtl866

The GUI didn't change, but the script you can use with (or without) the GUI to load Srec and hex files did change.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: wd5gnr on May 12, 2014, 07:46:12 pm
And in the original Linux minipro there is a bug writing hex PIC fuses. I fixed it and put a pull request for the original author, but if you can't wait you can find my fork (wd5gnr) and clone from there.

It is also not possible to program the code then the fuses without erasing the chip. I proposed a fix for that as well.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: krivx on May 13, 2014, 01:54:07 pm
Has anyone had any experience adding support for additional ICs using the CLI tool (https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro)? Is it possible?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: wd5gnr on May 13, 2014, 03:23:59 pm
Anything is possible. I've been working to add 2nd fuse word to the PIC. The Windows software supports it, but I haven't quite got it down. The real work is done in the firmware and to do anything really exotic, you'd probably need a disassemble of it or at least an explanation of the commands (minipro.h is pretty useful but not about the actual format).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: wd5gnr on May 13, 2014, 08:46:16 pm
I just posted a pull request that adds support for the 2nd fuse word for PICs. I only did it for the 16F886 though. Anyone know of a good list of which ones do have two fuse words? I know the 87x and 88x do. I know the 84 and (I think) the 628 do not. But there has to be a better way than just going through the data sheets for all of them.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: wd5gnr on May 13, 2014, 09:05:23 pm
Silly me. A quick grep through the MPASM include directory answered that question!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: juankgp on June 08, 2014, 06:32:49 am
Hi I am new in this forum, I did al proces to change my cs to A and it finished ok but I don´t work with the iscp, it is 2013 design
Please help me
Thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: juankgp on June 08, 2014, 06:36:22 am
Sorry for my English
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bryan on June 09, 2014, 08:07:52 am
Just noticed that v 6.00 has no support for the Microchip 18f13xx or 18F14xx series of MCU's.   :(
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sv2hqx on June 09, 2014, 09:25:24 am
Just noticed that v 6.00 has no support for the Microchip 18f13xx or 18F14xx series of MCU's.   :(

Have to notice that on my xeltek and batronix newest firmwares a lot of microchip chips are not supported
May it's from microchip related
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: antiriad on June 15, 2014, 01:30:36 am
I just purchased one of these programmers (the TL866a to be more specific) and it seems that either the Device is not working properly or I am clearly not doing anything right

To begin the Device is plugged into a Win 8.1 and Driver-Minipro client work properly.

From the beginning the device Fails the self-test on GND Pin 16 (Overcurrent protection action short circuit)which could indicate an issue. I tried to program a couple of devices 27256, 27128 and I am unable to write more than 1 bytes. I can read blanks without issue.
The Device ID is almost never recognized and I have to disable check ID. I was only able to read successfully one AT27C010.

1) If the self test fails is this an indication that the device could be damaged.
2) I tried 2 different PC on all USB ports with the same results. Could the issue be with not enough power?
3) The Device comes with V600 of the Software/Firmware so looks like it is the latest and greatest.

Any thoughts?

Thanks

Mike

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on June 15, 2014, 01:33:31 am
To begin the Device is plugged into a Win 8.1 and Driver-Minipro client work properly.

Found a site where someone asked about Minipro OS compatibility. They were told, "Hi, MiniPro TL866CS Universal BIOS USB Programmer can support WIN2000 / WINXP / WIN2003 / WIN2008 / WIN VISTA /WIN7 (32bITS AND 64BITS), no windows 8.1."
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: DrJoe on June 15, 2014, 01:37:15 am
I'm running it on Win 8.1 and it works fine. Sounds like he has a defective unit.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: 128er on June 15, 2014, 01:52:56 am

1) If the self test fails is this an indication that the device could be damaged.


My guess is, yes.


3) The Device comes with V600 of the Software/Firmware so looks like it is the latest and greatest.


I can confirm that. My Software version is 6.00 and firmware is 03.2.62. Otherwise the sofware would ask to "reflash the fireware"  :P

I bought my TL866CS a couple of weeks ago. Works very well. I don't think that it consumes to much power for a usb port.

Btw... I have Win7 64bit.


2) I tried 2 different PC on all USB ports with the same results. Could the issue be with not enough power?


Both PC's with Win8? Seems that tsmith35 found the answer to your problem. Edit: Or maybe not, after DrJoe's answer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: antiriad on June 15, 2014, 02:02:19 am


[/quote]

Both PC's with Win8? Seems that tsmith35 found the answer to your problem. Edit: Or maybe not, after DrJoe's answer.
[/quote]

Window XP and Windows 8.1. Same results
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on June 15, 2014, 07:11:21 pm
If it's still problematic under XP, then it's probably time to get it replaced as defective.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Ray-Ray on June 15, 2014, 07:21:33 pm
New to the forum,do a lot of work with ecu and immo. Mostly 93xxx , 24xxx,and 95xxx, 35xxx there was no in circuit reading till I grounded c22. Now the units is reading correctly and in some cases the bits get switch. I have notice that some chip package act different 93xxx surface mount read and writes perfect in circuit. Same chip 93xxx threw hole mount will read good but always fails on the write in circuit. If I remove the chip all is good read and writes prefect. Is there a fix to correct in circuit read and write ? Any way to adjust speed or voltage to the target chip?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sv2hqx on June 17, 2014, 05:42:22 pm
New to the forum,do a lot of work with ecu and immo. Mostly 93xxx , 24xxx,and 95xxx, 35xxx there was no in circuit reading till I grounded c22. Now the units is reading correctly and in some cases the bits get switch. I have notice that some chip package act different 93xxx surface mount read and writes perfect in circuit. Same chip 93xxx threw hole mount will read good but always fails on the write in circuit. If I remove the chip all is good read and writes prefect. Is there a fix to correct in circuit read and write ? Any way to adjust speed or voltage to the target chip?


There r not switched
8+16 bit
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Ray-Ray on June 17, 2014, 09:15:39 pm
Tl866 hex editor show the dump inverted if I put it in a stand-lone hex editor the bits come up correctly.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sv2hqx on June 18, 2014, 08:29:08 am
Tl866 hex editor show the dump inverted if I put it in a stand-lone hex editor the bits come up correctly.

This happens because you read with you old programmer 8bit
Newer series are 16 bit
Specialy 93xx and 24xx
You can convert with you hex editor-change values- convert back-programm
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: antiriad on June 18, 2014, 02:05:49 pm
Seems this device has no support for the 27C400 EPROM or device not supported. At least for the Willem programmers the following adapter is available. http://www.keeelectronics.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=36 (http://www.keeelectronics.com/catalog/product_info.php?products_id=36)

I am kind of wondering if this is the right device if compared to the GQ-4X Programmer. The TL866a I got from Day 1 was failing the Self-Test and might be defective. On a side note I disabled the OC Protection by shorting C22 and now most tests PASS except the OC Protection for the Vpp and Vcc. However I still cannot write in any of the standard 27C128 , 27C256, 27C512 or 27c010 EPROMS. 27C512-27C128 are not recognized and on 27C128 I can only write 1 Bytes that fails and with the wrong value.

Any thoughts about this Programmer?

Thanks

Mike
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: le_stauss on June 22, 2014, 01:54:42 pm
Hi,
where are you Radioman since mid-april ?
I am waiting for news from you. You are an excelent researcher//developper.
Do you try custom firmware inside the tl866 ?
keep the bootloader and load a fonctional software ?
bye
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mauroh on June 22, 2014, 04:29:47 pm
Hi I am new in this forum, I did al proces to change my cs to A and it finished ok but I don´t work with the iscp, it is 2013 design
Please help me
Thanks

Just received my TL866CS and converted to A, but I have the same issue.

I've done some tests with several PICs and looks like the ID Check is getting different results if I plug the IC on the ZIF connector or I connect the ICSP to my target board.

The connections is correct and if I plug the PICKIT3 to the same ICSP target board everithing goes fine.

For instance, this are the ID for the following PICs:
                     ZIF         ICSP
PIC16F877A 0E2 06    039 06
PIC18LF442 025 05    001 1B
PIC18LF485 043 05    009 1B

As you can see in the attached pictures the firmware conversion looks fine (I programmed also the bootloader) and I'm able to go back to the V5.91 but notthing change.

Any suggestions?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mauroh on June 24, 2014, 01:18:05 pm
 :palm: It was just the pull up resistor between MCLR-VPP/VCC that was open...

Now it works like a charm with PICs and AVR in-circuit without problems.

Thank you radioman for the great hack.

Mauro
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rauloliv on June 27, 2014, 04:42:16 pm
Hello all,

Can anyone give me a hint of whats the best way to use my tl866cs to write a NVM3060.
Is it possible at all? Its not on the supported list of course.

Regards
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on June 27, 2014, 10:47:12 pm
Can anyone give me a hint of whats the best way to use my tl866cs to write a NVM3060.

Maybe this (http://www.ic-prog.com/nvm3060.htm) may help.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bimmeristi on July 03, 2014, 08:06:59 am
I am ecu remapping service in job(read/write ecus) My backup tool is MiniPro. So is there any tutorials/howto how read/write 29FX00XX chips(general used)?!?

Or just click read- erase- write -buttons with default settings?

How about others chips(in car ecu), use just default settings or what need to change?

Regards
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: diogoc on July 17, 2014, 07:29:08 am
Version 6.10 is out

http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/MinProUpdate.htm (http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/MinProUpdate.htm)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Erwin Ried on July 30, 2014, 05:56:24 am
I added the 'modern' style to the v6.1 and fixed few typos, replace "MiniPro.exe" with: http://cl.ly/0B0h3g1e1Q1I (http://cl.ly/0B0h3g1e1Q1I)

(http://f.cl.ly/items/1n0H39083S2U0w432E2c/minipro.gif)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Fab6657 on August 01, 2014, 04:15:52 am
Thank's Erwin  ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: richud on August 02, 2014, 11:32:41 am
Hi,
I have an AT24C02  8-TSSOP (I2C) attached to a pcb/dongle with addressing lines A0 A1 and A2 all connected high to Vcc [rather than to the 'normal' floating/ground.]

I have previously tried to read/write to it with an ART UP-1 programmer but it didn't like it unless I removed the chip and left those address lines floating.

Does anyone know if the tl866 can cope with those addressing lines held high or will I have to remove the chip to do it.
Or, will I have to forget the tl866 and program via an USB-I2C interface?

Cheers for any help/suggestions!

Rich
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bimmeristi on August 03, 2014, 06:17:58 pm
That was bad sup rice, there is no support for ST M28F512 eeprom?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on August 04, 2014, 02:29:45 am
That was bad sup rice, there is no support for ST M28F512 eeprom?

Does it not work using the 28F512 setting?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bimmeristi on August 04, 2014, 11:28:11 pm
That was bad sup rice, there is no support for ST M28F512 eeprom?

Does it not work using the 28F512 setting?

? There is just AMD manufactures, not ST for that chips....
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on August 05, 2014, 12:15:04 am
? There is just AMD manufactures, not ST for that chips....

Looking at the datasheets for the AMD Am28F512 and ST M28F512, it appears that they are pin-compatible. Both utilize 5V Vcc and 12V Vpp. You should be able to program the ST by selecting the AMD part.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bimmeristi on August 05, 2014, 06:52:56 pm
? There is just AMD manufactures, not ST for that chips....

Looking at the datasheets for the AMD Am28F512 and ST M28F512, it appears that they are pin-compatible. Both utilize 5V Vcc and 12V Vpp. You should be able to program the ST by selecting the AMD part.

Really, that was good to know. Thanks mate!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on August 05, 2014, 10:50:11 pm
Really, that was good to know. Thanks mate!

Try it out and let me know. :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: szafarz on August 16, 2014, 08:43:52 pm
Hi to everyone, I'm new on this forum and I'm a new owner of TL866 too. Because I'm a Linux user I've checked first if TL866 works with Linux. Here is the time for greetings for radioman - man u did really good piece of work. But, there is a few to do yet. So, I've made small improvements into the linux version of radioman's tl866 software (ex. just erase chip) and (just when I polish the code - it's pretty ugly now) I want to share it. And I hope there 'll be a lot more to do to follow by original software, and even more. A propos - does anyone decompile MiniPro.exe? The mystery of TSOP48 and ATtiny13 is still a secret? I have original TSOP V3, but I'm a GNU follower and try to help if I can.
Besides, I have a question about TL866 and 25Q64 (Winbond 25Q64FVSIG). Reading this chip takes about 98 seconds, it is less than 90kB/s - how does it corresponds to USB 12MBps? I know, that "burst mode" is not fastest mode, but 90kB is even much less than Low Speed (1.5MBs) and old Willem Eprom Programmer. Autoelectric - shame on You.
Next topic is PIC18 in the programmer. I see, there's not too much space for new code - what Autoelectric is going to do? Stuck on supported chip list? No more new ones?
Ok, it's time to inspect the code...

Again many thanks to radioman and vdudouyt.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on August 18, 2014, 08:28:01 am
Hi to everyone, I'm new on this forum and I'm a new owner of TL866 too. Because I'm a Linux user I've checked first if TL866 works with Linux. Here is the time for greetings for radioman - man u did really good piece of work. But, there is a few to do yet. So, I've made small improvements into the linux version of radioman's tl866 software (ex. just erase chip) and (just when I polish the code - it's pretty ugly now) I want to share it. And I hope there 'll be a lot more to do to follow by original software, and even more. A propos - does anyone decompile MiniPro.exe? The mystery of TSOP48 and ATtiny13 is still a secret? I have original TSOP V3, but I'm a GNU follower and try to help if I can.
Besides, I have a question about TL866 and 25Q64 (Winbond 25Q64FVSIG). Reading this chip takes about 98 seconds, it is less than 90kB/s - how does it corresponds to USB 12MBps? I know, that "burst mode" is not fastest mode, but 90kB is even much less than Low Speed (1.5MBs) and old Willem Eprom Programmer. Autoelectric - shame on You.
Next topic is PIC18 in the programmer. I see, there's not too much space for new code - what Autoelectric is going to do? Stuck on supported chip list? No more new ones?
Ok, it's time to inspect the code...

Again many thanks to radioman and vdudouyt.
The TSOP48/ATtiny13 info is accessible in the radioman's git repository https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866/tree/master/TSOP_Encryption
Regarding the supported chip list, if you look at the updates you'll see that the device gets only ~2 small updates per year or so. There're some additions and fixes, but nothing major. So I don't think we can expect much from them.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bingo600 on August 23, 2014, 02:15:34 pm
I haven't followed this thread for a while , so i have a question.

Where do i get the latest/best software for use under Linux , witch git repos ?

TIA
/Bingo
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mayo32 on August 23, 2014, 07:29:09 pm
Hello there,

mines tl866cs just arrived but in Self-Check I'm getting errors (attachment). Is the unit faulty?

Thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on August 23, 2014, 08:06:15 pm
mines tl866cs just arrived but in Self-Check I'm getting errors (attachment). Is the unit faulty?

If there's nothing in the ZIF socket and you get this... Yes, it's broken.
Send the screenshot to the seller and ask him what to do.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on August 26, 2014, 09:56:16 am
I haven't followed this thread for a while , so i have a question.

Where do i get the latest/best software for use under Linux , witch git repos ?

TIA
/Bingo

https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro
https://github.com/wd5gnr/qtl866
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rsjsouza on August 26, 2014, 11:30:49 am
I just received mine and it works like a charm! I only advised the seller to change its headline (http://www.ebay.com/itm/High-Performance-USB-TL866CS-Universal-Programmer-with-9-Adapters-for-12000-ICs-/170900787837?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item27ca7b127d) and properly state the correct number of adapters: they say 9 adapters but in fact it comes with 8 adapters plus a PLCC extractor. I saw other sellers doing this as well, therefore watch carefully the photos and description.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: AwArD_RzD on August 28, 2014, 08:59:15 pm
Anyone tested the TL866cs with dallas nvram?

i got 2 new ds1250y-100+ and it seem there only a test function for this IC and the software give me a read error 31 when i try to test the nvram. (Data,Address,Unit enabled)

I have 2 ic, same problem, i have put them in a socket to be sure there no contact problem with the reader and still the same error.... i tried to read an old amd flash memory and i have no problem so i doubt it's some problem with the reader..

I want to backup my TDS754D nvram before some hacking, i see everywhere these chip are supported but for now even with the minipro updated to the last build i still have this read error 31 and only the test function...

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bobic63 on August 29, 2014, 11:41:30 am
Hello everyone. I'm new on this forum. Recently acquired TL866CS programmer
 without adapters, unfortunately.
Now I need to read/write urgently two chips in the package TSOP48.
 I have only a ZIF socket TSOP48,but I have not any adapters.
Please if anyone have circuit diagram on this adapters or pictures on the boards without chips and plastic holders please help me.
Thank you kindly in advance.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on August 29, 2014, 08:42:27 pm
Hello everyone. I'm new on this forum. Recently acquired TL866CS programmer
 without adapters, unfortunately. Now I need to read/write urgently two chips in the package TSOP48. I have only a ZIF socket TSOP48,but I have not any adapters. Please if anyone have circuit diagram on this adapters or pictures on the boards without chips and plastic holders please help me.

Well, looking at the photo of the adapters (the two boards closest to the top-right of the photo in this listing (http://www.aliexpress.com/item/Free-Shipping-8pcs-100-original-Adapters-TL866-Universal-Programmer-TSOP32-TSOP40-TSOP48-SOP44-SOP56-Sockets-TL866A/1669111460.html)), it looks like there's more to it than just knowing the pinouts.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: xpress on September 04, 2014, 10:53:45 pm
Hi I use this adapter please see the attachments pics my programmer is tl866a.
Thanks

The Solution is on the second Picture, the Bottom of the SOP-Adapter.
Look at the lower left corner, there is one wire which ends without any connection. This is A15, so one Adressline is floating.


Hello everyone. I'm new here but I have followed with great interest the forum. I bought the adapter for 29F200 and TL866CS. It happens every time I try to read the 29F200 always gives different checksums. The adapter is the same as the image, with the track not connected. Does anyone know what the pin where it is soldered? Thanks in advance.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: autocargo on September 10, 2014, 09:41:08 am
It goes here...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: roybridge on September 16, 2014, 10:02:16 pm
Hi,

I just purchased the TL866A. I would like to program the ST M27C1000-15F1 but cannot find it on the list of supported devices. Is there an alternative IC that I can choose from the list that will allow me to program the M27C1000 or would this be a case of requesting to have it added?

Thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: roybridge on September 20, 2014, 07:31:46 am
OK, answered my own question. Swap pins 2 and 24 and treat it as the M27C1001
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rough on September 26, 2014, 08:17:05 am
Hi !
does anyone manage to read or write to mx25l3205d on TL866A ?
on mine it cant recognize it, tryed directly, on ic clamp and through adapters
software is 6.10
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: hpr on October 06, 2014, 06:44:31 pm
Hi,

I am new to this blog.  I have purchased Minipro TL866CS universal programmer recently.  It includes installation CD .  But the user guide and help menu are in Chines only.  My contact with supplier has not yielded any result.  The autoelectric web page is also in Chines and I could not make out any thing from there.

Can any body suggest me from where I can get the English version of user guide and help menu.

Please help me.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on October 06, 2014, 06:50:32 pm
If you start the program and press <Alt>-L (for language) you can choose between Chinese and English.
English is at the bottom in my version.



Oops, not sure what I thought I was reading but that was not what you asked, sorry...  :palm:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: groff on October 07, 2014, 11:49:21 am
hpr wrote:

Quote
Can any body suggest me from where I can get the English version of user guide and help menu.

Please help me.

Here is the link http://www.minipro-ua.com/Download/MiniPro_TL866_programmer_Help.rar (http://www.minipro-ua.com/Download/MiniPro_TL866_programmer_Help.rar)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: hpr on October 07, 2014, 05:12:18 pm
Thank you so much
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bingo600 on October 08, 2014, 04:42:41 pm
I just installed

The programmer driver:
https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro

And the GUI using the above programmer driver.
https://github.com/wd5gnr/qtl866

To make the GUI i installed QT5 in my Linux Mint17

The GUI didn't compile succesfully at first.
As toAscii() seemed to be deprecated in QT5

I'm a QT noob , but following an ansver on the "net"
I added
Code: [Select]
#include <QDataStream>
I also had to change this line

Code: [Select]
    QString cmdline=settings->value("option/editcmd","binhexedit -r").toString() +" " + ui->filename->text();
    system(cmdline.toAscii());
to
Code: [Select]
    QString cmdline=settings->value("option/editcmd","binhexedit -r").toString() +" " + ui->filename->text();
    system(cmdline.toLatin1());


Now it builds fine.

I havent tried it out for real yet , but it seems like a nice little gui.

Thanx to the authors  :-+

/Bingo

Edit: Note that the hexeditor mentioned as bliss on the GUI github is bless
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: orion242 on October 09, 2014, 12:02:06 am
Anyone have issues writing to a Atmel AT29C010A?

Seems like it reads them fine, but writing them out it fails after just the first few bytes.  This is with version 6.1 of the software.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ubistvo on October 28, 2014, 02:26:29 pm
OK
Is any one try to write M35080
I try to read OK i try to write ERROR
First 2 row not erase
Can anyone tell me is it posible to do M35080 with TL866????
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: abzman on October 29, 2014, 04:45:51 pm
OK, so I had a friend who found it too onerous to read the whole thread for some answers... I suppose that's reasonable so I decided to boil it down.  Luckily someone was already hosting a wiki (seen earlier in this thread) and I decided to condense my takeaway there.  The wiki is minipro.txt.si (http://minipro.txt.si)

I had some account creation trouble and page editing trouble, but the site maintainer helped fix it in an incredibly timely manner (for me at least).  I consider it pretty much up to date as of this, page 39 of the thread. 

There are things that could be added:

bypassing overcurrent protection (how, and why)
more 'compatible' chips added to the list as they are discovered
things done to use non-compatible chips (pretend it's actually chip XX and up the voltage/change the pinout)
listing the chips and their respective programming algorithms
hosting the whole firmware and bootloader for the tl866cs/tl866a (may not be needed as I think the updater tool can generate them)
deconstruction of the chip pinout/algorithm file (I seem to remember this much earlier in the thread, of putting new chips into the list)
an examination of the primitives used on logic chips to design new chip tests/implement new algorithms PC side (I know it'd be slow)

I sorta drifted from 'things to add' to 'things to do' but if anyone thinks it needs updating just do it, that's what wikis are for. 

Evan Allen
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: roybridge on October 29, 2014, 05:02:52 pm
I definitely think it would be fantastic to have the section on unofficially supported chips. My first example would be the ST 27C1000 32-pin DIP which can be programmed if you select ST 27C1001 32-pin DIP but swap pins 2 and 24 :-)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: abzman on October 29, 2014, 05:16:21 pm
There you go, I'll add the thread source attribution once I get off my phone (it makes for a pretty bad wiki editing platform)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sv2hqx on October 30, 2014, 10:06:27 am
OK
Is any one try to write M35080
I try to read OK i try to write ERROR
First 2 row not erase
Can anyone tell me is it posible to do M35080 with TL866????
I got on m35080 strange reaction's
Some of them v3 and v6 after many attempts finally programmed first 2 lines too
But not for all of my chips

Sent from my Optimus 4X HD using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ubistvo on October 31, 2014, 01:24:29 pm
OK
Is any one try to write M35080
I try to read OK i try to write ERROR
First 2 row not erase
Can anyone tell me is it posible to do M35080 with TL866????
I got on m35080 strange reaction's
Some of them v3 and v6 after many attempts finally programmed first 2 lines too
But not for all of my chips

Sent from my Optimus 4X HD using Tapatalk

AHA OK
I will try and post results
Thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on November 01, 2014, 01:06:12 pm
OK, so I had a friend who found it too onerous to read the whole thread for some answers... I suppose that's reasonable so I decided to boil it down.  Luckily someone was already hosting a wiki (seen earlier in this thread) and I decided to condense my takeaway there.  The wiki is minipro.txt.si (http://minipro.txt.si)

I had some account creation trouble and page editing trouble, but the site maintainer helped fix it in an incredibly timely manner (for me at least).  I consider it pretty much up to date as of this, page 39 of the thread. 

There are things that could be added:

bypassing overcurrent protection (how, and why)
more 'compatible' chips added to the list as they are discovered
things done to use non-compatible chips (pretend it's actually chip XX and up the voltage/change the pinout)
listing the chips and their respective programming algorithms
hosting the whole firmware and bootloader for the tl866cs/tl866a (may not be needed as I think the updater tool can generate them)
deconstruction of the chip pinout/algorithm file (I seem to remember this much earlier in the thread, of putting new chips into the list)
an examination of the primitives used on logic chips to design new chip tests/implement new algorithms PC side (I know it'd be slow)

I sorta drifted from 'things to add' to 'things to do' but if anyone thinks it needs updating just do it, that's what wikis are for. 

Evan Allen

Yes sorry for that, looks like an upgrade broke spam protection and it didn't work as advised. I'll set up some more detailed error reporting soon and hopefully people I'll be able to catch these errors fast enough. I also tweaked the spam protection so that it's active only on account creation and doesen't bother people once they have an account.

And another big thanks for all the help and effort!

OK
Is any one try to write M35080
I try to read OK i try to write ERROR
First 2 row not erase
Can anyone tell me is it posible to do M35080 with TL866????
I got on m35080 strange reaction's
Some of them v3 and v6 after many attempts finally programmed first 2 lines too
But not for all of my chips

Sent from my Optimus 4X HD using Tapatalk

AHA OK
I will try and post results
Thanks
As I'm sure you both know that those chips have the first few bytes increment-only protected. I'm not sure if TL866 even has the functionality to reset them - and even those programmers that have it don't work 100% all the time. But good luck and hope you'll report your findings here :) n
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: abzman on November 03, 2014, 01:50:10 am
Ok, tonight I found out that a friend's tsop48 adapter was fake.  I also found out that I didn't have exact instructions on how to fix it on the wiki, that's updated now.  The reverse engineered firmware worked great!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: redtop on November 12, 2014, 11:26:52 am
Hello all!
I've been lurking here occationally, but nor I thought it was time to write something.

I'm doing some hobbyist work on car related electronics: ECUs, chiptuning etc. Up to now I've been using an Willem Eprom programmer I bought some years ago. It does the job OK, but it connects to the computer using a parallel port, and they are kind of rare on laptops these days. I thought a USB programmer would be more convenient so i got a TL866CS as a budget alternative. Got it of Ebay for US$ 47.68 including a bunch of adapters.

Now, I have been struggling a while trying to read a copy protected tuning chip for a friend. He bought an old Alfa Romeo 155Q4 needing lots of TLC and in the ECU was an unknown tuning chip (eprom). I took on the challenge to try and read the chip to see what has been changed, and possibly trace who did the tuning (some tuners leave a signature in an unused area of the chip).

On older ECUs with eproms in sockets, it's not uncommon that tuners use copy protection boards to make it a little harder for people to steal their intellectual property. There are some companies, like EVC.de (http://EVC.de), who sell such protection boards to tuners. It's basicly a socket with some circuit that mixes up memory data and address data so it can't be read in a normal eprom programmer. (Some pics are attached).
One theory I've read is that toggling the Chip Enable and Output Enable pins is the key to get around the copy protection, so I tried reading with an Arduino board where I could control those pins, but I didn't have any success. Another theory is that you need to read the copy protected chip fast to get pass the scrambling, and a eprom programmer is slower than the car ECU.

Anyhow, yesterday I got my TL866CS and just to test it i grabbed the nearest eprom which happened to be the copy protected chip for the 155Q4, and was I surprised when the TL866 somehow got around the copy protection and read the chip just as the ECU would!!!  :wtf: Well, not perfect, there was some random bit errors giving e.g. 04h when 84h was expected, but addressing seems to be correct.

Now a question for you experts:
My guess is that the bit errors is a timing thing. There isn't much parameters to twist in the MiniPro software, so I wonder if there is any timing difference depending on what type of chip I select? The chip here is an old 27c256 UV-erasable, and there is a load of different 27c types to choose from in the software, but would it make any difference? Is it worth trying all the different 27c types I can find in the MiniPro SW?

//RedTop
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sv2hqx on November 12, 2014, 11:38:45 am
Hello all!
I've been lurking here occationally, but nor I thought it was time to write something.

I'm doing some hobbyist work on car related electronics: ECUs, chiptuning etc. Up to now I've been using an Willem Eprom programmer I bought some years ago. It does the job OK, but it connects to the computer using a parallel port, and they are kind of rare on laptops these days. I thought a USB programmer would be more convenient so i got a TL866CS as a budget alternative. Got it of Ebay for US$ 47.68 including a bunch of adapters.

Now, I have been struggling a while trying to read a copy protected tuning chip for a friend. He bought an old Alfa Romeo 155Q4 needing lots of TLC and in the ECU was an unknown tuning chip (eprom). I took on the challenge to try and read the chip to see what has been changed, and possibly trace who did the tuning (some tuners leave a signature in an unused area of the chip).

On older ECUs with eproms in sockets, it's not uncommon that tuners use copy protection boards to make it a little harder for people to steal their intellectual property. There are some companies, like EVC.de (http://EVC.de), who sell such protection boards to tuners. It's basicly a socket with some circuit that mixes up memory data and address data so it can't be read in a normal eprom programmer. (Some pics are attached).
One theory I've read is that toggling the Chip Enable and Output Enable pins is the key to get around the copy protection, so I tried reading with an Arduino board where I could control those pins, but I didn't have any success. Another theory is that you need to read the copy protected chip fast to get pass the scrambling, and a eprom programmer is slower than the car ECU.

Anyhow, yesterday I got my TL866CS and just to test it i grabbed the nearest eprom which happened to be the copy protected chip for the 155Q4, and was I surprised when the TL866 somehow got around the copy protection and read the chip just as the ECU would!!!  :wtf: Well, not perfect, there was some random bit errors giving e.g. 04h when 84h was expected, but addressing seems to be correct.

Now a question for you experts:
My guess is that the bit errors is a timing thing. There isn't much parameters to twist in the MiniPro software, so I wonder if there is any timing difference depending on what type of chip I select? The chip here is an old 27c256 UV-erasable, and there is a load of different 27c types to choose from in the software, but would it make any difference? Is it worth trying all the different 27c types I can find in the MiniPro SW?

//RedTop
If you r not hurry you can order from eBay 27sf256 (or find a winbond 27c256 from an old motherboard or VGA card)
They are electronically erasable and in boards that I tested are working well
Faster write and erase and supported from tl866

Sent from my Optimus 4X HD using Tapatalk
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: redtop on November 12, 2014, 07:00:22 pm
If you r not hurry you can order from eBay 27sf256 (or find a winbond 27c256 from an old motherboard or VGA card)
They are electronically erasable and in boards that I tested are working well
Faster write and erase and supported from tl866

Thank you, I'm aware of the EEPROMs compatible to the old 27c series. I have some in my drawer and have successfully used them in some ECUs.

Now, back to my question!  :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on November 12, 2014, 07:19:36 pm
I don't think selecting a different 27* chip would be any good. Somewhere deep in this thread there's nateocean's and radiomans posts about how minipro implements different chips. They're grouped together by protocol and the chip itself supports only a handful of these "protocols" which are then used for all supported chips. Unfortunately I don't have the time to dig it up - and the info has not been yet properly stored in the wiki so I guess you'll have to find radioman's posts by yourself.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: janengelbrecht on November 14, 2014, 06:13:30 pm
Best programmer ive ever owned. I do not miss out on anything...
My only small problem is that i miss some very old ICs. Well one could NOT expect to be able to program old PALs and so on...you cant buy the bloddy things any more.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: redtop on November 15, 2014, 07:34:18 pm

Anyhow, yesterday I got my TL866CS and just to test it i grabbed the nearest eprom which happened to be the copy protected chip for the 155Q4, and was I surprised when the TL866 somehow got around the copy protection and read the chip just as the ECU would!!!  :wtf: Well, not perfect, there was some random bit errors giving e.g. 04h when 84h was expected, but addressing seems to be correct.
//RedTop

If the ECU is designed to see a "normal" EPROM then the copy protection board will still have to present a "normal" looking EPROM to the ECU and hence also to an EPROM programmer. So I would not expect reading the copy protected EPROM in a programmer to be a problem. Of course I have never tried to. Deciphering the scrambled non standard bit arrangement might be a little more challenging. The first thing I would try is to burn an EPROM with sequences of 00h to FFx and 256 bytes of 00h followed by 256bytes of 01h and so on in the programmer and then try reading it back when mounted on the copy protection board. Compare the two resulting files and see if you can recognise a pattern to provide some clues as to what is going on. I do not expect it to be too sophisticated.

As for the "random" bit errors. Are you saying they are random because you didn't see a pattern, perhaps because you didn't carefully look for one, or that you did look for one and found none? For example are all bitn locked at 0 or at 1. This may suggest a faulty socket connection.

The whole idea with the copy protection boards is that the they are transparent to the ECU but not to an eprom programmer. My old Willem just reads garbage and so does the Arduino board I've been using, but the TL866 seems to behave like an ECU in this case, reading the data unscrambled.

When I say random bit errors I mean that they appear at random addresses. If I read the chip several times I get errors at different addresses. It seems to be the same bit that fails all the times, as the read value differs with 80h.

I did some experimenting with different "VCC verify" and got bit errors on less addresses with higher voltage. I can compare the read with the original eprom dump for this engine, it's just a small part of the content that is changed by the tuner (look up tables a.k.a maps for fuel injection, inigition, turbo pressure etc.).  I estimate that I now have less than ten bit errors on the whole chip, and that makes it possible to analyze what the tuner has changed, so it's good enough for me.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: janengelbrecht on November 16, 2014, 01:56:12 am
I surely would wish that the manufacturer of this programmer would release the source code...would be nice to be able to hack it to get it to support a lot more :)

Well.....the trees are not growing into heaven....
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tibimakai on November 20, 2014, 10:16:49 pm
Anybody in LA area, that can try out a TSOP 48 Toshiba nand flash(TC58NVG1S3ETA10), if it can recognize it or not? I would appreciate it a lot.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ubistvo on November 25, 2014, 10:01:25 pm
OK I again need your help from one old post here
""I am Zoran from SERBIA
I also buy TL866CS but i did not get PSOP44 adapter and now i need so much
I asking is anybody here have schematic for adapter PSOP44 i have main board V3 TSOP48 SOP44 I just need how to connect 29f400 to read and write.
I buy some adapter PSOP44(http://www.programatory.com/niemcy/data/adapterypl/psop44zifdip44/psop44zifdip44a.jpg (http://www.programatory.com/niemcy/data/adapterypl/psop44zifdip44/psop44zifdip44a.jpg))
and just need to connect here(http://i01.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/755/826/490/490826755_843.jpg (http://i01.i.aliimg.com/img/pb/755/826/490/490826755_843.jpg))
Thank you"""
And i still not buy original board so is anyone have schematic pin out for this board or if someone is not to boring just to looking on his PSOP44 board and just put me here the numbers where go what (like on this picture )
I know this :
Board                         Flash

 23          --                10
 24          --                 9
 21          --                 8
 22          --                 7
 25          --                11

So can some one help me

Thank you
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: HScan on November 28, 2014, 12:20:02 am
Hello,
i used the tl866cs and see problems, here i give my experience and the turnarround...
All is not not contact good pins...

I try to prog a 16F877 old PIC, and it does not work, an other not use the same but on a beeprog (1000€), all is ok.
I find the schematic of the tl and find problems.
First I see can the pulse clock send by the tl866cs,on RB6/7 to the pic are not all the same,
in 16 clock block the first and the last are very shorter than the others, with data.
If the time is correct the up time is slow. But it is software and nothing to do.
Now for enter to prog, you must apply a 13V+-0.5V on MCLR, the Vpp supply is 12.9, but with R at 5%?,
the Vpp value can change from tl866 to other.
Just after it is the limiter, and you lost supply, 0.3 by a diode, 0.1 by the Q9 and by R3 of 3 ohms.
If the voltage is 0.6V the current limiting and overcurrent go on.
But with this lost, you are under 12.5V, at MCLR on, a dip surge can be see. You can no enter in the prog mode.
To have a good supply, the soluce is to connect the feedback resistor R8 33K to D8 anode (Q9), cut on C14.
Now the supply conpensate the voltage lost of the detector of the limiter, the security is active because Q9 is outside of the feedback. I try also to put a 2,2uF/50V in // on C20.
But nothing for the prog of the PIC 16F877!.
The next is the better...
The pic 18F87J50 in your tl866 control all and must be supply at 3.3V open the tl866, see the 3.3v chip suply regulator..
But during read, prog.. you see the supply up at approx 3.6, its normal because when Q8 is off but it is not good for the life of the chip. Why up the supply?.
If you read the pic datasheet, you see that on RB6 and 7, the input use schmit trigger and the "one" is at 0.8*Vcc,4V min with 5V supply Vcc.
The 18F87J50 is supply with 3.3V, cannot give 4V, but it is more possible with 3.6V...
Now you must see shematic: the supply Vcc, with a voltmeter put the power(USB), and with a voltmeter you see Vcc on the pin.Now, select a pic, 16F877 for example, select no check device ID and do a read. The Vcc change and up (may be zero at first time when you connect). I see 5,3V.
But it is high, and the signal of 18F87J50 is too low...
Bingo it was the problem!!.
At first I solder 2 pull up on RB6 and RB7, and bingo I can read, erase and prog the PIC16F877!!.
But solder on a chip to program it is bad!!.
The soluce is to reduce the Vcc supply.
The power UP because Q5 tunr on, and put a 6K8, the soluce is to adjust the value, I put in serie a pot of  4,7K (in resistor).
Now at 0, Vcc= 5.3V (not work the same before),but at  4,7V at max (4K7) and for the middle 4,9V it is ok.
And now no problemo the prog is ok, and not a contacts problems...

I solve my problem for the PIC 16F877, for the others you can use this story to try to find why, and not to think that it is the contact...

In fact the design is not so good, but for the price....



Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheEnd on November 28, 2014, 01:34:08 am

Anyhow, yesterday I got my TL866CS and just to test it i grabbed the nearest eprom which happened to be the copy protected chip for the 155Q4, and was I surprised when the TL866 somehow got around the copy protection and read the chip just as the ECU would!!!  :wtf: Well, not perfect, there was some random bit errors giving e.g. 04h when 84h was expected, but addressing seems to be correct.
//RedTop

If the ECU is designed to see a "normal" EPROM then the copy protection board will still have to present a "normal" looking EPROM to the ECU and hence also to an EPROM programmer. So I would not expect reading the copy protected EPROM in a programmer to be a problem. Of course I have never tried to. Deciphering the scrambled non standard bit arrangement might be a little more challenging. The first thing I would try is to burn an EPROM with sequences of 00h to FFx and 256 bytes of 00h followed by 256bytes of 01h and so on in the programmer and then try reading it back when mounted on the copy protection board. Compare the two resulting files and see if you can recognise a pattern to provide some clues as to what is going on. I do not expect it to be too sophisticated.

As for the "random" bit errors. Are you saying they are random because you didn't see a pattern, perhaps because you didn't carefully look for one, or that you did look for one and found none? For example are all bitn locked at 0 or at 1. This may suggest a faulty socket connection.

The whole idea with the copy protection boards is that the they are transparent to the ECU but not to an eprom programmer. My old Willem just reads garbage and so does the Arduino board I've been using, but the TL866 seems to behave like an ECU in this case, reading the data unscrambled.

When I say random bit errors I mean that they appear at random addresses. If I read the chip several times I get errors at different addresses. It seems to be the same bit that fails all the times, as the read value differs with 80h.

I did some experimenting with different "VCC verify" and got bit errors on less addresses with higher voltage. I can compare the read with the original eprom dump for this engine, it's just a small part of the content that is changed by the tuner (look up tables a.k.a maps for fuel injection, inigition, turbo pressure etc.).  I estimate that I now have less than ten bit errors on the whole chip, and that makes it possible to analyze what the tuner has changed, so it's good enough for me.


I've seen similar, I've usually put it down to a poor connection on a pin, I'd often find something like all 4's were now 7's or something.

Anyway, as far as I know, the encryption boards look out for a sequential read and that's how they spot the difference between a programmer and a processor.
Yes, it's going to read the main program code on boot, so it's probably just the calibration area that is set to only allow random bursts and spit out junk if everything is being read out in order.

I've come across a protection board before when an ECU wouldn't reflash, opened it up, and there it was. Reading wasn't an issue at all, so it was a bit pointless.

It's possible the TL866 might read in random bursts by design, but I think that is the key.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: vortex on December 11, 2014, 10:55:11 pm
hi everybody
i have tl866cs design 2014 transforms to tl866a version with help of radioman tl866 update my problem is i can't program atmega8A via icsp i suppose that latest version of tl866cs has changed or there is other problems
the icsp connector pins are correct
on the software it given me id error or bad contact
i incheck devise id and it read it but its show no data
please help
photo
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sv2hqx on December 12, 2014, 08:03:57 am
check you connections to  correct pins
had some similar and rx tx was wrong
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: vortex on December 12, 2014, 10:56:43 am
all connections are good
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: le_stauss on December 21, 2014, 02:25:35 pm
Hi,
can you check voltage or signal with scope ?
Do you use external supply when you program your chip ?
bye
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ubistvo on December 21, 2014, 03:05:03 pm
OK
Can someone help me with post #594
I just need someone who have a original adapter PSOP44 just to copy me a wire connection
THANKS
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Lightages on December 22, 2014, 06:52:48 am
I just got around to firmware upgrading my CS to A and it appears to have worked. The problem I have is that when I start the program I get a warning before the program starts to update the firmware. Is this normal after this hack from Radioman that the software gives this warning each start? Any worries?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on December 23, 2014, 05:08:01 pm
OK
Can someone help me with post #594
I just need someone who have a original adapter PSOP44 just to copy me a wire connection
THANKS
Hello,

I started measuring, but because I have the socket on the PSOP44 it's not that easy (without breaking the socket) to measure it quickly (and I don't have much time).
So here's what I have currently of the left side:
Board | Flash
16 | 1
15 | 2
18 | 3
17 | 4
20 | 5
19 | 6
22 | 7
21 | 8
23 | 10
24 | 9

I also took a picture of the bottom side - so you can try to trace them by picture (the ones you posted + mine + some luck.). Sorry but I didn't have more time currently - will try to measure some next time too.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on December 24, 2014, 10:40:25 am
Can someone help me with post #594
I just need someone who have a original adapter PSOP44 just to copy me a wire connection

I believe this is correct:
Code: [Select]
Socket Flash Flash Socket
1 36 1 16
2 35 2 15
3 38 3 18
4 37 4 17
5 40 5 20
6 39 6 19
7 43 7 22
8 41 8 21
9 n/c 9 24
10 n/c 10 23
11 44 11 25
12 43 12 26
13 n/c 13 27
14 n/c 14 28
15 2 15 29
16 1 16 30
17 4 17 31
18 3 18 32
19 6 19 33
20 5 20 34
21 8 21 35
22 7 22 36
23 10 23 37
24 9 24 38
25 11 25 39
26 12 26 40
27 13 27 41
28 14 28 42
29 15 29 43
30 16 30 44
31 17 31 45
32 18 32 46
33 19 33 47
34 20 34 48
35 21 35 2
36 22 36 1
37 23 37 4
38 24 38 3
39 25 39 6
40 26 40 5
41 27 41 8
42 28 43 7
43 29 43 12
44 30 44 11
45 31 n/c 9
46 32 n/c 10
47 33 n/c 13
48 34 n/c 14
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: dmux on December 26, 2014, 02:11:56 am
 :-+ Just opened one of these up today at Christmas! Can't wait to try it out.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Airspeed on January 05, 2015, 05:24:07 pm
I have some questions regarding older TTL PROM chips. Does anyone here know if the TL866CS will read and burn (clone) an old 16pin 256x4 1024bit 45ns read TTL PROM ( the actual part# is Fairchild 93427 )? This is a ROM chip out of an old super rare 1970's digital/analog synthesizer ( Crumar DS-2 ) that is used for keyboard encoding. I couldn't find any reference that the TL866CS can read or burn a fuse link type PROM that's why I'm asking. If the TL866CS doesn't support older PROMS then what would be a cost effective alternative to easily making a cloned ROM? Thanks in advance for any replies!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: guido on January 05, 2015, 07:42:49 pm
No idea about this programmer, but in general you need old stuff to program old stuff :)

The 93427 seems to be the same as the 63S141 http://www.datasheetarchive.com/dlmain/Datasheets-X2/DSA1201000687.pdf (http://www.datasheetarchive.com/dlmain/Datasheets-X2/DSA1201000687.pdf), which you should be able to program with e.g. a HiLo All07 programmer:

device list:
<<MMI>>
...
63S140/S141

I have an All07...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on January 05, 2015, 07:54:28 pm
Only 256 nibbles, you can do that by hand if it is a one off, using a breadboard, a 555 timer and a regulated power supply and some switches to provide the address lines and sink the current pulses to blow the fuses. Might take an entire day, and you will need to do this in one take. Nice thing is if you need 2 you just do them in parallel.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Airspeed on January 05, 2015, 08:17:18 pm
SeanB, based on this chart showing the 3 ROMS (A1, M1, B1) i want to clone is it possible to breadboard program each ROM with the 4 digit binary info listed or would this be too complicated? The info listed is from a guy in Italy that reversed engineered the synth I'm trying to rebuild. Do you think that the binary info listed on that chart would be what I'd see if I had a PROM reader or is there still some missing info that I'd need in order to program a new PROM with a breadboard, timer and regulated power supply? Thanks!
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l54pFzGe9RE/UrA2wgZrR6I/AAAAAAAAAE4/STFke9NfvjU/s640/023.JPG (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l54pFzGe9RE/UrA2wgZrR6I/AAAAAAAAAE4/STFke9NfvjU/s640/023.JPG)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SBT04-5nbLI/UrA2cG9QftI/AAAAAAAAAEg/CERyJ7XLgWg/s1600/020_crumar_ds_2_scheda_d_to_d.JPG (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SBT04-5nbLI/UrA2cG9QftI/AAAAAAAAAEg/CERyJ7XLgWg/s1600/020_crumar_ds_2_scheda_d_to_d.JPG)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Lightages on January 05, 2015, 08:41:06 pm
I just got around to firmware upgrading my CS to A and it appears to have worked. The problem I have is that when I start the program I get a warning before the program starts to update the firmware. Is this normal after this hack from Radioman that the software gives this warning each start? Any worries?

Anyone?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on January 06, 2015, 07:56:44 pm
SeanB, based on this chart showing the 3 ROMS (A1, M1, B1) i want to clone is it possible to breadboard program each ROM with the 4 digit binary info listed or would this be too complicated? The info listed is from a guy in Italy that reversed engineered the synth I'm trying to rebuild. Do you think that the binary info listed on that chart would be what I'd see if I had a PROM reader or is there still some missing info that I'd need in order to program a new PROM with a breadboard, timer and regulated power supply? Thanks!
http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l54pFzGe9RE/UrA2wgZrR6I/AAAAAAAAAE4/STFke9NfvjU/s640/023.JPG (http://2.bp.blogspot.com/-l54pFzGe9RE/UrA2wgZrR6I/AAAAAAAAAE4/STFke9NfvjU/s640/023.JPG)
http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SBT04-5nbLI/UrA2cG9QftI/AAAAAAAAAEg/CERyJ7XLgWg/s1600/020_crumar_ds_2_scheda_d_to_d.JPG (http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-SBT04-5nbLI/UrA2cG9QftI/AAAAAAAAAEg/CERyJ7XLgWg/s1600/020_crumar_ds_2_scheda_d_to_d.JPG)

Only 44 values to address, and then you blow all 12 outputs once per address.

http://www.retrotechnology.com/dri/Signetics_82S23_prog.pdf (http://www.retrotechnology.com/dri/Signetics_82S23_prog.pdf)

A link to a programmer that will allow you to build a dedicated one time use programmer. If you use 8 bit devices instead of 4 bit ones you just ignore half of the one device.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on January 06, 2015, 08:29:31 pm
I just got around to firmware upgrading my CS to A and it appears to have worked. The problem I have is that when I start the program I get a warning before the program starts to update the firmware. Is this normal after this hack from Radioman that the software gives this warning each start? Any worries?

Anyone?

I do not get the warning after upgrading. Are you saying that it updates the firmware each time you start the program? That's weird because an update should not be volatile.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Lightages on January 06, 2015, 08:51:28 pm
It tells me that the firmware needs to be updated each time I start the software. I have a PM from someone telling me I need to update my software. I will when I return home in 2 days. I am away from home for a family visit.

I will report back.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on January 06, 2015, 08:52:51 pm
It tells me that the firmware needs to be updated each time I start the software.

Sounds to me you used an older update.dat file when upgrading. I see no harm in doing the update.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: aitistu on January 07, 2015, 06:37:33 pm
TL866cs > TL866A
thanks Radioman, thanks everyone on this forum
mine also asked for upgrade after i flashed it , pressed cancel and upgraded from radioman's
software
didnt have anything for icsp, but programmer is working normaly

regards
cristi
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Lightages on January 08, 2015, 11:10:59 pm
I did a complete reupdate using radioman's software tool, reinstalled the software, and all is fine. I probably had mixed software and firmware versions installed.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: chino705 on January 10, 2015, 05:25:00 am
Please I need the datasheet W25Q64FWSIG
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: chino705 on January 10, 2015, 05:27:37 am
Please I need the datasheet W25Q64FWSIG
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: chino705 on January 10, 2015, 05:32:12 am
MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer, does not support this device, W25Q64FWSIG ,
Radioman, how can I add to the list of supported
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: aitistu on January 10, 2015, 06:02:59 am
http://www.winbond.com/NR/rdonlyres/180667BC-1F46-4E8C-90F9-8191641721A3/0/W25Q64FW.pdf (http://www.winbond.com/NR/rdonlyres/180667BC-1F46-4E8C-90F9-8191641721A3/0/W25Q64FW.pdf)

regards,
cristi
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: chino705 on January 14, 2015, 05:54:22 am
Need replacement w25q64fw, MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer can´t read or program W25Q64FW
It´s there any similar to or substitute for this newest SPI
  TL866CS don´t support W25Q64FW.Best regards ,any help
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: hobbit382 on January 29, 2015, 03:12:09 am
I just bought a tl866cs and im having trouble writing amd am29f400bb. it seems to read the chips ok but sometimes the read changes reading it a second time. however it always fails to program, ive tried several different chips including new ones, nothing seems to work. the only time it will program sucessfully is if I program a blank chip with a blank file. any help will be much appriciated
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sv2hqx on January 29, 2015, 10:31:51 am
I just bought a tl866cs and im having trouble writing amd am29f400bb. it seems to read the chips ok but sometimes the read changes reading it a second time. however it always fails to program, ive tried several different chips including new ones, nothing seems to work. the only time it will program sucessfully is if I program a blank chip with a blank file. any help will be much appriciated
Try to uncheck  id

Sent from my Optimus 4X HD using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: electronep on January 31, 2015, 02:27:20 pm
I'm a newbie and would appreciate your help with the miniPro TL866CS that I just recently acquired (App Software Ver 6.00; Firmware Ver 03.2.62). I can read data from pre-programmed EEPROM TI 27C512 but cannot erase it. Neither the option "Erase Before" nor "Erase Chip" is selectable. Many Thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on January 31, 2015, 02:33:37 pm
I'm a newbie and would appreciate your help with the miniPro TL866CS that I just recently acquired (App Software Ver 6.00; Firmware Ver 03.2.62). I can read data from pre-programmed EEPROM TI 27C512 but cannot erase it. Neither the option "Erase Before" nor "Erase Chip" is selectable. Many Thanks

Are you sure it's an EEPROM? Could be just an EPROM that you have to erase with UV.
If it is an EEPROM did you select EEPROM in the software or did you select EPROM?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: electronep on January 31, 2015, 02:54:14 pm
Thank you for your prompt reply. The TMS 27C512 is an EEPROM without UV window. I also verify in the Menu window  "Chip Type" that the device is EEPROM. Of four options on the Menu Bar, only 2 options are highlighted " Programming Chip" and "Multi Prog" the other 2 options "Erase Chip" and "Test" are not selectable. In the options widow, all options are selectable EXCEPT "Erase Before". Please refer to the attached screen shot
Thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on January 31, 2015, 03:04:42 pm
27CXXX is an Eprom, 28CXXX will be EEPROM. The 27 series are either One Time Programmable if they are in a plastic package, or have a ceramic package with a quartz glass window for exposure to UV light to erase them. You can erase them by leaving them in direct full sunlight outside for 2 days. Otherwise under a UV lamp for a half hour, or you get special 15 second erasure units that do it really fast, and can give you a massive sunburn from being exposed to it in operation.

OTP units are not erasable ( if you have a high power Xray unit and a hour it will be erased, but that will also damage it) and thus you cannot test it by programming a bit. Only thing you can do is program a bit from a 1 to a 0, not the other way around. Chinese software also can have bugs, showing the wrong device type, though it did detect the correct device and programming voltages from the ID that some can be made to present to the programmer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sv2hqx on January 31, 2015, 03:04:54 pm
batronix48 and xeltek also don't erase tms27c
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: electronep on January 31, 2015, 03:58:50 pm
Thank you so much for the clarifications on the OTP 27Cxxx. Thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sv2hqx on January 31, 2015, 04:05:46 pm
if you want to make changes and need to erase 27c there is 27sf512 electronically erasable
i tested in the past in some devices and they are working well
   
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: electronep on February 01, 2015, 01:52:10 pm
I have tried to program on the miniPro TL 866CS a completely UV-erased and Blank verified ST M27512 FI but have failed every time because of " OverCurrent Protection actions External short circuit/IC reverse or damaged".
I have checked the MiniPro physically for short and replaced with 4 different and brand new ST M27512 but to no avail. The MiniPro is able to read other pre-programmed ST M27512.
I would appreciate your help.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: all_repair on February 01, 2015, 02:39:01 pm
I have tried to program on the miniPro TL 866CS a completely UV-erased and Blank verified ST M27512 FI but have failed every time because of " OverCurrent Protection actions External short circuit/IC reverse or damaged".
I have checked the MiniPro physically for short and replaced with 4 different and brand new ST M27512 but to no avail. The MiniPro is able to read other pre-programmed ST M27512.
I would appreciate your help.
Just few days back, I programmed 3 pieces of 27c512 with no problem at all.  AMD brand I think.  But I had to bypass the chip id check.  I did try to reprogram a used chip that could be UV erased and checked as blank, but it failed and for that chip it was likely not due to the programmer but was burnt due to a spike on the supply line.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: electronep on February 01, 2015, 04:43:41 pm
Thank you very much for the reply. I did uncheck the Chip ID option but still failed to burn any of the five brand new  ST M27C512 because of OverCurrent Protection. The programmer was able to program successfully ST 27C64 and 27C128.
Thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timb on February 01, 2015, 05:54:43 pm
Hey guys, is there anyway to modify the software to allow me to read/write SRAM chips? Currently it only allows test mode.

(I want to be able to store calibration constants from some scopes I'm working on. They use the infamous Dallas Battery Backed SRAM chips. I'm replacing them with FRAM.)


Sent from my Smartphone
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on February 01, 2015, 06:14:05 pm
Would an EEPROM do ?

http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Atmel-AT28C64B-15PU-AT28C64B-28C64-Eeprom-Memory-IC-/390683706733?ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:GB:3160 (http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/2-Atmel-AT28C64B-15PU-AT28C64B-28C64-Eeprom-Memory-IC-/390683706733?ssPageName=ADME:L:OC:GB:3160)

This works pretty much like a RAM.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timb on February 01, 2015, 06:27:18 pm
EEPROM isn't fast enough nor does it have the needed write endurance unfortunately. (The BBSRAM is also used for storing the settings at power off, settings profiles, etc.)

I've already got the FRAM chip mounted on a DIP adapter. It basically works identical to 28Cxxx EEPROM and the SRAM it's replacing.

My problem is that the TL866 software won't let me read from the SRAM, it only allows test mode.

This particular SRAM has two enable lines (on the scope the second line was hard wired with some logic so it only needed one enable signal, thus could share a bus with the system ROMs.)

I've tried selecting a compatible 28xxx series EEPROM in the software but I get all 0s on the read, so I think that second enable line is what's tripping it up.


Sent from my Smartphone
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: landsfiskalen on February 09, 2015, 11:52:25 am
Hi everyone!
I picked up a TLL866cs, from a company called Sivava. From what I can gather it's a clone/copy of the MiniPro (it even uses the MiniPro USB drivers, and the MiniPro software works perfectly with it). Now I want to upgrade it to TLL866a. I tried to use radiomans software but can't seem to get it to work. I tried installing the 5.9 and then run the program with that update.dat. But it fails trying to flash the firmware. So I'm thinking about flashing the firmware using a cheap ICSP programmer I have laying around. I'm pretty new to this though, and I'm not quite sure how to do this. This is the ICSP programmer I have (never mind the missing PIC16F628A, it's in my Sivava programmer at the moment). :)

How should I connect the pins? any help is greatly appreciated.

(http://www.landsfiskalen.se/IMG_6210.JPG)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: landsfiskalen on February 10, 2015, 10:30:35 am
Success! I managed to flash the firmware from my job computer.  :-+

Great work done by Radioman!

Is it possible to upgrade the firmware to the latest version (3.2.63) and still keep the it as an A model?

Also, does anyone else have the Sivava version of this programmer? If so, have you managed to open it up? I have unscrewed the fours screws at the bottom, but it seems like it's glued shut?!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: landsfiskalen on February 10, 2015, 11:40:15 am
Yes! Thanks to Radioman I know have a TLL866A with the latest firmware! Great work!  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElectricGuy on February 10, 2015, 04:08:15 pm
Hi;

I have the Sivava version, and i don't have problems openning it!!!
I didn't flashed yet, because i didn't needed yet.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: landsfiskalen on February 10, 2015, 09:53:26 pm
Hi!
Mine was glued AND screwed together. But I took a boxcutter and worked around the edges, and now it's open. :)

Now I just need to see if I an pry the two PCBs apart to get room soledring the ICSP socket.  :-+

Hi;

I have the Sivava version, and i don't have problems openning it!!!
I didn't flashed yet, because i didn't needed yet.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: landsfiskalen on February 10, 2015, 10:36:52 pm
Am I right in thinking the two PCBs are just stacked on eachother and should come apart if I pry a little? Looks like stackable headers to me.

Also looks like I'd need to desolder two "pins" between the two PCBs (see red marking on the last pic).

Pulled apart:
(http://www.landsfiskalen.se/_IMG_6212.jpg)

Stackable headers, should be able to pry apart?
(http://www.landsfiskalen.se/_IMG_6213.jpg)

Should be safe to desoler this "pin"?
(http://www.landsfiskalen.se/_IMG_6214.jpg)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Lunasix on February 15, 2015, 09:36:34 pm
Great work ! I've seen this post a few days ago, as I was searching for a programmer, and then ordered this model, which will arrive in a few days.
And now, I took the time to read all pages (everybody should read before asking, response is probably there). Wonderfull !
Even if I do not really need (at that time) the A version, I will do the upgrade for fun. No risk, I have a Microchip RealIce and a Pickit3 to flash the Pic if something is going wrong.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SoundTech-LG on February 16, 2015, 04:09:39 am

My problem is that the TL866 software won't let me read from the SRAM, it only allows test mode.


https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/good-things-come-to-those-who-wait-like-a-tektronix-2465a/msg260384/#msg260384 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/good-things-come-to-those-who-wait-like-a-tektronix-2465a/msg260384/#msg260384)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Lunasix on February 17, 2015, 06:52:10 pm
TL866CS received...and now TL866A ! Easy to do with Radioman's software  :)
Enjoy with this nice programmer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Roe on February 18, 2015, 04:01:21 pm
Greetings, I'm new to the forum;  thanks , everyone, for all the information and work!

I need to program several Motorola MCM68766 8kbyte eproms.  These are 24-pin DIP packages, very similar to the 2716, except the output enable/input enable/programming pulse all happen on the same pin, which freed up 2 pins for the extra addressing lines.

Does anyone have any idea how I could go about this?  I imagine the hardware is fully capable, if only the firmware has the necessary protocol...

Thanks in advance for any help.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: landsfiskalen on February 20, 2015, 09:29:44 am
Here's my finished conversion from TL866cs to TL866a.  :-+

(http://www.landsfiskalen.se/done.jpg)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: dcac on February 20, 2015, 07:14:36 pm
Greetings, I'm new to the forum;  thanks , everyone, for all the information and work!

I need to program several Motorola MCM68766 8kbyte eproms.  These are 24-pin DIP packages, very similar to the 2716, except the output enable/input enable/programming pulse all happen on the same pin, which freed up 2 pins for the extra addressing lines.

Does anyone have any idea how I could go about this?  I imagine the hardware is fully capable, if only the firmware has the necessary protocol...


A quick glance at the MCM68766 datasheet, it seems to need 25V VPP but AFAIK the TL866 only manages 21V VPP max.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: nidlaX on February 25, 2015, 09:11:52 pm
A quick plug for this programmer: I accidentally inserted a PLCC 32 in reverse orientation into the adapter and then into the programmer :palm:. Over current protection worked like a charm and saved the chip :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: landsfiskalen on February 26, 2015, 01:00:16 pm
A quick plug for this programmer: I accidentally inserted a PLCC 32 in reverse orientation into the adapter and then into the programmer :palm:. Over current protection worked like a charm and saved the chip :)

I second that. I manage to plug them in wrong a lot (really need to wear my glasses more often...), and the over current protection has saved me everytime.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: vobs on February 27, 2015, 08:10:13 pm
Dear all,

A quick glance at the MCM68766 datasheet, it seems to need 25V VPP but AFAIK the TL866 only manages 21V VPP max.

For programming an old 2732 EPROM on my TL866 I designed a quick&dirty adaptor to apply an external 25V programming voltage, see attached schematics.
Works like a charme :-)

Cheerio,
Volker.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ArcadeTV on March 02, 2015, 10:56:02 am
I just got a TL866CS and I'd like to know how to write a 27C160 eprom with it.
Of course the 27C160 is DIP42 and will not fit into the 40pin zif socket but I was hoping I could use bankswitching and devide my file into 2 parts and write them separately.
My guess is that when I connect PIN42(A19) on the Eeprom to either GND or VCC to select the bank it might work as long as the device is able to ignore the eeprom's signature and use the correct algorythm to write it...

Has anybody done this before?
Title: tqfp32 to dip28 atmega328p
Post by: aitistu on March 03, 2015, 04:59:37 am
tqfp32 to dip28  atmega328p

regards
cristi
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: matseng on March 03, 2015, 05:30:00 am
Heh....  Your adapter looks better than the one I did many years ago when I lived in Dubai and needed a '168 in DIP til the next day.

(http://s9.postimg.org/dx9f3zp3j/IMG_20150303_132500.jpg)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: miguelvp on March 03, 2015, 07:46:05 am
Mine never worked, maybe I killed the chip because I powered it up on the wrong pins on my first attempt to power it up.

(https://www.eevblog.com/forum/microcontrollers/one-dollar-one-minute-arm-development/?action=dlattach;attach=111192;image)

But I have spare chips so gave up on dead bug and put it in a board instead.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SoundTech-LG on March 03, 2015, 04:45:42 pm
I sure see a lot of posts throughout the whole FORUM about how the TL866 does not work with the Dallas 1225.

I have now personnally verified it works like a champ!  :-+

You probably just need to update the firmware of the TL866, or as they call it "FIREWARE"!!  :-DD

Once you upgrade the firmware everything is as promised on this wonderful little programmer!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: stevenhoneyman on March 07, 2015, 01:18:00 pm
Does anyone have a schematic or details of the "25 SPI adapter" for the TL-866?
They're not wrong - it does fail without it... but I can't find it to buy seperately, or any information on what the IC is on the adapter :(

(http://img04.taobaocdn.com/imgextra/i4/21668337/T2yaP1XjxXXXXXXXXX_!!21668337.jpg_620x10000.jpg)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: redtop on April 01, 2015, 03:45:00 pm
Would this be a suitable connector to do the CS --> A conversion?

http://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-KF2510-6P-2-54mm-Angle-Pin-Header-Terminal-Housing-Connector-Kits-/251890756972?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3aa5dbed6c (http://www.ebay.com/itm/10pcs-KF2510-6P-2-54mm-Angle-Pin-Header-Terminal-Housing-Connector-Kits-/251890756972?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item3aa5dbed6c)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Sziklai on April 05, 2015, 05:28:57 pm
Hi
Does anyone dnow what can be a problem with AT28c256 28dip?
here is a screenshot.
http://pixs.ru/showimage/Untitledpn_7544377_16810392.png (http://pixs.ru/showimage/Untitledpn_7544377_16810392.png)
(http://pixs.ru/showimage/Untitledpn_7544377_16810392.png)
I got chips from ebay, can't programm a both of them :(
thanks!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on April 08, 2015, 07:27:39 pm
Can you read them ?  Are they all FFs, which means blank ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Sziklai on April 08, 2015, 08:30:19 pm
yes, all FF :( now i found another one chip at28c256 with something flashed already, successfully erased, though it comes to burning - same error :(
see, even data software protection disable-able...


it passes software self-check, and i can flash PICs. but not those 28c256
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BytesGuy on April 09, 2015, 03:59:55 pm
Just got one of these myself (CS version as it's cheaper) as it's a neat little unit. Quite an upgrade from an old parallel port willem programmer! Nice to have one I can use with my laptop.

Has anyone tried an ST M27C128 with it? I can't find it in the database.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SoundTech-LG on April 09, 2015, 04:00:53 pm
Hi,

I just got 2 different types of 27c256 off ebay, from 2 separate sellers, the OTP one time programmable, and the UV erasable types. They both programmed flawlessly in the TL866.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BytesGuy on April 09, 2015, 04:06:50 pm
Hi,

I just got 2 different types of 27c256 off ebay, from 2 separate sellers, the OTP one time programmable, and the UV erasable types. They both programmed flawlessly in the TL866.

Which brand are they and which chip did you select for the programmer? My 27C128s are off eBay too  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: systemslave on April 10, 2015, 10:16:39 pm
I just got an 866a and I am having problems with the drivers.  I have tried it on two different Win7 machines.  Both are 64 bit.  Am I alone?  I get USB Device not recognized.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on April 11, 2015, 05:50:29 am
did not have any problems with win7 x64   installed under admin rights,  Run as Administrator ....    and rebooted ???  under win8.1 x64  still no problems.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: systemslave on April 11, 2015, 07:28:27 am
It looks like I may have a faulty unit.  I installed it on a XP machine and got the same "Read Error Code(31)!" right after I install the drivers, and USB Device Not Recognized after a reboot. 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SoundTech-LG on April 14, 2015, 05:13:33 pm
Hi,

I just got 2 different types of 27c256 off ebay, from 2 separate sellers, the OTP one time programmable, and the UV erasable types. They both programmed flawlessly in the TL866.

Which brand are they and which chip did you select for the programmer? My 27C128s are off eBay too  :-+



STM, and Atmel...

http://www.ebay.com/itm/111180709202?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT#ht_1291wt_916 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/111180709202?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT#ht_1291wt_916)

http://www.ebay.com/itm/121093844191?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT#ht_25wt_1153 (http://www.ebay.com/itm/121093844191?_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT#ht_25wt_1153)

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: N2IXK on April 15, 2015, 11:52:42 pm
Just bought one of these things because I needed to burn a 16V8 GAL chip, and my 80's vintage EPROM burner wouldn't do it.

Software is on one of those annoying mini-CDs, but it installed with no major fuss onto a Win7 laptop.  Upon connecting, I was prompted to reflash the firmware, which went just as shown in video.

Got the chip burned just fine.  Played around reading and writing a few other types and it seems to be a good solid product. Guess I can put my old Data I/O EPROM programmer on eBay.  Certainly takes up less space, and doesn't need a USB/Serial converter and a terminal emulator program to use it, either... :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sv2hqx on April 16, 2015, 09:55:33 am
Just bought one of these things because I needed to burn a 16V8 GAL chip, and my 80's vintage EPROM burner wouldn't do it.

Software is on one of those annoying mini-CDs, but it installed with no major fuss onto a Win7 laptop.  Upon connecting, I was prompted to reflash the firmware, which went just as shown in video.

Got the chip burned just fine.  Played around reading and writing a few other types and it seems to be a good solid product. Guess I can put my old Data I/O EPROM programmer on eBay.  Certainly takes up less space, and doesn't need a USB/Serial converter and a terminal emulator program to use it, either... :-+
You can try 27sf256
They are electrically erasable with tl866 and working good
73'

Sent from my Nexus 4 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: aissaok on April 16, 2015, 10:03:51 pm
is that it can be
option read write and erase otp
and know id chip with minipro tl866
like sofi sp8b
(http://www5.0zz0.com/2015/04/17/01/685967905.png) (http://www.0zz0.com)
thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bbell770 on April 17, 2015, 05:31:26 pm
Based on Dave's excellent review, I bought the MiniPro TL866A.  I was successful programming a 2716 EPROM, an Arduino ATMEGA328, and a 16V8 GAL.  But when I attempted to program a 22V10 GAL, I got errors.  Consulting the support list, I discovered that my Atmel 22V10 GALs are not there.  But the Atmel 16V8 is on the list, hence my success with it.  I checked Lattice and found both chips on the list, so I bought some Lattice 22V10's and they worked just fine.  My question: Does anyone know how to get in contact with the creators/developers of this programmer?  I would like to request that they add the Atmel 22V10.  However, their web site is totally Chinese, and although Google Translate works reasonably well, I still cannot find a thread of information about support.

Thanks in advance to anyone with more insighte into this than I.

Bob
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TiN on April 17, 2015, 06:39:23 pm
I wrote their email dozen times asking to get support for Dallas NVRAM DS1245 for write/read, but got zero, nothing, nada reply.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on April 18, 2015, 02:04:41 am
If i remember this company,  they where at first  modding / reprogramming chips in  pcm ecu car computers ...   they dont update  the software very often,

the tl866 is sold rebranded as a SIVAVA Willem USB Programmer ...  i dont know how their software looks and feel ??

but they support the gal 22v10 in their specs :  http://www.sivava.com/slt866_willem-usb.html (http://www.sivava.com/slt866_willem-usb.html)

Upon verification  the stl866 seem's to use an old minipro 5.80 version branded for willem ???   trying to find it on the web.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sabian on April 18, 2015, 07:23:54 pm
Hi my friends could someone help i have problems on write Atmel 16V8 and   AM29f400bt,i can read perfect but i can't write.I do a system check all ok,The adapter sop44  for AM29f400bt is detected on test,i clean the pin.What about more i can do?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jinzo on April 19, 2015, 09:14:52 am
I don't have any concrete solutions for your problem but I RW AM29F400BB (or was it AM29F200BB?) with some problems that were solved by numerous cleaning of pads (for like half an hour :D).
So YMMV.

P.S: Also there was some talk about bad adapters shipping for sop44 shipping with some devices. Maybe check this thread for that info?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sabian on April 19, 2015, 12:58:13 pm
When i check the  SOP44 adapter it is detect like original v3 and it look like original that i see on this forum
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: UltimateP3 on April 19, 2015, 04:03:37 pm
Hello everyone, I'm new to the forum, although I've been reading through it for quite a while.

I recently purchased this programmer in order to program GAL devices with it, specifically GAL22V10D. Every time I try to program one of these chips it fails to verify. When I tried to fill it whith zeroes I noticed that it skips some rows. I´ve tried it with 3 different devices, always getting this error. I'm very new to programming GAL devices, so I'm not sure whether the programmer is not working properly or if  I'm doing something wrong.

I've attached an image of the problem, on the left is what I'm trying to program into the chip, on the center is what I read from the  chip and on the right are the configurations I use when burning the program into the chip (sorry for bad use of terminology).

Any help would be really appreciated :).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: UltimateP3 on April 24, 2015, 10:44:04 am
A little update. Tried to programa a GAL22V10, still no success.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Thomas_59 on April 27, 2015, 12:44:08 pm
hello , i have buy  TL866 CS v 6.10 and SOP8 clip but when i want read chip M95160 on board i have error overtcurrent protection .

i have shorted C22 but it s only skip notification .

if i unsolder chip y can read with SOP8 clip

i cant read if it solder on mainboard .

can u help me ?

ths in advanced
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: pmr on April 28, 2015, 01:21:45 pm
A little update. Tried to program a GAL22V10, still no success.

I think you need to switch off the "Encrypt Ch" flag if you want to read back what you wrote.

I'm in the same position as you, recently bought a TL866 and trying to program a GAL22V10D. I get an verify error for bit 32, which would appear to be stuck at a "1". Not sure I'm doing something wrong, or perhaps the TL866 or the GAL is bad.

Let me know if switching of the Encrypt flag makes the difference for you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: UltimateP3 on April 28, 2015, 10:31:34 pm
Unfortunately it doesn't work. I've tried every single configuration available, including changing the specific model number (GAL22V10D, GAL22V10A, etc).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: pmr on April 28, 2015, 11:23:05 pm
@UltimateP3

OK, pity.

I've found that on my programmer the first 32 bits of each row are verified OK and the last 12 bits of each row always read as '1' (try to program a device with all '0', read back and you'll see the pattern). As the 22V10 is programmed in rows of 44 bits this makes some sort of sense.

Not sure if this is an error with the read routine only reading the first 32 bits, or an error with the write routine only writing the first 32 bits. I don't have the time now to check the 22V10 on a breadboard and see if it was programmed OK (and hence the read routine is wrong). Can you check your GAL for okay operation easily?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: UltimateP3 on April 29, 2015, 01:10:51 am
I've checked the performance of the GAL and it wasn't behaving the way it's supposed to. The strange thing is that I'm able to read a previously burned GAL correctly.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SoundTech-LG on April 29, 2015, 02:38:27 am
Hi,

I just got 2 different types of 27c256 off ebay, from 2 separate sellers, the OTP one time programmable, and the UV erasable types. They both programmed flawlessly in the TL866.


Also just programmed the equivalent 27SF256 MTP flawlessly. Nice many time programmable version from SST, and available on ebay.
Data sheet here: http://pdf.dzsc.com/88889/244.pdf (http://pdf.dzsc.com/88889/244.pdf)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: pmr on April 29, 2015, 06:06:24 am
I've checked the performance of the GAL and it wasn't behaving the way it's supposed to. The strange thing is that I'm able to read a previously burned GAL correctly.

It means the write routine is at fault: it only programs the first 32 columns . Most likely a software bug.

Who knows how to contact Autoelectric support (in English)?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: grizo on April 29, 2015, 08:19:23 pm
I getting errors with 5555 and with AAAA, only with FFFFs no error.
Sometimes i get erro on 0x0002 adress, and sometimes on 004020 or something like that.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: grizo on April 29, 2015, 08:24:49 pm
I getting errors with 5555 and with AAAA, only with FFFFs no error.
Sometimes i get erro on 0x0002 adress, and sometimes on 004020 or something like that.
Hi, i have this same issue, can somebody answer what coud it be ? I've checked all the connection between the plcc and zif (even in circuit pbc). Help please 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on April 30, 2015, 06:07:49 pm
I've got some new GAL22V10Ds.  If you want to get the JED file to me I'll program one and report back.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: pmr on May 01, 2015, 07:08:07 am
I've got some new GAL22V10Ds.  If you want to get the JED file to me I'll program one and report back.

Thanks! JED file attached. You could alternatively try to set all fuses to 0 as in the original poster's screenshot.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: juris.d on May 01, 2015, 09:19:45 am
I'll ask a question here from my main post connected to this reader, maybe somebody can shed some light.

I cannot read an Intel 28F400 44pin flash with this reader.

The reader is an official MiniPro TL866 with an official TSOP44 V.3 adapter. The adapter has been tested previously on other projects and working.

The reader does not read the Intel chip properly. Every time it reads the chip, it generates a different checksum and it is not possible to write it to the Micron chip as it drops an error.

Currently we are puzzled as to what the cause could be, but I have googled myself numb and haven't become any wiser.

There is a google link to this forum where in the topic discussing the TL866 somebody has said that the adapter is not the right one for reading 28F400 chips. I am not certain how to distinguish as the pictures are very scarce.

This forum linked at the bottom states that one should read and validate each section one by one and only then it can be summarized properly.
http://www.thirdgen.org/forums/diy-prom/452800-possible-read-intel-28f400bx.html#post3592927 (http://www.thirdgen.org/forums/diy-prom/452800-possible-read-intel-28f400bx.html#post3592927)

Can anybody comment on this? Any advice would be appreciated.

Any specific jumper settings maybe? thanks.

my main thread below:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/volvo-electronic-module-repair/msg663876/#new (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/volvo-electronic-module-repair/msg663876/#new)
Title: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Votality on May 02, 2015, 01:37:02 pm
I just got a TL866CS and I'd like to know how to write a 27C160 eprom with it.
Of course the 27C160 is DIP42 and will not fit into the 40pin zif socket but I was hoping I could use bankswitching and devide my file into 2 parts and write them separately.
My guess is that when I connect PIN42(A19) on the Eeprom to either GND or VCC to select the bank it might work as long as the device is able to ignore the eeprom's signature and use the correct algorythm to write it...

Has anybody done this before?

Ok since sending you a private message about this i have successfully programmed a 27c160 with the programmer..

Basically you need to program it with a 27c4096 which will program a quarter of the chip at a time, so you need to program it 4 times.

You need to wire it up using a breadboard so the pinouts match as they are not pin compatible. Also the 27c160 has two extra pins... (The address lines a18,a19). You need to wire up a header block to select between gnd and vcc for each pin.

So you program it 4 times with:

A18  GND,   A19  GND (0,0)
A18  GND,   A19  VCC (0,1)
A18  VCC,   A19  GND (1,0)
A18  VCC,   A19  VCC (1,1)

(Vcc is the same pin that is used for/as vcc on the eprom)

Make sure you have split the binary file up appropriately for each block. 

You also have to select the correct voltages for the 27c160 i.e 12.5 program voltage and 6.25v verify. You must also turn off check device id when programming.

All pins are just connected to the equivalent on the other ic.

I.e 27c160 to 27c4096
!E to #CE
!G to #OE (G#)
Vss to vss (gnd)
vcc to vcc
byte-vpp to vpp
q0..q15 to dq0 to dq15
a0 to a17 to a0 to a17



I wont post a picture of my frankenstein converter it is soldered far too bad to show anyone publicly.
 
Hope this helps...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on May 04, 2015, 09:34:09 am
I've got some new GAL22V10Ds.  If you want to get the JED file to me I'll program one and report back.

Thanks! JED file attached. You could alternatively try to set all fuses to 0 as in the original poster's screenshot.

Bummer !  I got the same results with MiniPro v6.10.  The GAL erased, verified, etc, ok but when I filled the buffer with zeroes, the verify failed and a read showed the same ones and zeroes in the device.  I also failed to verify the GAL programmed from that JED.  I used the same LOCK Bit setting.

The read pic shows the read after the all zeroes programming and the verify error is from the JED.






Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: yavuzg on May 08, 2015, 08:54:12 pm
Yesterday couldn't get my TL866A read an Intel flash, E28F016 S5. Once it reads all FF, sometimes reads garbage etc. Never get it read the ID correctly. Then I removed the IC and the adapter and decided run a self-check.  Self-check fails on "GND Testing" stage No 23. All the other tests, including VPP and VCC overcurrent protection tests are OK.

Is there anything I can do to fix this?

Btw, I'm using 6.10 sowftware on a 32-Bit Windows XP and the firmware version is 3.2.63
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: yavuzg on May 08, 2015, 10:55:28 pm
Solved it!

Disassembled the unit. Separated the two PCB's (I desoldered the LEDs and the two single pins - which BTW one of them was not even soldered at all!). Checked all the SMD resistors. Put to gether the two PCBs and tested. I got two GND test errors!!!

This made me think there might be a problem with the pin headers connecting the two PCBs. Reflowed all the pin header solder joints AND soldered both single pins.

GND errors dissapeared!!!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ibbanez on May 09, 2015, 02:49:14 am
Can somebody explain to me or show me pictures on how exactly to ground C22?  Im trying to unbrick my BIOS on my laptop, but when I get everything connected, I get the Overcurrent protection error.  There are two chips and it happens to both.  They are Winbond 25016CVSIG and Winbond 25032BVSIG.  Thanks in advance for any help.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: stevenhoneyman on May 09, 2015, 02:53:48 pm
Can somebody explain to me or show me pictures on how exactly to ground C22?  Im trying to unbrick my BIOS on my laptop, but when I get everything connected, I get the Overcurrent protection error.  There are two chips and it happens to both.  They are Winbond 25016CVSIG and Winbond 25032BVSIG.  Thanks in advance for any help.

You need a "mystery" adapter for ICSP 25* SPI. I gave up on that and bought a $3 ebay chinese SPI-USB adapter instead, which worked straight away.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SoundTech-LG on May 11, 2015, 08:53:28 pm
Solved it!

Disassembled the unit. Separated the two PCB's (I desoldered the LEDs and the two single pins - which BTW one of them was not even soldered at all!). Checked all the SMD resistors. Put to gether the two PCBs and tested. I got two GND test errors!!!

This made me think there might be a problem with the pin headers connecting the two PCBs. Reflowed all the pin header solder joints AND soldered both single pins.

GND errors dissapeared!!!


Good INFO!! There may be other soldering errors out there!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: pmr on May 12, 2015, 09:45:04 am
Bummer !  I got the same results with MiniPro v6.10.  The GAL erased, verified, etc, ok but when I filled the buffer with zeroes, the verify failed and a read showed the same ones and zeroes in the device.  I also failed to verify the GAL programmed from that JED.  I used the same LOCK Bit setting.

Bought a Genius G540 USB programmer. It programs 22V10's correctly.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tcleavela on May 12, 2015, 02:30:31 pm
Bought a Genius G540 USB programmer. It programs 22V10's correctly.

Does it program Atmel's 22V10s? Those require a different algorithm than the Lattice/NatSemi/STMicro GALs.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: pmr on May 12, 2015, 04:55:51 pm
Bought a Genius G540 USB programmer. It programs 22V10's correctly.

Does it program Atmel's 22V10s? Those require a different algorithm than the Lattice/NatSemi/STMicro GALs.

It's in the component menu, but I have only tried with Lattice 22V10B and 22V10D chips. In view of my earlier experience with the TL866 I think you will only know for sure once somebody has tried it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timofonic on May 13, 2015, 02:04:08 pm
What is so cool aboit this device? Are there other altrrnatives too? I would like tto get a programmer for Ave, reprimand and others.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElektroQuark on May 13, 2015, 02:16:58 pm
Quote from: Circuiteromalaguito on Today at 14:04:08 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=13509.msg672546#msg672546)
What is so cool aboit this device?


It's has a good price/performance ratio. But it has raise a bit lately.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timofonic on May 13, 2015, 03:30:39 pm
Quote from: Circuiteromalaguito on Today at 14:04:08 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=13509.msg672546#msg672546)
What is so cool aboit this device?


It's has a good price/performance ratio. But it has raise a bit lately.
Quote from: Circuiteromalaguito on Today at 14:04:08 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=13509.msg672546#msg672546)
What is so cool aboit this device?


It's has a good price/performance ratio. But it has raise a bit lately.
I see there are cheaper ones in eBay... 37-40usd

And native Linux support...
https://github.com/wd5gnr/qtl866
https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro

There are other alternatives...

http://openprog.altervista.org/OP_eng.html
http://www.rvq.fr/tech/pgrm.php


I can't see the following wiki...
http://minipro.txt.si
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: albeixon on May 18, 2015, 10:36:45 am
hello is possible use this programmer for this ICflash ? :  TOSHIBA J93687 Taiwan 13429AE3 TC58NVG1S3ETA00
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: groff on May 20, 2015, 04:40:48 pm
No, nand memories are not supported. :--
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Meta on May 25, 2015, 05:21:26 am
Hi:

The v6.10 MiniPro not record the EEPROM
  24xx128
  24xx256
  24xx512
  24xx102x

http://www.microchip.com/pagehandler/en-us/products/memory/serialEEPROM/home.html (http://www.microchip.com/pagehandler/en-us/products/memory/serialEEPROM/home.html)

I've been comparing Willem program with TL886 and have yet to upgrade more. I tried to find the e-mail http://www.autoelectric.cn/ (http://www.autoelectric.cn/) TL886CS web creator to communicate with them and ask them to add those that use EEPROM 24LCxx enough. If anyone knows, they can post it here.

One question.
At this time to record all sorts of memories. Is it advisable or TL886CS Willem?

Best regards.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timofonic on May 25, 2015, 06:05:21 am
No, nand memories are not supported. :--
Really? What's so difficult behind it? Are there other affordable alternatives supporting them and having a similar big spectrum suport degree too? And at similar price range? Maybe I'm asking too much.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on May 27, 2015, 09:08:22 pm
I think  "we" are asking too much of this programmer ...   I have a willem Gq4x and it won't do everything i need, i have the tl866, won't do everything either ...
Paid for a pickit 3, an avr dragon for Hv programming, stk500 clone,   etc ...  the list goes on,  my drawer is full of programmers.

Still miss something.

I am checking for a top3100 programmer for what it can do or not do.

There's no "universal" programmer who does it all ...   

We use at my job an old chipmaster 6000 "lpt", saved my ass a few times...    Searching for an used usb 6000 model for 2 years with no luck, i simply can't pay 500 to 1000$ ???

But buying "this" and "that", eventually i'll have paid that amount to do what i need .... avr, pic's, old xilinx cpld, freescale hc08, lot of eeproms, 8 and 16 bit mcu's, 89c51, motorola hc11 series.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: digsys on May 28, 2015, 01:52:45 am
Quote from: coromonadalix
I think  "we" are asking too much of this programmer ...   I have a willem Gq4x and it won't do everything i need, i have the tl866, won't do everything either ...
Paid for a pickit 3, an avr dragon for Hv programming, stk500 clone,   etc ...  the list goes on,  my drawer is full of programmers.
....
There's no "universal" programmer who does it all ...     
+1
Same boat. Spent 10s of 1,000s of $$s over the last 20+ yrs. PLUS the several that I had to make MYSELF !!
The Universal programmer is just a dream :-)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Taro on June 03, 2015, 05:32:19 am
Hi guys,

are the adapters for Willem and TL866 interchangeable? May I use Wille's adapters (I have many!) with TL866, and v/v?
Some says "yes" on different sites, some says "no". Confused, but don't want to invest in a new set of adapters for TL866 ONLY.

And another question pls: how may I read PAL16L8ACN chips (yup, those are old) and other PALs with TL866? If TL unable to read those in any means - would someone suggest me the cheap device (no need good one, I have <10 chips to be only read, no writing is required) that will do the trick?

Thanks guys.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ale500 on June 05, 2015, 05:37:20 am
I was wondering if someone tested the linux software on a Raspberry Pi. You can compile it, right ?

Edit: I posted and forgot to ask again to the people who programmed PALs/GALs which software did you use to "compile" ? I remember reading (somewhere once upon a time...) that AMD or Atmel had something for DOS... any ideas ?

thanx
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on June 07, 2015, 03:35:43 pm
Some tl866 adapters have an eeprom on them to tell if they are genuine adapters or not, some have tempted to hack them  with no success, their content are crypted ???


The non genuine will make the software stop  and you have a warning,   there a lot of fake and outdated models on ebay,  even the makers have shown a list and pictures on how to recognize the false ones.

And please  guys   download the minipro software, run it,  and check their listed supported devices  .... if it's not there ...  the makers wont necessarily put it in the list ...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on June 11, 2015, 01:12:12 am
THE 6.13 version just came out ...


The supported devices list :    http://www.autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/MiniProSupportList.txt (http://www.autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/MiniProSupportList.txt)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElektroQuark on June 11, 2015, 07:03:38 am
New supported devices from 6.10 to 6.13:

DS1245/DS1249/DS1250

 AM2716B SM8958A(TQFP44)

That's all folks!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: chard on June 14, 2015, 02:14:17 pm
Hi Guys,

Has anyone had any luck using the tl866 with fujitsu flash chips? namely the MBM29DL322TE...

I have been trying for a few days now, finally stuck  |O

Its in the supported list, and it reads ok (after re seating a few times until the checksum stays the same), saved to file, but when trying to write to new ic (tried 4 new ones) or even another used ic, it fails at 0x000000 or 0x000001.

Initially it was coming up with overcurrent protection, so I fitted a bypass switch across c22  :-+, so I can switch as necessary.
Its an original tl866 on rev 6.16, and original adapters as it comes v3 on check.

Maybe the size, 32M, is the issue?, as I can successfully read/erase/write to a Fujitsu MBM29DL800, so the tsop 48 adapter seems good.

I'm trying to replace the ic with new, as I suspect its causing failure over time, and when reflowed the device works fine for a given amount of time before failing again.

Any help is appreciated
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElektroQuark on June 14, 2015, 07:17:31 pm
New update. 6.16 version: CLICK! (http://www.autoelectric.cn/TL866_MAIN.html)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Meta on June 15, 2015, 02:56:22 am
I think  "we" are asking too much of this programmer ...   I have a willem Gq4x and it won't do everything i need, i have the tl866, won't do everything either ...
Paid for a pickit 3, an avr dragon for Hv programming, stk500 clone,   etc ...  the list goes on,  my drawer is full of programmers.

Still miss something.

I am checking for a top3100 programmer for what it can do or not do.

There's no "universal" programmer who does it all ...   

We use at my job an old chipmaster 6000 "lpt", saved my ass a few times...    Searching for an used usb 6000 model for 2 years with no luck, i simply can't pay 500 to 1000$ ???

But buying "this" and "that", eventually i'll have paid that amount to do what i need .... avr, pic's, old xilinx cpld, freescale hc08, lot of eeproms, 8 and 16 bit mcu's, 89c51, motorola hc11 series.

Hi:

Do you know any website to show you how indentificar which is the original and the fake TL866CS?

I see much buying and TL866CS Willem. Most opt for Willem, records more types of EEPROM that TL866CS.

Greetings.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on June 15, 2015, 03:53:59 am
well the problem is :

when you have newer versions of minipro   minipro will update the eeprom content of thoses "originals" adapters and make them "still genuine" for the minipro software. If it fails you will be warned ...

They are v3 versions out in the wild, they are supposed to support the latest version of minipro,  they are version v0 who will fail while upgrading ...

can't find you a good link,  i mostly found thoses infos on Russian and Chinese forums ???

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: keropi on June 15, 2015, 08:53:26 am
Hi!

does anyone know what the "Encrypt Ch" option does when programming GAL16V8 devices?

(http://i57.tinypic.com/206zb7t.jpg)

also anyone else noticed the programmer having troubles with eproms/eeproms/otp devices like W27C512 , 27SF0x0 etc? I can't get it to work reliably when with the same chips work perfect with a GQ-3X ... the following picture shows that problem with a W27C512 eeprom, just look at the code area and you'll notice the difference... not even device ID is correct  :-//

(http://i59.tinypic.com/2iqerkw.jpg)

edit: I believe there is something wrong with my unit, no idea what to look to fix it though. It reads wrong IDs on W27C512/AT27C256 , I cannot write any of them without failing .... seems like some ZIF socket in/outputs are busted or something
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on June 17, 2015, 10:09:14 am
woah   the 6.16 has gone out pretty fast

Version: V6.16 Support Chip number: 13216 --2015.06.12

Adjustments: for when individual ATMEGA8 programming configuration bit checksum error problem.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Meta on June 17, 2015, 10:40:13 am
Hi:

As they are updated more often. What is your e-mail address?
I ask that your software will actualuce EEPROM and 24LC1026 24LC1025 www.microchip.com (http://www.microchip.com).

We will encourage you to update and do not leave it long forgotten.

Greetings.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rastro on June 17, 2015, 03:28:59 pm
I would like to see support added for:
CY7C245A 2K x 8-Bit EPROM also has the same pin out as AM27S191.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Meta on June 17, 2015, 04:45:51 pm
I would like to see support added for:
CY7C245A 2K x 8-Bit EPROM also has the same pin out as AM27S191.

I want to know how to contact them and tell them.

Quote
??

??TL866CS??24LC105 EEPROM????24LC1026?

???Microchip.com?????????????????
http://www.microchip.com/pagehandler/en-us/products/memory/serialEEPROM/home.html (http://www.microchip.com/pagehandler/en-us/products/memory/serialEEPROM/home.html)

?????TL866CS??????

???

I sent this message to trasnlate.google Traditional Chinese.

Hi:

You can add 24LC105 EEPROM programmer and 24LC1026 in TL866CS?

They are Microchip.com manufacturer, here you can see your link.
http://www.microchip.com/pagehandler/en-us/products/memory/serialEEPROM/home.html (http://www.microchip.com/pagehandler/en-us/products/memory/serialEEPROM/home.html)

Very good job of creating the programmer TL866CS.

Greetings.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rastro on June 19, 2015, 11:11:24 pm
Since one of the devices I wanted to read was not supported, I decided to build a hardware workaround kludge.
It actually worked.  I think there is probably other devices that are not supported but have close relatives.
This could be used in those situations as well.

Procedure To Read AM27S191 (2048X8) PROMS With MiniPro TL866:
------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1. The AM27S191 is a (2048X8) Bipolar PROM.
2. There is no direct support on the MiniPro TL866 for the AM27S191 device.
3. One of the closest TL866 supported devices is X2816A but it requires rerouting 3 lines.
4. Created a 40-pin ZIF adapter that has jumpers that allow each pin to be jumped and feed directly from the TL866 ZIF socket to the adapters ZIF socked.  Alternatively the jumper can be removed (opened) to by pass normal feed from the TL866.  Then the chip pin can then be routed to a different signal from the TL866 ZIF output.
5. The pins on the AM27S191 and X2816A are the same except for four pins (18,19,20,21).
Chip      P18         P19         P20         P21
27S191      G3         G2         ~G1         A10
X2816A      ~CE         A10         ~OE         ~WE

REROUTE TABLE:
27S191 TO   ZIF
..........................
P18         P24 (+5V)
P19         P24 (+5V)
P20         P20 (~OE/~G1) I decided to leave this jumper in since they seemed like the same function.
P21         P19 (A10)

Attached pictures of 40-ZIF adapter board.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: 4omecha on July 05, 2015, 09:55:00 pm
Hello,

I like the tl866, thanks for this tool.

Two issues though:

1)  TL866 v6.10: The DALLAS DS1245Y-120 NVRAM is effectively NOT supported. When using the "supported DS1245Y" IC settings, garbage is read and garbage is written. I know because I did so once. Nasty bug, lost my cal data this way. One should always do plausability checks of the NVRAM content read.
  ==>  Please correctly support this chip (DALLAS DS1245Y-120) ASAP. Thank you.
  ==>  WORKAROUND (home-made adapter required): use IC "AM27F010" and reroute the differing pins. See also: http://www1.tek.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6353AM28F010 (http://www1.tek.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=5&t=6353AM28F010)

2)  TL866 v6.10 and v6.16: A Macronix SPI flash MX25L1605D may be read. When blanked the chip cannot be read from nor written to any more! The chip ID was once "0xC2 20 15" and is "0x00 00 00" after blanking, the TL866 is aborting with "Overcurrent protection.." after the first couple of seconds when programming is tried immediatel after blanking.
When waiting some time before reprogramming the MX25L1605D after blanking it, the programming procedure fails at the very last moment. Please see the attached screenshot.

Let me know if there are any questions. I'll be glad to help testing, too.

Your help is deeply appreciated. Thank you very much.

cheers,

om

PS: Dave, thanks for your awesome blog, keep going! :)

Edit: tested MX25L1605D using v6.16: not working.
Edit2: clarified the tested software version/chip combination.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on July 07, 2015, 02:58:17 am
you have to email  http://www.autoelectric.cn (http://www.autoelectric.cn)    for added support ... not  here

I was satisfied with the tl866, used an Willem GQ4X too when tl866 could not do the job, and an Avr Dragon too.

But  since the updates or adding new chips support seems to be slooooow       

I have moved to an tnm5000  programmer,  way more expensive  500$    but has spi, isp, pdi, jtag, high voltage programming, and a 48 pins socket for my adapters ...  but support is fast, they have a request forum, and very frequent updates ...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElektroQuark on July 07, 2015, 06:06:08 am
Quote from: coromonadalix on Today at 02:58:17 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/index.php?topic=13509.msg705743#msg705743)
I have moved to an tnm5000  programmer,  way more expensive  500$     ...


$50 vs $500. What's the point?
We know there are far better programmers but, are they in the same price range?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on July 09, 2015, 02:15:57 am
well  i understand the low cost of the tl866 and it's use.

People are asking more and more support from Autoelectric ... but they are not in the hurry

If i count all the programmers i've bought, the time lost,  searching to do this and that and waiting for more support, sending emails, asking upgrades ...

Its worth the 500$  it does all the pic and avr's, and have high voltage programming ....   had to bought an Avr Dragon to do just that $$$ 

Became more frustrated ...  over time           downloaded every  Atmel studio that exists,  Xilinx suites,  avrdude, avrdudess, the list goes on and on,  until now 16 gigs of softwares.     

I have
 
usbasp
avrisp
stk500
ispmkII
usbtiny
tl866
GQ-4X
an old chipmaster 6000 lpt ....  past xp it wont do nothing, very powerful, but the 6000xpu model (lpt and usb) are very rare.

How much do you think it cost me until now  $$$$,  and still was not able to do everything i need  before  the tnm5000


It would be fun to see tl866 became more open, it would evolve a lot faster
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: orion242 on July 09, 2015, 02:55:35 am
People are asking more and more support from Autoelectric ... but they are not in the hurry

If i count all the programmers i've bought, the time lost,  searching to do this and that and waiting for more support, sending emails, asking upgrades ...

Its worth the 500$

Ditto.  I did the same and broke out $500+ for a for a Xeltek programmer.  The minipro is great for the price but their support device list is optimistic at best and if you need support...good luck.  Get what you paid for. 
Title: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Votality on July 09, 2015, 03:35:33 am
Personally i would like someone to write an addition to the tl866 firmware that allows for the programming to be handled by the host pc.
I.e so all the logic for driving and reading the pins is handled on the pc

As discussed elsewhere this would make programming very slow due to the usb throughput but for the chips that aren't supported a slow, user definable method to program them would be better than nothing. I personally could handle leaving it overnight for the odd unsupported chip.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TiN on July 09, 2015, 04:31:04 am
Two issues though (TL866 v6.10 and v6.16):
1) The DALLAS DS1245Y-120 NVRAM is effectively NOT supported. When using the "supported DS1245Y" IC settings, garbage is read and garbage is written. I know because I did so ...[/url]

Perhaps your pins bent and not making good contact? They quite fragile on these NVRAM chips.
I had no issues programming DS1245Y and DS1248Y's (https://xdevs.com/article/kei200x-mem/#2002) after update to v6.13 software (6.10 does not support writing these, only TESTRW.

As of people complaining for supported chips. Well, sure those 500$+ programmers don't support anything either, I would not surprise if there are some chips which supported by TL866 are not supported by ones mentioned above.
Moral of story: Every tool have it's own use, get them as you need :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on July 09, 2015, 11:15:15 am
Two issues though (TL866 v6.10 and v6.16):
1) The DALLAS DS1245Y-120 NVRAM is effectively NOT supported. When using the "supported DS1245Y" IC settings, garbage is read and garbage is written. I know because I did so ...[/url]

Perhaps your pins bent and not making good contact? They quite fragile on these NVRAM chips.
I had no issues programming DS1245Y and DS1248Y's (https://xdevs.com/article/kei200x-mem/#2002) after update to v6.13 software (6.10 does not support writing these, only TESTRW.

As of people complaining for supported chips. Well, sure those 500$+ programmers don't support anything either, I would not surprise if there are some chips which supported by TL866 are not supported by ones mentioned above.
Moral of story: Every tool have it's own use, get them as you need :)




exactly :)   nothing's prefect  loll
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: soren on July 09, 2015, 12:48:17 pm
Personally i would like someone to write an addition to the tl866 firmware that allows for the programming to be handled by the host pc.
I.e so all the logic for driving and reading the pins is handled on the pc

I suspect that this may already be possible with the stock firmware for things like logic gate testing.

Unfortunately, that part of the protocol has not yet been reverse engineered or at least there is no mention of it in the https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro code.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: 4omecha on July 09, 2015, 03:30:30 pm

Perhaps your pins bent and not making good contact? They quite fragile on these NVRAM chips.
I had no issues programming DS1245Y and DS1248Y's (https://xdevs.com/article/kei200x-mem/#2002) after update to v6.13 software (6.10 does not support writing these, only TESTRW.

Pins not bent.

Good catch, though: I only tested R/W support for the DS1245Y using the v6.10 software which was _not_ working. I edited my previous post to now reflect this correctly.

You say as of v6.13 support for R/W with DS1245Y would work? Jeeez. That's bad luck, I ruined my DS1245Y data using v6.10 while v6.13 was already available but I failed to check that. Thats.. aarrg..

BTW, what's the point of supporting a chip only TESTRW without the user telling so. That's just hideously awful (tm). As it happened, the user (me, who knows how many more?) thinks everything's alright when it's not. OMG.

Thanks for your input.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: vsmlibs on July 19, 2015, 01:34:23 pm
have a problem with tl866 A modded  im using the latest version 6.13 all tests aok

i cant seem to write to 1001 and 256K eproms however 512K worked 010 works 4096 otp worked

do others get issues or can test and see if im right  seems others have 256K chips size errors
perhaps they have stuck in some sort of detect for tamper and disable bits...
not sure  ill try reverting back to the original

if someone can confirm
then ill send them a bug report


i tried the usual things ...
current of usb port ... used a workstation
testing  all ok
another programmer   i used to 27C1001's in a willem no probs
but my willem has issues with 27C256 chips {missing data line or something so F9 read and not FF}
does many types of logic
tried another few eproms like 1000's  they worked
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Mirza Adil on July 22, 2015, 06:56:27 pm
Hi
I am new here. I want to know about tl866cs programmer. It,s not like Arduino ide. Thats why i am confuse. I want to know how to write a program in it,s software. Can i write program in c language in other software like Mikro C , Atmel studio , Arduino IDE, ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElectricGuy on July 22, 2015, 07:01:16 pm
Hi
I am new here. I want to know about tl866cs programmer. It,s not like Arduino ide. Thats why i am confuse. I want to know how to write a program in it,s software. Can i write program in c language in other software like Mikro C , Atmel studio , Arduino IDE, ?

The tl866cs is not a Ide with compiler, its a programmer only. It's used to programme several devices of several brands.
You need to use your regular compiler, generatte the HEX and the use the tl866cs to program. Thats it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: papabol_24 on July 25, 2015, 01:51:36 pm
Well i updated my tl866cs to 6.17, found out that the tsop48 adapter was now indicating fake  :palm: it was working (V8) on firmware versions 5.19, 6.00, on the  version 6.10 i didnt bother to check if the tsop48 was working until now im on version 6.17...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sinranogenma on July 27, 2015, 08:30:17 am
Hello guys,

I have a question that seems to trouble me.I have purchased the TL866A with the 8 adapters.Im trying to program some PLCC32/LPC chips with no success.First i thought it was the adapter but then I tried to find if the TL866A is supporting LPC/FWH chips but i cannot find any information.

So im trying to program SST 49LF004B ,Atmel AT49LH004, PMC PM49FL004T i dont know if these chips are LPC or normal PLCC32 but with the adapter PLCC32to DIP32 the programmer doesnt read/write them.

My question stands: Is the TL866A supporting LPC/FWH chips and if so with which adapter? (also i bought like a moron an ADP-030 LPC/FWH adapter to find out that is supported only with GQ-3X,GQ-4X programmers)

Please help!!  :-//
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: servvis on July 30, 2015, 07:18:50 am
Hello. I have a problem with TL866A. I have a Macbook Pro with Paralells with before windows 7 and 10 now. A month ago, everything worked properly . Since yesterday, when connected to a USB programmer crashes error "read error code : 31 ! " . Both Windows 7 and 10 problem , but on the other computer is well . I installed anew drivers and different versions of MiniPro . Does anyone know what could be the problem and how to solve it ? Sorry for my English, I explained that google translator .
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on July 31, 2015, 01:42:41 am
I t is related to drivers not started by windows, you have to check in device manager if you have an exclamation mark ...  delete all related drivers and uninstall minipro and try again
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: KnuckleheadFlow on August 01, 2015, 08:17:30 am
Hi.
I'm trying to flash the firmware of a remote control transmitter that uses an atmega128A, using the icsp port. I followed the guides, but I keep getting an error (second attached picture). This transmitter (a Turnigy 9x) is commonly flashed, but usually with little serial avr programmers without much issue.
When trying to flash, the programmer first tries to erase. It goes through this very quickly and reports a success; however, after my many attempts the stock firmware is still there I tried changing the fuse settings as recommended on a board for this particular firmware project, (er9x) to no avail. Frankly, I'm new to programming MCUs, having only used this programmer for EEPROMs before and I'm not fully aware of what all the different fuse settings mean.

Now, I could just buy one of the little programmer boards everyone uses, get avrdude and probably be done with it, but I already have a good programmer, I'd rather learn why it's failing and what all the different settings mean. My nascent interest in electronics as a hobby in general is one of the main reasons I'm interested rc and why got this particular radio.
I'm at a loss, any advice regarding what could be wrong, or where do I go from here to troubleshoot?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mafioso3 on August 01, 2015, 08:42:39 pm
Does anyone have a schematic or details of the "25 SPI adapter" for the TL-866?
They're not wrong - it does fail without it... but I can't find it to buy seperately, or any information on what the IC is on the adapter (http://img04.taobaocdn.com/imgextra/i4/21668337/T2yaP1XjxXXXXXXXXX_!!21668337.jpg_620x10000.jpg)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Deathwish on August 01, 2015, 08:53:49 pm
http://www.lancos.com/siprogsch.html (http://www.lancos.com/siprogsch.html)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: dcac on August 02, 2015, 10:45:31 am
Hi.
I'm trying to flash the firmware of a remote control transmitter that uses an atmega128A, using the icsp port. I followed the guides, but I keep getting an error (second attached picture). This transmitter (a Turnigy 9x) is commonly flashed, but usually with little serial avr programmers without much issue.
When trying to flash, the programmer first tries to erase. It goes through this very quickly and reports a success; however, after my many attempts the stock firmware is still there I tried changing the fuse settings as recommended on a board for this particular firmware project, (er9x) to no avail. Frankly, I'm new to programming MCUs, having only used this programmer for EEPROMs before and I'm not fully aware of what all the different fuse settings mean.

Now, I could just buy one of the little programmer boards everyone uses, get avrdude and probably be done with it, but I already have a good programmer, I'd rather learn why it's failing and what all the different settings mean. My nascent interest in electronics as a hobby in general is one of the main reasons I'm interested rc and why got this particular radio.
I'm at a loss, any advice regarding what could be wrong, or where do I go from here to troubleshoot?

Do you have any indication that the TL866 is actually able to correctly communicate with the atmega128 board, like i.e. can you successfully read out the existing FW and fuses settings?



Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on August 02, 2015, 04:16:05 pm
the atmega128 uses jtag port  not spi or icsp  for in circuit programming ...

on the zif socket it uses parallel programming ...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on August 02, 2015, 04:50:38 pm
Hi
I am new here. I want to know about tl866cs programmer. It,s not like Arduino ide. Thats why i am confuse. I want to know how to write a program in it,s software. Can i write program in c language in other software like Mikro C , Atmel studio , Arduino IDE, ?


hello   you can't use other software than minipro,  the hardware has been reverse engineered, but not the software.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: KnuckleheadFlow on August 02, 2015, 08:25:03 pm

Do you have any indication that the TL866 is actually able to correctly communicate with the atmega128 board, like i.e. can you successfully read out the existing FW and fuses settings?

When I read it, it reports success, but nothing shows up in the buffer display. It shows all 0s. When I save it, I get a hex file with something, however it looks to have too much repeated bytes and looks nothing like the stock firmware that I downloaded somewhere else. It's also about twice as long (8196 lines vs the real one's 4092).
Here's a sample of the firmware I read, from line 1024:
Code: [Select]
:103FE000BDBDBDBDBBBBBBBBBDBDBDBDBFBFBFBF01
:103FF000BDBDBDBDBBBBBBBBBDBDBDBDBFBFBFBFF1
:10400000393939393B3B3B3B3D3D3D3D3F3F3F3FF0
:104010003D3D3D3D3B3B3B3B3D3D3D3D3F3F3F3FD0
:104020003D3D3D3D3B3B3B3B3D3D3D3D3F3F3F3FC0
:104030003D3D3D3D3B3B3B3B3D3D3D3D3F3F3F3FB0
:104040003D3D3D3D3B3B3B3B3D3D3D3D3F3F3F3FA0
:104050003D3D3D3D3B3B3B3B3D3D3D3D3F3F3F3F90
:104060003D3D3D3D3B3B3B3B3D3D3D3D3F3F3F3F80
:104070003D3D39393B3B3B3B3D3D3D3D3F3F3F3F78
:104080003D3D39393B3B3B3B3D3D3D3D3F3F3F3F68

Compared to the same lines from the downloaded firmware's:
Code: [Select]
:104030008093C20580E00E942A1F87E28093980542
:1040400008958F92AF92CF92EF92FF920F93CF93FA
:10405000DF93CDB7DEB768970FB6F894DEBF0FBE1B
:10406000CDBF982F19821A821B821C822091640274
:1040700030916502A9014D515F4F1F928AE08F93E5
:1040800060E3862E8DE0A82E00E1C02E7E0108940C
:10409000E11CF11C01E02C513F4F692F88EB94E0AB
:1040A0000E94A91CE0916402F0916502EC51FF4F5F
:1040B00080810F900F9087FF03C010820E94FF73D2
:1040C00068960FB6F894DEBF0FBECDBFDF91CF91DB
:1040D0000F91FF90EF90CF90AF908F90089581E077

Garbage?

the atmega128 uses jtag port  not spi or icsp  for in circuit programming ...

on the zif socket it uses parallel programming ...

Ok, not being facetious here, but why does the Minipro's software show an atmega128a ICSP connection diagram and list it as a compatible device for ICSP?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on August 03, 2015, 12:41:42 am
Atmel jtag interface is a 6 or 10 pins idc,   but a different use, i don't recall  minipro saying  isp/icsp  available for those chips.

Atmega128  need  tck, trst, tms, tdi, tdo, reset lines,  tl866 gives  mosi, miso, sck, reset ....    totally different ??

I've checked on the latest 6.17, and i don't see any external pin-out given ???   for an example  if you check  pic devices, it will show at the end of the device "ISP"
you will be able to program thru isp ...  but atmega128   nothing ??

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: KnuckleheadFlow on August 03, 2015, 04:49:54 am
Hmm, well it's there for sure. And every diagram I've seen for flashing this transmitter talks about the six mosi, miso, etc. lines.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on August 04, 2015, 12:56:39 am
I see it now reinstalled Minipro in administrator mode ...  well  i wont argue  still  ther names are not correct : miso mosi etc ...

The serial programming of the ATMega 128 does not work with MOSI / MISO pins. U have to use PE0/PE1 instead. s. Site 303 in the datasheet.

I could not read it on my TL866,  but i can with my AVR Dragon, since it as a jtag port....
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: KnuckleheadFlow on August 04, 2015, 02:30:14 pm
Ok, it seems then that they were mislabeled in both the Minipro 128a diagram and all the documents and guides for programming this transmitter that I've seen, hence the confusion on my part. The pads that I'm using, labeled mosi and miso, are connected to pins 2 and 3 respectively on the mcu; so I am using PE0 and PE1.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BytesGuy on August 08, 2015, 07:50:25 pm
Has anyone got this working with Windows 10? I am using version 6.17 of the software but regardless of chip I get read error 31... Self test works! Going mad trying to figure this out  :scared:

Edit: Turns out it was a bad usb cable!  :palm:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on August 08, 2015, 08:54:16 pm
I don't see that on my datasheet. Looks like 11, 12 , 13.

Ok, it seems then that they were mislabeled in both the Minipro 128a diagram and all the documents and guides for programming this transmitter that I've seen, hence the confusion on my part. The pads that I'm using, labeled mosi and miso, are connected to pins 2 and 3 respectively on the mcu; so I am using PE0 and PE1.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: KnuckleheadFlow on August 08, 2015, 11:03:27 pm
I don't see that on my datasheet. Looks like 11, 12 , 13.

No, the datasheet is correct, I meant the diy guides for wiring the 128a in the r/c transmitter are mislabeled. As shown here, they call it mosi and miso when the pads lead to pins pe0 and pe1.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timb on August 10, 2015, 05:36:44 am
Ugh. Out of all the “13,000” chips supported, of course they couldn’t support paged EPROMs (e.g., Intel 27513). I’m thinking that if I hook up an external MCU to the 27513’s CE, OE, WE and D0/D1 lines and give it external power, I could activate each page and have the TL866 read it as a 27128A.

I can successfully read page 0 by just setting the chip up as a 27128A in the MiniPro software, so I figure switching the pages before reading *should* work, right?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timb on August 11, 2015, 12:16:33 pm
Okay, I'm just plain frustrated with this thing now. I can't program or read this FM1608 FRAM because it doesn't clock the CE line between address changes. Can anyone recommend a better programmer that would handle stuff like FRAMs and paged EPROMs?


Sent from my Tablet
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on August 14, 2015, 03:25:19 am
Thats why i switched to an tnm5000 (300$) it was a very good programmer, loved the isp, jtag, spi port,  but after a month i had no choice to switch to a even more powerful programmer an Dataman 48pro+ a 83,000 + parts ... my most expensive programmer i've bought yet (1000$)

Now i can do jtag, spi, isp devices like tnm5000 but can do much more powerful chips at my job and home.

There's always a catch or something ...  the tl866 "13000 parts" is false, if you crosscheck AMD Intel and other brand parts that count is lower ... same thing for other brands of programmers.

Tl866 is good for starters, but it lacks support really fast :(   I had fun to begin with it, but frustration and no added chip support updates.

Sorry to tell this, but be aware of the tl866 limitations, mostly the "genuine" bundled adapters who came with it have encrypted eeproms id's.
That finally turned me off, when the software updates had rendered 2 of them useless ...

Peoples expect too much of it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bartsx on August 16, 2015, 08:41:48 am
Issues with Atmel 28c16 (KM28c16-150).
This is the first time for me using an programmer and I run into a strange issue.
I purchased four KM28C16 eeproms to flash a new firmware (replacing old 27c16). I'm able to erase all four KM28C16 but when I try to program them only the even addresses are able to be written to, the odd addresses stay "FF" no matter how often I erase the eeprom. Selftest of the programmer show everything OK.
I use the latest version 6.17. I purchased the four KM28c16 together, now I'm confused if this is a tl866 issue or if really all four 28c16 suffer from the same issue and the likelehood of somehting like this :--
I also used my rigol to check the A0 address line and I can see that it is changing status during read/write operations.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timb on August 16, 2015, 12:34:23 pm
So, I said screw it and started designing my own programmer based around an MSP430F5529. In one night I went from a blank slate to reading and writing an FM16W08.

Right now, when you attach the MSP430 to a computer, it emulates a mass storage device and shows up as a drive. If you drop a file called write.bin into the root directory and press a button on the Launchpad, it'll burn the BIN file to the connected chip. Pressing the button with no file present will read the chip and create a file called read.bin.

I kind of like this approach and think it would be cool to include a little touch screen for selecting the chip, etc. Having the programmer present itself to the computer as a USB drive means it's pretty much platform agnostic.

If there's any interest I'll start a new thread for the project!

(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/16/557cac42384e65ca50cdb491d9d945a8.jpg)


Sent from my Tablet
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timofonic on August 16, 2015, 02:14:07 pm
So, I said screw it and started designing my own programmer based around an MSP430F5529. In one night I went from a blank slate to reading and writing an FM16W08.

Right now, when you attach the MSP430 to a computer, it emulates a mass storage device and shows up as a drive. If you drop a file called write.bin into the root directory and press a button on the Launchpad, it'll burn the BIN file to the connected chip. Pressing the button with no file present will read the chip and create a file called read.bin.

I kind of like this approach and think it would be cool to include a little touch screen for selecting the chip, etc. Having the programmer present itself to the computer as a USB drive means it's pretty much platform agnostic.

If there's any interest I'll start a new thread for the project!

(http://images.tapatalk-cdn.com/15/08/16/557cac42384e65ca50cdb491d9d945a8.jpg)


Sent from my Tablet

It would be nice to have a collaborative Open Hardware programmer & IC tester that can compete with this kind of propietary solutions.

People would add support to new devices in form of hardware and software.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on August 16, 2015, 03:55:21 pm
I wonder if anyone has made a config file so as to enable AVRDUDE to use the MiniPro to program AVR's.
My question is that AVRDUDE won't talk on the serial port to my STK500. WinXP & MoBo issues.
I inadvertently wrote to the m48 signature bits, by loading the Code Memory file to the Data Memory file resulting in a signature of FF FF FF.  Data Memory should be renamed EEPROM not Data Memory!
The m48 still works, but the OSCCAL & signature bits are done for.
Since AVRDUDE can re-write the OSCCAL & signature bits and not the MiniPro software, I'd like to do just that.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on August 18, 2015, 09:40:30 pm
Wich stk500 you have ?, an original Atmel one  or a blue clone one ??

They use serial port (or usb to serial for the clone) my clone stk500 had an prolific usb to serial port, i hated that, i've changed the prolific ic to an ftdi one (pin to pin compatible) since prolific with newer windows version is sh%#$.

You should not have any problem  ???   The original need an serial port at com1 or com2  not higher.

The clone  usb  should work too  if you have a good usb port.   Use the latest avrdude.   I use avrdudess, it has a nice gui for avrdude, select USB or usb or the COM port.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on August 18, 2015, 10:02:48 pm
Issues with Atmel 28c16 (KM28c16-150).
This is the first time for me using an programmer and I run into a strange issue.
I purchased four KM28C16 eeproms to flash a new firmware (replacing old 27c16). I'm able to erase all four KM28C16 but when I try to program them only the even addresses are able to be written to, the odd addresses stay "FF" no matter how often I erase the eeprom. Selftest of the programmer show everything OK.
I use the latest version 6.17. I purchased the four KM28c16 together, now I'm confused if this is a tl866 issue or if really all four 28c16 suffer from the same issue and the likelehood of somehting like this :--
I also used my rigol to check the A0 address line and I can see that it is changing status during read/write operations.


check your pin 21   it is not the same between the two ???  vpp  and WE ...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on August 18, 2015, 11:08:59 pm
2 x STK500 no bloody A, B, C, or D

I finally found a version through an obscure link with XPfix.reg in it. That fixed my coms problems. AVRdudess was already tried but without the fix it wouldn't work. I works now, but still the same questions about re-writing the OSCCAL & Sig bits. AVRDude says it can, but clearly in the config file it cannot, as it doesn't have write bits as do the other memory locations. I put the proper syntax in, it says it wrote 3 bytes and then fail.
I know it can be done as I have read elsewhere that it was and the bits to do it. The length of bits is incompatible with AVRDude as they were for another programmer. 
http://www.avrfreaks.net/comment/165751#comment-165751 (http://www.avrfreaks.net/comment/165751#comment-165751) No comprendo. :-//

Also still I ask, is someone working on a config for the MiniPro to work with AVRDude.
while(1) :scared:

Wich stk500 you have ?, an original Atmel one  or a blue clone one ??

They use serial port (or usb to serial for the clone) my clone stk500 had an prolific usb to serial port, i hated that, i've changed the prolific ic to an ftdi one (pin to pin compatible) since prolific with newer windows version is sh%#$.
You should not have any problem  ???   The original need an serial port at com1 or com2  not higher.
The clone  usb  should work too  if you have a good usb port.  Use the latest avrdude.  I use avrdudess, it has a nice gui for avrdude, select USB or usb or the COM port.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on August 20, 2015, 02:05:53 am
I think not,  the tl866 hardware is now reverse eng, and schematics exists.

The software is not open source nor hacked or unpacked, there's a variant for linux distros ...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on August 20, 2015, 02:14:11 am
And finally  your atmega48 may need an high voltage programmer,  when signature/fuses bits are damaged or badly programmed,  they can be recovered with that option only if your atmega support it.

TL 866  are not hv programmers for avr's

Atmel studio can help you, with an avr dragon or any hv programmer schematics,  avrdude can not help in this case, it cant do hv programming ...

Had in the past resorted to avr studio + avrdragon to reset bad fuses settings on avr's.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: thix on August 20, 2015, 08:58:45 pm
whether this tool could autodetect series chips?
thank you
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on August 20, 2015, 10:01:21 pm
I'm sorry but you are wrong. The MiniPro IS a HV programmer in parallel mode. The programmer is not the issue, but the fact that it has no AVRDude interface. Some of the younger folks on here who could easily tap in to the MiniPro's serial data stream and say "Well that was so hard":-DD
It would probably be easy for them but hard for me. Also I am trying to write OSCCAL & Signature bytes not fix the fuses.

And finally  your atmega48 may need an high voltage programmer,  when signature/fuses bits are damaged or badly programmed,  they can be recovered with that option only if your atmega support it.

TL 866  are not hv programmers for avr's

Atmel studio can help you, with an avr dragon or any hv programmer schematics,  avrdude can not help in this case, it cant do hv programming ...

Had in the past resorted to avr studio + avrdragon to reset bad fuses settings on avr's.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on August 20, 2015, 10:03:04 pm
Not that I can see or have used in the software provided. I had a TopMax that would do that but only on TTL & Memory IC's.
whether this tool could autodetect series chips?
thank you
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on August 21, 2015, 03:07:12 am
I'm sorry but you are wrong. The MiniPro IS a HV programmer in parallel mode. The programmer is not the issue, but the fact that it has no AVRDude interface. Some of the younger folks on here who could easily tap in to the MiniPro's serial data stream and say "Well that was so hard":-DD
It would probably be easy for them but hard for me. Also I am trying to write OSCCAL & Signature bytes not fix the fuses.

And finally  your atmega48 may need an high voltage programmer,  when signature/fuses bits are damaged or badly programmed,  they can be recovered with that option only if your atmega support it.

TL 866  are not hv programmers for avr's

Atmel studio can help you, with an avr dragon or any hv programmer schematics,  avrdude can not help in this case, it cant do hv programming ...

Had in the past resorted to avr studio + avrdragon to reset bad fuses settings on avr's.

It is a hv programmer for eeproms / memory chips  etc ... not for avr chips, anyway,  it did not recover my wrongly settled fuses, avr dragon did ... 

If someone can reverse  the software or extract files etc ...  it would be interesting ....

As i said earlier,  im happy now with a more powerful programmer, it is sad they cost so much more :(
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bartsx on August 21, 2015, 09:35:16 am
Issues with Atmel 28c16 (KM28c16-150).
This is the first time for me using an programmer and I run into a strange issue.
I purchased four KM28C16 eeproms to flash a new firmware (replacing old 27c16). I'm able to erase all four KM28C16 but when I try to program them only the even addresses are able to be written to, the odd addresses stay "FF" no matter how often I erase the eeprom. Selftest of the programmer show everything OK.
I use the latest version 6.17. I purchased the four KM28c16 together, now I'm confused if this is a tl866 issue or if really all four 28c16 suffer from the same issue and the likelehood of somehting like this :--
I also used my rigol to check the A0 address line and I can see that it is changing status during read/write operations.

@coromonadalix
Thank you very much I will give this a try when I got my new TL866 back, I send the old one back for exchange I know it is a shot in the dark but I keep you posted.
By the way I was able to program all four AT28C16 using a small batronix programmer no problem whatsoever so it is definitly the TL866 or the writing algorithm.

check your pin 21   it is not the same between the two ???  vpp  and WE ...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on August 21, 2015, 08:19:13 pm
That is still wrong as I have already said it is able to do HV programming of AVR's and will correct the fuses if you know what you are doing. I can set fuses to ext clk, 128KHz/8 debug wire etc and still recover it. Prove me wrong.

Quote from: coromonadalix

It is a hv programmer for eeproms / memory chips  etc ... not for avr chips, anyway,  it did not recover my wrongly settled fuses, avr dragon did ... 

If someone can reverse  the software or extract files etc ...  it would be interesting ....

As i said earlier,  im happy now with a more powerful programmer, it is sad they cost so much more :(
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bytestorm on August 27, 2015, 10:49:46 am
How come there are no support for eproms like 27c160/27c322 etc? I use them A LOT and I really need a new programmer.. but its kinda dealbreaker if it doesnt. Althou it can do alot of others but.. hmm
or ill just have to make smd to dip pcb adapters. wonder if there are any pinout availible for the ZIP socket if ppl would like to make own adapters?

Thanks!
Title: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Votality on August 27, 2015, 11:02:51 am


How come there are no support for eproms like 27c160/27c322 etc? I use them A LOT and I really need a new programmer.. but its kinda dealbreaker if it doesnt. Althou it can do alot of others but.. hmm
or ill just have to make smd to dip pcb adapters. wonder if there are any pinout availible for the ZIP socket if ppl would like to make own adapters?

Thanks!

Read my post #693. You can program a 27c160 by modifying the pinout and using a jumper for the extra address pins. (Btw 27c160 will never be directly supported as it has more pins than the programmer supports).

27c200,27c400,27c800 etc could be....
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bmafma on August 28, 2015, 08:57:00 am
he radioman good afternoon i me very happy for your tools for conversion tl866cs to tl866a
Tell me how to modify the otp in flash-serial such as winbond 25q32 and why minipro866 can not support mcu megawin ;please send me application for programmer sivana slt 866 because it is a clone of tl 866 AND SUPPORT MCU MEGAWIN
have you any idea best regards bmafma
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bytestorm on August 31, 2015, 07:08:06 am


How come there are no support for eproms like 27c160/27c322 etc? I use them A LOT and I really need a new programmer.. but its kinda dealbreaker if it doesnt. Althou it can do alot of others but.. hmm
or ill just have to make smd to dip pcb adapters. wonder if there are any pinout availible for the ZIP socket if ppl would like to make own adapters?

Thanks!

Read my post #693. You can program a 27c160 by modifying the pinout and using a jumper for the extra address pins. (Btw 27c160 will never be directly supported as it has more pins than the programmer supports).

27c200,27c400,27c800 etc could be....

Thanks!! :D
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bobkat2769 on September 11, 2015, 01:51:40 pm
Personally i would like someone to write an addition to the tl866 firmware that allows for the programming to be handled by the host pc.
I.e so all the logic for driving and reading the pins is handled on the pc

I suspect that this may already be possible with the stock firmware for things like logic gate testing.

Unfortunately, that part of the protocol has not yet been reverse engineered or at least there is no mention of it in the https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro code.

I haven't posted for a loooong time. Been sick for over a year.  :o

That's something I would be very interested in. One of things I use my MiniPro for most often is testing ICs from grab bags or salvaged from dead electronics as part of my electronics hobby.

Does anyone here know if anyone is working on adding new TTL or other IC testing for the MiniPro?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timb on September 11, 2015, 11:38:36 pm
No, but I'm working on an Open Source Tester/Programmer. Since my last post on the subject I've done a ton of work getting a framework in place. Right now it's based on a PSoC 5LP which gives great flexibility in the dynamic pin mapping. In my latest tests, I was able to have it dynamically identify the exact failure mode of a 74LS90.

The nice thing about the way I'm designing this tester/programmer is that the data that describes each logic IC or eprom to be tested or programmed will be stored in a single plaintext file (one for each chip) in a human readable/writeable form. This will allow the user to easily add new chips. The file will be parsed and sent to the unit each time you hit the "Go" button in the software.


Sent from my Tablet
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timofonic on September 12, 2015, 12:44:56 am
No, but I'm working on an Open Source Tester/Programmer. Since my last post on the subject I've done a ton of work getting a framework in place. Right now it's based on a PSoC 5LP which gives great flexibility in the dynamic pin mapping. In my latest tests, I was able to have it dynamically identify the exact failure mode of a 74LS90.

The nice thing about the way I'm designing this tester/programmer is that the data that describes each logic IC or eprom to be tested or programmed will be stored in a single plaintext file (one for each chip) in a human readable/writeable form. This will allow the user to easily add new chips. The file will be parsed and sent to the unit each time you hit the "Go" button in the software.


Sent from my Tablet

Do you have a forum thread about that? Link here it make one, please ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Electro Fan on September 12, 2015, 03:12:23 am
a little off topic....

If I program an Atmega328P with an Arduino Uno using the IDE to make a sketch - and I program an LCD attached to the Arduino to display 1234 - and then I read the Atmega with a TL866CS and the MiniPro software - I find two entries in the MiniPro software for 1234 - one entry happens to be on line 860 and other is a few lines down at 8F0.  If I then use the TL866CS MiniPro software to edit 1234 to make abcd on line 860, the MiniPro software will make the changes on line 860 to show abcd and leave line 8F0 as 1234.  All makes sense so far.

If I then move the Atmega back to the Arduino the attached LCD display will show 1234 (apparently reading line 860). Still good.

However, if I then use the Arduino IDE to change the 1234 characters to xxxx (or any 4 characters) and I put the Atmega back into the TL866CS, the MiniPro software will show that both line 860 and line 8F0 have been changed to xxxx.

Question:  what is the meaning (reason for) the duplicate entry a few lines down from the initial entry and why does the Arduino programming approach change both lines vs. the TL866CS/MiniPro approach which will change the two lines independently?

Thanks, EF

PS, a question was asked about the TL866 MiniPro software and Windows 10 - they seem to be working fine together with my setup
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bartsx on September 15, 2015, 01:12:02 pm
Issues with Atmel 28c16 (KM28c16-150).
This is the first time for me using an programmer and I run into a strange issue.
I purchased four KM28C16 eeproms to flash a new firmware (replacing old 27c16). I'm able to erase all four KM28C16 but when I try to program them only the even addresses are able to be written to, the odd addresses stay "FF" no matter how often I erase the eeprom. Selftest of the programmer show everything OK.
I use the latest version 6.17. I purchased the four KM28c16 together, now I'm confused if this is a tl866 issue or if really all four 28c16 suffer from the same issue and the likelehood of somehting like this :--
I also used my rigol to check the A0 address line and I can see that it is changing status during read/write operations.

@coromonadalix
Thank you very much I will give this a try when I got my new TL866 back, I send the old one back for exchange I know it is a shot in the dark but I keep you posted.
By the way I was able to program all four AT28C16 using a small batronix programmer no problem whatsoever so it is definitly the TL866 or the writing algorithm.

check your pin 21   it is not the same between the two ???  vpp  and WE ...

I ended up getting a new TL866 in return for my old one, I also had to purchase an additional couple of AT28C16.
This time I actually got real Atmels not the Samsung replacments (KM28C16).
Guess what the atmel eeproms could be programmed with the TL866 no Problem, when I used the compatible KM28C16 I got the same error message  :palm:
Then I used a couple of other 28C16 from the device list and found out the Exel and also AMD "profil" are working fine for the KM28C16 :o
So I guess the first one was ok after all and I would have gotten the same result if I had tried the same thing as I did with the new one. :scared:

By the way is it possible to access the actual programming parameters from the device list and how could new devices be added to the list?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheSteve on September 17, 2015, 05:03:17 am
Received my TL866CS the other day, it is now a TL866A - thanks radioman!
For anyone making the change that wants to add the 6 pin header check out Digikey part # S9493-ND
It is a perfect fit/match and looks exactly the same as the factory part from what I can see and costs 48 cents.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: papabol_24 on September 21, 2015, 07:58:26 pm
Wow, thats definitely the one, good find @TheSteve :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mos6502 on September 26, 2015, 05:02:34 pm
FYI: I'm using software version 6.17.

There is a definite issue with the DS1250 support. I tried programming one (actually, a bq4015, but it's the same thing). Here's what happens:

Anything in the buffer from $00000 to $5ffff is not being written to the chip. Only the data from $60000 onwards is being programmed, and when read back, it's mirrored at $00000, $20000 and $40000.

This means the control of A18 and A17 is somehow messed up.

If I select DS1245 and read back the same chip, the data appears from $00000. I can program the DS1250 as a DS1245 and everything works fine, except of course I can only use 128kB. I haven't tested yet where the data is really on the chip - $00000, $20000, $40000 or $60000.

So they implemented the DS1245 correctly, but somehow to forgot to correctly set A17 and A18 on the larger chips.

To make sure it's not a contact problem, I tried programming an AM29F040B (DIP32), everything works fine there.
Title: MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer / Arduino Atemega 328P
Post by: Electro Fan on October 02, 2015, 08:02:47 pm
- slightly off the main topic...

I have a TL866A.  I've been able to program an Uno with an Arduino IDE, remove the Atmega 328P from the Uno board, put the chip in the TL866A and change the code (simple text) using the MiniPro software, and then put the 328P back in the Uno board and read the revised text in the IDE software on the PC on a LCD attached to the Arduino.  (I can't see the revised code in the IDE, but I think that's just a limitation of the IDE - the IDE can upload data to the Atmega but it can't download data from the Atmega into the IDE.)

Question:  is it possible to safely/successfully changing a fuse setting on the Atmega using the TL866A?  (If yes, any guidance would be good - I'd like to experiment with change the fuse setting on pin 14.)  Thanks!

 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on October 02, 2015, 09:23:23 pm
Yes you can change fuse settings using the TL866. Moreover, you don't have to worry about cocking them up like you do with ISP programming (e.g. reprogramming the RESET pin as an IO), because pulling the AVR and putting it in the ZIF socket means it will be parallel programmed.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Electro Fan on October 03, 2015, 12:38:11 am
Yes you can change fuse settings using the TL866. Moreover, you don't have to worry about cocking them up like you do with ISP programming (e.g. reprogramming the RESET pin as an IO), because pulling the AVR and putting it in the ZIF socket means it will be parallel programmed.

Thanks - I will give it a try.
- What is the definition/significance of parallel programmed? Thx

Update: tried, but didn't get very far.
In the MiniPro software you can search by Hex and ASCII.  Problem is - I don't know what I'm searching for (fuse, Fuse, use, etc. don't seem to get any hits in ASCII).

Upon further (keen :)) observation of the MiniPro software I noticed that it has a section called IC Config Information which says:
Fuse Low Byte:  0xDE
Fuse high Byte:  0xDE
Extended Fuse Byte:  0xFD
Lock Bit Byte:  0xCF

What I think I'm looking for is the fuse setting for Pin 14 on the Atmega 328P, and then how to toggle it from what I think is currently off to on.  Any thoughts?  Thx

PS, any chance there is a way to get the MiniPro help file to display in English?

Update:  Oh boy!!  Turns out there is a tab called Config hiding next to / behind a couple other tabs called Code Memo and Data Memo.  In there is Fuse City!  Now I just need to figure out which of the checkboxes is the right one for Pin 14 (which theoretically is going to allow me to probe for frequency).  Any suggestions on which one toggles 14?  And any safety tips on how to avoid bricking things?  Thx 

Update:  found this:
http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-change-fuse-bits-of-AVR-Atmega328p-8bit-mic/step2/Understanding-Fuse-bits-from-datasheet/ (http://www.instructables.com/id/How-to-change-fuse-bits-of-AVR-Atmega328p-8bit-mic/step2/Understanding-Fuse-bits-from-datasheet/)
(Did anyone mention Google and the Internet are top notch?)
•Bit-6 : CKOUT : When set clock pulses are output on PB0 (Pin 14)
Looks like it's time to give a Go!
Will report back shortly as to whether the Atmega is still happy....
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: helius on October 03, 2015, 01:53:16 am
Now I just need to figure out which of the checkboxes is the right one for Pin 14 (which theoretically is going to allow me to probe for frequency).  Any suggestions on which one toggles 14?
It's 'CKOUT'.
Quote
And any safety tips on how to avoid bricking things?  Thx
You can't brick an AVR so that it won't be programmable in a parallel socket. It's possible to remove the ability for ISP programming, but not parallel programming.
I don't know how the program handles fuse bits, though. Are all three buffers ("code mem", "data mem", and "config") erased in the same operation? If you erase the other parts of the chip (code, data) it won't have a bootloader anymore.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Electro Fan on October 03, 2015, 02:20:52 am
helius, Thanks

I've got the good news (mostly good news) and the bad news.

After I selected CKOUT and hit program it confirmed a successful write.  Then I did a read and it confirmed success + I could go back in the MiniPro search function and see the code as I expected it too look.

Next I moved the Atmega from the TL866A to the Arduino.  I probed pin 14 with the scope and sure enough, it displayed 16 MHz (not the 15.9 MHz I had previously seen on the crystal in and out pins.  So far, so good - but the LCD display connected to the Uno wasn't showing the text as it had previously, so I tried uploading the sketch with the text to the Uno/LCD; the IDE showed a successful upload, but nothing appeared on the LCD.

Next, I moved the Atmega from the Arduino to the TL866A and removed the checkmark next to CKOUT, and then returned the Atmega to the Arduino.  Still no text on the display at that point, but when I uploaded the sketch to from the IDE to the Arduino the text came back to the LCD.

So, mostly good.  I was under the impression that turning on CKOUT was just a another way of getting a (more accurate?) frequency read from the Atmega (vs. from pins 9 and 10 next to the crystal).  Maybe enabling CKOUT does something else?

One other thing I noticed when I had CKOUT enabled and probed pin 14 is that the signal on the scope exhibited what look alike some jitter.  I didn't spend much time playing with it since I was in a hurry to see if I could get the chip re-programmed - so that's all I know so far.

Any idea further insight regarding CKOUT and it's impact on the sketch would be appreciated.

Thanks, EF
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Electro Fan on October 03, 2015, 02:42:05 am
Found this:
https://books.google.com/books?id=3GQnCgAAQBAJ&pg=PA99&lpg=PA99&dq=atmega+pin+14+ckout+fuse&source=bl&ots=Z5GgbYpHmc&sig=8ZtNg1ABz2UgvNJKypaOQDLe9i8&hl=en&sa=X&ved=0CDYQ6AEwA2oVChMI6_isqKGlyAIVxKCACh1qwAP8#v=onepage&q=atmega%20pin%2014%20ckout%20fuse&f=false

It indicates that CKOUT extends the clock to pin 14 so that whatever clock the AVR is using is enabled to be output on the CHKOUT pin (14).  Seems like a handy feature but for some reason it through my program into lala land.  I realize this is no longer a TL866A issue (the TL866 is a VERY GOOD product, BTW).  I'll move this Q&A over to the Microcontroller and FPGAs forum in case anyone wants to discuss further over there.  Thanks for all the good TL866 support!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: retronerd on October 09, 2015, 11:29:53 am
Im getting this error when im trying to burn?

(http://www.ladda-upp.se/tumnagel/ukujagpngmxxxe/) (http://www.ladda-upp.se/bilder/ukujagpngmxxxe/)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: papabol_24 on October 09, 2015, 03:48:39 pm
Check ur usb connection, make sure its on usb 2.0 not on usb 3.0...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on October 18, 2015, 01:04:47 pm
Anyone found a fix to the GAL22V10D issue ?  I updated to 6.17 but that has made no difference.  Also, re-installing the first version of the software didn't work as it doesn't seem to like the later firmware in the programmer.  Any way to roll everything back ?


Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on October 18, 2015, 01:13:41 pm
BTW, emails to their support email address (532007590@QQ.com) get bounced.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: retronerd on October 21, 2015, 08:12:45 pm
Check ur usb connection, make sure its on usb 2.0 not on usb 3.0...
i have done that only have usb 2.0 have worked before.. Dont know whats wrong? can it be new firmware issue?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: elektrik66 on October 29, 2015, 09:02:14 pm
Hello everybody i like this site and i just joined your team !.
I have a question about the MINI PRO USB TL866CS :
Can i test all the IC's ? in particularly Intel P8031 etc..
Thank you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timofonic on November 04, 2015, 11:56:14 am
BTW, emails to their support email address (532007590@QQ.com) get bounced.

Really?

Do you mean there's no customer support?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on November 04, 2015, 06:36:00 pm
It certainly looks that way.

I sent some emails to guessed addresses (support@autoelectric.cn and sales@autoelectric.cn) the other day.  I thought that I was in luck but they both bounced today.

To add insult to injury, I had thought about buying a Genius 540 but I don't know that I could rely on that working with the GAL22V10D either.  It would also take a while for it to arrive.  So, I ordered the connector, etc. and built one of these -

http://www.bhabbott.net.nz/atfblast.html (http://www.bhabbott.net.nz/atfblast.html)

You can imagine my annoyance to find that the GALBLAT.EXE software doesn't run on my 64-bit Windows 10 machine  |O  As far as I can tell, it runs ok on my 32-bit Windows 8 netbook but that doesn't have a parallel port  |O

So, really peeved at the moment  |O



Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Electro Fan on November 05, 2015, 12:40:49 am
Not sure if you have tried this supplier:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/High-speed-USB-BIOS-Programmer-TL866A-ICSP-SPI-in-circuit-programming-lite-pack-/321495091754?hash=item4ada99ca2a:g:1GMAAOSwxH1T8aEf (http://www.ebay.com/itm/High-speed-USB-BIOS-Programmer-TL866A-ICSP-SPI-in-circuit-programming-lite-pack-/321495091754?hash=item4ada99ca2a:g:1GMAAOSwxH1T8aEf)

sunwenjun offers other kits with various adapters for the 866A and also for the 866CS

ymmv but sunwenjun has consistently answered my messages

I think the product and the support (not much has been needed) have been good
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ryanmoore on November 05, 2015, 12:25:03 pm
Does anyone have the link to the modified version of the software that someone made? The one that fixed a lot of the Chinglish.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timofonic on November 05, 2015, 11:12:15 pm
Not sure if you have tried this supplier:
http://www.ebay.com/itm/High-speed-USB-BIOS-Programmer-TL866A-ICSP-SPI-in-circuit-programming-lite-pack-/321495091754?hash=item4ada99ca2a:g:1GMAAOSwxH1T8aEf (http://www.ebay.com/itm/High-speed-USB-BIOS-Programmer-TL866A-ICSP-SPI-in-circuit-programming-lite-pack-/321495091754?hash=item4ada99ca2a:g:1GMAAOSwxH1T8aEf)

sunwenjun offers other kits with various adapters for the 866A and also for the 866CS

ymmv but sunwenjun has consistently answered my messages

I think the product and the support (not much has been needed) have been good

Is this a distributor? I don't care, becasue the original company doesn't care about their potential customers.

Anyway, there's the schematics out there. It would be nice to do something based on TL866 and provide source code firmware too, this might be a very interesting collaborative OSHW project :D
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jukkis83 on November 16, 2015, 08:51:06 am
Hello

I use the TL866cs mainly to reprogram laptop bios chips. It seems to work well with older bios types, but the new ones with Intel Management Engine dont seem to work at all.

For example if I try to flash a new winbond 25Q64FVSIG chip with TL866 the laptop is completely dead and wont even turn on. This only occurs on never model laptops. Any idea why this is happening? Does the ME part of the bios somehow prevent the flashing prodecure from working? I use the default settings when flashing.

Using MiniPro v6.17 and V03.2.69 firmware.

Thanks in advance.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Rasz on November 16, 2015, 05:22:00 pm
Hello

I use the TL866cs mainly to reprogram laptop bios chips. It seems to work well with older bios types, but the new ones with Intel Management Engine dont seem to work at all.

For example if I try to flash a new winbond 25Q64FVSIG chip with TL866 the laptop is completely dead and wont even turn on. This only occurs on never model laptops. Any idea why this is happening? Does the ME part of the bios somehow prevent the flashing prodecure from working? I use the default settings when flashing.

do you copy dumped firmware from another bios chip or flash .bin from manufacturers bios upgrade zip? you cant just dump .bin par on empty chiop and expect it to work, intel cpus require their dose of NSA backdoor firmware first!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: lunecat on November 20, 2015, 09:41:40 am
Anyone found a fix to the GAL22V10D issue ?  I updated to 6.17 but that has made no difference.  Also, re-installing the first version of the software didn't work as it doesn't seem to like the later firmware in the programmer.  Any way to roll everything back ?

I think I have fixed the issue...

I am using a GAL16V8D and tried programming it & got the issue as described earlier in this thread. So what I did was :

1/ Erased the GAL, read it back into code memory & confirmed all bits="1"
2/ Loaded into code memory my .JED file (I took screen shots of each page of the program for later checking)
3/ In the Options section unchecked the "Erase before" and unchecked the "Verify after"
4/ In the IC Config section unchecked the "Encrypt"
5/ Programmed the chip, X5 times; one after the other

And that seems to have fixed it. This afternoon I'll put the GAL onto a bread board and wire it up and check the logic. But to check that my experiment has worked. I started the minipro s/w & programmer from fresh.

1/ Filled the code memory with zeros,
2/ Read in the GAL chip into code memory
3/ Compared every page of the code memory with the screen shots of the .JED file I took earlier. EVERYTHING MATCHED
4/ Also did the normal minipro Verify option & that passed too.

Maybe X5 programming was more than was required (possibly X3 would work). Could someone else try the above & confirm those steps works for them too?

Fingers crossed we have a fix!!!!

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: lunecat on November 20, 2015, 01:44:35 pm
^^^

As an update to my post above.

I put the GAL16V8 onto a bread board & tested all the functions I programmed into it & everything passed OK.

So the Minipro can program GAL devices, it just needs a few blasts of the program to make it stick!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: papabol_24 on November 20, 2015, 02:07:25 pm
Hello lunecat

ive tried and experimented on your procedure in programing GAL  :-+, ive used GAL20V8B, successfully programed the GAL in one attempt by unchecking "ENCRYPT CH"
 :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: lunecat on November 20, 2015, 03:04:05 pm
It certainly looks that way.

I sent some emails to guessed addresses (support@autoelectric.cn and sales@autoelectric.cn) the other day.  I thought that I was in luck but they both bounced today.

To add insult to injury, I had thought about buying a Genius 540 but I don't know that I could rely on that working with the GAL22V10D either.  It would also take a while for it to arrive.  So, I ordered the connector, etc. and built one of these -

http://www.bhabbott.net.nz/atfblast.html (http://www.bhabbott.net.nz/atfblast.html)

You can imagine my annoyance to find that the GALBLAT.EXE software doesn't run on my 64-bit Windows 10 machine  |O  As far as I can tell, it runs ok on my 32-bit Windows 8 netbook but that doesn't have a parallel port  |O

So, really peeved at the moment  |O

Why not run that GALBLAT s/w from within DOSBOX running on your 64-bit Windows. But we think that your GAL should program on the miniPro now.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: biotin on November 20, 2015, 07:17:08 pm
Hello guys ,

I just bought my TL866A , however when I try to read my 93c86 the overcurrent protection kicks in .

I've go through this pages and I've read to short the C22 . Can anyone please elaborate on how can I do that ?

Thank you
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheSteve on November 21, 2015, 06:43:41 am
Hello guys ,

I just bought my TL866A , however when I try to read my 93c86 the overcurrent protection kicks in .

I've go through this pages and I've read to short the C22 . Can anyone please elaborate on how can I do that ?

Thank you

Are you trying to read the IC in circuit?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on November 21, 2015, 08:10:10 am
I've had the overcurrent errors when trying to read EEPROM's in circuit with target powered off. In some cases it works when target powered on, but do not connect the +V from the TL866 in that case. Also you may have to disable target CPU before power on e.g. Keithley 2001 you can keep the CPU reset enabled, though on the 2000 & 2015 I found that wasn't enough but instead found removing the PLCC firmware proms did the trick. Other devices I've had no easy option but to desolder the EEPROM.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: biotin on November 21, 2015, 10:18:00 pm
Hello guys ,

I just bought my TL866A , however when I try to read my 93c86 the overcurrent protection kicks in .

I've go through this pages and I've read to short the C22 . Can anyone please elaborate on how can I do that ?

Thank you

Are you trying to read the IC in circuit?

Yes, using the test clip. Ive tried so many times in repositioning the test clip but always received this overcurrent error. ( i thought bac connection) I managed to read a few times, but its just luck.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: biotin on November 22, 2015, 02:41:03 pm
Ok some update ...

I short the C22 to disable the overcurrent check. Verify by checking on the self device test and it shows fail for overcurrent protection.

Now it can read the 93c86 EEPROM but the hex value is different everytime i clicked on READ .

Hmmmm ... I suspected this due to overcurrent?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on November 22, 2015, 11:08:35 pm
Ok some update ...

I short the C22 to disable the overcurrent check. Verify by checking on the self device test and it shows fail for overcurrent protection.

Now it can read the 93c86 EEPROM but the hex value is different everytime i clicked on READ .

Hmmmm ... I suspected this due to overcurrent?
Actually more likely undercurrent (assuming you are powering the EEPROM with the target powered off) - you will be trying to power up all the ancillary circuits to the EEPROM from your TL866 which just can't cut it.

Are you using one of those in-circuit 8 pin clips? What you want to do is disable the VCC (tiny piece of tape or paper on the VCC pin - or just cut the wire and solder some jumper pins to reconnect them if needed). Then either rely on the target being powered on or providing an external VCC from a PSU.

If using the target then you may run into problems with the I2C lines being in use by the CPU - so you need to hold reset or some other work around.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: biotin on November 23, 2015, 01:02:57 pm
Ok some update ...

I short the C22 to disable the overcurrent check. Verify by checking on the self device test and it shows fail for overcurrent protection.

Now it can read the 93c86 EEPROM but the hex value is different everytime i clicked on READ .

Hmmmm ... I suspected this due to overcurrent?
Actually more likely undercurrent (assuming you are powering the EEPROM with the target powered off) - you will be trying to power up all the ancillary circuits to the EEPROM from your TL866 which just can't cut it.

Are you using one of those in-circuit 8 pin clips? What you want to do is disable the VCC (tiny piece of tape or paper on the VCC pin - or just cut the wire and solder some jumper pins to reconnect them if needed). Then either rely on the target being powered on or providing an external VCC from a PSU.

If using the target then you may run into problems with the I2C lines being in use by the CPU - so you need to hold reset or some other work around.


Thanks for your input .

I followed as what you've suggested .

1. Disable VCC pin (PIN 8 for 93C86)
2. Provide power to the target
3. Try Read but the hex value will fill with FF

I guessed as what you've mentioned , it can read when the target is powered on .

I'm thinking to :

To supply the power directly to VCC pin ( cut the wire from test clip and connect power in between)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on December 13, 2015, 07:01:44 pm
Hi everyone!
First I want say a big thanks for all the users which have contribuited for the tool and stuff in this forum (and in particular to @radioman for the updater!)  :-+
Can someone tell me if the plcc adapter schematics are the same for the willem programmer?
In other words can i use the PCB from this site (http://www.mpu51.com/eprom/eprom.html) to build the adapetrs for my tl866?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: RetroSwim on December 24, 2015, 05:53:34 am
Hi all,

I bought my TL866CS some years ago, and went to use it today. The utility said an update was available, and stupidly I followed the directions to update firmware.

Seconds later, and my programmer seems dead. The yellow LED no longer flashes when I connect it, and no device shows up in Device Manager.

Am I up the proverbial creek here? I tried (in vain) putting a 200ohm resistor between 3v3 and R26 and re-connecting, but this does nothing.

I don't own a PICkit, but I do have a lot of Atmel gear lying around. Is there anything I can do with that to revive it?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheSteve on December 24, 2015, 09:09:04 pm
I suspect you'll need a pic programmer to recover it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on December 24, 2015, 09:50:25 pm
TL866A can do PIC programming... and you could have converted your... erm... oh, ok I'll get me coat...  :palm:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: papabol_24 on December 25, 2015, 08:26:35 am
Hello, Ver 6.50 is out and just updated/upgraded my TL866CS to A using radiomans SW  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: papabol_24 on December 25, 2015, 08:35:33 am
Is there anything I can do with that to revive it?

Ahm you might try using radiomans sw updated/changer on this thread,
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/375/ (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/375/)

follow the instructions, click reflash, if theres no activity disconnect and reconnect the tl866.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: RetroSwim on December 25, 2015, 09:44:52 am
Is there anything I can do with that to revive it?

Ahm you might try using radiomans sw updated/changer on this thread,
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/375/ (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/375/)

follow the instructions, click reflash, if theres no activity disconnect and reconnect the tl866.

Those instructions alone didn't appear to be enough.... however!!

In the included PDF it talks about a bodge parallel port based method to re-program the PIC. If there's one thing I do have, it's an abundance of PCs with parallel ports.

I will have a crack at that and report back!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: RetroSwim on December 25, 2015, 11:33:40 am
Success!

(http://i.imgur.com/bPUvQlsh.jpg)

Knocked this together, followed radioman's instructions to generate a new HEX file, used the PICPGM program as directed, and BAM. She works, upgraded to TL866A and everything.

Christmas is saved!!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: papabol_24 on December 25, 2015, 06:32:00 pm
Success!


Christmas is saved!!
:-+ Haha nice one Retro, Merry Christmas :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on December 25, 2015, 08:31:13 pm
Hello, Ver 6.50 is out and just updated/upgraded my TL866CS to A using radiomans SW  :-+

I wonder what the latest version does besides -

ADD?Support 25 Flash OTP programm
 Support 1.8V 25 serials Flash (Need special Adapter DIY)
 Ic Support up to 14000+, more detail see IC supported List.

Fixes the GAL22V10D issue ?

Bricks the programmer ?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on January 16, 2016, 03:29:55 pm
I wonder what the latest version does besides -

ADD?Support 25 Flash OTP programm
 Support 1.8V 25 serials Flash (Need special Adapter DIY)
 Ic Support up to 14000+, more detail see IC supported List.

Fixes the GAL22V10D issue ?

Bricks the programmer ?
Yea, if you update yuor device will explode and produces a fantastic rainbow  :-//


BTW updated to 6.50 version A with radioman tool and works like a charm ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: l4m4nh7jen on January 20, 2016, 06:33:31 pm
Hello everybody. i'm newbie, and i need your help  !!!

  I have buy Mini pro TL866CS from china to flash bios mainboard PC.
But they send to me a FAKE TL866CS.
  When connected tl866CS to my computer, and setup driver. TL866CS worrking ok. BUT  i did click reflash firmware => i has error message.
after that my FAKE TL866CS can't connected with my computer.

i has try driver v6.0     v6.1       v6.5....
My Fake TL866CS, CAN'T CONNECTED to my PC. And i try connected other PC same.

What can I do with my FAKE minipro TL866CS.

Help me please :( Sorry for my bad english. :(
(http://pik.vn/201634cba2bb-42dc-4249-a5dc-d78538372bee.jpeg)
(http://pik.vn/2016afbec8ab-1db0-4af3-bf13-2660c944621b.jpeg)
(http://pik.vn/2016c3d2fc43-05ee-413a-934d-635d951593e8.jpeg)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on January 20, 2016, 10:26:03 pm
What can I do with my FAKE minipro TL866CS.
Try downloading the current Minipro? v5.91 is ancient...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: l4m4nh7jen on January 21, 2016, 04:00:23 am
What can I do with my FAKE minipro TL866CS.
Try downloading the current Minipro? v5.91 is ancient...

i has try driver 6.0 6.1 6.5....
My Fake TL866CS, CAN'T CONNECTED to my PC. And i try connected other PC same.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on January 21, 2016, 08:32:41 am
Well if it is a fake get on to ebay / aliexpress or wherever and demand a refund
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: l4m4nh7jen on January 21, 2016, 08:49:43 am
Well if it is a fake get on to ebay / aliexpress or wherever and demand a refund

So sad  |O |O |O |O
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Rasz on January 21, 2016, 05:10:43 pm
it doesnt look like fake, more like dead - its not showing up on your screenshot of connected devices at all
you probably killed it with a bad firmware upgrade
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on January 21, 2016, 07:01:35 pm
Well if it is a fake get on to ebay / aliexpress or wherever and demand a refund

So sad  |O |O |O |O

Bad firmware update. You can recover simply using another programmer connected to the internal ICSP port in the TL866.
If you don'te have any programmer, you can build a very simple parallel port programmer using the guide in the radioman's pdf. Like RetroSwin did above.

Btw this device doesen't support 24c02bn atmel serial eeprom... wow :(
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: l4m4nh7jen on January 22, 2016, 03:32:30 am
Well if it is a fake get on to ebay / aliexpress or wherever and demand a refund

So sad  |O |O |O |O

Bad firmware update. You can recover simply using another programmer connected to the internal ICSP port in the TL866.
If you don'te have any programmer, you can build a very simple parallel port programmer using the guide in the radioman's pdf. Like RetroSwin did above.

Btw this device doesen't support 24c02bn atmel serial eeprom... wow :(

what can i do  :-[
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: cyberartem on January 23, 2016, 12:55:25 pm
Hello guys,

I have bought the TL866CS form an ebay official seller "sunwenjun" so it is probably a genuine one.
Plugged it in , updated to the newest software (6.50) + firmware , it works like a charm.
But i have a problem writing 29fxxxx 49fxxxx and similar devices some in PLCC32 (using adapter) and some in DIP28,
the reading of IC's is OK but i cannot write.
I have few new IC's and many old ones , but i could not program anyone of them.
If fails with programming error on verify on the first byte that is not an 0xFF one, means that it does not erase the IC as well.
Tried to write some PIC16F & PIC18F works OK and 93xx and 25xx DIP8 seems to work fine.
Self hardware diagnostics is OK !
I need it mainly for 29x 28x 49x 27x EEPROM/FLash.
I am returning the item to seller for exchange but please tell me if this can be a product/software issue ?
Or has anyone encountered such problems ?

Thank you all !

BR,
- Artiom.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on January 23, 2016, 02:37:10 pm
what can i do  :-[
Read the radioman's pdf from page 9, there's a guide how to recover the device.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on January 23, 2016, 09:06:33 pm
@cyberartem - I've had no problem at all with 27C, 29F (both with PLCC adapter), and PIC16F as well as any 8 pin EEPROM I have tried.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: cyberartem on January 26, 2016, 10:51:44 am
Thank you Macbeth.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PinheadBE on January 29, 2016, 09:32:52 pm
Just noticed that a few popular MCUs are not supported by that... thing.

Best example: ATMEGA328P !  :palm:
Another one ?   PC10F3xx family  >:(
Could go on forever.....

May be cheap, but is, indeed cheapish.  :bullshit:

Nah !  Not very useful to me....  :--
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on January 29, 2016, 09:53:35 pm
Just noticed that a few popular MCUs are not supported by that... thing.

Best example: ATMEGA328P !  :palm:

Worst possible example! Can confirm I've programmed them.

Quote
Another one ?   PC10F3xx family  >:(
Could go on forever.....

Never heard of it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: albaben on February 14, 2016, 02:34:17 pm
I greet you all and wish you for the great work you have done. I am new to this forum and also new and in the field of programming. in addition I want to say that I am not specialized in this field. IF I ask your help to help me somehow nerves.
- I have a TL866. When I bought a few months ago I was TL866CS and I've returned TL866A. everything goes perfect up here. I programmed some EEPROM in the basement of his respective adapter. everything normal, reads, cleans and schedules properly. but the problem I have with ICSP connection. I want to program a atmega644pa without removing the tiles which is dropping. ICSP connects with token token that I have made for the label of the device that has atmega644. I get to read MCU ATMEGA 644pa, it seems tl866a reading program but not really read anything. all of which are FFFFFFFFF. I tried several different MCU ic but without result. responds equally to all. and I try to program it seems like everything is going well but we finally draws error. when I click chek id, does not allow me to do anything after we issue id ic error. then I click no chek owe to id and then do not issue error when read but only when the program. It seems really do not read but after reading all the data that I read are FFFFFFFF. I tried to change my place with the cable cable MISO MOSI, that perhaps I made a mistake in connection with the token that have adapted to the plaque which is dropping circuit, but nothing changes.
- Please who can give me a suggestion or a help because I have more problem to overtake successfully TJA. IF you want the photo or detailed explanations, please tell me. enough to reach my goal. with respect to large for you!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jorgemiguel4 on February 16, 2016, 02:43:31 pm
Hello guys,

I have bought the TL866CS form an ebay official seller "sunwenjun" so it is probably a genuine one.
Plugged it in , updated to the newest software (6.50) + firmware , it works like a charm.
But i have a problem writing 29fxxxx 49fxxxx and similar devices some in PLCC32 (using adapter) and some in DIP28,
the reading of IC's is OK but i cannot write.
I have few new IC's and many old ones , but i could not program anyone of them.
If fails with programming error on verify on the first byte that is not an 0xFF one, means that it does not erase the IC as well.
Tried to write some PIC16F & PIC18F works OK and 93xx and 25xx DIP8 seems to work fine.
Self hardware diagnostics is OK !
I need it mainly for 29x 28x 49x 27x EEPROM/FLash.
I am returning the item to seller for exchange but please tell me if this can be a product/software issue ?
Or has anyone encountered such problems ?

Thank you all !

BR,
- Artiom.

Exactly the same problem here, did you solve the problem?
Already tried two PLCC32 adapters, several USB cables,... don't know what to do. It reads just fine but then fails to erase and write.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: digsys on February 16, 2016, 11:27:27 pm
I have similar problems with a 29EE010 / 020 etc series. I chose a "gemeric" part that had similar specs, and that worked for me.
I have 3-4 other universal programmers, including a very expensive Batronix one, which refuses to program these chips !!
emails and bitching got me no-where, which is why I went with TL866 in the end. I don't think I've ever owned a "universal" programmer
that worked all the time on anything, or had good customer feedback - except when I have to make my own !! which I've had to do on many occasions.
Batronic was going to release a utility to create / edit your own profiles, but stalled for years. They never told me why.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on February 17, 2016, 06:18:39 pm
Are you sure that chip are not fake?
I've programmed lots of 29EE010 (PLCC or DIP) and i haven't any problems, sometimes reading\writing faults, specially on PLCC sockets are because of bad pin connection...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jorgemiguel4 on February 18, 2016, 09:21:33 pm
I have tried at least 5 29f010b, some from ebay and others from my local eletronics store. Same problem with them all... I'm 90% positive that the problem is the programmer. Is there any way I can test it?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on February 19, 2016, 02:31:21 am
What can I do with my FAKE minipro TL866CS.
Try downloading the current Minipro? v5.91 is ancient...

i has try driver 6.0 6.1 6.5....
My Fake TL866CS, CAN'T CONNECTED to my PC. And i try connected other PC same.

On wich windows you try to connect it  ????  maybe the drivers didn't install correctly, maybe you have to override the driver signature  .....
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: digsys on February 19, 2016, 03:43:17 am
Quote from: coromonadalix
On wich windows you try to connect it  ????  maybe the drivers didn't install correctly, maybe you have to override the driver signature  .....
Good point.
I'd find some generic eprom, flash, e2r etc similar to the one you have and PROVE that ir does in fact actually work -
ie 12V - 21V 25V voltages work, CS / WE lines work etc
And as before, look for similar parts in the library and try those algorithms -
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on February 19, 2016, 02:03:51 pm
I have tried at least 5 29f010b, some from ebay and others from my local eletronics store. Same problem with them all... I'm 90% positive that the problem is the programmer. Is there any way I can test it?
I don't Know honestly. On my TL866 works like a charm :\
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: all_repair on February 20, 2016, 05:11:05 am
I have tried at least 5 29f010b, some from ebay and others from my local eletronics store. Same problem with them all... I'm 90% positive that the problem is the programmer. Is there any way I can test it?
I don't Know honestly. On my TL866 works like a charm :\

Likely problem with a very popular programmer is more on the user :-)
Mostly I have to select to IGNORE thr chip manufacturter'- ID.  Many of my chips do not have the stated ID defined in the TL866.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jorgemiguel4 on February 20, 2016, 03:42:29 pm
Thanks all for helping me

Well, I'm still trying. It's possible that I'm causing the problem but I'm not sure. ID is not the problem, it's 01 20 on every 29f010 I have.
Sector protection is also disabled on all sectors, so it can't be a problem either.

Tried today a SST 49LF002A with the same PLCC32 socket adapter and it worked right.  I  know it doesn't prove much since the required pins are not the same but...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on February 21, 2016, 05:18:43 pm
Have you checked the PLCC32 adaptor pin-pin continuity? Also, have you checked the programming voltage is ok? Find the pin on the data sheet and measure it when writing.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: alpsjp on February 21, 2016, 11:22:06 pm
Hello there,
 I am newweb here, and am desperate to know how to short the pin C22 without damagin the programmer!
I appreciate uour help guys!
Thanks!
 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jorgemiguel4 on February 22, 2016, 12:48:50 am
Have you checked the PLCC32 adaptor pin-pin continuity? Also, have you checked the programming voltage is ok? Find the pin on the data sheet and measure it when writing.

Yes, continuity checks out good in every pin. Also checked with a scope with the probe tip on eeprom legs, got "good" waveforms in every address and data pins with high side around 4volts. But found that Write Enable pin is left HIGH for some reason, from my understanding it should be low during write, maybe it's part of the problem. Any guesses?


Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: alpsjp on February 22, 2016, 02:02:10 am
Somebody help me, please with post #854!!!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rauloliv on February 25, 2016, 04:22:45 pm
Hello guys,

I own a TL866CS and for the first time i will need to read and write a ATMEGA its the ATMEGA32A  in TQFP-44 package.
What would be the best way to do it? I don't think there is a adapter is there?

Thanks!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on February 25, 2016, 04:45:46 pm
Hello guys,

I own a TL866CS and for the first time i will need to read and write a ATMEGA its the ATMEGA32A  in TQFP-44 package.
What would be the best way to do it? I don't think there is a adapter is there?

Thanks!

You need to convert your TL866CS in A version, and then program your atmega via ICSP connection.
Note that using this method (via ICSP) you can't programm your device in "parallel programming interface" mode, so you can't program all fuse and, if IRC, you need also an external oscillator.
Otherwise you should build an adaper and solder all the needed wires and connect them to the 40 pin programmer zif socket. Atmel...  :phew:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rauloliv on February 25, 2016, 05:11:13 pm
geeezz...  :-\

all because i have the atmega with a input pin in short circuit.

The idea is to copy this one to a brand new.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on February 25, 2016, 06:44:34 pm
Nothing complicated...
To convert the tl866 you can use radioman's tool, after that you have to solder the icsp wires and the crystal (don't forget the 22pf condensators) to the atmega and, hopefully the atmega it's not protected, you can dump & write the HEX.
With atmel you have to know the fuses because the values are not present in the main HEX.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: RedBarron on February 25, 2016, 08:44:53 pm
I'm trying to program some am29f016b chips. It is the 48 pin tsops, I have it on a 40pin board as the 2 pins on each corner are NC.
I know that people have had success doing this as I seen in done on a foreign forum. Similiar to this picture, not mine.

(http://www.elotrolado.net/download/file.php?mode=view&id=89244&sid=600a9b3f540457ec0448a01da830e48a)

 I try programming it but I keep getting errors like this one. Could anyone shed some light on what could be going wrong

(http://s29.postimg.org/twgdl5n8n/2016_02_25_12_01_46_Mini_Pro_v6_50.png)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on February 28, 2016, 11:53:45 am
Hi,
one of the external images that you have linked randomly disappear...
BTW it's something that has to do with a console cartridge?
Have you tried to burn the chip itself alone without the dip adapter?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: albaben on February 28, 2016, 12:53:25 pm
Nothing complicated...
To convert the tl866 you can use radioman's tool, after that you have to solder the icsp wires and the crystal (don't forget the 22pf condensators) to the atmega and, hopefully the atmega it's not protected, you can dump & write the HEX.
With atmel you have to know the fuses because the values are not present in the main HEX.

Please give an explanation about this capacitor named above? because I want the program to reach a atmega644pa and so I do not catch on to do. I drip on board ICSP working ATMEGA. I must add this capacitor ??
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on February 28, 2016, 01:56:21 pm
First i'm very sorry if my english it's not the best.
I'm even don't know very well how atmel works. But i will try to help you...

After you have TL866 "A" version you can do also ICSP programming. Select your device and click in the "set interface" menù "ICSP port" option.
After that you can click on the information TAB and you should see the interface schematic. The capacitor that i'm talking should be added in parallel to each pin of the external crystal. 22pf are enough.

You can look at this image to show you what i'm talking about:
 click me  (http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-qfDegZDJm_0/USKgIY1IFjI/AAAAAAAAAKk/rDN5fWu9b3s/s1600/atmega328p_schem2.png)
Do you see in the left the two 22pf capacitors?

IIRC atmel need external oscillator when you use ICSP programming interface
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: zenelli on February 28, 2016, 03:15:28 pm
HI Guys,
I need to program this chip https://ghostlyhaks.com/forum/attachment/336 (https://ghostlyhaks.com/forum/attachment/336)
Can somebody tell me why this programmer can read but not erase or write??
i have desolder the chip and i'm using this clip http://media.digikey.com/Photos/Pomona%20Photos/5250.JPG (http://media.digikey.com/Photos/Pomona%20Photos/5250.JPG)
the programmer can read it but thats it.
must i do something on the option menu?

PLEASE help!!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: albaben on February 28, 2016, 06:35:45 pm
HI Guys,
I need to program this chip https://ghostlyhaks.com/forum/attachment/336 (https://ghostlyhaks.com/forum/attachment/336)
Can somebody tell me why this programmer can read but not erase or write??
i have desolder the chip and i'm using this clip http://media.digikey.com/Photos/Pomona%20Photos/5250.JPG (http://media.digikey.com/Photos/Pomona%20Photos/5250.JPG)
the programmer can read it but thats it.
must i do something on the option menu?

PLEASE help!!

sorry but there is no 644pa ATMEGA 20MHz oscillator. the device that does not have all oscillator.oscillator should definitely set to be programmed?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on February 28, 2016, 06:44:11 pm
Do you have an icsp port on that board?
If not, you have to desolder the chip from the borard and solder the six icsp wires plus the external osc.
I'm sorry but i can help you more... Maybe without the ext osc you can program the chip the same, but i'm pretty sure you can't set some fuses  :-//
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: albaben on February 28, 2016, 07:01:45 pm
Do you have an icsp port on that board?
If not, you have to desolder the chip from the borard and solder the six icsp wires plus the external osc.
I'm sorry but i can help you more... Maybe without the ext osc you can program the chip the same, but i'm pretty sure you can't set some fuses  :-//

I've definitely. please read my post to understand the problem I have:https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg868933/#msg868933
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on February 28, 2016, 07:42:22 pm
So you have reading problem with ICSP port of your TL866?
This  comment  (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg467348/#msg467348)can help you?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: albaben on February 28, 2016, 09:22:06 pm
I made everything okay. I checked several times. but my TL866A issued the same defect. IF unplug id button read, it seems like you are reading but not really read anything. All data are FFFFFFFFF ....... I do not understand where my problem. Is my system a 32bit Windows7

 :palm: |O |O
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on February 28, 2016, 10:36:59 pm
I'm sorry, but i have any other ideas...
I don't think it's a system problem, i think the problem it's in the TL866. Can you test the icsp programming with other devices like PIC mcu?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: albaben on February 29, 2016, 08:19:24 am
I'm sorry, but i have any other ideas...
I don't think it's a system problem, i think the problem it's in the TL866. Can you test the icsp programming with other devices like PIC mcu?

Thank you anyway for more trouble you did to help me. and I believe that the problem have only ICSP connection. while various EEPROM in the basement of tl866 I programmed several times and everything is ok. the right to say more necessary for my work I MCU programming, anyway, will owe to buy any other programmer. :popcorn:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SoundTech-LG on March 08, 2016, 05:32:02 pm
Hi,

Wondering if I may need to convert to TL866A ???   I am trying to ID a PLCC44 chip that has had the top numbers burnished off by the manufacturer!  :palm:

I am guessing it's an Atmel MCU, AT89C51 or the likes, but so far the TL866CS cannot deal with the Chip ID box checked during READ. Any help would be greatly appreciated. the chip was getting a Firmware update in-circuit, it went through the routine, and gave a checksum error at the end! I do have another chip I could capture the code off of, if I could correctly ID this.

Thanks in advance!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SoundTech-LG on March 09, 2016, 04:17:36 pm
Made a little headway...  I can read the device using Philips/Intel/NXP device 87C52 (C54) (C58). If I save it to a HEX file, and then try to program the device I get an error (can't write it). :wtf:
The Atmel parts listed are only AT prefixed, and the Atmel 87C52 series start with T. Not sure why those are not listed. I'm still betting it's an Atmel device by the looks of the Lot code / Date code that is still on the IC, compared to what I see in Google search images of Atmel PLCC44 devices. Pretty sure this is not an OTP part, since there is a rs232 port and programming switch on the chassis.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SoundTech-LG on March 10, 2016, 08:32:05 pm
but...  maybe it is a OTP part. Those are a much cheaper solution for the Mfg'r, but they screwed the end user if they made that decision before they shipped this product.  :-- Will find out soon enough.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SoundTech-LG on March 14, 2016, 03:29:20 pm
Anyone know why Atmel series AT89Cxx are not listed? Philips, Intel, SST, seem to have equivalent series listed.
Thanks in advance!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: helius on March 14, 2016, 05:17:47 pm
OTP memories are based on EPROM technology, and displaced earlier (1970s) bipolar and antifuse PROMs. All OTP is, is an EPROM device in a plastic package. So OTP parts exist in the same series and datasheets as EPROM parts, with a different suffix.
OTP parts are NOT alternatives to EEPROM parts, that is a completely different technology.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: hideehoo2 on March 26, 2016, 06:27:36 pm
Has anyone found a solution for programming Lattice GAL22V10B chips?  I tried version 6.5 of the MiniPro software and it still incorrectly handles this chips, with the verify error at address 32.

I've heard the old Genius 540 from Stager works correctly, so I'm assuming the newer VS4000 from them also works, but there hasn't been a software update for the new line since early 2014 so that's not encouraging for future support (Win10, etc.).

http://www.stg51.com/english/product.asp (http://www.stg51.com/english/product.asp)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on March 26, 2016, 06:37:00 pm
Has anyone found a solution for programming Lattice GAL22V10B chips?  I tried version 6.5 of the MiniPro software and it still incorrectly handles this chips, with the verify error at address 32.

I've heard the old Genius 540 from Stager works correctly, so I'm assuming the newer VS4000 from them also works, but there hasn't been a software update for the new line since early 2014 so that's not encouraging for future support (Win10, etc.).

http://www.stg51.com/english/product.asp (http://www.stg51.com/english/product.asp)
Why you don't contact autoelectric?
Mail address is 532007590@qq.com (It works, they answered me)
Wrote them in english and chinese (use google translate, there's no problem)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on March 26, 2016, 06:49:22 pm
OTP memories are based on EPROM technology, and displaced earlier (1970s) bipolar and antifuse PROMs. All OTP is, is an EPROM device in a plastic package. So OTP parts exist in the same series and datasheets as EPROM parts, with a different suffix.
OTP parts are NOT alternatives to EEPROM parts, that is a completely different technology.

Hmm... So if I took a dremel to the face of my PLCC32 ROMs exposing the die, I could then erase them and reprogram? I think this is worthy of experiment  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SeanB on March 26, 2016, 07:48:30 pm
Only if you avoid the bond wires in there as well.

You might have to go up to Ian and leave them in his new Xray machine for a few weeks of gentle soft radiation to knock those pesky electrons back into the ground state. You do get a flash eraser, wonder just how opaque that package actually is, enough light and it might allow enough through for erasure, though it might also be enough to burn the epoxy off.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: hideehoo2 on April 16, 2016, 05:34:00 am
Has anyone found a solution for programming Lattice GAL22V10B chips?  I tried version 6.5 of the MiniPro software and it still incorrectly handles this chips, with the verify error at address 32.

I've heard the old Genius 540 from Stager works correctly, so I'm assuming the newer VS4000 from them also works, but there hasn't been a software update for the new line since early 2014 so that's not encouraging for future support (Win10, etc.).

http://www.stg51.com/english/product.asp (http://www.stg51.com/english/product.asp)
Why you don't contact autoelectric?
Mail address is 532007590@qq.com (It works, they answered me)
Wrote them in english and chinese (use google translate, there's no problem)

Never heard back from autoelectric via email.  Ended up ordering the VS4000 for $45 during the last sale on Aliexpress.  Showed up today and I can confirm is worked fine programming the Lattice GAL22V10B's that failed in my TL866CS.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: albaben on April 19, 2016, 07:45:45 am
while I have a question that maybe you look stupid, or is the same in programming with ATMEGA644PA ATMEGA644PV? TL866A programmer ask because this has not in the list ATMEGA644PV. I tried to read the command atmega644pv PA and the perfect read. but we exhale programming error and now does not read all the ATMEGA 644pv ID. issued 00 00 00. a rise in this region ATMEGA 644pv or dies? can I program with this programmer when we did not list atmega644pv? Next programmer or should I wait or perhaps update this program can enter and ATMEGA 644pv. Thank you to everyone for the contribution you give!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: wkb on April 19, 2016, 08:19:10 am
OTP memories are based on EPROM technology, and displaced earlier (1970s) bipolar and antifuse PROMs. All OTP is, is an EPROM device in a plastic package. So OTP parts exist in the same series and datasheets as EPROM parts, with a different suffix.
OTP parts are NOT alternatives to EEPROM parts, that is a completely different technology.

Hmm... So if I took a dremel to the face of my PLCC32 ROMs exposing the die, I could then erase them and reprogram? I think this is worthy of experiment  :-+

X-ray machine does it without Dremeling..
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jensma on April 22, 2016, 10:54:50 am
Hey guys! I'm a long time watcher and fan and just registered.

I've got a problem with my tl866c, maybe you guys have some idea :D

I'm trying to write to a 29L3211MC by Macronix. The minipro software doesn't list that IC at all. I've stacked some adapter and I'm not even able to read the chips ID :/

Is there any way to use the tl866c for this chip? Maybe by selecting an alternative, yet pin and voltage compatible chip from the list?

Cheers, thanks and have a good one!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: android on April 22, 2016, 11:45:18 am
I'm trying to write to a 29L3211MC by Macronix. The minipro software doesn't list that IC at all.
Even Macronix (http://www.macronix.com) doesn't list that IC at all. My bet is that it's too old (ca 2001) to be worth supporting.
If it's any consolation, I have a SOFI SP16 (http://sofi-tech.com/English/) programmer that doesn't list it either.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jensma on April 22, 2016, 11:57:52 am
Bummer :(

The GQ-4X seems to be somewhat compatible with that particular chip: http://www.mcumall.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5196 (http://www.mcumall.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5196)

Well, "somewhat" :/
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Mikek400 on April 24, 2016, 10:54:22 am
Apparently there are counterfeit units for sale on Aliexpress that self destruct when you use the latest software from Autoelectric's site. It came with a link to some strange site on a sticker in the box which I didn't use. First suspicion that it was fake.

 They look real in every way. Come in the same box, even the board inside looks the same as the one Dave showed in the blog.  One small difference, there was no sticker on the the bottom of the unit.

I got mine and installed the software. It connected and asked to upgrade the firmware. Upgraded and it gave an error then said

"This programmer is a piracy! the illegal codes have been deleted! Please use genuine products, then reinstall the programmer's software."  Chinglish translation.  This is a counterfeit unit and therefore we have deleted the firmware.  Screw you don't buy fake programmers.

It bricked my programmer and I had only had it 3 minutes.  After a bit of a hassle I fixed it. Details are in this post https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/minipro-tl866-firmware-upgraded-and-broken-fake-device/ (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/minipro-tl866-firmware-upgraded-and-broken-fake-device/)

Anyhow, trying to get my money back from the seller now.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Rasz on April 24, 2016, 02:48:58 pm
Apparently there are counterfeit units for sale on Aliexpress

Aliexpress is surprisingly good when it comes to counterfeits - report it and you will get your money back without sending back bad product.
Plenty of people play a game of buy 128GB pendrive, receive 4GB one for free.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jensma on April 24, 2016, 05:54:56 pm
Apparently there are counterfeit units for sale on Aliexpress that self destruct when you use the latest software from Autoelectric's site. It came with a link to some strange site on a sticker in the box which I didn't use. First suspicion that it was fake.
...

Thanks for sharing your findings! I just checked my device, it has a silver sticker at the bottom. Seems like I'm safe. Good luck receiving your refund!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on April 25, 2016, 01:16:30 am
Is it really a counterfeit or a false positive? If the actual PCBs are the same - with bread and butter PIC and jelly bean stuff - and you managed to recover the unit with a parallel programming cable - does it now work with the latest firmwares?

I know the higher pin count accessories for the TL866 are perhaps more closely guarded secrets, but the base unit?

I'm just off to upgrade my firmware and see if it bricks now, because I got my 866 + a pile of bits for a very cheap price, so it must be fake... Of course I did the CS to A upgrade too :-//
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Rasz on April 25, 2016, 06:02:42 am
Is it really a counterfeit or a false positive? If the actual PCBs are the same - with bread and butter PIC and jelly bean stuff - and you managed to recover the unit with a parallel programming cable - does it now work with the latest firmwares?

I know the higher pin count accessories for the TL866 are perhaps more closely guarded secrets, but the base unit?

I'm just off to upgrade my firmware and see if it bricks now, because I got my 866 + a pile of bits for a very cheap price, so it must be fake... Of course I did the CS to A upgrade too :-//

I suspect cloner loaded all units with one firmware containing same serial number, autoelectric discovered fakes and blacklisted that particular sn
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Mikek400 on April 25, 2016, 11:16:37 am
Yeah, I think its S/N based.

Honestly, before buying this I didn't even think about there being clone units of such a cheap programmer..  :o

I'm sure its a clone.. Why else would there be no sticker and have a link to some chinese file uploading site to get the software. LOL

Also the box is a little different than the original I think.  Will post pics of the board for those interested.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Votality on April 25, 2016, 11:26:03 am
Yeah, I think its S/N based.

Honestly, before buying this I didn't even think about there being clone units of such a cheap programmer..  :o

I'm sure its a clone.. Why else would there be no sticker and have a link to some chinese file uploading site to get the software. LOL

Also the box is a little different than the original I think.  Will post pics of the board for those interested.

Well its kind of amusing the Chinese copying their own countries gear for a change. 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Mikek400 on April 25, 2016, 11:33:18 am
Pictures of clone unit.  I added the header to J1 to reprogram it. It was not included.

The link to the suspicious software is http://pan.baidu.com/s/1c1cHPeg (http://pan.baidu.com/s/1c1cHPeg)

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on April 25, 2016, 03:35:25 pm
I had a look at my PCBs and had a laugh that the cloner is even more fastidious at hiding the top secret PIC than Autoelectric. It looks like they have lasered the marking off vs mine which appears to be scrubbed using a rotary tool. A quick look and the only other difference I see is the "XG Design 2003" text is 2004 on mine.

I had a look at the dodgy firmware at http://pan.baidu.com/s/1c1cHPeg (http://pan.baidu.com/s/1c1cHPeg) and did a diff on the files. It appears to be version 6.10, the differences being:

All the images in the img folder have been doctored to remove "FOR TL866 PROGRAMMER" and the AUTOELECTRIC logos and website references.
There are some small patched binary changes to MiniPro.exe. config.dat appears to be set to a different default device, and language.dat is present and default to Chinese. No sign of anything malware.
The patch to the MiniPro.exe appears to be to disable the Help, About and Upgrade menu options. Also the MiniProHelp.chm has not been provided. Both of these of course contain references to Autoelectric.

Mike, when you recovered the dodgy TL866 using radiomanV's tools have you got it working with the official 6.50 version? Perhaps by changing the serial number? Of course upgrading it to an A too ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Mikek400 on April 25, 2016, 04:16:52 pm
I had a look at my PCBs and had a laugh that the cloner is even more fastidious at hiding the top secret PIC than Autoelectric. It looks like they have lasered the marking off vs mine which appears to be scrubbed using a rotary tool. A quick look and the only other difference I see is the "XG Design 2003" text is 2004 on mine.

I had a look at the dodgy firmware at http://pan.baidu.com/s/1c1cHPeg (http://pan.baidu.com/s/1c1cHPeg) and did a diff on the files. It appears to be version 6.10, the differences being:

All the images in the img folder have been doctored to remove "FOR TL866 PROGRAMMER" and the AUTOELECTRIC logos and website references.
There are some small patched binary changes to MiniPro.exe. config.dat appears to be set to a different default device, and language.dat is present and default to Chinese. No sign of anything malware.
The patch to the MiniPro.exe appears to be to disable the Help, About and Upgrade menu options. Also the MiniProHelp.chm has not been provided. Both of these of course contain references to Autoelectric.

Mike, when you recovered the dodgy TL866 using Radioman's tools have you got it working with the official 6.50 version Perhaps by changing the serial number? Of course upgrading it to an A too ;)

Yes I got it working with Radioman's tools he made and it is now working with the official 6.5v of the software. Upgraded it to A version too but haven't bought a header yet for ICSP yet. There was no serial number because Autoelectric's software deleted the firmware from the device and the serial is in the firmware. I used the random serial function on Radioman's software.

By the way, Thank you Radioman! :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on April 25, 2016, 06:24:03 pm
I noticed with the official MiniPro application that the only provided help files are in Chinese even if you choose the English language option. Somebody went to the effort of running the HTML Help .chm file through google translate and recompiling it, so at least a Chinglish version is available. See here on AtariAge (http://atariage.com/forums/blog/567/entry-12391-making-ones-own-cartridges-updated-03192016/)

An annoying security thing with .chm files on recent Windows versions - You will likely end up with the index in the left pane and an empty right pane when viewing it. To fix this you have to go to the .chm file in explorer, right click, properties and click the Unblock checkbox. This one catches out so many people, including many of those in the AtariAge thread :-+

There's another one on MHHAUTO forums that someone has even went to the trouble of including English screenshots, but the text formatting is kinda crap and I think it's from an earlier version of the help. Not sure which Chinglish translation is the better one.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: all_repair on April 27, 2016, 10:24:43 am
Now with a cloner, and if the sale stops coming in, this programmer shall be abandoned.  And it shall become another brick in my cabinet. 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Rasz on April 27, 2016, 03:02:02 pm
Now with a cloner, and if the sale stops coming in, this programmer shall be abandoned.  And it shall become another brick in my cabinet.

Whole premise of a programmer with logic hidden in a black lasered/grinded over markings box is flawed.
Programmer should be open hardware bitbanging platform with high amount of configurable logic level voltage GPIOs + open source application.

if you look at TL866 its just a shift register with a bunch of latches and variable logic level power supply. Thats all there is to it, add USB microcontroller with 8-10 pins to control this mess and hardware is done.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SoundTech-LG on April 29, 2016, 01:16:59 am
Anyone know why Atmel series AT89Cxx are not listed? Philips, Intel, SST, seem to have equivalent series listed.
Thanks in advance!

Well, not quite...  the supported chip list does show some AT89C51xxx but I confirmed I have an AT89C51ED1 which is not on the list, and nothing else will program it either. TL866 is unable to do it. Must go to ICS type programming. TL866A??? But then what chip ID to use???
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timofonic on April 29, 2016, 03:30:53 am
Now with a cloner, and if the sale stops coming in, this programmer shall be abandoned.  And it shall become another brick in my cabinet.

Whole premise of a programmer with logic hidden in a black lasered/grinded over markings box is flawed.
Programmer should be open hardware bitbanging platform with high amount of configurable logic level voltage GPIOs + open source application.

if you look at TL866 its just a shift register with a bunch of latches and variable logic level power supply. Thats all there is to it, add USB microcontroller with 8-10 pins to control this mess and hardware is done.
So do you want to be a pioneer? There are others like Open Programmer, but lacked a proper community behind it and a complete multiplatform multipurpose IDE behind it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Rasz on April 29, 2016, 11:32:15 am
Now with a cloner, and if the sale stops coming in, this programmer shall be abandoned.  And it shall become another brick in my cabinet.

Whole premise of a programmer with logic hidden in a black lasered/grinded over markings box is flawed.
Programmer should be open hardware bitbanging platform with high amount of configurable logic level voltage GPIOs + open source application.

if you look at TL866 its just a shift register with a bunch of latches and variable logic level power supply. Thats all there is to it, add USB microcontroller with 8-10 pins to control this mess and hardware is done.
So do you want to be a pioneer? There are others like Open Programmer, but lacked a proper community behind it and a complete multiplatform multipurpose IDE behind it.

wasnt willem open? never used it
but I did use (and contributed to) programs like now defunct Uniflash http://www.rainbow-software.org/uniflash/, (http://www.rainbow-software.org/uniflash/,) source code available (turbo pascal), supports crapload of parallel flash (and some lpc) chips http://web.archive.org/web/20070820104156/http://www.uniflash.org/hardware.htm (http://web.archive.org/web/20070820104156/http://www.uniflash.org/hardware.htm)
then there is flashrom  covering most parallel and spi chips https://www.flashrom.org/Supported_hardware#Supported_flash_chips (https://www.flashrom.org/Supported_hardware#Supported_flash_chips)
source available, plus it supports tons of cheap programmer hardware https://www.flashrom.org/Supported_programmers (https://www.flashrom.org/Supported_programmers)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: timofonic on April 29, 2016, 02:57:47 pm
Now with a cloner, and if the sale stops coming in, this programmer shall be abandoned.  And it shall become another brick in my cabinet.

Whole premise of a programmer with logic hidden in a black lasered/grinded over markings box is flawed.
Programmer should be open hardware bitbanging platform with high amount of configurable logic level voltage GPIOs + open source application.

if you look at TL866 its just a shift register with a bunch of latches and variable logic level power supply. Thats all there is to it, add USB microcontroller with 8-10 pins to control this mess and hardware is done.
So do you want to be a pioneer? There are others like Open Programmer, but lacked a proper community behind it and a complete multiplatform multipurpose IDE behind it.

wasnt willem open? never used it
but I did use (and contributed to) programs like now defunct Uniflash http://www.rainbow-software.org/uniflash/, (http://www.rainbow-software.org/uniflash/,) source code available (turbo pascal), supports crapload of parallel flash (and some lpc) chips http://web.archive.org/web/20070820104156/http://www.uniflash.org/hardware.htm (http://web.archive.org/web/20070820104156/http://www.uniflash.org/hardware.htm)
then there is flashrom  covering most parallel and spi chips https://www.flashrom.org/Supported_hardware#Supported_flash_chips (https://www.flashrom.org/Supported_hardware#Supported_flash_chips)
source available, plus it supports tons of cheap programmer hardware https://www.flashrom.org/Supported_programmers (https://www.flashrom.org/Supported_programmers)
Old unmaintained code, tons of projects and lack of common structure. What about a clean API abs able to use it as library?

Too much projects, but not a big one.

I know third is a difficult effort to achieve. Even stuff like QUCS, Sigrok and KiCad lack manpower.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: lupy on May 08, 2016, 07:02:32 am
@spiridonas the answer is in your questions! :)
Now the problem I encounter... Reading 29F200 flash memory (sop44)...   I'm getting different read every time, also when verifying. Checked adapters and good contact, ID is all good. If I'm reading different flash memory ex 29F400 (tsop48) there's no problem.

Hi I have exact the same problem with autocarg. I tried to read and write many times the flash 29F400BB sop44 but every time with different  checksum. Please any help for this problem.
Many thanks in advance.

what is bad ?
1)base adapter
2) sop 44 adapter
3) programmer tl866a

Thanks
TL866 and base adapter can be excluded because you can read and write the TSOP48 chip variant.
Remain the sop44 adapter (might be a bad pin contact) or the memory chip itself.

"Base adapter" if I understand you correctly. That's the one with some chips on it (your first picture, left one) is not genuine. Radioman has been working on a solution for that, but I don't know how far he has come with this.
Is far enough! i have an experimental replacement firmware for that Attiny13, and also the first version of Linux version of my firmware updater is ready to be tested here:
https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866 (https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866)

There's no do documentation yet on how to compile but i will update the readme file soon. Who want to contribute are welcome. Thanks.

Hi everyone,
I was dealing with the same problem yesterday and thanks to Mr. Radioman there is a solution. You have to program the Attiny13 chip on the TSop48 board.
Here are the fuses settings:
Low:0x75
High:0xFe
Lock:0xFF
I am applying the archive with code.bin and config.bin when you load them the fuse settings will be loaded automatically. After that you can load the correct tsop.hex in the chip.
After that you will have a working tsop48 board version V3 which is recognized  by minipro with the latest 6.50 update. This also applies to the early V0 boards which are recognized as illegal boards if You upgraded from CS version.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: flocaddy on May 23, 2016, 05:54:07 am
Hello,
I have a problem .. i can only read 24c02 eeproms ... can't write...
The field for Delete is hidden ...
I have tested a lot of 24c02

greetz, from Germany

Florian
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: groff on May 23, 2016, 06:40:17 am
You can't erase eeprom 24Cxx. If you want blank IC fill it with FF and program it.
If still can't programming check the contact on the pins and if all is OK maybe the IC is bad. Try another one.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: flocaddy on May 23, 2016, 07:16:44 am
So I can only rewrite the 24cxx When I have previously filled with ff ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Kjelt on May 23, 2016, 07:57:38 am
So I can only rewrite the 24cxx When I have previously filled with ff ?
There is no erase on these kind of I2C chips.
If there were there would have been a seperate I2C command, there is not so the chip will take care of erasing the byte or page it self (automagically) when a write command is received.
You can just write over the data as long as the WP pin is disabled, else you can not write anything.
So if you can't write, check the datasheet and the WP pin.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: flocaddy on May 23, 2016, 08:22:16 am
It is a BOSCH b58253 EEPROM I can not find the datasheet .

But it should be rewritable ..

I have pin 7 isolated as I put it in the Programmer

The chip works in process wonderful!

For programming I unsoldered him!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Kjelt on May 23, 2016, 08:43:05 am
You see the M in leftbelow corner? Microchip has produced this chip and indeed it is a 24c02 and here is the datasheet:
http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/466355.pdf (http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/466355.pdf)

So pin7 is the WP and should NOT be isolated but connected to Vcc (write protected) or ground (write enabled).
If you want to write the chip, pin 7 should be tied to ground, but the programmer should take care of that pin I would think.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: flocaddy on May 23, 2016, 08:52:38 am
You see the M in leftbelow corner? Microchip has produced this chip and indeed it is a 24c02 and here is the datasheet:
http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/466355.pdf (http://www.farnell.com/datasheets/466355.pdf)

So pin7 is the WP and should NOT be isolated but connected to Vcc (write protected) or ground (write enabled).
If you want to write the chip, pin 7 should be tied to ground, but the programmer should take care of that pin I would think.

okay i test it after work and give a review! Thanks!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: flocaddy on May 23, 2016, 02:13:15 pm
I test it dont work  :rant:

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on May 23, 2016, 03:00:30 pm
You don't need the link wire, the programmer does all the job automatically.
So remove the link wire, check the connections and retry.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: flocaddy on May 24, 2016, 05:14:16 am
thanks!!!!!  i did another 24c02 from old motherboard and its works great!!!!!

Thank you very much!  O0
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: midnite on May 28, 2016, 03:03:32 pm
I just bought one of these from a local EBay seller in the UK.

I think it's a pretty good tool and does what it says on the tin.

i paid £19.95 INC postage. (approx 40 $AU)
It came with 5 adaptors 1 solder pad type, 2 zip socket and 2 plcc. i installed software version 6.50 on windows 10 without issue.

i have since reflashed the unit to TL688A from CS just need to solder in a pin header.

well worth the money for me
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: retro_vegard on May 28, 2016, 06:15:24 pm
Hi,

Has anyone been able to program the MX29LV160TMC/SOP44 flash with the TL866?
There is a device called MX29LV160T, but its listed as TSOP48 and not a SOP44 like I have.

I´m wondering if there is a problem with my SOP44 adapter.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: anku on July 30, 2016, 08:51:26 am
TL866CS   -   ST M28F512  PLCC32  VERIFY ERROR !

Hi  Everyone  , I  bought  a TL866CS , trying to  write  an ST M28f512  PLCC 32 .  During writing  procedure  I get    VERIFY ERROR MESSAGES .  I  read  a lot  of pages in this thread and some guys suggest  to  disable  over current protection  of TL866 cause  in some cases like mine helps !   To do  that as  I read  I need  to "short C22" on the PCB.   I am  not an Electronic guy   so I am a little bit confused what does it mean to short C22. 

Please  check  the  photo  I place  here   and if   someone can explain me clear  I will appreciate .

Thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on July 30, 2016, 12:28:53 pm
To short C22 do A or B.

But note that I personally can't advise about if that's likely to help with your problem.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: anku on August 01, 2016, 07:48:01 am
thanks a lot brian
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: gauze on August 05, 2016, 03:37:06 pm
I updated my software today and I noticed (it might have been there before) a list of logical devices (74xx, etc) has anyone aware of anyone building an adapter with a test clip on it to try to test DIP package components in-circuit (unpowered)?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: helius on August 05, 2016, 04:14:42 pm
You can't test actives in-circuit, they share power supply nodes.
Even testing passives in-circuit is pretty limited, it can sometimes work by applying a high enough frequency signal that the trace inductance keeps most of it away from the rest of the circuit.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on August 19, 2016, 11:15:52 pm
Hi ,

i have another problem to erase an M25P128 SOP16 also known as M25P28V6.
It is a Flash-Chip with 16MB storage.

I use the TL866A with MiniPro V6.50 FW:3.2.72
Adapter is a SOP16 to 16DIP.

The curious effect is that i can erase the whole chip until address 0xEFFFFF.
At 0xF00000 i can not erase or reprogram the chip.
In config WPEN is ON (1) an there is "None Protection" selected. Status reg. Byte is 0x80
"Off-Protection before programming" is set.

I don't now if it is a software bug or a chip failure.
Maybe I overlook something important.

Does someone have any ideas what it could be?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: daybyter on August 23, 2016, 09:51:40 pm
Is anyone using the linux minpro software to burn GAL's? I'm trying to write a jedec file to a Lattice 22v10D, but the minipro software just complains about a incorrect filesize.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on August 26, 2016, 04:58:39 pm
Is anyone using the linux minpro software to burn GAL's? I'm trying to write a jedec file to a Lattice 22v10D, but the minipro software just complains about a incorrect filesize.
Hi!,
IRC with GAL minipro software has a Bug...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on August 28, 2016, 07:49:59 am
Is anyone using the linux minpro software to burn GAL's? I'm trying to write a jedec file to a Lattice 22v10D, but the minipro software just complains about a incorrect filesize.
Hi!,
IRC with GAL minipro software has a Bug...

I used to be able to program the GAL22V10D but found that a software update stopped this from working.

I had to buy the G540 programmer for the GALs that I needed to program afterwards.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on August 29, 2016, 12:07:19 pm
Is anyone using the linux minpro software to burn GAL's? I'm trying to write a jedec file to a Lattice 22v10D, but the minipro software just complains about a incorrect filesize.
Hi!,
IRC with GAL minipro software has a Bug...

I used to be able to program the GAL22V10D but found that a software update stopped this from working.

I had to buy the G540 programmer for the GALs that I needed to program afterwards.



So a Firmware and a software downgrade can solve the GAL issue?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on August 29, 2016, 01:48:46 pm
Is anyone using the linux minpro software to burn GAL's? I'm trying to write a jedec file to a Lattice 22v10D, but the minipro software just complains about a incorrect filesize.
Hi!,
IRC with GAL minipro software has a Bug...

I used to be able to program the GAL22V10D but found that a software update stopped this from working.

I had to buy the G540 programmer for the GALs that I needed to program afterwards.



So a Firmware and a software downgrade can solve the GAL issue?

IIRC, I installed the earlier software but it didn't like the newer firmware, or something like that.  I'm not sure if you can take the firmware backwards.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: daybyter on August 29, 2016, 09:09:22 pm
It seems I got it working with the win7 Software now. At least a verify worked. The linux software checks for the size of the jedec file and if it's smaller than the max size of the IC content, it returns an error (I think line 410 in main.c).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on August 30, 2016, 08:46:03 am
Nice! Good to know! 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on September 03, 2016, 10:45:14 pm
Hi ,

according to my last post (#923) with the Problem try to erase a
M25P128 Flash i have found that this was an Software Bug on V.6.50.
(I use the TL866A with MiniPro V6.50 FW:3.2.72)

In order to erase the Chip successfully you must first reprogramm the
whole chip with 0x00. This works. In the next step you can then erase the chip.
Now you are able to programm the chip with new content..

Hope it helps if you have problems like this.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: belzrebuth on September 10, 2016, 01:59:25 pm
I'm about to buy one of these..

eBay seller sunwenjun has a tl866a with a "better" black zif socket for almost the same price of the one with the regular socket.

Has anyone found the black socket to be actually better?
I've read here that the black socket is harder to unclip and that may cause excessive pressure to the pcb when doing so many times?
Is this accurate ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: helius on September 10, 2016, 10:16:01 pm
The "black ZIF socket" is a clone of an Aries socket, marked "ARTLY". It appears to be a press-fit design which is not soldered in place.
Press-fit contacts can be removed from the PCB, but they don't come out easily. They are normally left in place.
Why do you think you will be removing the socket from the PCB at all? I can't see any reason for doing that.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on September 10, 2016, 10:37:54 pm
The "black ZIF socket" is a clone of an Aries socket, marked "ARTLY". It appears to be a press-fit design which is not soldered in place.
Press-fit contacts can be removed from the PCB, but they don't come out easily. They are normally left in place.
Why do you think you will be removing the socket from the PCB at all? I can't see any reason for doing that.
Who mentioned removing the socket from the PCB?
belzrebuth is concerned about opening and closing the socket when removing and inserting devices to program them.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on September 10, 2016, 11:11:18 pm
The "black ZIF socket" is a clone of an Aries socket, marked "ARTLY". It appears to be a press-fit design which is not soldered in place.
Press-fit contacts can be removed from the PCB, but they don't come out easily. They are normally left in place.
Why do you think you will be removing the socket from the PCB at all? I can't see any reason for doing that.
Who mentioned removing the socket from the PCB?
belzrebuth is concerned about opening and closing the socket when removing and inserting devices to program them.
Well duh! You need to learn marketing. Just because a black socket has been sold as "easier insertion" doesn't mean that is for your benefit. Think about it for 1 second.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: helius on September 10, 2016, 11:20:30 pm
I was led to believe, by the word "unclip", a procedure of pulling hard on something until it flexes and comes loose, like you would unclip an E-ring. This is something you can do to a component with press-fit contacts. It does not resemble opening and closing a ZIF socket, which takes little or no force.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on September 10, 2016, 11:28:46 pm
The "black ZIF socket" is a clone of an Aries socket, marked "ARTLY". It appears to be a press-fit design which is not soldered in place.
Press-fit contacts can be removed from the PCB, but they don't come out easily. They are normally left in place.
Why do you think you will be removing the socket from the PCB at all? I can't see any reason for doing that.
Who mentioned removing the socket from the PCB?
belzrebuth is concerned about opening and closing the socket when removing and inserting devices to program them.
Well duh! You need to learn marketing. Just because a black socket has been sold as "easier insertion" doesn't mean that is for your benefit. Think about it for 1 second.
Why are you telling me?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on September 11, 2016, 12:06:52 am
The green socket is marked "3M". You can speculate as to whether it is or isn't genuine. If it is then that is a well known brand. If it isn't then I doubt there is likely to be any significant difference.

I am inclined to go with the green "3M" marked on because my first thought was the change was for cost saving reasons. Also if you are buying at this end of the market you probably only want something that will work for occasional use.

I am more interested in the claim that it works with Windows 8. IF someone can confirm it works with Windows 8 (and 8.1 and 10) then that would be something. My TOP853 doesn't. I have to keep a WinXP VM around. Not a problem for occasional use.

TL866 MiniPro software totally works with Windows 7 and 10. I never tried it with 8, I was glad to leave that abomination behind with the free upgrade to 10. Ok, I realise I sold my soul for cheap, however I don't think you will have a problem if you persist with running it on '8 (but why?)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheSteve on September 11, 2016, 12:37:38 am
There are clone TL866's, - every original I have seen has the green socket. It is possible there are originals with a black socket but if I had a choice I'd go with a green socket just so I had a better chance of getting one that won't brick with the next firmware update. Yes, you can repair it but why go through the ordeal.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheBay on September 11, 2016, 01:09:54 am
The "black ZIF socket" is a clone of an Aries socket, marked "ARTLY". It appears to be a press-fit design which is not soldered in place.
Press-fit contacts can be removed from the PCB, but they don't come out easily. They are normally left in place.
Why do you think you will be removing the socket from the PCB at all? I can't see any reason for doing that.

I've got a genuine TL866A with an Aries socket (Not ARTLY), it's also removable if I wear the socket out, no idea if it's a genuine Aries socket but it certainly feels/looks like one.
I've had this about 3 years now and still works perfectly. I would recommend the removable socket version especially as there is an unknown certainty to the authenticity to any of the
sockets the TL866A are fitted with or durability so it makes a swap out later on much easier.

Regarding belzrebuth's post, from what I understand the seller sunwenjun is an "official seller"

So that will be definitely be a genuine TL866A from there regardless of sockets.

Here are some images of my TL866A with an Aries socket.
(http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j457/thebayuk/EEVblog/20160911_020405_zpsramd2zjc.jpg) (http://s1086.photobucket.com/user/thebayuk/media/EEVblog/20160911_020405_zpsramd2zjc.jpg.html)
(http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j457/thebayuk/EEVblog/20160911_020724_zpsefswx59m.jpg) (http://s1086.photobucket.com/user/thebayuk/media/EEVblog/20160911_020724_zpsefswx59m.jpg.html)
(http://i1086.photobucket.com/albums/j457/thebayuk/EEVblog/20160911_150740_zpsprbmlezg.jpg) (http://s1086.photobucket.com/user/thebayuk/media/EEVblog/20160911_150740_zpsprbmlezg.jpg.html)




*EDIT* Added picture with ZIF removed.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on September 11, 2016, 07:20:46 am
I got my green socketed device from this seller and it has been fine until a later software update messed up some GAL algorithm.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheBay on September 11, 2016, 12:57:02 pm
I got my green socketed device from this seller and it has been fine until a later software update messed up some GAL algorithm.

That's applicable to any TL866 though, has another update fixed it yet? I read that some people were trying to downgrade the software and firmware. No idea if they were successful though.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: helius on September 11, 2016, 02:38:50 pm
When device programmers are used in production, being able to replace the ZIF sockets is a really important feature. Sure, it may take tens of thousands of cycles to wear out the socket, but that's not very much when each product has dozens of chips. The 3M Textool series also can be replaced if the appropriate socket "receptacle" is used.
I just don't see something like the MiniPro being used in production; maybe it is?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheBay on September 11, 2016, 02:56:29 pm
When device programmers are used in production, being able to replace the ZIF sockets is a really important feature. Sure, it may take tens of thousands of cycles to wear out the socket, but that's not very much when each product has dozens of chips. The 3M Textool series also can be replaced if the appropriate socket "receptacle" is used.
I just don't see something like the MiniPro being used in production; maybe it is?

10's of thousands with a genuine socket, no idea with these 3M clones though, also as this is targeted for the hobby market people may be more likely to damage the socket by accident possibly?

When I worded for LG Electronics we had an issue with the production line VGA sockets for calibrating the monitors/tv's as they came up the line, they would wear out VERY quickly. So what we did was stack a few Male To Female gender adapters in there and swapped them as they failed, which gave the original socket a MUCH longer life, especially if we stacked a few in there as you would only replace the worn ones, with 1 adapter you would get X amount of life out of the original socket, with 2 adapters you would get even more. Such a simple and cheap fix.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on September 11, 2016, 03:56:20 pm
I got my green socketed device from this seller and it has been fine until a later software update messed up some GAL algorithm.

That's applicable to any TL866 though, has another update fixed it yet? I read that some people were trying to downgrade the software and firmware. No idea if they were successful though.

I know that thanks.  I was just stating that I'd been ok with this seller and his / her offering.

Regarding another update, once bitten twice shy as they say.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james101 on September 26, 2016, 02:07:40 am
hello forum i wonder if someone can help us out with this small issue

i got this week a TL866 CS  programmer from ebay and its not the new model A
which of course missing the icsp port

so i got my soldering kit out and follow the instructions and installed my own.


 i follow the guide that radioman did which i would like to say thank you for.
and now the programmer is the A version


the main issue im having is when i go to use the icsp port everything looks good

but when i go to read a pic 16f877a

it reads the check successful no problem.

but there is no data hex or check sum its all blank



so then i go and use the programmer again but use the zif socket instead  and it reads the data and check sum perfect.

very weird issue im having as i see nobody else with the same problem as me.
 
i have recheck everything the wire and the connector and the programmer is the new A version

minipro v6.50

version 03.2.72

MODEL TL866A

any help on this would be great as im lost what to do next


thank you
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on September 27, 2016, 09:44:10 am
Hi James,
So the programmer recognizes the device ID correctly, right?
Are you sure there isn't any problem with ICSP conection? Have you tried reading the device alone (not in circuit) with the ICSP connection? Can you test with another MCU?

You can also try using an external VCC source and disable "ICSP_VCC Enable" in the GUI icsp options...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james101 on September 27, 2016, 02:29:26 pm
hello yes tried it with others

and also disable the disable "ICSP_VCC Enable"


the programmer recognizes the device ID correctly

it reads the  chip  successful no problem.

but there is no data hex and the check sum  remains all blank
it does it on all of them.

i have rechecked the  ICSP conection and its correct.


i will test it again when i get home

thank you  :-+

forgot to say i use the enable button someone posted on the forum to enable the icsp connection
as it does not let you highlight it and that the only way it will let us.


could it be a program updated to block this from working on the icsp connections
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on September 27, 2016, 08:00:47 pm
forgot to say i use the enable button someone posted on the forum to enable the icsp connection
as it does not let you highlight it and that the only way it will let us.
If you have correctly done the upgrade to the A version you don't need any external program to enable the icsp feature.
So there is someting bad with your upgrade procedure...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james101 on September 27, 2016, 11:37:52 pm
(https://s9.postimg.org/rf5v7kicf/screen_shot_programmer.jpg)


this is what im talking about very weird issue im having works fine by the zif socket

 but the icsp nothing at all

i have redone the firmware again and now tried it with

minipro v6.50 new version same issues


Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sv2hqx on September 28, 2016, 12:21:33 am
try to post some pics of you pcb and you work
maybe some components are missing or bad solder
let other users to compare
sometimes 4 eyes are better than 2
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on September 28, 2016, 10:03:13 am
Upgrade to the 6.50 A version. And at this point as already stated, make a pcb photo. IIRC someone had this problem and was a missing Resistor...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on September 28, 2016, 10:12:19 am
Upgrade to the 6.50 A version. And at this point as already stated, make a pcb photo. IIRC someone had this problem and was a missing Resistor...
Where can one get 6.50A?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElektroQuark on September 28, 2016, 10:19:36 am
In the manufacturers web site HERE (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/TL866_main.html).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on September 28, 2016, 10:34:07 am
In the manufacturers web site HERE (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/TL866_main.html).
Isn't that the same old V6.50 (not A)?
 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on September 28, 2016, 11:57:20 am
With "A" i was referring to the TL866 version, "CS" or "A". Sorry for misleading...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElektroQuark on September 28, 2016, 01:01:54 pm
I didn't even see the "A". Sorry.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on September 28, 2016, 01:03:54 pm
I didn't even see the "A". Sorry.
No problem.
Sorry.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james101 on September 29, 2016, 01:39:11 am

im going to open the unit up and take some photos and post them later on

possible there could be the missing Resistor stoping it from working


thank all  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james101 on September 30, 2016, 08:03:58 am
ok so i recheck the connection and they look correct im thinking maybe they close the hack with a different version

enclose is a photo of the pcb which will also help people to fix there own if it ever blows parts

(https://s22.postimg.org/n6abqnuod/Mini_pro_1.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/n6abqnuod/)

(https://s14.postimg.org/i1giidajx/Minipro_2.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/i1giidajx/)

(https://s17.postimg.org/aoypbq3l7/Minipro_3.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/aoypbq3l7/)

(https://s10.postimg.org/nizgvls45/Minipro_4.jpg) (https://postimg.org/image/nizgvls45/)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on September 30, 2016, 10:18:51 am
Board seems ok,
Hmmm, first check if there is an open resistor connected with the protection diodes...
I don't have the tl866 at hand now, but the radiomanV reversed schematic can also be handy.

A user also reported that solved his issues with icsp checking the pullup resistor on the MCU MCLR pin, i don't know if it's the case, but it should be the R2 10k  \$\Omega\$ resistor...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james101 on September 30, 2016, 10:42:54 pm
i have check R2 and its is 10k the correct one fitted

looks like possible its a total revision of the board to close the hack from working
that all i can think of as im the only one with this problem.

unless its a copied programmer not the real deal





Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on October 01, 2016, 02:15:53 pm
Hi,
I don't think it's a clone, and even if it was that i don't see why the icsp shouldn't work...

You can do another test.
Look at image, http://oi65.tinypic.com/acsvn4.jpg (http://oi65.tinypic.com/acsvn4.jpg) and connect the TL866 ZIF socket pin to the corresponding icsp pin of the microPIC.
Don't forget the ground, you can use the pin 3 on the ICSP socket you have built.
After that, read your pic using the icsp feature...
I've tested on my tl866a and it worked, so i'm NOT responsabile for eventual damages on your device, pc or house!

RESUMED:
TL866 ZIF pin  --- Microchip ICSP
        1   ----------    MCLR\VPP
        2   ----------    VCC\VDD
        3   ----------       PGD
        7   ----------      PGC

I REPEAT, BE CAREFUL DOING THIS!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james101 on October 02, 2016, 11:24:36 pm

hello already done that and its correct data on there.

already converted to use zif socket

and it still does not read the checksum or data on the program.

do you get a checksum or data on your programmer can i ask how old is your unit.


possible its a corrupt icsp in the unit

thank you so much  for your   information

the unit i got is a version 2012

i think the company have done  a dirty tricks  already made  a patch on the software to close this hack
this is why it not working for us




Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on October 03, 2016, 12:05:33 pm
I have two versions, one made on 2012 and another made in 2014, and they works with ICSP without any problem...

If it don't work even with ZIF socket, maybe a software bug with this type of MCU?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sv2hqx on October 03, 2016, 12:19:12 pm

hello already done
i checked al traces from iscp to zif
connections are same on both
so check you solderpoint again
or connection to mcu
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james101 on October 03, 2016, 10:56:11 pm
it works 100% with the zif socket i can read any chips no problem

it does not read then  when its in circuit


all connection checked maybe its a firmware update to close the hack


Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sv2hqx on October 04, 2016, 07:54:25 am
it works 100% with the zif socket i can read any chips no problem

it does not read then  when its in circuit


all connection checked maybe its a firmware update to close the hack

did you try to check with a continue tester(beeber) iscp and zif as crx991 described ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on October 04, 2016, 10:42:51 am
@james101 as i stated clearly in the PM there's no "firmware update to close the hack"! please stop thinking about this; is counterproductive.

As a matter of fact the so called "hack" is not a hack in the true sense, it is a simple method to (re)program the TL866 with the firmware of your choice, even with a custom one, which normally the minipro software does not allow this kind of operation.
The minipro software check the programmer type and update it with A firmware for A device and CS firmware for CS device.
My firmware updater can do more than this, it can update the CS with A firmware and viceversa.
Also for those who bricked their devices it can generate a new firmware, which in fact is nothing more than an new serial code, there's no firmware modification or patch or something else, the firmware running in the device is original, vanilla as is provided by the Autoelectric.

If you used my firmware updater then you have seen that there's a field to browse for a file called "update.dat"; for what do you think i need that file? well that file contains the two versions of the firmware in an encrypted format, which my utility decrypt and send it to the programmer at the user choice.

So please stop thinking about "hacks" and "firmware updates to close hacks" there's nothing about this because simply there's no hack to detect.

Regarding your doubt about your device all i can say is that YOUR DEVICE IS GENUINE, there are counterfeited units on the market, and the autoelectric company discovered this and beginning with minipro version 6.50 introduced a routine to detect these units because all these units were loaded with the same serial code.
I have reatached a picture with an counterfeited unit which is clearly a clone. Look closer at that pcb and compare it with any picture of the original pcb (2012/2013/2014 pcb versions) you should see big differences (tip: look at the ground plane first).
Thanks @Mikek400 for the picture.

Now how this counterfeit detection works?
well when you upgrade the firmware (at the minipro request) then that routine is invoked and if the device is found to be counterfeited then that device is deliberately bricked by overwriting the bootloader.
Normally a sane developer/programmer will implement such kind of detection by comparing the device serial code with the bad pirated one and if these two are the same then you can deliberately brick that device.

But no! the developer which implemented the detection routine in V6.50 is sucking big time (because i seen in the dissasembled code what he did! and can't believed my eyes what i have seen); he used the crc32 of the serial code and compared this crc with the crc of the bad counterfeited serial code. Basically instead of comparing two strings he compare two numbers which are crc of a two strings. He never heard about crc collisions? he use crc32 algorithm as an "unique ID" and this sucks! why? because with the minipro V6.50 many good people with genuine devices have bricked their devices! if those people had a lucky serial code to collide with that crappy crc32 detection algorithm then bam! instead of an normal firmware upgrade they got an big brick!
but fortunately there's my firmware generator who helped to repair their devices.

And because i know that the minipro developer is reading this thread: MAN YOU SUCK! of course i informed him about this bug and of course he did not responded me. So beware when a new version is out! who knows what a big surprise we have, use my firmware updater to update the firmware, is more safe.
Also i have updated my firmware updater to not generate a new firmware to collide with that buggy detection algorithm and also it will tell you if you have a lucky serial number. Use any download link here in this thread to download the new version.

Now on the ICSP not working because "there is a patch to stop my device to work with icsp because radioman hacked my firmware" >:D well, all i can say is that you are in the wrong side of the problem!
There are many variables in this issue.
I believe you, you have checked and rechecked the connections and are all ok.
But i don't understand why you use that enable button software? if you have the A version then it should be available!
Also in the PM you said that device ID is readed only when you put your chip in the ZIF socket but not when you read it over ICSP! well this must ring the bell! ding ding! there's no comunnication between the programmer and the target board! and this issue must throw an error with wrong device ID in the minipro software!
You have disabled the check device ID option?
Also tell us more about target board, all i know is that you have an PIC16F877A and that's all! if its not secret can we have see the schematic diagram of your target board?
Can you put an oscilloscope/logic analyzer to the icsp signals? or even an multimeter to check if you have some activity on these lines!
Also if you have another pic programmer you can try it.

And when all posibilities are checked then we can move on the programmer side.

@crx the R2 has nothing to do with his problem, that resistor is used as pull-up for the PIC18f87j50 MCLR line, don't have any rolle here.

And btw, welcome me, it's been a while since i posted here.
(https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/?action=dlattach;attach=219824;image)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Gandalf_Sr on October 04, 2016, 01:47:36 pm
Just got one of these on Amazon from Signstek, it worked with an ATMega328P but I have a couple of questions / factoids

1. It didn't play well with my powered USB 3.0 hub but, after I moved it to a direct-to-motherboard USB 3.0 connection, it worked with no issues.
2. MY OS is Windows 10 - 64 bit Pro, it seems to run just fine.
3. I downloaded the latest firmware from the manufacturers website but the miniprohelp.chm file that is now installed is in Chinese, I looked at the .chm file on the mini-CD that came in the box and that too is in Chinese, any idea where I can get an English version?
4. The fuse bit settings for the ATMega328P show boxes alongside the words 'CKSELn=0' where n is the bit number like this

[ ] CKSEL3=0

So if that box is checked, does that mean that CKSEL3 will be a zero? Or is it the other way around?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on October 04, 2016, 02:20:57 pm
4. The fuse bit settings for the ATMega328P show boxes alongside the words 'CKSELn=0' where n is the bit number like this

[ ] CKSEL3=0

So if that box is checked, does that mean that CKSEL3 will be a zero? Or is it the other way around?
Checked=0 this feature is programmed
Uncheched =1 this feature is not programmed
That "=0" will tell you what happens when you check that option (ie will become 0)
Regarding to english .chm i think it was posted here in this thread but i may be wrong.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on October 04, 2016, 03:44:12 pm
...
Hey @radioman what a pleasure to see you here, thank you for all the effort for the project :)
About the TL866 programmer, hardware is ok but the program is full of bugs and the support it's non existent.
I've found several bugs and reported them, no answer or stupid donkey statement...
An example? Looking the 29LV010 algorithm, seems that with some values at addres 0x002, 0x004 and so on the program fails to write the .bin code, but if I select the 29EE010 chip algorithm and I ignore the "check ID" option the TL866 will write perfectly the file.
Seems that the problem is with the low voltage algorithm side only. Always same useless response like check the correct chip orientation etc, check the adapter...  :horse:
Or with some ATMEL, like attiny, seems have a bug on fuses settings...

It's a shame, because it's a really good programmer, but software side it's absolutely rubbish...

P.S.: I see on a russian (or ucraine) forum that some users request new chip support, and seems that the autoelectric dev sometimes accept the request  :-//


@Gandalf_Sr: If You want the english (useless XD) help file you can download HERE (http://autoelectric.cn/EN/download/TL866_programmer_manual.rar). It's directly from the official autoelectric download page.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: XantheFIN on October 21, 2016, 11:35:20 pm
Hello!

Have anyone been able unprotect protected Am29F010 Flash chip?

I am unable to do it and i can't now even read it as i protected it even more (first it had only SEC7 bit set as LOCK and i did try put SEC6 as a LOCK and it did yay!) ::)
Just that it shouldn't make it unable to read is my problem and weirdness

Anyone has thoughts or able to make a guide what to do?. I wish to read it again without erasing important data.

Everyone tells that 12V feeded to Address line. Does this programmer that and if it does why then not able read?

(http://i.imgur.com/D0NUtb5.png) (http://imgur.com/D0NUtb5)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on October 22, 2016, 05:04:54 am
It is protected for a reason .... if your unlock it, it is supposed to erase the program content.

I tried with more powerful programmer and it did that, unlock it and you're done.

Reading this thread  i don't know why people still have high hope for this gimmick, i had one original TL866 in the past,  had many failures and frustrations, ditched it for good.

Would be nicer to reverse engineer the software to make it better, since the hardware is now known ...



Had a TNM5000, sold it for a Beeprog+,  but i bought back an TNM5000 again,  since their price as gone down, and added in their software what i was missing in chip support, they are supportive and welcoming a few ideas or changes/bugs  etc... 

The TNM5000 are the most friendly programmer around, cheap cost adapters ... unlike my Elnec,  but i mostly use the isp jtag outputs ...

Autoelecric is not.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: XantheFIN on October 22, 2016, 01:25:25 pm
It is protected for a reason .... if your unlock it, it is supposed to erase the program content.

I tried with more powerful programmer and it did that, unlock it and you're done.

Reading this thread  i don't know why people still have high hope for this gimmick, i had one original TL866 in the past,  had many failures and frustrations, ditched it for good.

Would be nicer to reverse engineer the software to make it better, since the hardware is now known ...



Had a TNM5000, sold it for a Beeprog+,  but i bought back an TNM5000 again,  since their price as gone down, and added in their software what i was missing in chip support, they are supportive and welcoming a few ideas or changes/bugs  etc... 

The TNM5000 are the most friendly programmer around, cheap cost adapters ... unlike my Elnec,  but i mostly use the isp jtag outputs ...

Autoelecric is not.
I thought this chip had only write/programming protection? Not read protection. Which comes up my question now that i did read it earlier and saved.. even though it had that one protection ON i should have full copy of that memory? So i changed protection now so it did erase it first?

For your question because cheap.  ;)


But i understand i bought Milwaukee drill and not cheap market unit one because i like buy good at once.  :palm: i fail now.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on October 22, 2016, 01:33:43 pm
I had this kind of problems with atmega series, it had protection on some devices,  never been able to read them, but with an logic analyzer i did manage to read an serial HMI display panel who needed an "acknowledged and present atmega based i/o board",  if not there the HMI display would not work at all ???.

You have STC chips,  who have encryption once they are programmed you cant read them back ??? they copy designs, put an STC chip   bingo they are protected and unreadable, had a lot of them in Chinese and Japan boards ...


There was this project who could have lifted off and be helpful to all of us

http://www.cnblogs.com/shangdawei/p/4088191.html (http://www.cnblogs.com/shangdawei/p/4088191.html)    Open Source Universal 48 pin programmer design   

The guy needed help to continue the project...  sad to see it  stalled.

Don't get me wrong,  the tl866 can be practical and not too expensive with its "official protected" adapters ... it depends of your needs. But people want too much of it ...


I had stk500, usbtiny, Willem GQ4x, Avr Dragon, Pickit 2 and Pickit 3, old Motorolla hc05 and hc11 programmers, Freescale programmers, and the list goes on and on ... but at some point it became clear, that i paid a lot to have incomplete software's or all kind of problems ...   

Now i have only 2 programmers who do almost everything i throw at them (Elnec Beeprog+ and TNM5000), and the software support is very good and updates are fast. 

Had waited a long time for a Willem GQ5x "Universal"  currently they have 2 versions of it and not the combined one i heard they would produce ??? Lot of people are wanting this one ???
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on October 22, 2016, 01:36:41 pm
It is protected for a reason .... if your unlock it, it is supposed to erase the program content.

I tried with more powerful programmer and it did that, unlock it and you're done.

Reading this thread  i don't know why people still have high hope for this gimmick, i had one original TL866 in the past,  had many failures and frustrations, ditched it for good.

Would be nicer to reverse engineer the software to make it better, since the hardware is now known ...



Had a TNM5000, sold it for a Beeprog+,  but i bought back an TNM5000 again,  since their price as gone down, and added in their software what i was missing in chip support, they are supportive and welcoming a few ideas or changes/bugs  etc... 

The TNM5000 are the most friendly programmer around, cheap cost adapters ... unlike my Elnec,  but i mostly use the isp jtag outputs ...

Autoelecric is not.
I thought this chip had only write/programming protection? Not read protection. Which comes up my question now that i did read it earlier and saved.. even though it had that one protection ON i should have full copy of that memory? So i changed protection now so it did erase it first?

For your question because cheap.  ;)


But i understand i bought Milwaukee drill and not cheap market unit one because i like buy good at once.  :palm: i fail now.
Correct.

What possible reason could one have for putting a memory chip in a permanent unreadable mode?

There's a reason write only memory doesn't get used in many products :-)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: XantheFIN on October 22, 2016, 07:32:49 pm
It is protected for a reason .... if your unlock it, it is supposed to erase the program content.

I tried with more powerful programmer and it did that, unlock it and you're done.

Reading this thread  i don't know why people still have high hope for this gimmick, i had one original TL866 in the past,  had many failures and frustrations, ditched it for good.

Would be nicer to reverse engineer the software to make it better, since the hardware is now known ...



Had a TNM5000, sold it for a Beeprog+,  but i bought back an TNM5000 again,  since their price as gone down, and added in their software what i was missing in chip support, they are supportive and welcoming a few ideas or changes/bugs  etc... 

The TNM5000 are the most friendly programmer around, cheap cost adapters ... unlike my Elnec,  but i mostly use the isp jtag outputs ...

Autoelecric is not.
I thought this chip had only write/programming protection? Not read protection. Which comes up my question now that i did read it earlier and saved.. even though it had that one protection ON i should have full copy of that memory? So i changed protection now so it did erase it first?

For your question because cheap.  ;)


But i understand i bought Milwaukee drill and not cheap market unit one because i like buy good at once.  :palm: i fail now.
Correct.

What possible reason could one have for putting a memory chip in a permanent unreadable mode?

There's a reason write only memory doesn't get used in many products :-)
Okay thanks. And thanks coromonadalix too on comments. I need get proper chip programmer in future.


Well i just tested that button and bam volvo cluster Flash memory now blank  :palm:  :-+

Update: I can't reprogram this chip. I had CS version originally. I will check inside device now if those left out parts has impact.. if i have those.. :scared:



https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg875434/#msg875434 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg875434/#msg875434)
jorgemiguel4 had exactly same problem.


Can't program alternatively Winbond W29C011AP EEPROM too.. same thing as it is unable take protection off.
AT29C010A works fine... but i can't get it work on my usage as a alternative to AM29F010 chip.  :scared:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on October 25, 2016, 02:49:27 am
With the beeprog+, i have an "all sectors unprotect" for the AM29F010 ...  but no chip at the moment to play with

The tnm5000 doesn't show many options ???
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: XantheFIN on October 27, 2016, 06:03:00 pm
I got new AM29F010B with same speed than orginal. This fails again to program it.  8) Its very high time to throw this to garbage bin.

Wait.. another chip did successfully program! Lets see. But anyway i will throw this to trash.. or at least will not trust at all to this. :scared:




(http://i.imgur.com/Fd3ZMq4m.jpg) (http://i.imgur.com/Fd3ZMq4.jpg)

IT WORKS! I AM SO HAPPY  :phew:! now not to touch this chip with this universalgarbageburner.  ;D  :-+  :palm:
Got now finally burn second one too!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on October 27, 2016, 08:22:14 pm
with the tl866 ???  maybe there was some timing issues or software glitch  ??
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: XantheFIN on October 27, 2016, 09:01:28 pm
with the tl866 ???  maybe there was some timing issues or software glitch  ??
I thought myself too that timing issue. There is multiple different speed of this chip. Maybe the developer had different one.  :-//
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Zucca on November 01, 2016, 09:54:56 pm
Just to say thanks to radioman and all the others guys here. Now I have the A version.
If you know german there is a good guide here:

https://circuit-board.de/forum/index.php/Thread/16834-Umbau-Programmer-TL866CS-auf-TL866A/ (https://circuit-board.de/forum/index.php/Thread/16834-Umbau-Programmer-TL866CS-auf-TL866A/)

with a BOM from ELV.de for the upgrade.
 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on November 02, 2016, 08:15:00 am
Hi folks,
Got myself a Minipro TL866 (incl software Mini Pro V6.50) and I want to burn a .bin file onto five x 27128A Eprom chips.

I order 5 pieces from the same seller:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/401024897502?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT (http://www.ebay.de/itm/401024897502?_trksid=p2060353.m2749.l2649&ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT)

Four of the eproms went smooth, while one had a strange behavior. When I wanted to burn the .bin file, then I got the following error:
(http://i67.tinypic.com/124y7tj.jpg)

I made a small analyze on the chips:

ID Check/Product Identification:
(http://i68.tinypic.com/r1yfrc.jpg)

20 89 = the four working eproms
29 83 = the problem child

Note:
First number is: manufacturers code
Second number is: Device code

I don’t understand why the manufacturers code and device code is different from the four working ones. Least not the manufacturers code?

Pictures of the eproms:
(http://i63.tinypic.com/25ewx37.jpg)

Left side = not working chip.
Right side = Working

It’s not easy to see (Sorry, bad quality camera), but there is 100 % same written on them.

Here comes the strange part:
• The working one has a silver colored circuit around the chip and there is a small knob which is round.
• The not working chip has a gold colored circuit around the chip and there is a small knob which is square.

I also tried giving the strange eprom 40 min under Eprom eraser, this was without any effect.

Any ideas or suggestions?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Zucca on November 02, 2016, 09:05:19 am
• The working one has a silver colored circuit around the chip and there is a small knob which is round.
• The not working chip has a gold colored circuit around the chip and there is a small knob which is square.

Same outside package but different semiconductor inside? Production madness? I think you need a µscope to compare properly the two.
I hope you bought more ROM chips that what you need.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on November 02, 2016, 09:56:13 am
2983 should be a Microchip 27C128, can you select that one and try again?

Still weird that it has an ST disguise...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on November 02, 2016, 10:02:25 am
• The working one has a silver colored circuit around the chip and there is a small knob which is round.
• The not working chip has a gold colored circuit around the chip and there is a small knob which is square.

Same outside package but different semiconductor inside? Production madness? I think you need a µscope to compare properly the two.
I hope you bought more ROM chips that what you need.

µscope? I don’t have such nice tools here :D

Yeah and especially the different manufacturers code, since the written on the Eprom itself is identical.

I contacted seller and they want more pictures and more information about why one doesn’t work as they need to report the problem to the company.

I didn’t buy more than 5 because I don’t need more :D

2983 should be a Microchip 27C128, can you select that one and try again?

Still weird that it has an ST disguise...
Thanks for the input, I will give it a shoot later when i`m home.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on November 02, 2016, 06:19:26 pm
2983 should be a Microchip 27C128, can you select that one and try again?

Still weird that it has an ST disguise...

If this forum had "kudos points" then you would get them all :D Thank you!

How did you decode the manufacturers code and device code?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheSteve on November 02, 2016, 06:29:31 pm
Hmm, fake parts? I doubt ST ever made a chip that ID's as Microchip.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on November 02, 2016, 07:00:29 pm
Hmm, fake parts? I doubt ST ever made a chip that ID's as Microchip.

Apart from that, it's wearing a 27128 coat, not the cmos version one.

How did you decode the manufacturers code and device code?

There's a big list out there, all you need to do is to find it :)

http://www.mcumall.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4974 (http://www.mcumall.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4974)

Edit: Looks like the domain has some problems, bad timing. Now attached as a txt file.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on November 02, 2016, 07:42:39 pm

How did you decode the manufacturers code and device code?

There's a big list out there, all you need to do is to find it :)

http://www.mcumall.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4974 (http://www.mcumall.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4974)

Edit: Looks like the domain has some problems, bad timing. Now attached as a txt file.

Thanks for the overview. That could be helpful for the future.

I now have another problem. I got a eeprom, which I would like to backup.

The Eeprom got 42 legs and minipro tl866 has only space for 40?  :palm:

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on November 03, 2016, 10:43:27 am
If you check the side pins,  they don't look identical between the two,  i suspect a counterfeit chip ???

The chip id is revealing that,  i had counterfeit Xilinx xc9572 chip one year ago,  since they are obsolete and we use them at my job, we had lots of reject / programming troubles, the hint was the chip id not the same between them ... they were supplied by a china salesman, we did manage to find an Usa supplier, bought a few of them, and after that, we redesigned our products with an Atmel cpld.

If you try to program them without the id check and it wont work, you can suspect that ...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on November 03, 2016, 08:24:22 pm
I cannot find a adapter for MiniPro TL866 for Eeproms with 42 pins?  :-//
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on November 08, 2016, 06:09:06 am
I cannot find a adapter for MiniPro TL866 for Eeproms with 42 pins?  :-//

I found a solution -> http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?75322-EPROM-adaptor-boards (http://www.amibay.com/showthread.php?75322-EPROM-adaptor-boards)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on November 10, 2016, 05:56:47 pm
Hmm, fake parts? I doubt ST ever made a chip that ID's as Microchip.

Apart from that, it's wearing a 27128 coat, not the cmos version one.

How did you decode the manufacturers code and device code?

I found this chip ID on a 42 pin chip and i cannot identity it with that file you attached?  :-//

(http://i67.tinypic.com/2e1vlp2.jpg)

First number is: 2020(manufacturers code)
Second number is: B2B2 (Device code)

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on November 11, 2016, 01:14:13 am
Good find on that adapter board. The ones I saw were supposedly designed for specific programmers other than the TL866.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on November 11, 2016, 06:20:47 am
Good find on that adapter board. The ones I saw were supposedly designed for specific programmers other than the TL866.

Yeah I was actually considering buying a new burner until I found this topic by a random Google search.

The devices itself is hand-made by this guy from UK and documentation is a bit unclear, but works.

Concerning my question to identify ChipID 2020 B2B2
(http://i67.tinypic.com/2e1vlp2.jpg)

From the “Chip ID” text file you shared I came to the conclusion of:
Manufacturers code: ST (2020)
Device code: Still unknown (B2B2)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Jonas123 on November 15, 2016, 02:24:00 pm
Hi guys, i have a problem, maybe you know how to fix it.
I have read eeprom 93c66 witj tl866cs and it not correctly swap bytes, when i'm reading with another tool (xprog) it read in normal sequence.
How can i fix it?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: nova100 on November 20, 2016, 07:08:05 pm
can this programmer In future support Programming  kbc9012qf by releasing an update for example?  should I wait  or buy (rt809f) just for 
kbc programming
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on November 21, 2016, 07:36:23 pm
Do you know what is a keyboard bios controller? Because you have already the answer...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: nova100 on November 23, 2016, 11:37:25 pm
Do you know what is a keyboard bios controller? Because you have already the answer...
I bought  rt 809 job done and I had a hope in this programmed, but unfortunately did not provide my need at work .Thank you
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on December 07, 2016, 01:43:37 am
If i recall correctly, the RT809F is mostly used for rewritting vga  Extended Display Identification Data (EDID) ...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: nova100 on December 07, 2016, 09:35:16 pm
the company has release for rt809f extension PEB-1 Expansion board Support IT8586E IT8580E 29/39/49/50 series 32/40 /48 feet BIOS and kb9012 and more updates come for it even read and writ nand flash but slow speed .and there are new release from the same company  rt809h bater and faster and stable for eemc and nand but very expensive   
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Acill on December 15, 2016, 03:45:27 pm
Hi everyone. I am new to eprom programmers. I picked up this 866CS version to program some eproms used in Amiga computers and hardware. I have an adapter that allows me to program the 27c400 using the 27c4096 profile  and unchecking the ID box in the software. MY problem is using other chips. I am attempting to program a MBM27C1000-200 eprom which is used for the commodore CDTV extended ROM. I believe thats a Fujitsu. Problem is I dont see it in the database. Closest I see is MX27C1000. If I select that one I get an error every time the second it starts to programm, even if I uncheck ID. I have had the same issue with 27C256 chips and a couple others. I have ordered several of these from ebay and other sources and all fail like this. I dont think all of them can be bad?

What am I doing wrong? I have a UV eraser and I have put my chips in for 30 minutes and still no luck.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on December 22, 2016, 01:55:18 pm
Wauw I just received 5 chips (AM27C040) from this seller:
http://www.ebay.de/itm/171555241796 (http://www.ebay.de/itm/171555241796)

I made a ChipID check on all 5 and it gave me Chip ID 8F08 which is FM27C040 or NM27C040, which means that seller has sold me 5 eproms with a fake name convention as the correct ChipID is "019B".  :horse:

I dont know why those sellers dont check their chips before sending them out, but now Í have to open Paypal dispute  :palm:  :-BROKE
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on December 22, 2016, 02:10:52 pm
I dont know why those sellers dont check their chips before sending them out, but now Í have to open Paypal dispute  :palm:  :-BROKE

Maybe AMD started to buy from Fairchild or National? Also, I don't think there is a real difference, why not just use them?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on December 22, 2016, 05:48:27 pm
I dont know why those sellers dont check their chips before sending them out, but now Í have to open Paypal dispute  :palm:  :-BROKE

Maybe AMD started to buy from Fairchild or National? Also, I don't think there is a real difference, why not just use them?

I dont know, but if i try to reprogram the chips as FM27C040 or NM27C040, then I get this error and have to run them through a "Eprom Eraser" for 40 min before they are blank and that sucks!.
(http://i.imgur.com/KROb5ln.jpg)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on December 22, 2016, 06:00:43 pm
I dont know, but if i try to reprogram the chips as FM27C040 or NM27C040, then I get this error and have to run them through a "Eprom Eraser" for 40 min before they are blank and that sucks!.

Yeah, that sucks. What happens if you try to program them as AMD?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on December 23, 2016, 08:59:01 am
I dont know, but if i try to reprogram the chips as FM27C040 or NM27C040, then I get this error and have to run them through a "Eprom Eraser" for 40 min before they are blank and that sucks!.

Yeah, that sucks. What happens if you try to program them as AMD?

I can give it a shoot.

This is the image/.bin I want to burn: (Firmware OS 1.05 for Akai s-3200xl)
https://www.dropbox.com/s/c1pb6zesnm7lbd1/Akai%20s-3200XL%201.05.BIN?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/c1pb6zesnm7lbd1/Akai%20s-3200XL%201.05.BIN?dl=0)

In this case I have to set “Check ID” off, else the MiniPro will reject the programming due to the different ID.

an interesting observation is that the .bin file does not fully fill the chip capacity. Could this be the cause of my error below? Because the programming is ca. 50-60 % in process before this error occurs and the same error recurs, when I’m testing another chip. < Is there an option in MiniPro, which I should be aware of in this case?

This is what I get:
(http://i.imgur.com/xnhOqnK.jpg)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on December 23, 2016, 10:07:46 am
The first not FF byte in the file is at 4000, so I guess that programming fails from the start but it is not noticed because an empty eprom contains FF anyway.
Does your programmer work at all on other eproms?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on December 23, 2016, 10:55:02 am
The first not FF byte in the file is at 4000, so I guess that programming fails from the start but it is not noticed because an empty eprom contains FF anyway.
Does your programmer work at all on other eproms?

Yeah, I have already programmed other eproms without any complications. This is first time I ran into such issues.

Another interesting observation is that the programming did something, as the software conclude "not empty", when I do a blank check after the error.

This means that I’m forced to perform a “eprom erasing” before I can do anything with the chip again.

Hmm trying to find the root cause of this problem:
•   Faulty .bin file?
•   Faulty setting in my program/software (Minipro)
•   Faulty eprom chip


I don’t think there is anything wrong with the programmer itself.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on December 23, 2016, 11:03:34 am
Another interesting observation is that the programming did something, as the software conclude "not empty", when I do a blank check after the error.

That is strange because it fails to program the first byte that needs to be programmed as far as I can see.
Can you find out what address is no longer set to FF?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on December 23, 2016, 12:08:50 pm
Another interesting observation is that the programming did something, as the software conclude "not empty", when I do a blank check after the error.

That is strange because it fails to program the first byte that needs to be programmed as far as I can see.
Can you find out what address is no longer set to FF?

This is the exact message I get, when I do the ”blank check”. I double-checked the content including ASCII and there is nothing written to the Eprom as everything is “FF” from address 000000 to 07FFF0.
(http://i.imgur.com/DPKEjbm.jpg)

Please note, I’m first able to use this eprom again, when I run it through a “Eprom eraser”

Analyzing the .bin file provided above. The actual coding starts from address 040000 till 07FFF0.

I also downloaded a newer firmware OS (Version 2.00) and in this case its opposite where the actual code starts from 000000 to 040000 and everything beyond is empty:
https://www.dropbox.com/s/e9gebyy0x6xctvc/S350200.cod?dl=0 (https://www.dropbox.com/s/e9gebyy0x6xctvc/S350200.cod?dl=0)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on December 23, 2016, 12:35:02 pm
So when programming it says it fails on the first (non-FF) byte which stays at FF, but when you do a blank check it shows that it programmed the first correctly...  :scared:
There must be something wrong in the protocol that the programmer uses, like the chip needs a longer delay between programming and reading back.
Some things come to mind:

- If you try to program it twice (without blank check), does it program the first 2 bytes correctly?
- Can you disable the verify after each write?
- Can you set the delay between write and verify? (I can't recall exactly what can and can't be set)

Interesting, here is someone with exactly the same problem: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/230587-burning-eproms/ (http://atariage.com/forums/topic/230587-burning-eproms/)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on December 23, 2016, 01:46:39 pm
So when programming it says it fails on the first (non-FF) byte which stays at FF, but when you do a blank check it shows that it programmed the first correctly...  :scared:
There must be something wrong in the protocol that the programmer uses, like the chip needs a longer delay between programming and reading back.
Some things come to mind:

- If you try to program it twice (without blank check), does it program the first 2 bytes correctly?
- Can you disable the verify after each write?
- Can you set the delay between write and verify? (I can't recall exactly what can and can't be set)

Interesting, here is someone with exactly the same problem: http://atariage.com/forums/topic/230587-burning-eproms/ (http://atariage.com/forums/topic/230587-burning-eproms/)

Thanks for that link and its exactly the same chip (27C040-150DC) I have.

There is a guy in this topic who mentioned this counterfeit thing. I understand the idea of faking money, but faking a chip? *Facepalm*

UKRetrogamer from this link mentioned the following settings: (according to manufacturer data-sheet)
VPP: 12,5 V
VCC: 6,25 V
Pulse delay: 100 us

Below you can see the settings I will test now (you can also now see the available options)
(http://i.imgur.com/B22RBgI.jpg)

When I click on program (it did not even start)
(http://i.imgur.com/zM5nNSN.jpg)

I sometimes wish, that someone would clean out those topics for junk. It looks like the guy (Topic maker) never managed to get it to work with TL866, but went to a friend.  :-BROKE (user didnt mention if that friend was using another Eprom burner or same kind)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on December 23, 2016, 02:45:25 pm
Yes, sorry that there was no solution in the other thread, but I found it interesting that it was the same chip. I checked my stock of eproms but unfortunately no 27C040 in there, so  I can't test it. Your best bet would be to get some from another source and hope that the programmer will like these better.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: cezar on January 12, 2017, 09:48:49 pm
does anyone know if would be possible to read 2gbit NAND flash using TL866CS? 
I've got 29F2G08ABAEA
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on January 14, 2017, 01:50:01 pm
No, TL866 isn't a NAND reader and it will never be :P
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: AivanRam on January 14, 2017, 11:03:47 pm
hello guys !  I just bought my TL866A :) and im just wondering, I have the TSOP48 ADAPTER. Anyway, my mision is to copy BIGGER NANDS, from TABLET PC OR LED TV, but I cannot find any compatible on the list of the MiniPro V6.50

Any suggestion is welcome. thanks in advance for your help!  ^-^
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: love.bacardi on January 17, 2017, 03:53:36 pm
hello there from greece i have a big problem and i want your knowlegde.... i have 4 sunblade 150 with timekeeps inside to keep the hostid and the mac address. before a few weeks the timekeepers stop working because they run out of battery. i have buy 8 of thems to replace them but when i put them on the sunblade 150 is all 00:00:00:00:00 i have see tha the tl866cs can read this chips, do you know how can i right the mac address that i want. because i have order from a store in usa and paid 400$ for 4 piece to right me the mac address that i want. so now i have 4 new from a company in usa and 8 new from ebay but with zeros on them can i copy them one by one. this is my chip http://www.memoryxsun.com/1006889.html (http://www.memoryxsun.com/1006889.html)      its a timekeeper ST M48T59Y-70PC1.... so what should i buy the minipro tl866cs and an eeprom eraser?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on January 21, 2017, 05:47:19 pm
hello there from greece i have a big problem and i want your knowlegde.... i have 4 sunblade 150 with timekeeps inside to keep the hostid and the mac address. before a few weeks the timekeepers stop working because they run out of battery. i have buy 8 of thems to replace them but when i put them on the sunblade 150 is all 00:00:00:00:00 i have see tha the tl866cs can read this chips, do you know how can i right the mac address that i want. because i have order from a store in usa and paid 400$ for 4 piece to right me the mac address that i want. so now i have 4 new from a company in usa and 8 new from ebay but with zeros on them can i copy them one by one. this is my chip http://www.memoryxsun.com/1006889.html (http://www.memoryxsun.com/1006889.html)      its a timekeeper ST M48T59Y-70PC1.... so what should i buy the minipro tl866cs and an eeprom eraser?

1. I dont think that M48T59Y is compatible with TL866 due to, that you cannot find it, when you search under "ICS" in the Minipro software.
2. This is a eeprom, so you erase it electronically. (example with your TL866 if it were compatible) aka you dont need to buy a "eeprom eraser"
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: marcosbuydid on February 07, 2017, 07:24:44 pm
Hi friends, 2 days ago i buy the TL866CS to flash bios chips.

I started using but i am having problems flashing windbond W25Q32FV(soic 8) chips
After i select it on the software and load the .bin file the program process begin without any problems. At 100% verification the program gives an error. I attach the error image here.
The software i am using is the last one that appears on www.autoelectric.cn (http://www.autoelectric.cn), the firmware of the TL866CS is the last one too available and i am running windows 10 64bits
I buy anothers windbond W25Q32FV soic8 chips, i flashed with the same .bin file and the error given by the program its the same. The same happens if i try a different .bin file.
I make a system check and no errors have been found, everything is perfect. the same with the 200mil adapter that holds the windbond chip, works ok.
I really need to program those chips because i have an electronical shop that fix notebook motherboards.
The driver of the TL866CS is installed ok on windows.
The last thing i did was this: after flashing the windbond chip i read it with the software and export to a .bin file. If i compare with an hex editor this .bin file with the original one its says that are the same, so i do not know what is happening.
Hope we can help me, i really apreaciate so much
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on February 07, 2017, 07:49:25 pm
It is complaining about a CONFIG (register?), not about the normal program space. I quickly scanned the datasheet but didn't find anything. Did you try to use the chip?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: marcosbuydid on February 07, 2017, 08:36:56 pm
Till friday i will not able to test the chip on motherboard. After i test it i will post results here. Do you think both programmer and chip are ok?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on February 07, 2017, 08:45:59 pm
Till friday i will not able to test the chip on motherboard. After i test it i will post results here. Do you think both programmer and chip are ok?
I have no idea, but testing the chip should bring us closer to the truth.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: marcosbuydid on February 12, 2017, 06:49:03 pm
Hi friends, i have good news.
I soldered the chips on motherboard after flashing both and the notebook started ok without problems.
It seems that the programmer record ok all the information in the chip but in the verification process something happen ( i still dont know what is).
Besides that it seems a bug in the software because the notebook till now is working perfect without problems.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: vinceroger on April 06, 2017, 03:57:58 pm
hi  guys can the tl866 read/programme NAND128W3A ics with the correct adaptor?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: figo on April 07, 2017, 10:56:56 pm
No, tl866 does not program or read flach nand.   |O  |O
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: vinceroger on April 08, 2017, 10:16:58 am
No, tl866 does not program or read flach nand.   |O  |O

Thankyou i will look for a suitable programmer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Hedgehog2003 on April 13, 2017, 11:23:07 am
Need help!
I made the adapter according to the drawings from this topic.
It is well defined as V3, but refuses to read the correct ID of the chip (tried M29W800DB-tsop48, AM29F800BB-sop44).
I double-checked everything, but unfortunately I did not find an error in the installation.
Oscilloscope or logic analyzer is not available to me (

There is a suspicion that the addresses or data buses are confused.

Tell me capacitance C3 C4 capacitors please.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Smith on April 16, 2017, 08:33:11 am
Some traces look suspicious, but it might just be the photo itself.

Does anybody know what exactly is the purpose of the TSOP adapter? Is there any reason a simple TSOP 40 to DIP40 adapter wouldn't work?

I have read some reply somewhere saying a simple TSOP to DIP adapter should work with the TL866 without any problem, but I haven't been able to find any proof.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Jacon on April 16, 2017, 07:35:20 pm
Obviously needed for parts with more than 40 pins - those in above photos have 48 & 44 respectively.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Smith on April 17, 2017, 06:14:31 am
Obviously needed for parts with more than 40 pins - those in above photos have 48 & 44 respectively.

Thanks, I thought it might have to do with the number of pins. But the converters say 32-48pins, so I wasn't sure. I have also read about 8 and 16 bit adapters.

Update: a simple TSOP to DIP adapter didn't work for a A29L008ATV.

BTW, big thanks to Radioman, I've upgraded my TL866CS to a TL866A in about a minute!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Alana on April 20, 2017, 11:45:12 am
Got my own and I'm glad that i got one. Conversion from CS to A without any problems. And it has one nice feature for me - in ZIF socket atmels seem to be programmed with HVPP algorithm. My problems with fusebits are over!
Cost: about 220 polish zloty = 20e

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Jackster on April 26, 2017, 03:04:37 pm
Are you able to change the pins on this programmer?

I have one of those QFP sockets but it has the pins rotated by 5 pins so Pin 1 of my chip is actually pin 5.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on April 26, 2017, 03:30:56 pm
Are you able to change the pins on this programmer?

I have one of those QFP sockets but it has the pins rotated by 5 pins so Pin 1 of my chip is actually pin 5.
No. The software doesn't allow that. Even if it did the hardware doesn't quite allow every function on every pin.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Jackster on April 26, 2017, 03:41:28 pm
No. The software doesn't allow that. Even if it did the hardware doesn't quite allow every function on every pin.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk



Ahhh okay thanks.
Is there any info anywhere on what pins it uses for each chip?

My socket has the wrong pinout so I need to re-wire it, but don't fancy requiring 32 pins :p
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: soptea on April 28, 2017, 01:11:27 am
I had also only troubles when try reading 29f/28f flash ,wrong/different ID ,cleaning pins does nt help ,al connections OK .Mine is a CS version ,changed to A version  and using 5.91 software everything is OK !
When using 6.5 software programmer revert to CS version ,so I kept using 5.91 after a new reflash
L.E. :Still not working ,take the TL866 apart and start to measure every component.But I feel that final solution to work with 29F flash is to buy an old Willem...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Jackster on April 30, 2017, 12:39:00 am
Managed to rewire my socket to the correct pinout but getting "over current protection".

No idea what to do at this point..

[edit]
Just found a couple ATmega328P-PU and they work fine. So guessing it is a pinout error or physical connection problem?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Jackster on May 07, 2017, 01:25:40 pm
ignore for now...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sathex on May 10, 2017, 10:50:32 am
hi,
I note that a new version of the minipro tl866
This is the v6.60

ADD?
Quote

IS25LQ080B/IS25LQ016B /IS25LQ032B

PN25F04A/PN25F04C/PN25F08/PN25F08B
PN25F16/PN25F16B/"PN25F32/PN25F32B
PN25F64/PN25F64B/PN25F128B

GD25LQ05B/GD25LQ10B/GD25LQ20B/GD25LQ40B/GD25LQ80B

GD25LQ16/GD25LQ32C/GD25LQ32D/GD25LQ64C
GD25LQ128/GD25VQ21B/GD25VQ40C/GD25VQ80C
GD25VQ16C/GD25VQ32C/GD25VQ32C/GD25VQ64C

I am not yet testing
But gives it hope that the programmers' developers will always develop the software
Even though it took a long time to see this new release.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on May 10, 2017, 04:35:55 pm
If that's all, I wouldn't add unless I had one of those devices to program.

Updating for no proper reason cost me the option to program my GAL22V10s.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tocsa120ls on May 20, 2017, 08:30:03 pm
"OverCurrent Protection actions" while programming old AM 27C128 EPROMs solved. Short: upgrade the software to MiniPro v6.60, and the firmware to V03.2.80. With that version it works like a charm.

Long version: I was fixing a friends C=64 (dead hex inverter 7406 + flaky color SRAM) and while I was doing that I thought I will give them a nice JiffyDOS kernal
-- no good deed shall go unpunished!

I lifted the old MOS 251913 mask ROM out of the board, soldered in a preci-dip socket, tried the MOS chip, all OK. So I dumped the contents out (no idea why, actually. Mask ROM. It'll be there forever. Anyways.) Got JiffyDos (hat tip to Jim Brain!) got the BASIC (thx Bo Zimmerman, although one could just take the dump from the 251913 and overwrite it with JiffyDos with a 0x2000 offset) fired up the TL866, and got the dreaded Overcurrent Protection message. So after a bit of fiddling (EPROM good? Powered HUB? USB2.0 port? USB3.0 port? nada - none of these made ANY difference) I finally looked on the manufacturer's site for a new release, (I had 6.50), downloaded it, it immediately offered to upgrade the firmware on the burner and BAM! One written EPROM:

Let me tell you, C=64 output looks weird AF on a 4K TV - but cool nonetheless :D
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on May 24, 2017, 10:42:42 am
This new update version 6.60 is brilliant. They finally updated the IC database and I’m now able to program ST M27C128A.

Maybe rhetorical questions, but I try anyway to be on the save side.
1.   If someone tells you “place the code at offset 0x4000 in the EPROM” < mainly the “offset”, that means said in another way, “you start coding from 0x4000 in the EPROM” < correct or opposite?
2.   How do I make checksum with the software?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on May 24, 2017, 08:59:09 pm
This new update version 6.60 is brilliant. They finally updated the IC database and I’m now able to program ST M27C128A.

Maybe rhetorical questions, but I try anyway to be on the save side.
1.   If someone tells you “place the code at offset 0x4000 in the EPROM” < mainly the “offset”, that means said in another way, “you start coding from 0x4000 in the EPROM” < correct or opposite?
2.   How do I make checksum with the software?

If you're talking about using the 27128, that's a 16K device and 0x4000 = 16K.  So, it's not going to mean loading the data into the programmer buffer at that address.

You haven't given any details (including the memory map) of your project but I'm guessing that the EPROM is mapped to start at 0x4000.

That would probably mean that any code programmed into the EPROM would need to be assembled to run at that address.

With the 64TASS assembler, you would use something like this before your assembly instructions -

      *=   $4000

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: electricMN on June 01, 2017, 11:50:27 pm
So am I correct that the MiniPro TL866A will not program ST Microelectronics STM32F line of microcontrollers? I ordered one of these programmers assuming it would. Maybe a bad decision on my part. I should have done my homework.  :(
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on June 02, 2017, 07:19:53 am
Hi,
I`m in a situation I never tried before. I bought a MX27C1000PC as replacement for 27C1000. I´m now looked into the „pin configuration“ for MX27C1000PC and compared it to the original 27C1000 pin-design and concluded that Pin 2 and Pin 24 is swapped.

MX27C1000PC:
http://pdf1.alldatasheet.net/datasheet-pdf/view/74464/MCNIX/MX27C1000PC-90.html (http://pdf1.alldatasheet.net/datasheet-pdf/view/74464/MCNIX/MX27C1000PC-90.html)

M27C1000:
http://www.ezoflash.com/datasheets/eprom/SGS-Thomson/M27C1000.pdf (http://www.ezoflash.com/datasheets/eprom/SGS-Thomson/M27C1000.pdf)

My device originally used 27C1000. Will this not require a modification on the chip before it is compatible with my device?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: plazma on June 02, 2017, 12:10:07 pm
Long version: I was fixing a friends C=64 (dead hex inverter 7406 + flaky color SRAM) and while I was doing that I thought I will give them a nice JiffyDOS kernal
-- no good deed shall go unpunished!
....
Did you install the JiffyDOS switchless?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tocsa120ls on June 03, 2017, 04:34:46 pm
Did you install the JiffyDOS switchless?

Yup. Didn't have any 27c256's lying around... and I did not want to deadbug the 27c128 on the back of the original ROM :)
I gave the original ROM back, pins clean, to swap back if any incompatibility is found. I will find another solution then. The owner is pretty happy as of now. (2wks)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mikroel on June 09, 2017, 11:44:26 pm
if you don't like (as me) ugly old times new roman  fonts in TL866 software, here i made some changes for myself   ,
 also window is little bit bigger than ori. SW
changes was made on newer Ver. 6.60
Just download copy this file in miniPro folder

MODERATOR: Links removed, reported as a virus.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: .::Rizwan::. on June 10, 2017, 04:36:10 am
Don't Download.
Microsoft Defender detect it as a Virus (Win32/Ramnit.B)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mikroel on June 10, 2017, 08:14:09 am
if you don't like (as me) ugly old times new roman  fonts in TL866 software, here i made some changes for myself   ,
 also window is little bit bigger than ori. SW
changes was made on newer Ver. 6.60
Just download copy this file in miniPro folder

MODERATOR: Links removed, reported as a virus.

try now ,should be OK

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: .::Rizwan::. on June 12, 2017, 12:09:57 am
if you don't like (as me) ugly old times new roman  fonts in TL866 software, here i made some changes for myself   ,
 also window is little bit bigger than ori. SW
changes was made on newer Ver. 6.60
Just download copy this file in miniPro folder

MODERATOR: Links removed, reported as a virus.

try now ,should be OK

Seems Ok Now.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on June 16, 2017, 01:58:13 pm
I had a challenge a few days ago, I want to burn an image onto a M27C128 (http://www.datasheets360.com/pdf/-1697342583517516323) from ST, but this specific eprom is not on the IC support list.

Due to the missing IC support, then I choose M27128A, but this gave me a burning error after a few bytes. I erased the chip and tried again as AM27C128 (http://www.datasheetcatalog.com/datasheets_pdf/A/M/2/7/AM27C128.shtml). This burning went fine and I have able to verify the code (with “Check device ID” unchecked).

Question:
I have not tested the chip yet, but it should work fine too in the theory? (Or am I wrong?)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on June 16, 2017, 02:34:34 pm
I had a challenge a few days ago, I want to burn an image onto a M27C128 (http://www.datasheets360.com/pdf/-1697342583517516323) from ST, but this specific eprom is not on the IC support list.

Due to the missing IC support, then I choose M27128A, but this gave me a burning error after a few bytes. I erased the chip and tried again as AM27C128 (http://www.datasheetcatalog.com/datasheets_pdf/A/M/2/7/AM27C128.shtml). This burning went fine and I have able to verify the code (with “Check device ID” unchecked).

Question:
I have not tested the chip yet, but it should work fine too in the theory? (Or am I wrong?)
It's probably okay if it verified. But if you want to make sure the substitute you chose is well suited you should get the full data sheets of the two devices and compare the programming algorithms, pulse widths, margins, etc.
Mind you, you can't be sure that the TL866 is following the recommendations, it's very much a cheap and cheerful device programmer.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Meta on July 21, 2017, 06:42:31 pm
Hi

1. Is the price of the TL866A very large compared to the TL866CS so as to risk opening the device and losing the warranty?

2. Is there a new version of the TL866 currently?

Greetings.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on July 22, 2017, 12:01:00 am
I didn't find the price difference between the A and CS to be unreasonable, so I just bought the A version. I've got lots of projects in the queue already. ;)

I haven't heard about new versions of the TL866.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on July 22, 2017, 02:05:54 am
Warranty? You really want to pay to return to China? Have you checked how much it costs?

If you do go for a TL866A or CS, make sure you get a good set of adapters too. Because they add very little when you buy it, but if you just buy the barebones you will curse yourself and end up paying so much more and waiting 30+ days delivery...

You can easily turn a CS into an A or whatever, but it's technical interest vs. the $5 extra cost.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Meta on July 24, 2017, 04:12:18 am
Thanks for the answers.

Is it worth buying this socket (https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1PC-1-8V-Adapter-Or-Motherboard-SPI-Flash-SOP8-DIP8-W25-MX25-Use-On-Programmers-TL866CS/32820229722.html?spm=a219c.search0305.4.6.TMxrFb) for the TL866?
(https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1h_HcLXXXXXbgXpXXq6xXFXXXI/1-8V-font-b-adapter-b-font-scoket-used-for-all-programmer-TL866CS-TL866A-RT809F-EZP2010.jpg)


Change of topic:

Can you put a 20x4 LCD display to the TL866?

I want to make the TL866A with the LCD to display the data on the screen, Micro-SD to save the .bin and .hex in the inside of which the LCD can view the list, and Arduino to control the LCD and Micro-SD .

Is it possible to do?

Greetings.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: biff on July 26, 2017, 10:46:01 am
Greetings, I'm new to the forum;  thanks , everyone, for all the information and work!

I need to program several Motorola MCM68766 8kbyte eproms.  These are 24-pin DIP packages, very similar to the 2716, except the output enable/input enable/programming pulse all happen on the same pin, which freed up 2 pins for the extra addressing lines.

Does anyone have any idea how I could go about this?  I imagine the hardware is fully capable, if only the firmware has the necessary protocol...


A quick glance at the MCM68766 datasheet, it seems to need 25V VPP but AFAIK the TL866 only manages 21V VPP max.

Is it possible to even read the MCM68766 using the TL866?
I just installed Minipro 6.50 and I don't see this chip in the selection.


Jim
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on July 26, 2017, 04:15:09 pm
I have 6.60 so you could use the help menu to locate a later version of the software.

However, I can't comment on the particular device.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on July 26, 2017, 04:51:12 pm
Is it worth buying this socket (https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1PC-1-8V-Adapter-Or-Motherboard-SPI-Flash-SOP8-DIP8-W25-MX25-Use-On-Programmers-TL866CS/32820229722.html?spm=a219c.search0305.4.6.TMxrFb) for the TL866?

If you have 1.8V SPI flash ROMs you want to program, it may be worthwhile to get this one. (I can't vouch for it; don't have one of these.) Note that you may need an additional adapter from the DIP socket to the SOIC form factor these flash ROMs come in. And if you are thinking about re-programming a ROM in an existing device, you will probably have to unsolder it, at least partially.

In the other hand, if you need to ask whether it is worth buying, you probably don't need it.  ;)

Quote
Can you put a 20x4 LCD display to the TL866?
I want to make the TL866A with the LCD to display the data on the screen, Micro-SD to save the .bin and .hex in the inside of which the LCD can view the list, and Arduino to control the LCD and Micro-SD .
Is it possible to do?

Do you want to reverse-engineer the TL866's Windows software and rewrite it for your Arduiono? Why?!

That would be a lot of work, and I do not see the benefit? If you need a programmer for a professional/production environment, where immediate availability without a PC, fast batch programming etc. are important, then the TL866 is not the right starting point, I'm afraid.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Meta on July 26, 2017, 07:47:53 pm
(http://www.gotronik.pl/img/xeltek_superpro501s_8.jpg)

(http://www.ett.co.th/prod2012/programmer/SUPERPRO-501S_5.jpg)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BDXMe3y_k8 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-BDXMe3y_k8)

My idea is a challenge, not production. If it is a question of production, I directly buy SuperPro Progrrammer.

My idea is to modify the TL866A by adding an LCD and a Micro-SD card to use as a laptop without using the PC. I can use Arduino for this, before, I must know if I can extract information if it is possible to add LCD somewhere with Arduino or a PIC.

  The LCD monitor is Arduino or a PIC, data as the list of devices are stored in the MiniPro v6.60. This PC program I have to capture the commands that it sends to the TL866A, the rest it includes the PIC18F of the TL866A.

If you control the data to be sent, the same as the MiniPro 6.60 can do an Arduino board or a PIC.

It is good to get the TL866A wiring diagram to make it easier but getting it is difficult to impossible.

;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: alm on July 26, 2017, 07:57:54 pm
To me it would make more sense to integrate a single board computer like a Raspberry Pi or BeagleBone Black that runs Linux and use existing software (https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro) to control the TL866, rather than trying to write your own software for an Arduino. I guess if you want to use the Arduino, you could use the open source software to figure out the protocol the TL866 uses.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on July 26, 2017, 08:03:18 pm
My idea is to modify the TL866A by adding an LCD and a Micro-SD card to use as a laptop without using the PC. I can use Arduino for this, before, I must know if I can extract information if it is possible to add LCD somewhere with Arduino or a PIC.

It is certainly possible to control an LCD from a PIC or an Arduino. There must be hundreds of example projects published on the internet. Just Google "Arduino LCD display". But I don't think that this is the difficult part of your proposed project...

Quote
  The LCD monitor is Arduino or a PIC, data as the list of devices are stored in the MiniPro v6.60. This PC program I have to capture the commands that it sends to the TL866A, the rest it includes the PIC18F of the TL866A.

How do you know that? I would have assumed that the PC manages the device list, and configures the TL866 for every individual device to be programmed.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: alm on July 26, 2017, 08:14:19 pm
How do you know that? I would have assumed that the PC manages the device list, and configures the TL866 for every individual device to be programmed.
Pretty much that. See this file (warning, ~4 MB) (https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vdudouyt/minipro/master/devices.h) for the kind of information the PC software sends. Fitting that all inside an 8-bit Arduino might be tough.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Meta on July 26, 2017, 10:29:37 pm
Hello:

Thanks for the link. I did not know it was done. It is a good idea to do it from the Raspberry Pi, more direct. The problem that Raspberry uses operating system and Arduino or PIC firmware, smaller and does the same.

I was just looking for the data that is on this website. (Thanks to the partner who put the link).

Https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vdudouyt/minipro/master/devices.h (http://Https://raw.githubusercontent.com/vdudouyt/minipro/master/devices.h)

It occupies that information 4.3 MB, it does not fit directly into the Arduino.
What to do?
Use a Micro-SD card for information on each device as shown by the 4.3 MB link.

The tests I have done with Arduino UNO is to embed two photos inside the microcontroller and get it through the serial port to the PC. A very small jpg and other png. Unencrypted and encrypted.

The microcontroller of the TL866 trying to hide is a PIC18F87J50 (http://ww1.microchip.com/downloads/en/DeviceDoc/39775c.pdf). As you can see, it occupies 128K. Some of the information is in PC software 6.60 and sends commands to the TL866 to configure the selected device. TL866 has many switched transistors, it also has that data to configure the data. It does not use extra EEPROM on the TL866.

(http://4.bp.blogspot.com/-wMpwdiFPRNs/VES1naDnmvI/AAAAAAAAAcE/VK3INV-WzKg/s1600/PA200074.JPG)

Too bad that TL866 does not release its source code from its 6.60 software.

;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: alm on July 26, 2017, 10:40:22 pm
Obviously you would not parse a header file on the Arduino. You would convert it to some sort of indexed binary format that you can efficiently search.

How will you access the PIC? I imagine they implemented the USB stack directly on the PIC, rather than using async serial to talk to an FT232-like device. How are you doing USB host on the Arduino Uno?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Meta on July 27, 2017, 02:22:00 am
Or with Arduino ONE or with another Arduino.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: joethezombie on August 04, 2017, 02:00:34 pm
Has anyone been able to write to Atmel ATF16V8?  Every attempt gives a verify error after the write.  And any readbacks are all 1s.   I'm using 6.60 version, and the PLD is on the list of supported devices.  I read through all this thread and it seems some have gotten it to work after some hickups prior to version 6.50.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on August 04, 2017, 03:23:22 pm
Has anyone been able to write to Atmel ATF16V8?  Every attempt gives a verify error after the write.  And any readbacks are all 1s.   I'm using 6.60 version, and the PLD is on the list of supported devices.  I read through all this thread and it seems some have gotten it to work after some hickups prior to version 6.50.

Yes, I can definitely confirm that this has worked for me. I have struggled with older GALs (which were nominally supported; but they might have been bad samples from my junk box). But the ATF16V8 worked without any issues.

I am still on software version 6.17 for the TL866.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: joethezombie on August 04, 2017, 09:54:25 pm
Well shoot.  I wonder what I'm doing wrong.  I bought a fresh new supply from DigiKey of ATF16V8C, but they will not program.  Perhaps ATF16V8B is only supported, not C.  I successfully can program Lattice GAL16V8B, but they are hard to supply.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on August 05, 2017, 11:16:04 am
Mine were indeed ATF16V8B types.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Old Don on August 09, 2017, 01:09:03 pm
Thanks for the answers.

Is it worth buying this socket (https://es.aliexpress.com/item/1PC-1-8V-Adapter-Or-Motherboard-SPI-Flash-SOP8-DIP8-W25-MX25-Use-On-Programmers-TL866CS/32820229722.html?spm=a219c.search0305.4.6.TMxrFb) for the TL866?
(https://ae01.alicdn.com/kf/HTB1h_HcLXXXXXbgXpXXq6xXFXXXI/1-8V-font-b-adapter-b-font-scoket-used-for-all-programmer-TL866CS-TL866A-RT809F-EZP2010.jpg)


Change of topic:

Can you put a 20x4 LCD display to the TL866?

I want to make the TL866A with the LCD to display the data on the screen, Micro-SD to save the .bin and .hex in the inside of which the LCD can view the list, and Arduino to control the LCD and Micro-SD .

Is it possible to do?

Greetings.

That's what I did - bought an A version plus 10 adapters on Banggood or eBay, I think. No need to chase down connectors or reflash to change the firmware.

OBTW, Office Depot (maybe their sister company Office Max too?) sells some British made plastic storage boxes for a few bucks that are great for storing the TL866 with all cables and adapters stored all in one box. Link: http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/352579/Really-Useful-Boxes-Plastic-Storage-Box/ (http://www.officedepot.com/a/products/352579/Really-Useful-Boxes-Plastic-Storage-Box/)   

Also available in their stores if you have a local one. I got 3 for price of 2 on sale in my local store.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: FrankBuss on September 23, 2017, 11:44:38 am
A warning: The programmer worked some months ago. Then I installed the latest version v6.60 on new Windows 7 installation, and it said it needed a firmware upgrade. I did flash it, but at the end it said flash failed. When I disconnected and connected the USB device, the yellow LED is blinking. Sometimes it keeps blinking forever, sometimes it stops after some seconds and the device is detected by the operating system. But I can't use it anymore in Windows.

Might be a special setup, because I'm running Windows 7 in an Oracle VM VirtualBox. This is what I see when I try to connect the USB device:

(https://i.imgur.com/gDjmmHN.png)

But looks like the firmware was flashed successfully, I can use the programmer on an old Windows XP laptop with no problems. The new firmware might have just problems with the virtual machine, which might be the reason that the flashing process reported that it failed, because it couldn't detect it anymore after flashing (looked like it resetted the device after flashing, because I had to attach it again, which then failed with the error message you can see above). It didn't have problems before I flashed it, so if you have a working installation, don't upgrade to the latest software, if you don't need its features. As always, never touch a running system :)

I didn't follow the whole thread, is there an open source alternative meanwhile for the programmer? Would be nice if I could use it from my main Linux system.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Willem52 on September 24, 2017, 10:01:42 am
You may look at / try the Open Source Software:

https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: FrankBuss on September 24, 2017, 10:40:03 am
You may look at / try the Open Source Software:

https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866

This doesn't look like a programmer, just a program how to flash the original firmware. But it is nice to see that the schematic is included, someone could write a new firmware with it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on September 24, 2017, 11:11:51 am
How about this one?
https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro

(Never tried it; no affiliation and no endorsement...)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on September 26, 2017, 06:06:27 pm
[...]
Hi,i'm using the programmer in a windows 7 x64 virtual machine using vmware and it works without any problem...
Maybe some problem with virtualbox?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Old Don on September 26, 2017, 09:29:46 pm
Programmer works in Win10 64 bit and so I believe it should work in Win7 too. Might be something in your settings and not the programmer software. Why not D/L a new copy of the Windows programmer driver software and reinstall it. 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: .::Rizwan::. on September 27, 2017, 12:16:12 am
Hi,i'm using the programmer in a windows 10 x64 VM on a MacBook Pro using Parallels and it works great...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ketimoi on October 04, 2017, 03:14:20 am
Quote
Hi,i'm using the programmer in a windows 10 x64 VM on a MacBook Pro using Parallels and it works great...
Yes, I am doing same and working perfectly. However recently, I have created a multimeter blog https://bestmultimeterreviews.org/. I am trying to write multimeter review and how mulitmeter works. I need some feedback from you guys.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: FrankBuss on October 04, 2017, 05:16:14 pm
I tried it again and now it works. Host system: Debian 64 bit, VM: Oracle VirtualBox 5.0.40 r115130, guest system: Windows 7, 64 bit and later tested with Windows 10, 64 bit. I guess the USB stack somewhere got confused when I updated the firmware and the host system needed a reboot, which I don't do often since I use Linux as my main system.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Old Don on October 05, 2017, 04:26:39 pm
Glad you got it working.  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElektroQuark on October 05, 2017, 06:20:56 pm
You may look at / try the Open Source Software:

https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866

This doesn't look like a programmer, just a program how to flash the original firmware. But it is nice to see that the schematic is included, someone could write a new firmware with it.

You are looking for THIS (https://github.com/vdudouyt/minipro).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SergMM on October 13, 2017, 03:16:30 am
Hello everybody.
Now beta testing of the Android shell for the programmer TL866.
A video with a brief overview of working with soft WizardProg Mobile.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mLsjfJguPU (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9mLsjfJguPU)

Write feedback, now you can affect how the program will look and work.
https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.wizardprog.mobile (https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.wizardprog.mobile)

TL866 has become unique, it works in both Windows and Android.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on October 13, 2017, 04:59:27 am
Hello everybody.
Now beta testing of the Android shell for the programmer TL866.

TL866 has become unique, it works in both Windows and Android.

Interesting, thanks for the update.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElektroQuark on October 13, 2017, 06:48:32 am
Impressive.  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ealex on October 13, 2017, 07:35:32 am
that's great  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on October 13, 2017, 09:00:49 pm
Hello everybody.
Now beta testing of the Android shell for the programmer TL866.

...

TL866 has become unique, it works in both Windows and Android.

That's very cool. Another good project for old Android phones -- make a standalone TL866.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kd6aaj on October 19, 2017, 03:18:31 am
Google Play says my Android phone (Alcatel One Touch Evolve 2) is not supported. Oh well. Great looking project though!  :-+  :clap:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kd6aaj on October 19, 2017, 03:53:54 am
Thanks Radioman and everyone else here who have contributed to this forum.

I just got the MiniPro TL866CS off Amazon, and it looks good so far. It works fine on my desktop pc running Windows 7

The only issue I have is probably "DotNet" related, but I am not sure. Other software (Autodesk, and some others) have the same error caused by the type of installation inf file used or the setup file itself.

I can't install the USB driver on either of my 2 WinXP laptops. The programmer software installs, it thinks it installed the USB driver, but after I connect the TL866CS to the cable when instructed to, the "Found New Hardware Wizard" retrieves the device name (MiniPro TL-866 Programmer" then "MiniProWdf".

After a while of the red light staying solid and yellow flashing, the wdfcoinstaller runs from the .inf file and I get an error from the "Found New Hardware Wizard" window saying something about "no signature found". Screenshot attached:

Anyone else have this problem? Any solutions? Thanks.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kd6aaj on October 20, 2017, 05:15:59 am
Well, I ran the separate driver installer in the DRV folder, and it says the driver is unsigned, that's why it won't install on my XP machines. Certificate expired in 2012.

I will just try to find some older sw version to try with XP.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on October 20, 2017, 07:09:54 am
Well, I ran the separate driver installer in the DRV folder, and it says the driver is unsigned, that's why it won't install on my XP machines. Certificate expired in 2012.

I will just try to find some older sw version to try with XP.
Why is your XP machine not just asking you if you're okay with installing an unsigned driver?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kd6aaj on October 20, 2017, 05:18:23 pm
Well, I ran the separate driver installer in the DRV folder, and it says the driver is unsigned, that's why it won't install on my XP machines. Certificate expired in 2012.

I will just try to find some older sw version to try with XP.
Why is your XP machine not just asking you if you're okay with installing an unsigned driver?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
It did ask, I told it to install anyway. Then it fails. I will get a new screen shot. If I can find a different driver install or xp registry file to import, that would be great....
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kd6aaj on October 20, 2017, 08:53:38 pm
Screenshots. Incidently, MiniProWDF.sys in the DRV folder has no digital certificate, but the one in DRV\WIN64 is signed. I tried both, no luck in XP.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Willem52 on October 21, 2017, 08:05:41 am
Sorry, but Windows XP 64bit is known to have issues like this.

If you have access to another system with a newer Windows of even Windows XP 32bit, try it again.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kd6aaj on October 21, 2017, 06:51:46 pm
My laptops are only 32 bit. I was ust saying the 64 bit file is signed so it installs on Win7 x64 fine, but the 32 bit one is messed up. This is version 6.6 that is current. Incidentally my CD that came with it is also version 6.6. CRC check shows identical 32 bit files (I use "Hashtab" for crc checks).

If I can find an older version with a good driver install for win32 somewhere, then I can still use the current program.

Most of the old uploads people did to rapidshare, etc, are no longer there. Maybe someone here has an older cdrom with a working win32 usb driver install?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Willem52 on October 22, 2017, 08:00:45 am
I should have mentioned that I have tested the current v6.60 version
on a old Windows XP SP3 laptop here. It installed and works well.
You can't use the 64bit driver on a 32bit OS version. You need to use
the MiniProWDF.inf in the installed drv folder. Normally it should have
done it automagically when installing the MiniPro software.

My normal used systems are all Windows 10 64bit, but for the sake
of some awfull cases and testing purposed, I kept the old notebook.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kd6aaj on October 23, 2017, 02:42:43 am
I only checked 64 bit folder for comparison. I ran the regular full install, tried importing the inf, tried installing certificates, nothing fixed the unsigned driver error.

It must be something I am missing, but Microsoft is silent about. Like I originally posted, other software had similar issues according to my Google searches... DotNet4 had it, I think an autocad version did as well. They said it had to do with using a devcon install with a coinstaller. Deleting temp files and the Cat2 folder didn't work.

I give up for now. Maybe I can install or remove sometyhing in Windows XP that clashes with the driver install.

Thanks for trying though: :-)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Willem52 on October 23, 2017, 07:35:11 am
OK, I Google-searched for this phenomena and found this:
(use Methode 5 for Windows XP)

https://support.hidemyass.com/hc/en-us/articles/202723596-How-to-disable-Driver-Signing-check-on-Windows

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ac427 on October 25, 2017, 05:17:15 pm
Is it possible to add the ICSP port to the TL866CS ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElektroQuark on October 25, 2017, 05:34:55 pm
You can add the port , but it will not work if the firmware is not upgraded to TL866A.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mauroh on October 25, 2017, 09:05:17 pm
To convert  the TL866CS in a TL866A read this:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg383943/#msg383943 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg383943/#msg383943)

Kudos to radioman  :-+

He made an amazing job. Read also all his other posts...
Here you can find all the source and documentation:
https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866 (https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866)

Mauro
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SilverPuppy on October 29, 2017, 04:22:25 am
Since this seems to have become the TL866x chat room, and all the great minds seem to be here, I'll ask here. I need to clone the drive parameters from one hard drive to another. They're stored on MX25V4006EZNI chips. One of the boards became water damaged. Neither one is giving me any love. I have a TL866A and I connected wires to the appropriate solder points to hit the chip and connected them to the ZIF (quite the trick, that!) and also the ICSP port. The ICSP port is disabled when the correct chip is selected, and it no id/all zeroes when I just put the wires in the appropriate places in the ZIF. If I select a similar-sounding ATMEL chip just to play, I either get no warning/all zeroes, no id, or an overcurrent error.

I feel like I bought the wrong device and wasted my money. This has been done before by a colleague with a REVELPROG (which is not available to me and costs 3x as much) so I know that the drive board will allow it. I feel cheated, really. This was supposed to be able to do ICSP, and now I find out that it's only on a handful of chips.

Any advice? This project has taken too long already so I'd rather not buy another device and wait again, but I feel like I may have no choice at this point.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SilverPuppy on October 29, 2017, 04:35:49 am
Also I should mention that I yanked an old 28-pin Cypress BIOS chip off a SCSI board I had laying around and was able to read it in the ZIF with no errors and plausible-looking results, so the TL866 apparently does work, just not for what I need, at least not in the ways I tried it.

The self-test does fail on pin 25 ground. I'm not sure if that matters.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElektroQuark on October 29, 2017, 05:33:49 am
Try lifting the power pin of the IC from the board.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SilverPuppy on October 29, 2017, 01:31:07 pm
Easier said than done in this case....pins 3, 7, and 8 are wired together on the board, so I'd have to remove all three to isolate the chip power from the rest of the board, and since it is the ultra-low-profile variation with almost no leg length at all, safely removing those pins would be next to impossible anyway.

If I were going to do that I'd have to get a hot air reflow and take the chip off the board, which is what I'm trying to avoid.

Anyone else have any ideas? Bus pirate? CH341A? I know that I've officially gone offtopic now but I'm desperate.  |O
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kd6aaj on October 31, 2017, 01:46:18 am
Thanks for the reply.

After more research based on your link I found the below solution worked for me. It seems there were some Windows security files unregistered (thanks Microsoft... NOT!):

http://leobarryw.blogspot.com/2012/06/possible-solutions-for-invalid-digital.html (http://leobarryw.blogspot.com/2012/06/possible-solutions-for-invalid-digital.html)

" To fix this, register the Softpub.dll, Wintrust.dll, Initpki.dll, and Mssip32.dll files. To register these files, follow these steps:
1.        Click Start, click Run, type cmd, and then click OK.
2.        At the command prompt, type regsvr32 Softpub.dll /s, and then press ENTER.
3.        At the command prompt, type regsvr32 Wintrust.dll /s, and then press ENTER.
4.        At the command prompt, type regsvr32 Initpki.dll /s, and then press ENTER.
5.        At the command prompt, type regsvr32 Mssip32.dll /s, and then press ENTER."

After registering those 4 files, the registry value below changed to 146432, just as the author said (mine was 146123 or something befor the files were registered manually)

"[HKEY_CURRENT_USER\Software\Microsoft\Windows\CurrentVersion\WinTrust\Trust Providers\Software Publishing]
The key called "State." And its default value should be "0x00023c00 (146432).""

XP says my device is installed, and only the red LED is on now  :) Need to check it out....

UPDATE:
Success! It read a verified 27C512 EPROM I have. I read the EPROM, saved the image as a .bin file to the desktop, then compared it to another .bin file I had in another folder.

I use "HASHTAB", it is simple and powerful. http://implbits.com/products/hashtab/ (http://implbits.com/products/hashtab/)

I assume it will also write to the EPROM as well, as long as my laptop is functioning well  :-DD. The MiniPro worked flawlessly on the Windows 7 PC.  :-+

Thanks again! I hope this helps others as well.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rx8pilot on October 31, 2017, 02:16:48 am
I just ordered one of these.....guessing this massive thread will be helpful.

Short and misplld from my mobile......

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Willem52 on October 31, 2017, 05:57:50 pm
@ kd6aaj
Great to read that you managed to get the MiniPro going on the Windows XP laptop.
😁
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kd6aaj on November 02, 2017, 04:06:27 am
I first did step 5 of the earlier post, but it kept having the same error (which it should have now ignored) until I found the security file registration issue that fixed it.

Thanks again.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: repon on November 05, 2017, 07:43:18 pm
I'm failed to recover my atmega8 after reset disables fuse setting. also, i think a mini pro is not capable to burn as a high voltage programmer for Atmel.
you may can try to set reset-disable fuse setting and then run this chip in board and after that if you try to read this chip then mini pro burner wont be able to read the chip. if you can then please send me a message at www.fb.com/reponsheikh (http://www.fb.com/reponsheikh)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: repon on November 05, 2017, 07:52:38 pm
Atmega8 RESET DISABLE issue ! HV mode programming issue!
using mini pro burner i can't use reset disable fuse. also i can't set the reset disable fuse using my usbasp or ponyprog or any others low voltage programmer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ale500 on December 03, 2017, 02:29:31 pm
I'm trying to program some GALs.

MiniPro SW Version 6.60.
WinCPUL 5.30.4 (downloaded a few days ago from microchip's website).
GAL22V10D or GAL16V8D.

Using the method described earlier in the threah: erase and program several times 3 or 4 seems to be enough to pass the verify test.

But the problem is that the outputs of the GALs seem to float ! or are tri-stated, no idea.

I tried the following PLD file for the 22V10:

Code: [Select]
Name     MemoryDecoder ;
PartNo   GAL01 ;
Date     28-11-2017 ;
Revision 01 ;
Designer Ale ;
Company  Mine ;
Assembly Z80180_Basic ;
Location U4 ;
Device   G22V10 ;
/*Format   j ;*/


/** input pins **/

PIN 1   = nwr; /* cpu write (out) */
PIN 2   = nioreq; /* cpu io request */
PIN 3   = nmemreq; /* cpu memory request */
PIN 4    = nm1; /* cpu machine cycle 1 */
PIN 5    = nreset; /* cpu reset */
PIN 6    = nrd; /* cpu read (in) */




PIN 13    = a14; /* a 14 */
PIN 11   = a15; /* a 15 */
PIN 10   = a16; /* a 16 */
PIN 9   = a17; /* a 17 */
PIN 8    = a18;
PIN 7    = a19;

/** output pins **/

PIN 14  = nromcs; /* ROM @ 0x0_0000..1FFF */
PIN 15  = nramcs; /* RAM @ 0x0_4000..BFFF */
PIN 16  = mem_wr;
PIN 17  = mem_rd;
PIN 18  = niord;
PIN 19  = niowr;
PIN 20  = page0;

/** logic fields **/

mem_rd  = nrd # nmemreq;
mem_wr  = nwr # nmemreq;

niord   = nrd # nioreq;
niowr   = nwr # nioreq;

page0 = a14 # a15 # a16 # a17 # a18 # a19;

ramcs   = !a14;
romcs   = a14 # a15 # a16 # a17 # a18 # a19; /* lower 16 k */

Does anyone see anything wrong with the code ?.

I would like to test if the GALs work but the outputs "float" or are tri-stated or I don't know what the problem is. Maybe the MiniPro doesn't really program GALs. Any ideas ?

I also tried compiling galasm from here: https://github.com/daveho/GALasm, either under linux on windows or mingw I get "out of memory", it doesn't seem to compile cleanly under win64. Using -m32 didn't yield a compilable, I have to hunt a missing header, probably some missing 32 on 64 bit library package :(
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on December 25, 2017, 07:38:03 am
BIG FAT WARNING

With the new v6.60 under win10 64bit Entreprise:    when the minipro ask for an firmware update, it will or may crash the programmer, the driver will change status to not working ...

Had to install everything on an 32 bit pc, and reflashed it (tl866) and worked ok on the 64 bit pc, the drivers seem's to be installed and declared differently on a 64bit pc vs the 32 bit ???

BUT once the programmer is disconnected and replugged the drivers fail to start again ????
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BBBbbb on December 25, 2017, 12:52:26 pm
BIG FAT WARNING

With the new v6.60 under win10 64bit Entreprise:    when the minipro ask for an firmware update, it will or may crash the programmer, the driver will change status to not working ...

Had to install everything on an 32 bit pc, and reflashed it (tl866) and worked ok on the 64 bit pc, the drivers seem's to be installed and declared differently on a 64bit pc vs the 32 bit ???

BUT once the programmer is disconnected and replugged the drivers fail to start again ????

fw update worked for me on win 10, so I guess it's now always the problem.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on December 25, 2017, 02:56:40 pm
on win 10 x64 build 17017, de-plugging and replugging always show an error in my device manager, had to remove driver and reinstall it each time i unplug the programmer ... ??   

maybe the build have a problem ?? 

Perfect on 32 bit pc,  tried with 3 pc's  all ok 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on December 26, 2017, 05:24:12 pm
Here's an v6.60 slightly modified because of truncated english dialogues in various windows ...

In the bottom option box moved the tick boxes, enlarged the erase before / verify after,  dialog box ... 

There is an hidden Eraseotp dialog who will appear when needed between blank check and check id ...

The 25 flash detect box ... small changes at the bottom

In the multi programmer section, i've enlarged the boxes ... bigger windows box ...

In the self check,  bigger windows box ...

I can't change anything for now in the ic config information section, there are multi layered and on top small windows .... can't correct the "Informaton" dialog for now 


Just the exe, put it in the same minipro folder     : https://nofile.io/f/VZqc3qTjkOq/MiniPro2c.zip 
EDIT : reworked the ic config section, the user id was partially hidden while selecting an pic xxxx   hex file to upload, since it is a floating info box, it will always stay at the bottom.
EDIt : corrected the manufacturer section typo and windows size, we could not see the full manufacturers names

Modded for the fun of it with ResEdit 64 bit,  run them in parallel to see the changes ...

Would be nice to enter manually the hex values of the config bits  Ex : when programming a pic ???
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: skum on December 26, 2017, 09:05:04 pm
Does anyone know the pinout of the TSOP-48 adapter? Not the base plate but the actual TSOP-48 adapter that goes on top. The (P)SOP-44 looks like this (when viewed from the top):
  (1)       
3536    3433
3738     3231
3940    3029
4142    2827
NCNC    2625
4344    2423
NCNC    2221
12    2019
34    1817
56    1615
78    1413
910    1211

And I'm looking for the same info for the TSOP-48 thing. Anyone got one, that can "quickly" measure one out for me?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on December 30, 2017, 05:25:23 pm
It's not just you. "Upgraded" to 6.60 and all is FUBAR as well. :palm: It performs just like your description below. I will try an earlier archived version of SW and find out. edit Oops, running Win XP SP2.
A warning: The programmer worked some months ago. Then I installed the latest version v6.60 on new Windows 7 installation, and it said it needed a firmware upgrade. I did flash it, but at the end it said flash failed. When I disconnected and connected the USB device, the yellow LED is blinking.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on December 30, 2017, 05:31:45 pm
I just tried MiniPro v6.17 and no blinkin, winkin, or nod. However it will not read anything because it says it is too old and needs to be updated. The self-test works however. Looking for 6.50 now....
edit I just reinstalled the 6.60 without upgrading the USB driver. It is working now... :-//
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: orion242 on January 03, 2018, 01:02:01 am
I'm looking for the same info for the TSOP-48 thing. Anyone got one, that can "quickly" measure one out for me?

Looking at the top down.

  (1)       
12    4847
34     4645
56    4443
78    4241
910    4039
1112    3837
1314    3635
1516    3433
1718    3231
1920    3029
2122    2827
2324    2625
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Fx323i on January 03, 2018, 07:29:00 pm
Success!

Knocked this together, followed radioman's instructions to generate a new HEX file, used the PICPGM program as directed, and BAM. She works, upgraded to TL866A and everything.

Christmas is saved!!

Hi, I am sorry if quoting is not allowed on this forum, I am a newbie here. I purchased a TL866CS and did not know I would get a "fake" unit. I have had it in a shelf for maybe two years and now, during Christmas, I decided to reinstall my laptop and doing this, I downloaded the manufacturer's software and installed it. Yesterday, I tried to hook it up and test. On the first run it told me the firmware was not up to date and offered reflashing. As you could expect, then it said the programmer is a piracy or somewhat similar, and erased the firmware.

I searched and found the radioman's guide on how to restore. I built a parallel port programmer as I do have a PC with LPT port on hand. But I have a problem, because the programmer software, which was suggested, at first stated an error opening LPT driver. This was solved by running as admin. But now I am stuck with No programmer found and PIC not detected. Can anyone let me know, where I could have made a mistake? I am no expert in this, I bought the TL866 more as a toy...

Some additional info: I used 220 Ohm resistors, however, when I used the multimeter to measure the resistances, they were somewhat around 160-170 Ohm. The wiring was triple-checked by me and my colleagues from work, seems not to be a problem. Soldering quality "by me" is not the best, but I measured from the beginning to the end and the connections work.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Brumby on January 04, 2018, 12:28:45 am
Hi, I am sorry if quoting is not allowed on this forum, I am a newbie here.

You are a newbie.

Look around a bit and you will find quoting is a way of life here.  Partial quotes (like I just did) are OK too - just as long as it holds the correct meaning.  (Don't try and take something out of context to give it a different meaning to support your side of a discussion - you will get challenged on it!)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on January 04, 2018, 05:10:45 pm
@ fx323i  do you have a link of your lpt programmer ?  if i recall  you have to select witch mode your lpt work   ecp   di-dir  etc ...

 I had the same problem recently, the firmware update under my win 10 64 bits failed, and upon rebooting reconnecting the tl866 the drivers would not start

For me switched to an 32 bit machine worked fine .. the minipro fw update worked fine after the drivers installation ???

Check this under your device manager, if it is not listed properly, your tl866 wont be seen under windows or the radioman firmware update/recovery wont work either ...

radioman fw tool download  : http://atariage.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=423579 (http://atariage.com/forums/index.php?app=core&module=attach&section=attach&attach_id=423579)


1: Install the Programmer's software in C:\MiniPro
2: Plug in Programmer (install the USB driver in the last setup steps).
3: Run Programmer Software and look at the very bottom line. It should show your  FW version TL866CS. ----------   in my case was showing  0.0
4: Exit back to Desktop.
5: Run the TL866.exe program.
6: Click the browse button [...] and browse for your update.dat file in C:\MiniPro.
7: Select the "Firmware Dumper" button, and hit the "Reflash" button
8: Click "Advanced", then select "A Bootloader", then hit "Write"
9: Unselect "Code protection bit", then hit "Write"

A: Hit OK to exit that menu, then select "TL866CS firmware" and hit "Reflash"
B: When reflash is done, hit "Reset", wait, and hit "Reset" again.
C: Exit the TL866.exe program.


should work ??  even with the FW crash,  the PIC bootloader should be accessible and the fw upgrade/restoration should be possible.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Fx323i on January 04, 2018, 08:15:06 pm
 Hi, thanks for your understanding. I do know the radioman's recovery software, but my problem is, that the TL866 I have is not recognized by USB anymore. I have several 32bit Win7 PCs around me so I already tested on them. This led me to the last pages of the radioman's tutorial and I built the programmer as per his diagram (and as per the post I quoted) to use with WinPicPgm. But no luck with it, even after soldering a resistor to force bootloader. Is supplying power through USB necessary when connected to the LPT programmer?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on January 04, 2018, 08:28:40 pm
Normally the usb cable should do the job, with the pic icsp port, it will enter in programming mode.

Just see the lpt schematics,  maybe the winpicpgm need to be used in compatibility mode, its an old programm

Can you get another type of icsp programmer, or borrow it from a friend ??? any pic programmer with an icsp port ??? with some programmers you can supply back the tl866 for the icsp programming

The "fakes tl866" was mostly the adapters who came with them, they now have eeprom on them to be acknowledged in the programmer software, never heard of fake tl866 ???, they are sold under willem sivava names too  ...

this page has other options of recovery :  try this    https://abzman2k.wordpress.com/2013/06/12/upgrading-the-tl866cs-or-misadventures-with-pics/   links on the bottom page, lots of other programmers ...   someone said on the page threads   the pinouts where different for interfacing the tl866 pic icsp port, maybe tracing them would help to identify them and correct your pinout ??

You know the pic has its icsp port on the pcb side,  near a smt regulator and c23,  not the icsp port of the programmer output port.

the pinout on the side of pcb for the pic 18f87j50 are :
1  mclr            ----    with a square silk screen print
2  vcc 3.3volts
3  ground
4  pgd / port rb7
5  pgc /  port rb6
6  ground
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: skum on January 07, 2018, 10:16:33 pm
I'm looking for the same info for the TSOP-48 thing. Anyone got one, that can "quickly" measure one out for me?

Looking at the top down.

  (1)       
12    4847
34     4645
56    4443
78    4241
910    4039
1112    3837
1314    3635
1516    3433
1718    3231
1920    3029
2122    2827
2324    2625

Thanks man! This was just what I needed! This helped me succesfully program a MX29LV160T in a SOP-44 package (which is not supported by the software, but the TSOP-48 package is). By rewiring the pinout to a SOP-44 adapter, and selecting the TSOP-48 package in the software, I could succesfully write and verify the chip.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: OCBSlimz on January 16, 2018, 07:01:26 pm
I'm looking for the same info for the TSOP-48 thing. Anyone got one, that can "quickly" measure one out for me?

Looking at the top down.

  (1)       
12    4847
34     4645
56    4443
78    4241
910    4039
1112    3837
1314    3635
1516    3433
1718    3231
1920    3029
2122    2827
2324    2625

Thanks man! This was just what I needed! This helped me succesfully program a MX29LV160T in a SOP-44 package (which is not supported by the software, but the TSOP-48 package is). By rewiring the pinout to a SOP-44 adapter, and selecting the TSOP-48 package in the software, I could succesfully write and verify the chip.


Got the pinout diagram for this ? Im looking to do the same thing.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: skum on January 16, 2018, 10:05:23 pm
Got the pinout diagram for this ? Im looking to do the same thing.

If you take the pinout of the MX29LV160T and alike, and compare the pin layout from TSOP-48 to SOP-44, you'll see that it is only a few pins that needs to be moved, and one pin that is not present on the SOP-44 package, that is on the TSOP-48 (RY/BY) which is apparently not used.

So I took jumper wires and simply made the adapter from hell, between the base plate and the SOP-44 adapter (both "original" XinGong thingies).

So the pin from 9 goes to 43 and 11 to 44, and 12 to 1. I made a PCB to put between the two adapters to avoid the jumper wire stuff, I haven't tested it though (waiting for it to arrive from OSHPark). You can find the layout here https://www.oshpark.com/shared_projects/cyvjThOk (https://www.oshpark.com/shared_projects/cyvjThOk). I hope I didn't mess anything up, as I made it quite quick, so beware :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on January 24, 2018, 10:00:05 am
 Is there a way to read and write battery backed up SRAMs (like MK48T08B (http://www.st.com/content/ccc/resource/technical/document/datasheet/group1/92/64/6e/82/80/15/41/65/CD00000521/files/CD00000521.pdf/jcr:content/translations/en.CD00000521.pdf)) with tl866? Someone was looking into it.

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: offtrack2 on February 01, 2018, 04:14:16 pm
Hello Firewal:
topic NVRAM (battery + SRAM)
or chip is different but same topic, NVRAM.
you never said what the chip is used for on in, or is this EE project?

simple answer yes (but with mods)
but  the  brands of chips covered by this TL866CS
limited, for NVRAM
the dallas chips do work,  i tested DS1220 and 1230 and both work perfectly

if you have an another brand say  MK48T08B  as you stated , (is this 28 pin DIP) ill guess yes.

you will see it is not supported
but not all is lost after all its just a SRAM + battery +RTC    the RTC uses top end , and 8 bytes lost in ram.
but all generic SRAMs on this programmer are no good, the software for the 6116   (2k x8) is DEAD totally (newest firmware , and app) as are the larger ones , dead.


your chip is  MK48T08B,
8k by 8 (8192 by 8 bits) minus 8 bytes. so in present form will fail programming for sure on the last 8 bytes.
aka 64k bit chip

the Dallas match to your chip (mod'd)
is DS1225AB   ,8K x 8 .

using the minipro
set DS1225AB (RW)
then set the address range to end 8 bytes early
and you chip will work ,
at the bottom left corner of minipro screen
set select range to SECT away from ALL(*) to rangeset.
then set start to 0000
and end  1ff7 (8 bytes short)
now you can program it easy. oops but one fact.
the problem is on the dallas chip pin 26 is NC (not used)
but is used on the MK48,   called E2 (enable true = Vih = VDD)
so jumper pin 26 to 28 and it should work. E2 is set true full time power is applied. so will work.

all this is theory above but should work. IMO  (if I had your chip in hand i could do this is say 5 minutes work.
The programmer will not test that clock. RTC. after all the programmer does not know time of day , MM/DD/YY or year.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: aymanrlb on February 03, 2018, 09:14:11 pm
is there a way to add a non listed nand chip to the minipro ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: skum on February 03, 2018, 10:32:45 pm
is there a way to add a non listed nand chip to the minipro ?
You cannot add unlisted chips in the software (at least the Windows version), however you can most likely program them, if you can find another chip with the same pin layout and so on, and then ignore chip ID.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: offtrack2 on February 05, 2018, 06:04:16 pm
There are not many modern programmers today, below $500 .  a review and questions answered, below. redux1
there are plenty of  dedicated programmers sold for  the likes of PIC or ARM, endless. (does 1 job or  family of PICs)
but not universal programmers.  (today, lots of old dead relics sold on ebay dead, best of which was DATA-IO{tm})

It is a cheap programmer. $42
It has many limits and some  devices are dead like the generic SRAM sections are DOA.
It has devices that fail,  6116 is dead, totally.
the good does outweigh the bad for sure,  tested many chips,  27C256,  dallas chips all work, and FLASH and EEproms work.
Modern chips work as most have charge pumps inside the chip for VPP making the programmers (HW) job , more child's play today.

It has limits of weak TTL signalling (old school limits back to 1970) mostly never a problem with MOS or CMOS chips today. Pin driver limits !
Limits also due to USB power used, many laptop will not work at all at 100mA, (use a powered (3amp) hub for a fast cure here) or use  desktop
My HP modern Laptop does 500ma power on USB so works great.
The 2 questions asked most often.
1: Can I write my own device test plan,  that is the programming algorithms?, answer no. (it's closed source) not designed to do that at all. (nice dream and if possible worth more money,(i got some)
2: given that, what can I do? , answer plenty !
your chip not listed, so...
use another chip that is same pin-out, and same logic on clock pins CS/OE/WE.  (many are exactly the same , same size array and function (eproms ,flash, and nvram.)
or make an adapter that attains that goal. (just wires and sockets , solder jumped)
lets say you have  SRAM with a battery (like me and to my horror the 6116 selection is dead the whole page SRAM is dead, and DRAM is joke no way an this tool do dynamic refresh!!!)
The whole section for sram is grayed out , no reads possible. (not sure if that limit is minipro or the firmware)
I used the Dallas DS series NVRAM selections and it works perfectly (matching size) eg, 2k x8 or 8k x 8 etc. (chip in hand, not inside my scope)
Relic Legacy devices from 1970s.
the only tricky parts are folks using relic MOS EPROMS, 2716s is a prime horror  here,  as each maker uses different VPP program levels and huge long programming pulses this 866 can not do.
the cure is easy, ditch the mos and get say a 27Cxxx chip and use that. (in all cases make sure the VPP is correct and see? it can be changed on the programming page of MINIPRO.!nice.
learn to read your old chips datasheet, learn that 27256 and 256A and 267B do not use the same VPP, learn that or fail or blow up a 13v chip with 21v vpp, the data sheet don't lie , please read it.



 In my causes I dreamed of reading on IN CIRCUIT NVAM (6116 class) and failed.
the Processor inside is cheap $3 PIC (ok no issues there)
Limits. the Pin drivers on the 866 has no spec. so i had to read the schematic and look up the spec on the PIC.
that each PIC port  output is limited to 3.4mA IOL for   3.4mA (max) at 0.4v Vol.   if you circuit uses more current this weak PIC fails.
That means any devices, that have pull up resistors ,  to 5v can fail real easy. (as mine did)
The 6116 selections , is dead, it is grayed out,  and totally useless, but the DS1220 works ok.

 
I can't use it to back  live NVrams in scopes due to 866, weak VoL limits.

Sure wish I could backup my TEK scopes NVRAM. (6116 type)
what fails is the CS bar pin does not go to ViL , low spec, and overloads the programmer.  (ViL is voltage input low , TTL jargon)
I may build up an  adapter (have one  now just wires) to add one non inverting buffer chip on that CS line, rated at 5MA (mine is that) or 2 transistors, 1 for inversion and other for open collector drive to CS bar.
in fact my scope uses 2 transistors in exactly that way, to toggle CS bar.
hummm I have plan.....

 
How  ever I did test all my SRAMS in my junk box with a 3v coin cell across VDD to VSS.
all passed 100% , could watch foot ball come back do a read and all data there was good.
using Dallas selections (matched) for say 6116 Ram.
how that helps others.
ask more quesitons. even  ask for tests we can do. (have a full lab)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on February 05, 2018, 08:33:49 pm
The schematics for the tsop-48 adapter (the one with the ATtiny13) are available?

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mos6502 on February 13, 2018, 11:32:10 pm
Programming NVRAMs does not work on the TL866. At least it didn't work when I tried to program a bq4015. Somehow the addresses are messed up so that it only programs some 64kB blocks and leaves others empty. I resorted to building my own NVRAM programmer using an ATMega16 on a breadboard.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on February 23, 2018, 10:52:57 am
Hi,
I had this strange experience with my Minipro TL866 and an ATMEGA32a, which I pulled from a DIY watch.

I was able to read-off the data from ATMEGA32a with Minipro TL866, but I get errors when I try to verify the saved file directly with the chip.

Any ideas why? Could the chip be locked / protected? (What can I then do in that case?)  :-BROKE
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on February 25, 2018, 04:31:44 am
you have a tnm5000 on Ali ... who does a really good job, and in the 200-300$ usd range, updated frequently and  have an demo mode in the software without the hardware to check it out. It was a very good investment.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jbnl on February 26, 2018, 05:37:48 pm
There is a new model from them the TL866II Plus, see on there website:

http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/TL866_main.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/TL866_main.html)

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on February 26, 2018, 07:26:18 pm
There is a new model from them the TL866II Plus, see on there website:
http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/TL866_main.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/TL866_main.html)

And at the same time, support for the previous models ends ("off"). 
No more software updates for those. Ouch. :o
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: UpLateGeek on February 27, 2018, 10:54:51 am
There is a new model from them the TL866II Plus, see on there website:

http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/TL866_main.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/TL866_main.html)

It's so new, they don't even know themselves! The table says max VPP is 18V, but in the description below it's 21V.

And the first entry in their "authorised distributor" list has an ebay store, but only the old TL866CS and A models can be found.

Also I'm not sure about the other chips listed in that table, but W29C020 is a 5V CMOS chip, so not sure what "10.2S+2.4S" means for "P+V (S)". Are they talking about the input and output logic high voltages? Because looking at the datasheet, that's way too high for the input voltage.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: orion242 on February 27, 2018, 04:05:38 pm
Can't seem to find the new version anywhere.

Wonder if the old adapters all work with the new unit.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on February 27, 2018, 04:16:16 pm


There is a new model from them the TL866II Plus, see on there website:

http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/TL866_main.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/TL866_main.html)

It's so new, they don't even know themselves! The table says max VPP is 18V, but in the description below it's 21V.

And the first entry in their "authorised distributor" list has an ebay store, but only the old TL866CS and A models can be found.

Also I'm not sure about the other chips listed in that table, but W29C020 is a 5V CMOS chip, so not sure what "10.2S+2.4S" means for "P+V (S)". Are they talking about the input and output logic high voltages? Because looking at the datasheet, that's way too high for the input voltage.

10.2 seconds to program, 2.4 seconds to verify?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: notepadEngineer on February 28, 2018, 12:54:38 pm
I did some experimenting with different "VCC verify" and got bit errors on less addresses with higher voltage. I can compare the read with the original eprom dump for this engine, it's just a small part of the content that is changed by the tuner (look up tables a.k.a maps for fuel injection, inigition, turbo pressure etc.).  I estimate that I now have less than ten bit errors on the whole chip, and that makes it possible to analyze what the tuner has changed, so it's good enough for me.

Hello guys,
I try to do the same like the user redtop did 4 years back.

I want to read a AM29F200 chip, which got soldered on a copy protection socket inside a engine control unit, because the company isn't existing anymore since a long time and the owner wants some adjustments.
I soldered out the socket and soldered it on my TL866 adapter.
It doesn't read out crap anymore, but still a little bit scrambled.

Redtop wrote, that he did "VCC Verify" and changed the voltage.
But how can I do this with a TL866?

I use the MiniPro Software for Windows.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: MaximRecoil on February 28, 2018, 07:31:19 pm
I used one of these for the first time, to program a Lattice GAL16V8D. After programming it I dumped it and compared the .JED file to the original .JED file that I used to program it with in the first place:

(https://i.imgur.com/bAC1kLv.png)

The programmer seems to have added its own information ("Device", "Created By", "Date"), which I assume isn't a problem. The rest of it all seems to match except for the last line which is a heart followed by four numbers, A044 in the original file and 7295 in the new file. What is the explanation for that?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on February 28, 2018, 07:41:25 pm
The heart is the ETX character, after that comes the XSUM field (transmission checksum), I guess the checksum over all the bytes and that is why it is different.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: MaximRecoil on February 28, 2018, 08:25:04 pm
The heart is the ETX character, after that comes the XSUM field (transmission checksum), I guess the checksum over all the bytes and that is why it is different.

That makes sense, thanks.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheSteve on February 28, 2018, 08:55:46 pm
I did some experimenting with different "VCC verify" and got bit errors on less addresses with higher voltage. I can compare the read with the original eprom dump for this engine, it's just a small part of the content that is changed by the tuner (look up tables a.k.a maps for fuel injection, inigition, turbo pressure etc.).  I estimate that I now have less than ten bit errors on the whole chip, and that makes it possible to analyze what the tuner has changed, so it's good enough for me.

Hello guys,
I try to do the same like the user redtop did 4 years back.

I want to read a AM29F200 chip, which got soldered on a copy protection socket inside a engine control unit, because the company isn't existing anymore since a long time and the owner wants some adjustments.
I soldered out the socket and soldered it on my TL866 adapter.
It doesn't read out crap anymore, but still a little bit scrambled.

Redtop wrote, that he did "VCC Verify" and changed the voltage.
But how can I do this with a TL866?

I use the MiniPro Software for Windows.

If you're trying to read the flash through the encryption board chances are they prevent sequential reads as part of the copy protection.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: notepadEngineer on March 01, 2018, 09:27:38 am
Hello guys,
I try to do the same like the user redtop did 4 years back.

I want to read a AM29F200 chip, which got soldered on a copy protection socket inside a engine control unit, because the company isn't existing anymore since a long time and the owner wants some adjustments.
I soldered out the socket and soldered it on my TL866 adapter.
It doesn't read out crap anymore, but still a little bit scrambled.

Redtop wrote, that he did "VCC Verify" and changed the voltage.
But how can I do this with a TL866?

I use the MiniPro Software for Windows.

If you're trying to read the flash through the encryption board chances are they prevent sequential reads as part of the copy protection.

Yes, I thought about that too.

I even read that the engine control unit switches OE (output enable) after every read.
And that's how the encryption board notices the difference between a programmer and the ecu.

Anyone has an idea how to get past this?  :P
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: notepadEngineer on March 03, 2018, 04:04:26 pm
Anyone?  :(
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on March 06, 2018, 07:44:22 am
I have this .bin file, which I need to burn as “ODD” and “EVEN” on 2 x 27C256.

How do I proceed with that on my TL866? :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on March 06, 2018, 05:21:09 pm
I have this .bin file, which I need to burn as “ODD” and “EVEN” on 2 x 27C256.

How do I proceed with that on my TL866? :)

Here's a quick and dirty python script I just knocked up

Code: [Select]
# romsplit.py - 06/03/18 - Macbeth, EEVBlog

import argparse
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Split a binary file into .odd and .evn byte files')
#parser.add_argument('-r', '--recover', action='store_true',help='Recover .odd and .evn back to original file')
parser.add_argument('infile', help='filename')
args = parser.parse_args()
odd = bytearray()
evn = bytearray()

with open(args.infile, 'rb') as infile:
    buf = bytearray(infile.read())
    infile.close()

for i in range(len(buf)):
    if (i % 2):
        odd.append(buf[i])
    else:
        evn.append(buf[i])

with open(args.infile+".evn", 'wb') as outfile:
    outfile.write(evn)
    outfile.close()

with open(args.infile+".odd", 'wb') as outfile:
    outfile.write(odd)
    outfile.close()
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on March 06, 2018, 05:35:41 pm
I have this .bin file, which I need to burn as “ODD” and “EVEN” on 2 x 27C256.

How do I proceed with that on my TL866? :)

Here's a quick and dirty python script I just knocked up

Code: [Select]
# romsplit.py - 06/03/18 - Macbeth, EEVBlog

import argparse
parser = argparse.ArgumentParser(description='Split a binary file into .odd and .evn byte files')
#parser.add_argument('-r', '--recover', action='store_true',help='Recover .odd and .evn back to original file')
parser.add_argument('infile', help='filename')
args = parser.parse_args()
odd = bytearray()
evn = bytearray()

with open(args.infile, 'rb') as infile:
    buf = bytearray(infile.read())
    infile.close()

for i in range(len(buf)):
    if (i % 2):
        odd.append(buf[i])
    else:
        evn.append(buf[i])

with open(args.infile+".evn", 'wb') as outfile:
    outfile.write(evn)
    outfile.close()

with open(args.infile+".odd", 'wb') as outfile:
    outfile.write(odd)
    outfile.close()
It's more difficult if you have, say, an Intel hex file.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on March 06, 2018, 05:44:49 pm
I have this .bin file, which I need to burn as “ODD” and “EVEN” on 2 x 27C256.
How do I proceed with that on my TL866? :)

There are various utilities (most of them a bit dated by now) which can read and write various binary and hex file formats, split them into even/odd bytes, concatenate them and so forth. Under Windows, I use "EasyBin", which came with some 68k tools: http://www.easy68k.com/EASy68Kforum/viewtopic.php?t=695 (http://www.easy68k.com/EASy68Kforum/viewtopic.php?t=695)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on March 06, 2018, 08:43:35 pm
I have this .bin file, which I need to burn as “ODD” and “EVEN” on 2 x 27C256.
How do I proceed with that on my TL866? :)

There are various utilities (most of them a bit dated by now) which can read and write various binary and hex file formats, split them into even/odd bytes, concatenate them and so forth. Under Windows, I use "EasyBin", which came with some 68k tools: http://www.easy68k.com/EASy68Kforum/viewtopic.php?t=695 (http://www.easy68k.com/EASy68Kforum/viewtopic.php?t=695)

Sorry my mistake, the file is actually a .Hex. I tried opening .hex and I can say for sure that it wont work in EasyBin with the output.  :-//
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheSteve on March 06, 2018, 08:51:19 pm
Open the .hex file with the TL866 software and save it as a .bin, then split the file.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on March 06, 2018, 08:56:21 pm
Sorry my mistake, the file is actually a .Hex. I tried opening .hex and I can say for sure that it wont work in EasyBin with the output.  :-//

Ah, right -- being a 68000-centric tool, EasyBin understands the Motorola S-Record format, but not Intel's Hex format. Maybe convert the file to plain binary first, e.g. with this? http://hex2bin.sourceforge.net/ (http://hex2bin.sourceforge.net/)

That utility seems pretty bare-bones and can't do the even/odd split, so you will still need EasyBin for that. I'm sure a bit of Googling will also bring up something that can directly split an Intel Hex file. But if you need to do this just once for now, the two-step process should be fine.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on March 07, 2018, 06:43:03 am
Sorry my mistake, the file is actually a .Hex. I tried opening .hex and I can say for sure that it wont work in EasyBin with the output.  :-//

Ah, right -- being a 68000-centric tool, EasyBin understands the Motorola S-Record format, but not Intel's Hex format. Maybe convert the file to plain binary first, e.g. with this? http://hex2bin.sourceforge.net/ (http://hex2bin.sourceforge.net/)

That utility seems pretty bare-bones and can't do the even/odd split, so you will still need EasyBin for that. I'm sure a bit of Googling will also bring up something that can directly split an Intel Hex file. But if you need to do this just once for now, the two-step process should be fine.

In the burning guide is written, that you should either use 2 x 27512 or 2 x 27256, but there is not checksum provided to verify the result and the file I need to convert and split is 180 KB in size.

Hex2bin requires some extensions installed as Windows end-user, so I did the following process. (Please correct me, if something is wrong)
1.   I open my .hex in MiniPro as 27512 and save it as .bin. This give me a .bin of 64 KB.
2.   I open my .bin in EASyBIN and choose 2 files with splitting every 2nd Byte, which gives me 2 files of 32 KB, which should fit for 27256.

Questions:
•   Is the procedure above correct?
•   The output from EASyBIN gives me two files. One named “_0” another “_1”, which one is considered ODD and EVEN?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on March 07, 2018, 08:48:22 am
1.   I open my .hex in MiniPro as 27512 and save it as .bin. This give me a .bin of 64 KB.
2.   I open my .bin in EASyBIN and choose 2 files with splitting every 2nd Byte, which gives me 2 files of 32 KB, which should fit for 27256.

Questions:
•   Is the procedure above correct?
•   The output from EASyBIN gives me two files. One named “_0” another “_1”, which one is considered ODD and EVEN?

Good idea to use the MiniPro software for the Hex to BIN conversion; I had not thought of that. Yes, the steps you describe look right to me, and the two 32k files are what one would expect.

The _0 and _1 extension can be thought of as the last bit of the address bus. So _0 denotes the file with the even bytes, and _1 the odd ones.

To be absolutely sure that the process has worked, you could have a look at the original file and the two partial files in a hex editor. (EasyBin or the Minipro software should work.) Jot down the first and final few bytes in the 64k file, and convince yourself that the 32k files have the odd and even bytes, respectively.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Willem52 on April 03, 2018, 12:50:00 pm
There are updates for the TL866A/CS (v6.71) and the TL866II (v7.11)
software and firmware: http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/tl866_main.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/tl866_main.html)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: orion242 on April 04, 2018, 12:45:31 pm
There is a new model from them the TL866II Plus, see on there website:

http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/TL866_main.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/TL866_main.html)

It's so new, they don't even know themselves! The table says max VPP is 18V, but in the description below it's 21V.

And the first entry in their "authorised distributor" list has an ebay store, but only the old TL866CS and A models can be found.

Also I'm not sure about the other chips listed in that table, but W29C020 is a 5V CMOS chip, so not sure what "10.2S+2.4S" means for "P+V (S)". Are they talking about the input and output logic high voltages? Because looking at the datasheet, that's way too high for the input voltage.

Its available now on ebay.  Can't say its any faster than the old version, at least not for what I'm using it with (29F400BT mainly).  Software is pretty much identical, old adapters work fine with the new version.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: lex.le on April 05, 2018, 01:55:26 pm
hi guys,

I have one issue with my Tl866CS when i try to program laptop/desktop bios ics, the minipro program don't recognize 25 series and when i hit the detect button the program says "unknow device" - if i select chip model and write code and try to read or verify i get error message.

When i measure with multimeter vcc pin on zif i have low voltage like 0.5v or 1.5v and when i hit detect button this voltage drops to 0.3v or less. Does anyone know how i can fix this issue? I suspect the vcc control is broken, but i don't know how it works. In this image i show where i found this voltage.

https://ibb.co/jhpaUx

Thanks in advance.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on April 10, 2018, 09:51:09 pm
is you device listed in the supported ic's in the minipro ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: lex.le on April 10, 2018, 09:57:40 pm
is you device listed in the supported ic's in the minipro ?
Yes, It's occur with any supported ic.

Enviado de meu Moto G (5S) Plus usando Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on April 11, 2018, 10:59:12 am
schematic of tl866  you can check all dc supply

http://www.obdii365.com/upload/pro/mini-pro-tl866-schematic-diagram.pdf (http://www.obdii365.com/upload/pro/mini-pro-tl866-schematic-diagram.pdf)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Miti on April 14, 2018, 01:57:13 am
I ordered a TL866CS from ebay about a month ago and to my surprise I received an XGecu TL866 II Plus. Sweet...
Not sure if it is a mistake or they simply didn't have the CS anymore and upgraded to II Plus instead. Does anyone know what's new in the schematic II Plus? I see pin detection and stuff but does it have the same MCU?
Unfortunately the ICSP doesn't work, I tried to read a PIC16F877A from PicDem Plus and it fails. PicKit 3 works fine.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on April 14, 2018, 03:47:56 am
but the XGecu TL866 II  has an icsp port on it, i've seen pictures of it on ebay, you surely used the  http://www.autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/XgproV710_Setup.rar (http://www.autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/XgproV710_Setup.rar)   software ???
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on April 14, 2018, 08:38:31 am
Did anyone compared the hardware between the old and the new version?

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Miti on April 15, 2018, 12:52:01 pm
but the XGecu TL866 II  has an icsp port on it, i've seen pictures of it on ebay, you surely used the  http://www.autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/XgproV710_Setup.rar (http://www.autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/XgproV710_Setup.rar)   software ???

Yes and yes, it does have an ICSP port and I am using the correct software but it cannot read the PIC. If I take the PIC out of PICDem Plus and I insert it in the socket it works. It came with the ICSP cable as well. It is either defective or my connection was bad, which I doubt.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Miti on April 15, 2018, 01:09:17 pm
Like many others on this forum, I am disappointed that TL866 doesn't support FRAM like FM1608 or FM16W08. I sent two emails to autoelectric asking if they could add this part but I didn't get any answer. So I remembered that, if there's a will, there's a way and I decided to find a solution. And the solution could be a very simple hardware one. Selecting DS1225Y and using a PIC12F to generate the CE strobe. So here are the scope wave forms for reading and writing. The idea is to generate an interrupt for every change of the address line A0 and generate a CE pulse after the address has stabilized. I already prepared an adapter with PIC 12F1822. The schematic is very simple, pin to pin other than CE that comes from the PIC. PIC RA0 is input connected to device A0 and PIC RA1 is output and goes to device CE. The CE from the programmer is not connected, it is stuck low anyway.
Anybody wants to write the code before I do it? Should be very simple, interrupt on change of A0, both rising and falling and generate a 6uS low pulse after about 6 or 7uS. The 6-7uS is needed because A12 takes over 5uS to change after A0 has changed, is like they set the address bits one by one sequentially A0->A1->A2......

Edit1: Added A12 capture. I modified the timings from 2uS pulse to 6uS. The CE pulse must be low when WE strobes.
Edit2: I added the proposed schematic.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on April 15, 2018, 02:09:58 pm
the thing still bothering me is  :   why oh why do you expect the tl866 will eventually program everything you thrown at autoelectric ???  seriously  buy a more powerful programmer ???

I do know its not cheap,  but stop  day dreaming

I have the tl866, in my win10 64 bit, it is always a nightmare to update, just tried the 6.70 version with the 2.81 fw update, had always to resort to a 32bit machine to update it ...   may switch to the new version, just to try and play with.  I hate the fact you had to update the fw to use the newest software each time a new revision is out.

I invested in an tnm5000 :  a very good buy,  i had sold my fist one for getting the Elnec,  it was a big mistake, bought a new one from Ali,  they recently added more powerful adapters  ... and they dont cost a fortune, why people dont start a thread with this one ??

I have an Elnec beeprog :   but the software is too complex for my taste, and adapters cost a fortune, may eventually sell it.

Check MCUMALL for the gq-5x universal, many people are still waithing for it,  they have actuallly 2 models:   the nand model and the spi one, but they aren't speedy to make the universal model who will combine the other two  ??? I had the gq-4x, it was bery good too and very stable.

I dont think autoelectric whant the tl866 to get bigger too fast in features and / or more supported hardware ...  if it was the case, they would already had make an newer model with more feature packed stuff. The tl866 II  may go in that direction slightly faster ???

The tnm5000 evolve pretty fast in requests and software updates.

Surely the software executable must extract something in computer memory ?? maybe there is something who could be captured and reversed ???

@ MITI

PicDem is an officially supported programmer with its own algorythms etc ...  maybe Autoelectric dont have permissions for everything out there ??  if you made an adapter has you said,   share it here with schematics etc ... some knowledgable people may extend it further ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on April 15, 2018, 03:33:50 pm
the thing still bothering me is  :   why oh why do you expect the tl866 will eventually program everything you thrown at autoelectric ???  seriously  buy a more powerful programmer ???

I do know its not cheap,  but stop  day dreaming

I have the tl866, in my win10 64 bit, it is always a nightmare to update, just tried the 6.70 version with the 2.81 fw update, had always to resort to a 32bit machine to update it ...   may switch to the new version, just to try and play with.  I hate the fact you had to update the fw to use the newest software each time a new revision is out.

I invested in an tnm5000 :  a very good buy,  i had sold my fist one for getting the Elnec,  it was a big mistake, bought a new one from Ali,  they recently added more powerful adapters  ... and they dont cost a fortune, why people dont start a thread with this one ??

I have an Elnec beeprog :   but the software is too complex for my taste, and adapters cost a fortune, may eventually sell it.

Check MCUMALL for the gq-5x universal, many people are still waithing for it,  they have actuallly 2 models:   the nand model and the spi one, but they aren't speedy to make the universal model who will combine the other two  ??? I had the gq-4x, it was bery good too and very stable.

I dont think autoelectric whant the tl866 to get bigger too fast in features and / or more supported hardware ...  if it was the case, they would already had make an newer model with more feature packed stuff. The tl866 II  may go in that direction slightly faster ???

The tnm5000 evolve pretty fast in requests and software updates.

Surely the software executable must extract something in computer memory ?? maybe there is something who could be captured and reversed ???

@ MITI

PicDem is an officially supported programmer with its own algorythms etc ...  maybe Autoelectric dont have permissions for everything out there ??  if you made an adapter has you said,   share it here with schematics etc ... some knowledgable people may extend it further ?
I never had any problems updating my TL866CS running on 64 bit Windows 7. Just press the button when the new software tells me to and it's done.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Miti on April 15, 2018, 03:33:58 pm
the thing still bothering me is  :   why oh why do you expect the tl866 will eventually program everything you thrown at autoelectric ???  seriously  buy a more powerful programmer ???

I can't justify the cost of a powerful programmer, I use it very rarely. On top of that, I have SP5000 at work. And it is fun...and when you develop a device like that you can expect people to throw all kind of requests at you...and some people like challenges...and they like transforming day dreams in reality. Want more?

@ MITI
PicDem is an officially supported programmer with its own algorythms etc ...  maybe Autoelectric dont have permissions for everything out there ??  if you made an adapter has you said,   share it here with schematics etc ... some knowledgable people may extend it further ?

I connect through the ICSP port, there's no algorithm, permission stuff there. All you need to know is the Microchip ICSP protocol and you're in.
All the information is there, any "knowledgeable" person can generate a schematic from that but I will draw a proper schematic soon.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on April 16, 2018, 01:40:41 am
as you said   you can throw many requests as you can, but autoelectric have their development speed and ressources, and people tend to loose patience and sometimes ask for miracles loll  its a cheap programmer with limitations, maybe good and bad design in some case, compatibility may arise.

If i recall the tl866 was developped for automotive purposes at first, ecu hacking, dumping etc ... and began to have an huge sucess with it's cheap cost and not so expensive adapters, but it will have hardware limitations pretty fast.

At my job  we use Atmel, Microchip, very old Xilinx cpld's, stm 32  and the list goes on and on, i have tried the Elnec Beeprog on all of them with huge sucess, had one limitation pulled off after sw updates to correct an communication bug. the tnm5000 was second with only one chip "cpld kind" limitation who will be eventually adressed ...

Had to keep an old chipmaster 6000 xpu to help for a longtime, with very outdated software.

That's a load of different softwares and tons of programmers costing time and frustrations.

And this tl866 has lots of them ... but reversing and hacking helped for schematics,  now there is the software side of it, maybe some people with knowledge and ressources may find a way to overcome this ???   maybe capture memory content of the computer to catch expanded / unencrypted / extracted files  ???

Send tons of emails to autoelectric  maybe they will move a little bit faster under pressure  loll
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on April 16, 2018, 05:16:43 am
Hi folks,
will the following adaptor work for my TL866?
http://www.epromirok.hu/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=197 (http://www.epromirok.hu/index.php?route=product/product&product_id=197)

I would like to be able to program HD6475328 PLCC 84-pin chips :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Pandor on April 16, 2018, 11:54:08 am
I've been toying around with attiny45 avr's, and am currently at a point where I need an extra i/o pin so I wad thinking about disabling the RESET pin.

From what i've read, the tl866 supports HVSP, so does this mean I can recover the RESET pin fuse with the tl866?

I don't see any any toggle switch in the software, so does the tl866 always use HVSP on these attiny's?

Anyone can actually confirm?

EDIT:
I just went ahead and took the risk of having a unsable tiny45, but I can confirm that the TL866 can indeed reset the fuses. I disabled the RESET pin (HFUSE 0x5F), and was able to read and rewrite the program & fuses without a problem.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on April 17, 2018, 02:53:33 am
@teevee  no it wont do, please check the TL866  ic's listing supported

http://www.autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/TL866II_List.txt (http://www.autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/TL866II_List.txt)

you already know the Mcumall GQ-4X  will program it  ...

BUT

Some Hitachi cpu will behave like an eeprom or prom once put in the right mode, you have to read their pdf sheets to know if its possible, and wich chip it will emulate ...

http://pdf1.alldatasheet.fr/datasheet-pdf/view/77345/HITACHI/HD6475328-CP10.html (http://pdf1.alldatasheet.fr/datasheet-pdf/view/77345/HITACHI/HD6475328-CP10.html)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: VEGETA on April 17, 2018, 09:50:41 am
Can this thing program some Renesas UPD78 or so devices? Freescale?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on April 17, 2018, 10:49:31 am
Can this thing program some Renesas UPD78 or so devices? Freescale?

Please have a look at the list of supported devices. The link is in the post directly above yours.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Pandor on April 18, 2018, 07:44:04 pm
I've been toying around with attiny45 avr's, and am currently at a point where I need an extra i/o pin so I wad thinking about disabling the RESET pin.

From what i've read, the tl866 supports HVSP, so does this mean I can recover the RESET pin fuse with the tl866?

I don't see any any toggle switch in the software, so does the tl866 always use HVSP on these attiny's?

Anyone can actually confirm?

EDIT:
I just went ahead and took the risk of having a unsable tiny45, but I can confirm that the TL866 can indeed reset the fuses. I disabled the RESET pin (HFUSE 0x5F), and was able to read and rewrite the program & fuses without a problem.
i'll be quoting myself, but i'm confused.
Upon first programming my attiny45 with RESET disabled (E2 5F fuses), I am able to reprogram the fuses, and read & verify RESET is enabled again.
The tiny lets me erase, program, read... so I see no problem.

Now after building it into my project, I was not satisfied with the code, so I wanted to reprogram it (knowing it worked before). But now it's not longer working. I am not able to reset the fuses, and reprogram/erase/id the tiny..

first time i thought i had accidentely disabled spi also (so i guess i would need a HVPP), so second time i made sure the fuses were set correctly. but I'm up to 2 unusable mcu's now.  |O :-//
This really has me scratching my head right now...


The only explanation i can come up with, is that the fuses only come into effect, upon first powerup and running the code.
That would explain why i can enable/disable the fuses upon first programming/testing. but once it runs the code/powers on, the reset would effectively be disabled, and the tl866 is not really supporting HVSP.  :wtf:

EDIT:
I'll be damned.... apparently it works fine in the soic ziff socket...  |O :-//

So, here's the story. I program the soic8 ATtiny45 in a ziff socket. Then I solder it to a dip8 breakoutboard, so i can wire it up in my project.
Now when I wanted to reprogam it, i dosldered it from the project, wired it to a 8pin ribon cable, that goes to a pinheader, into the TL866 Socket.

Apparently this was causing my headache. As a desperate measure, i put the heatgun to it, desolderen the ATtiny from the breakout, it it worked just find in the soic8 ziff socket  :palm:

Still have no clue as to what the problem is. tried 2 different ATtinys on 2 different breakoutboards, both the same problem, breakoutboards checks out fine, the ribbon cable measured fine pin-for-pin, the pinheader checks-out fine... i'm clueless. but atleast I can use my ATTinys again.  :clap:

(https://s14.postimg.cc/ugvhzbq19/20180418_223227.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/ugvhzbq19/) (https://s14.postimg.cc/t1txamc3h/20180418_223250.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/t1txamc3h/) (https://s14.postimg.cc/xnq1izd25/20180418_223303.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/xnq1izd25/)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on April 19, 2018, 03:34:38 am
yours is a sivava willem programmer,  should be an tl866 clone,  not totally sure about it since the software is hard to find, unless someone has an link to download it ??

Not even sure they are on par with Autoelectric  for the sotwares updates and compatibility ??
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Pandor on April 19, 2018, 08:40:58 am
yours is a sivava willem programmer,  should be an tl866 clone,  not totally sure about it since the software is hard to find, unless someone has an link to download it ??

Not even sure they are on par with Autoelectric  for the sotwares updates and compatibility ??
I am aware it is a clone, and I had this unit for years.
Has been crossflashed to a tl866a, and has always been running the latest official software/firmware (updates the fw just fine). It has always been able to work with any ic I threw at it. It does program my attiny in hvsp mode, in a soic8 ziff adaptor. Just not wired like above (for some reason i just can't explain).

This works just fine to reset the RE fuse and revive to attiny reset pin:
(https://s14.postimg.cc/wie2e6lrh/20180418_230410.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/wie2e6lrh/) (https://s14.postimg.cc/ymyff9v3x/20180419_103331.jpg) (https://postimg.cc/image/ymyff9v3x/)

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on April 22, 2018, 02:53:12 pm
Software 6.71 and 7.11 are out.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElektroQuark on April 24, 2018, 05:10:01 pm
Version: V6.71 Support:14299 --2018.04.17

ADD:
PM25LQ512 /010/020/040/080/016/032 GD25B32 /GD25B64
Fix: S24S45 DS1220(RW)Algorithm.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SergMM on April 26, 2018, 08:11:59 pm
WizardProg Mobile also updated.
Support TL866 with 6.71 software version.

https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wizardprog.mobile
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on April 26, 2018, 09:00:23 pm
WizardProg Mobile also updated.
Support TL866 with 6.71 software version.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wizardprog.mobile (https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wizardprog.mobile)

For those who might have missed it earlier: Here is SergMM's post on his Android software for this programmer. https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1322926/#msg1322926 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1322926/#msg1322926)

Thanks SergMM, much appreciated! BTW -- when I looked up your forum profile, searching for the original post, I found that you have pretty uniques post statistics. Please see the picture: "He don't talk much, but what is says carries some weight." ;) 
Congrats!

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on April 27, 2018, 06:23:31 am
Thanks SergMM, much appreciated! BTW -- when I looked up your forum profile, searching for the original post, I found that you have pretty uniques post statistics. Please see the picture: "He don't talk much, but what is says carries some weight." ;) 
Congrats!

+1 , I used it and it works.  :-+ Another kudos to SergMM.

About the app, to SergMM, if you're reading this, personally, I wouldn't mind if you charge your app instead of giving it for free, really.  :clap:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on May 02, 2018, 08:35:13 pm
I got a chip ID 80 04 from a read ID. What is that?  :-// (I have a list of chip ids but i cannot find this)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on May 08, 2018, 10:24:35 am
what chip did you put in, brand and model markings  ??  sometimes you remove the check id to program it ...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: monacco on June 25, 2018, 10:27:11 am
Servus and greatings from Bavaria,

this thread is meanwhile ongoing some days and fortunately seems to be active yet. I was really impressed when going through almost all posts :phew:
I wonder whether there does also exist a schematics for the latest TL866II already? And possibly the Firmware Updater for this one as well? I'm asking because I have one here no longer responding to any PC when plugging the USB cable, just the power LED lightning. The plan is to get it alive again  :-/O

Worked from the beginning - but only for about 10 days...
The one thing happened was the firmware update right at the first start. After this it was online and working. Then I forgot it on a running PC connected for about two days, meaning it was powered on for at least 50h. Just noticed that when trying to check a desoldered TTL and the software did no longer detect the TL866II.
Was it due to my "burn in test"... :-[

I searched a while on the new TL866II but finally could only find some pictures from the PCBs which I have attached, no additional info yet. Hopefully someone (radioman?) can light the shadow on this device update :-+

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on June 25, 2018, 01:33:48 pm
Is the red LED lit up ?

Do you see it in Device Manager ?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: monacco on June 25, 2018, 06:44:04 pm
Yes, the red LED is lit up
No, on none PC shown up in the device manager, either with installed driver already or new PC for this device.

So far only tested under Win10/x64 but (when it still worked) it could be installed on three differnt PCs without any issues.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on June 26, 2018, 08:00:46 am
Yes, the red LED is lit up
No, on none PC shown up in the device manager, either with installed driver already or new PC for this device.

So far only tested under Win10/x64 but (when it still worked) it could be installed on three differnt PCs without any issues.

It should show up even without a driver.  It sounds faulty to me.

This is a long shot but have you tried making sure that the USB cable is fully inserted and even swapped it for another ?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 09, 2018, 09:07:46 am
I want to read a AT49F1024A (http://pdf.datasheetcatalog.com/datasheet/atmel/doc3415.pdf) Flash memory. The memory is in a VSOP package. TL866 knows it is a VSOP package but it says to use the TSOP adapter.

I guess this is an error. Is there a VSOP socket adapter available?

(https://i.imgur.com/ncicEMn.png)

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Gemman Aster on July 20, 2018, 09:18:53 pm
Hey guys!

Anyone had any luck dealing with the new and annoying, garbled english 'copyright infringement and piracy' message that pops up in the new firmware/client software that was released today?

It looks like the new code also locks out the 'tl866' firmware updater as I cannot downgrade to remove the new boobytrapped version--it just hangs at the 'erase' stage.

I do not have any EEPROMs to hand to test if it even still writes...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 20, 2018, 10:09:34 pm
I have an original programmer. Never had an issue with the updates. Never had to do any tricks. The latest update bricked mine also!

Alexander.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 20, 2018, 10:10:57 pm
Linux version errors with:

IO error: bulk_transfer: LIBUSB_ERROR_OVERFLOW
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Gemman Aster on July 20, 2018, 10:41:58 pm
Yep--just dug out an AT29C256 EEPROM. The bastard will not write. Just gives a prime Engrish message, somewhat mystifyingly 'the infringement of copyright and piracy.' message...  In Britain at least this is almost certainly against the law. And the manufacturer seriously thinks this will make me buy another of their products? If they were the last maker of flash writers world I would not give them a single brass farthing!

Maybe one of the chaps can sort this out. I would be happy if I could just reflash back to an older version that still worked. As of now the thing is a paperweight. I won't bin it just yet however just in case someone can come up with a recovery.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 20, 2018, 10:56:33 pm
It detects my TSOP48 adapter board though...

Is your programmer original?

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Gemman Aster on July 20, 2018, 11:00:43 pm
To the best of my knowledge. It cost the going rate of about £35 and I bought it from a stall at an electronics fair about four years ago. So maybe, maybe not.

Whatever the case, this software update has destroyed it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 20, 2018, 11:01:46 pm
According to the photos on their site, mine is original...

(https://i.imgur.com/Mzpkrvws.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/Mzpkrvw.jpg)

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 20, 2018, 11:11:12 pm
Is it the first time the software bricks the programmer?

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Gemman Aster on July 20, 2018, 11:19:13 pm
I believe so--certainly I have never had a problem with firmware updates previously. The fact the custom 'tl866' firmware updater no longer works is pretty significant also.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 20, 2018, 11:30:25 pm
Where is the the custom firmware updater?

I sent an email to their support with photos. Not hoping for anything answer though...

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Gemman Aster on July 20, 2018, 11:56:36 pm
Its the updater that comes with the tools that were mentioned way back at the beginning of this thread.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 21, 2018, 12:31:04 am
Is it possible with a pickit to program an older bootloader and firmware?

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: okurka on July 21, 2018, 01:40:54 pm
According to the photos on their site, mine is original...

(https://i.imgur.com/Mzpkrvws.jpg) (https://i.imgur.com/Mzpkrvw.jpg)

Alexander.

Did you flash it from CS to A?
The bottom right on the picture shows that they can detect it and brick the programmer.


Edit: You can unbrick the device by programming it with the hex generated by the TL866 Firmware Updater (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg383943/#msg383943) via ICSP.
I used a PicKit2 programmer and chose 18F_J_ as the device to program.

V6.71 is the last known 'safe' version of their software.

Edit2: They have just released V6.81 which doesn't brick the TL866, it now only shows a warning screen when you first start the MiniPro program. The screen says that the TL866 is converted from CS to A or it says it's a clone if the DEV-code and serials don't match on a CS.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 21, 2018, 02:27:27 pm
No. Never did anything to it. I always considered it to be (and believe it is) an original unit.

After reading radioman's posts I dorced idorced it in boot mode and used the older version of th soth software to reflash it.

It is working again.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Gemman Aster on July 21, 2018, 06:18:34 pm
Many thanks okorka!!!

Sadly I cannot get 'radioman's flasher to work on mine, it just stops at the 'erase' stage and goes no further. The app can then only be exited from taskman/process explorer.

I guess I will have to buy a 'PicKit2'...  There goes another 10 quid! Where exactly are the ICSP connections to do the programming? Is it the same port on the side which the TL866 uses for programming other devices or is there an unpopulated header somewhere on the PCB within the box?

Can anyone point me to the 'safe' 6.71 client software for use after I have de-bricked the thing?

Do you know if 'Radioman' is still actively writing custom stuff for this device?  Is it possible that he will come up with an update to his software that would allow the crippled TL866 to be reprogrammed without external devices like the PicKit?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on July 21, 2018, 06:29:03 pm
No. Never did anything to it. I always considered it to be (and believe it is) an original unit.

After reading radioman's posts I dorced idorced it in boot mode and used the older version of th soth software to reflash it.

It is working again.
dorced ???
idorced ???

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on July 21, 2018, 06:53:30 pm
I upgraded my genuine TL866CS with the new V6.81 software without problem.

Was there a V6.80 that caused problems or are you guys having problems with V6.81?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Gemman Aster on July 21, 2018, 07:07:14 pm
I can only go from my experience, but v6.80 totally bricked my device. After flashing the client software not only displayed a mystifying 'engrish' popup about piracy and copyright which was annoying but ignorable, but also prevented EEPROM's and likely every other type of chip being flashed by the device. Apparently v6.81 now unbricks the device but keeps the popup...  At this stage I am unwilling to update my machine with any more of their software.

Annoyingly v6.80 also made some change to the device which in my case at least prevents 'radioman's open-source flasher from working.  As things stand I am going to wait for a while to see if he releases a fix for this. Otherwise I will have to get hold of a PicKit2 which will apparently reflash the internal firmware of the TL866 in-circuit.  Right now I don't have one though nor can afford £10 for one from eBay either.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: okurka on July 21, 2018, 07:54:37 pm
MiniPro v6.71 can still be downloaded from their site: http://www.autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/minipro_setup671.rar (http://www.autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/minipro_setup671.rar)
There is no trace of v6.80 on their site, not in the changelog and also the setup archive was removed.

The bricking was only in v6.80, it was deliberate. There is no bricking in v6.81, just a warning if you have a converted TL866, a fake TL866 or a TL866 with a random Dev Code and/or Serial Number. MiniPro v6.81 can't unbrick the device without a hardware modification.

To unbrick the TL866 you don't necessarily need a PicKit2. You can *force the TL866 in Bootloader Mode by temporarily soldering a resistor on the PCB, then flashing the firmware in MiniPro (preferably v6.71) and removing the resistor afterwards.

More details of the Bootloader Mode are on page 3 of https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866/blob/master/docs/TL866_prog.pdf (https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866/blob/master/docs/TL866_prog.pdf)


Edit: It appears that the firmware flashed by v6.81 also prevents radioman's open-source flasher from working.
I guess v6.71 will be the last usable version for us.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Gemman Aster on July 21, 2018, 09:04:58 pm
Many thanks again Okurka!!!

It sounds like those dudes realised they had severely screwed up and are busy trying to hide the traces!

I'll give that resistor dodge a shot--or at least I will once the postman's been on Monday morning...  Would you believe I literally just yesterday ran out of decent leaded solder? It all happens at once!

In regards the open-source flasher; Radioman says he will give it a look over once he gets back from holiday. So... Fingers crossed he'll be able to get to the bottom of it and sort out the issue.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 21, 2018, 10:49:37 pm
No. Never did anything to it. I always considered it to be (and believe it is) an original unit.

After reading radioman's posts I dorced idorced it in boot mode and used the older version of th soth software to reflash it.

It is working again.
dorced ???
idorced ???

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk


Forced! Autocorrect did it! :P
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 21, 2018, 10:53:51 pm
There is a photo on page 5 on how to force boot mode with a resistor. Then someone can use version 6.71 to reflash it.

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on July 22, 2018, 12:26:37 am
There is a photo on page 5 on how to force boot mode with a resistor. Then someone can use version 6.71 to reflash it.

Alexander.
Not 6.81?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on July 22, 2018, 12:29:33 am
I can understand their desire to thwart counterfeit devices, but bricking them was a really bad idea. I guess they didn't hear about or otherwise learn from FTDI's experience.

At least they quickly reversed course on the bricking. Nevertheless, I'm apprehensive to let mine update in the near term despite having a genuine A version.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Gemman Aster on July 22, 2018, 12:58:54 am
There is a photo on page 5 on how to force boot mode with a resistor. Then someone can use version 6.71 to reflash it.

Alexander.

Yup--basically this photograph is all you need to know!  Excellent!

There is a photo on page 5 on how to force boot mode with a resistor. Then someone can use version 6.71 to reflash it.

Alexander.
Not 6.81?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk



Nope--at least not in my case. I no longer trust that company in the slightest. 6.71 is known to be good so that is as far up the chain I a going to go.

I can understand their desire to thwart counterfeit devices, but bricking them was a really bad idea. I guess they didn't hear about or otherwise learn from FTDI's experience.

At least they quickly reversed course on the bricking. Nevertheless, I'm apprehensive to let mine update in the near term despite having a genuine A version.

I was thinking of exactly the same thing regards FTDI! To deliberately destroy the customers property is illegal in many countries.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: okurka on July 22, 2018, 03:30:38 am
Not 6.81?

You can use 6.81 if you trust that version and don't want to use Radioman's open source flasher afterwards.


I can understand their desire to thwart counterfeit devices, but bricking them was a really bad idea. I guess they didn't hear about or otherwise learn from FTDI's experience.

At least they quickly reversed course on the bricking. Nevertheless, I'm apprehensive to let mine update in the near term despite having a genuine A version.

This was worse than FTDI, v6.80 also bricked genuine TL866s that were converted by their owner after the warranty ran out.


There is a photo on page 5 on how to force boot mode with a resistor. Then someone can use version 6.71 to reflash it.

I see a different photo on page 5. Attached is the photo that shows where to solder the resistor.
It's a resistor of approx. 100-200ohm and goes between +3.3 V and pin 36 (R26) of the controller.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on July 22, 2018, 04:08:00 am
I can understand their desire to thwart counterfeit devices, but bricking them was a really bad idea. I guess they didn't hear about or otherwise learn from FTDI's experience.

At least they quickly reversed course on the bricking. Nevertheless, I'm apprehensive to let mine update in the near term despite having a genuine A version.

This was worse than FTDI, v6.80 also bricked genuine TL866s that were converted by their owner after the warranty ran out.

Yep, which is one of many reasons such action is a bad idea. One bug and legitimate devices go down.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 22, 2018, 11:06:48 am
Version 6.81 works with a startup message that says my unit is a converted one. So, someone bought genuine TL866CS units and converted then to TL866A and sold them.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 22, 2018, 12:09:06 pm
Version's 6.81 firmware might work but prevents the open source version for GNU/Linux.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Grapsus on July 22, 2018, 12:42:18 pm
Thanks a lot for the warning, I have an original unit, but I converted it to TL866A. So this means I should stay away from updates then.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 22, 2018, 02:05:34 pm
There must be a serial validation algorithm...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on July 22, 2018, 11:11:33 pm
Version's 6.81 firmware might work but prevents the open source version for GNU/Linux.

Is there a safe way to check if a CS had been surreptitiously modified into an A version? I specifically bought an A version a couple years ago, so I'm curious if it's a bona fide A model.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 23, 2018, 06:21:01 am
Version's 6.81 firmware might work but prevents the open source version for GNU/Linux.

Is there a safe way to check if a CS had been surreptitiously modified into an A version? I specifically bought an A version a couple years ago, so I'm curious if it's a bona fide A model.

I believe that this is the case. With version 6.81, the message says that my unit is a CS converted to A. Genuine, but converted. I didn't convert it though. My guess is that my supplier bought genuine CS units and converted them to A.

You could you try the latest version and check it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Zucca on July 23, 2018, 07:52:45 am
Thanks a lot for the warning, I have an original unit, but I converted it to TL866A. So this means I should stay away from updates then.

Same here, I will upgrade to 6.71 and stay a way from 6.8x. Of course I will watch here to see if there are any news.
If one day the TL866A will not serve me well anymore, I will go and buy a proper expensive and professional Universal Programmer.

Hello guys from "http://www.autoelectric.cn", I know you are reading this.
Well done with the new 6.8x FW, you lost a customer and I will never buy a "TL866II Plus" in the future. Thanks for playing.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 23, 2018, 04:11:05 pm
In the installation directory there is folder named "ATMEGA8_LED". Does anyone know what this is about?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on July 23, 2018, 11:31:20 pm
I vaguely recall reading somewhere about the TL866 being able to read an encrypted unique identifier (or something to that effect) in the Atmega8 chip (maybe other models, too) that can be used to detect if your code has been copied to and is running on another chip. There's supposed to be an example of how to do it. This directory may be that example, but I've not looked into it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: okurka on July 24, 2018, 06:00:13 pm
New MiniPro version v6.82 is out. They removed v6.81 from the changelog and its download is gone, same thing happened with v6.80.

Anyone want to try out what version 6.82 does?  :o
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on July 24, 2018, 06:11:11 pm
I vaguely recall reading somewhere about the TL866 being able to read an encrypted unique identifier (or something to that effect) in the Atmega8 chip (maybe other models, too) that can be used to detect if your code has been copied to and is running on another chip. There's supposed to be an example of how to do it. This directory may be that example, but I've not looked into it.

Yes, that's probably it.
From http://www.autoelectric.cn/EN/TL866_main.html: (http://www.autoelectric.cn/EN/TL866_main.html:)

Quote
AVR microcontroller one-to-one soft encryption

AVR microcontroller has an RC Calibration (calibrate bytes). Only one of dozens of chips may have the same bytes value and it cannot be modified. Microcontroller software can read this value and determine whether the code is used by other chips. Through custom encryption algorithm, it can stop those who decrypt chips with ulterior motives from directly using. The encryption algorithm is so complex that it is not easy to decrypt. But, about "encryption", there is a problem for developers - each chip is different - it is impossible to manually calculate one by one and respectively compile source code if the algorithm is complex. This programmer can automatically read into RC bytes before programming. The developer can get the bytes value of the chip in the DLL dynamic function and then automatically calculate the encrypted data according to the request and put it in the memory, efficiently completing mass production. (A detailed encrypted instance of the ATMEGA8 in the installation package is available for reference)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on July 25, 2018, 06:54:52 am
Thanks, yeah, that was it. Of course, it's on their product page. ;D
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on July 25, 2018, 06:59:01 am
New MiniPro version v6.82 is out. They removed v6.81 from the changelog and its download is gone, same thing happened with v6.80.

Anyone want to try out what version 6.82 does?  :o

Ugh. These guys are getting kind of silly.

I'm not gonna try it. Let's get Mikey (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Little_Mikey) https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYEXzx-TINc (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vYEXzx-TINc)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jellytot on July 25, 2018, 10:54:09 am
Working on a TL866A. updated from 81. Hardware V03.2.85 . I noticed however that it didn't ask or require to update firmware ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on July 25, 2018, 11:42:36 pm
V6.82 working fine on my genuine TL866CS.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: art-666 on July 26, 2018, 12:06:52 am
V6.82 working fine on my genuine TL866CS.
So is it upgraded to TL866A or still at TL866CS ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on July 26, 2018, 12:15:37 am
V6.82 working fine on my genuine TL866CS.
So is it upgraded to TL866A or still at TL866CS ?
Still a TL866CS.
Wouldn't call it genuine if I'd converted it.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jellytot on July 26, 2018, 09:51:10 am
V6.82 working fine on my genuine TL866CS.

Hi Brian. Just out of curiosity did it require/ ask to flash the firmware ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on July 26, 2018, 11:21:14 am


V6.82 working fine on my genuine TL866CS.

Hi Brian. Just out of curiosity did it require/ ask to flash the firmware ?

No, presumably the firmware is unchanged since v6. 81.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheBay on July 26, 2018, 12:40:32 pm
Just installed 6.82 on what I believed to be a Geniune TL866A and now have an annoying pop up message!
Everything checks out on mine to be an original and no signs of someone changing it from a CS to A.

I bought this years ago when they came out from a reputable supplier and I think clones were quite scarce then.
It still shows as a "A" in the application, is that the same for everyone or have some changed to a CS?


Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Zucca on July 26, 2018, 01:02:57 pm
CopyWrite Message...

 :-DD

What happend if you select the option don't show it again in the Copyright  ^-^ warning window?

PS: How to lose customers... well done  :palm:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on July 26, 2018, 02:07:42 pm
PS: How to lose customers... well done  :palm:

I struggle to understand their "crackdown on pirates" initiative for the old programmer version, apparently launched at the exact point in time where they have discontinued that product anyway. Do they believe this will entice customers to buy the new version II from them?  :-//
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: okurka on July 26, 2018, 03:04:02 pm
What happend if you select the option don't show it again in the Copyright  ^-^ warning window?

You'll probably get a config error because the program wants to set a bit in the config.dat inside the MiniPro folder but doesn't have write permission in the standard %programfiles% folder.
So you'll have to either start Minipro with admin rights or you'll have to install MiniPro in a folder where a normal user has write permissions.

I'll stick to v6.71 permanently.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on July 26, 2018, 03:11:55 pm
What happend if you select the option don't show it again in the Copyright  ^-^ warning window?

You'll probably get a config error because the program wants to set a bit in the config.dat inside the MiniPro folder but doesn't have write permission in the standard %programfiles% folder.
So you'll have to either start Minipro with admin rights or you'll have to install MiniPro in a folder where a normal user has write permissions.

I'll stick to v6.71 permanently.
I never got it to work correctly when installed under "Program Files*". So on my computers it lives in "C:\Minipro".

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 26, 2018, 03:24:11 pm
Mine doesn't seem (optically) to be a CS->A conversion. No weird marks on the plastic and the solder joints on the header seems to be same as the others. And bought from a supplier that  started to sell the new model immediately.

Is anyone with the A variant that updated without an issue?

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheBay on July 26, 2018, 04:22:32 pm
Mine doesn't seem (optically) to be a CS->A conversion. No weird marks on the plastic and the solder joints on the header seems to be same as the others. And bought from a supplier that  started to sell the new model immediately.

Is anyone with the A variant that updated without an issue?

Alexander.

That's what I'd like to know, would appreciate hearing from anyone who has updated and not had this issue. I wonder if that nag screen will come up for everyone to get them to look at their website.
As you can see from my pictures mine is Genuine and not had a header added to it or any mods. It's worked with every other previous firmware (Bar the last 2 as I haven't updated it for a while, did a clean Windows install on my workshop PC today and it asked to update the TL866A)

I've mailed them with pictures of mine, wonder if I get a reply! Even the label underneath states mine is a TL866A and looks genuine.
Does the MiniPro Software still show yours as being a A model?

I think they have messed up and all too coincidental as there is a new model out.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 26, 2018, 05:36:47 pm
Mine doesn't seem (optically) to be a CS->A conversion. No weird marks on the plastic and the solder joints on the header seems to be same as the others. And bought from a supplier that  started to sell the new model immediately.

Is anyone with the A variant that updated without an issue?

Alexander.

That's what I'd like to know, would appreciate hearing from anyone who has updated and not had this issue. I wonder if that nag screen will come up for everyone to get them to look at their website.
As you can see from my pictures mine is Genuine and not had a header added to it or any mods. It's worked with every other previous firmware (Bar the last 2 as I haven't updated it for a while, did a clean Windows install on my workshop PC today and it asked to update the TL866A)

I've mailed them with pictures of mine, wonder if I get a reply! Even the label underneath states mine is a TL866A and looks genuine.
Does the MiniPro Software still show yours as being a A model?

I think they have messed up and all too coincidental as there is a new model out.

I did the same thing. They answered really quickly with the way to revert the update, and asked me to send them my serial number. After I did that I had no news. I asked again to tell if my unit is original A or not, without any reply.

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on July 26, 2018, 10:09:00 pm
Hmmm, how long until we see a 6.83 and the disappearance of 6.82? :-DD

I certainly will not buy the new version. These guys are just too silly.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheBay on July 26, 2018, 10:47:38 pm
Wonder if they have seen this thread, as I'm sure quite a lot of purchases came from members on here or anyone that has seen Dave's Video!
They need to pull their finger out as it's really not going to help sales.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheSteve on July 26, 2018, 11:39:34 pm
I don't blame them for being upset over the clones but end users converting CS to A models they need to get over. No question they are just hurting future sales of the new model. Nobody wants to buy a product from a company that plays stupid games with the customers hardware.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on July 27, 2018, 12:07:43 am
I don't blame them for being upset over the clones but end users converting CS to A models they need to get over. No question they are just hurting future sales of the new model. Nobody wants to buy a product from a company that plays stupid games with the customers hardware.
Bricking TL866As that were converted TL866CSs was a daft move.

But surely they withdrew that software.

Don't 6.81 and 6.82 just pop pup a message that you can click past?

Or do I misunderstand?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheSteve on July 27, 2018, 05:46:46 am
I don't blame them for being upset over the clones but end users converting CS to A models they need to get over. No question they are just hurting future sales of the new model. Nobody wants to buy a product from a company that plays stupid games with the customers hardware.
Bricking TL866As that were converted TL866CSs was a daft move.

But surely they withdrew that software.

Don't 6.81 and 6.82 just pop pup a message that you can click past?

Or do I misunderstand?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Sure, they stopped bricking peoples devices but now we know they have no problem doing it. Kind of leaves a bad taste.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james_s on July 27, 2018, 06:13:32 am
Well that's enough for me to stop recommending these to anyone. Didn't anyone learn from the USB to serial bricking driver fiasco?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Willem52 on July 27, 2018, 07:56:51 am
If someone wants the old firmware back: How they suggest to revert the update ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on July 27, 2018, 11:20:33 am
Hi guys!
Well This autolectric dev. guy is playing hard.
I like this. Playing hard is my way of living, so no problem. Because i know that this guy is reading this thread (i think he is the '@autoelector' user on this forum) listen here: dude learn to respect your clients! this is where your money comes from!
If a device is bricked during a firmware update then is your responsibility to provide me a way to restore it!
Every device like motherboards, routers etc. who have a firmware   running inside can be, if needed restored by flashing a new firmware provided by the manufacturer.
But no! you are afraid to release any firmware in the wild because of copycats. I don't care.

Remember five years ago? my genuine device was bricked during an firmware update and basically you did not do anything. So i got middle finger. Buy another one and f.ck you.
Because of that i have developed my custom firmware updater; to help people to restore their devices. So please remove the picture of my firmware updater from your pirated products section in your site; this is pathetic!
My firmware updater was never intended to be used by people in the black market but as a service tool for people who need to restore their devices.
Think this:
if i want to downgrade to an earlier firmware how can i do this? i can't.
If my device will brick who gives me a new firmware? nobody.
So this is why the firmware updater exist.

The last 6.8x minipro versions detect the converted and cloned devices and disable the bootmode function thus preventing the further firmware updates.
Well bootmode can be forced by soldering an resistor as is shown in my pdf. In fact if you have a steady hand there's no need to solder anything; just keep the resistor leads connected to the two indicated points while inserting the usb cable. Then remove the resistor.
Once entered in bootmode run my firmware updater:
TL866 firmware updater V2.4 (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq)
1. Browse for update.dat file (any version is good including the new 6.80, 6.81 and 6.82)
2.Select the firmware dumper and click reflash.
3.After reflash click the advanced button
4.Now pay attention: if the copy protection checkbox is unchecked please check this and click write button.
If the copy protection checkbox is checked leave it alone.
This is important if you leave the copy protect bit unchecked then the new firmware will disable the bootmode, so beware!
5.Serial number and device code section.
Just click the write button in the serial number section. This will rewrite the same serial with the correct checksum.
This was a flaw in my reencrypted serial. A single byte checksum was wrong and the autoelectric discovered this after five years! good. I like this.
6.Close the advanced window, check the TL866A firmware and click reflash again.
Now the new firmware is ready.
If you have the original serial then you're good.
Random generated serials can be detected so beware.
I still need to analyze the new firmware, seems that there's a serial validation in the firmware.
If you have problems please post here and feel free to send me an PM.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 27, 2018, 11:42:39 am
Thanks you for the update!

If you have the original serial then you're good.
Random generated serials can be detected so beware.
I still need to analyze the new firmware, seems that there's a serial validation in the firmware.
If you have problems please post here and feel free to send me an PM.

Is a CS version serial good for an A variant? The validation can tell the two versions?

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jellytot on July 27, 2018, 12:17:04 pm
Mine doesn't seem (optically) to be a CS->A conversion. No weird marks on the plastic and the solder joints on the header seems to be same as the others. And bought from a supplier that  started to sell the new model immediately.

Is anyone with the A variant that updated without an issue?

Alexander.

Yes my Original TL866A has updated without issues or messages from 6.71-6.81-6.82 no problems. I must therefore have an original  :phew:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Zucca on July 27, 2018, 12:20:07 pm
radioman a masterpiece. Thanks.

If you come in Munich Germany you will get a beer on me.

Unfortunately they will not understand. Maybe when the bank account/sale will go down they will look back and realize how stupid they were.
It will be too late then.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Zucca on July 27, 2018, 12:24:11 pm
I must therefore have an original  :phew:

No, it must be your lucky day.

Be not so sure, probably a SW bug detects an original one as a pirated one and vice-versa.
 :horse:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on July 27, 2018, 01:10:29 pm
Quote
Is a CS version serial good for an A variant? The validation can tell the two versions?
I'm not tested it yet but i think the serials are unique not device version bounded. From what i seen the converted from CS nag screen is given for devices with good serial code but bad checksum and clone nag screen for bad serials or random generated. This must be tested. If your device is converted then do what i wrote in the above post to correct that bad checksum.
However i think that the detection algorithm is bad. While generating random serials i got couple of them valid. What worries me is the bricking routine which is present from V6.50 and above. This routine is running every time you update the firmware.

Basically this routine is checking the serial code and if there is a match then deliberately is destroying the bootloader by writing garbage at the address 0.
The problem is not that he is comparing two strings (as should be) but two hashes which are 32 bit CRC's. Well 32 bit crc used as hash or unique id is a very bad idea. This means collision; many serial strings have the same crc.
So if you are the lucky winner of one of these serials which collide with the bad crc then your device is destroyed after the firmware upgrade.
This was happened when the V6.50 was released, see couple of pages back in this thread.
Here is the delight for those who understands asm.
https://pastebin.com/i5iLGPs1 (https://pastebin.com/i5iLGPs1)
My firmware updater can tell you if you have such a serial code.
For those who are using the minipro software under wine in linux this routine is disabled in the usb wrapper so no worries.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: banglanetdhk on July 27, 2018, 02:59:40 pm
The last 6.8x minipro versions detect the converted and cloned devices and disable the bootmode function thus preventing the further firmware updates.
Well bootmode can be forced by soldering an resistor as is shown in my pdf. In fact if you have a steady hand there's no need to solder anything; just keep the resistor leads connected to the two indicated points while inserting the usb cable. Then remove the resistor.

I am newbie. Pls tell me where I find the pdf.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 27, 2018, 03:05:26 pm
The last 6.8x minipro versions detect the converted and cloned devices and disable the bootmode function thus preventing the further firmware updates.
Well bootmode can be forced by soldering an resistor as is shown in my pdf. In fact if you have a steady hand there's no need to solder anything; just keep the resistor leads connected to the two indicated points while inserting the usb cable. Then remove the resistor.

I am newbie. Pls tell me where I find the pdf.

Here: https://www.dropbox.com/s/330bs8t4uucnyi9/TL866.zip (https://www.dropbox.com/s/330bs8t4uucnyi9/TL866.zip)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheSteve on July 27, 2018, 04:39:55 pm
I have a legit CS converted to A. When I get home today I will try radioman's new release to fix the checksum and then I will update the PC software to 6.8x and see if I get the error/warning or a brick etc. Pickit 2 on hand in case anything "bad" happens.

Edit:

Used radioman's new tool to reflash my TL866CS (modded to a TL866A), and performed the serial # correction as he recommended.
I then installed MiniPro v6.82 and let it update my TL866, it went without any issues and so far there are no nags or errors. My TL866CS modded to a TL866A so far is working fine.
The original version and update.dat that I used were both from version 6.60. So radioman's fix is all good or v6.82 removed all nags.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: banglanetdhk on July 28, 2018, 08:40:42 am
I was using Minipro TL866CS. When I converted it to TL866A & it,s software upgraded to 6.82, it,s firmwere reflashed & after that the device is not working properly. When I run the software it shows "This is a changed programmer from TL866CS!! Do tou wish to open the official website to see the pirated product information?" I tried to reflash the device with TL866 firmware updater V2.4, it says reset error. Pls help me.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on July 28, 2018, 08:58:52 am
I was using Minipro TL866CS. When I converted it to TL866A & it,s software upgraded to 6.82, it,s firmwere reflashed & after that the device is not working properly. When I run the software it shows "This is a changed programmer from TL866CS!! Do tou wish to open the official website to see the pirated product information?" I tried to reflash the device with TL866 firmware updater V2.4, it says reset error. Pls help me.
This is normal. You get the reset error because the firmware have disabled bootmode so the firmware updater cannot  enter the bootmode.
You must force bootmode manually with the help of one 100 ohm resistor. Have you read the indicated pdf?
If you don't get it i will guide you step by step.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: banglanetdhk on July 28, 2018, 12:25:36 pm
Hi Radioman
I shall try but in case of failure i shall knock you, thanks.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: okurka on July 28, 2018, 05:39:44 pm
What worries me is the bricking routine which is present from V6.50 and above. This routine is running every time you update the firmware.

Is the bricking routine also present in their new software for the new TL866II Plus programmer?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on July 28, 2018, 05:58:51 pm
Is the bricking routine also present in their new software for the new TL866II Plus programmer?
I don't think so. The new TL866II Plus is too new to be counterfeit. I will take a look in the code when I'll have time.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheBay on July 28, 2018, 06:20:42 pm
Has anyone updated to 6.82 with a Genuine A model and not had this message?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: malagas_on_fire on July 28, 2018, 06:36:03 pm
This reminds me the old days when programming PIC12F and PIC16F using homemade JDM, propic 2 ohh god... Then the bootloaders arrived and it was a relieft ...
Then the Pickit 2 and no more bootloaders, no more waiting and EEPROM programming.

So cheap now the ZIF sockets have now come

Does this programmer supports flash N25Q128 ?  ( aka Flash SPI from OpenWRT compliant routers :P)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheBay on July 29, 2018, 04:11:03 pm
I've mailed them again and told them that I will not be buying any more products from them nor will any friends or associates unless they rectify this issue.
Probably fall on deaf ears but I urge anyone else that has a Genuine TL866A to contact them.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BradC on July 30, 2018, 06:21:43 am
Used radioman's new tool to reflash my TL866CS (modded to a TL866A), and performed the serial # correction as he recommended.
I then installed MiniPro v6.82 and let it update my TL866, it went without any issues and so far there are no nags or errors. My TL866CS modded to a TL866A so far is working fine.
The original version and update.dat that I used were both from version 6.60. So radioman's fix is all good or v6.82 removed all nags.

I converted my CS to an A last year. I grabbed the latest tool and write-protected the bootloader, then installed v6.82. It identified the device was not original.

I then used the tool to re-write the serial & checksum and the Minpro v6.82 software no longer complains. So there is most certainly a nag in v6.82 if it detects the serial/checksum isn't right.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: banglanetdhk on July 30, 2018, 09:13:21 am
Hi Radioman,
I think I need your help. When I tried it after write & resetting it says Reflash failed
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on July 30, 2018, 09:25:23 am
I've mailed them again and told them that I will not be buying any more products from them nor will any friends or associates unless they rectify this issue.

Probably fall on deaf ears but I urge anyone else that has a Genuine TL866A to contact them.

While I agree with your sentiment that Autoelectric's "crack-down on pirates" is stupid and will do them more harm than good, I am not sure I get your final sentence.

Are there any documented instances where a known-genuine TL866A was harmed by a firmware update? It seems to me that only units were affected where (a) the owners know that they "upgraded" from CS to A versions, or (b) it can't be ruled out that a previous owner or dishonest seller might have "upgraded" them?

I might have overlooked or misread a post here, hence appreciate any pointers.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: banglanetdhk on July 30, 2018, 09:27:49 am
which tool you used, I need that tool too, because I want to change serial & code too. Pls help me.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheBay on July 30, 2018, 09:39:45 am
I've mailed them again and told them that I will not be buying any more products from them nor will any friends or associates unless they rectify this issue.

Probably fall on deaf ears but I urge anyone else that has a Genuine TL866A to contact them.

While I agree with your sentiment that Autoelectric's "crack-down on pirates" is stupid and will do them more harm than good, I am not sure I get your final sentence.

Are there any documented instances where a known-genuine TL866A was harmed by a firmware update? It seems to me that only units were affected where (a) the owners know that they "upgraded" from CS to A versions, or (b) it can't be ruled out that a previous owner or dishonest seller might have "upgraded" them?

I might have overlooked or misread a post here, hence appreciate any pointers.

This is what I'm trying to establish. As far as I'm aware mine is a genuine A model. I contacted them and sent pictures of my device and had this as a reply.

I've replied and said mine is a genuine so why am I getting this message. I will see if they reply.

If anyone else on here has a genuine A model that has not been nodded from a CS can you please let us know your findings. Whether you get the nag screen or not.

"sir,
this just is a warning. not limited .   you can click "don't show agian".
because some sellers changed it from CS to A."
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on July 30, 2018, 09:45:41 am
Thanks for clarifying, TheBay,

"sir,
this just is a warning. not limited .   you can click "don't show agian".
because some sellers changed it from CS to A."

But isn't that statement from Autoelectric in conflict with what others have observed with their CS-to-A converted units? I thought the message is not "just a warning", but indicates that the firmware update will not be performed, or will even brick the unit by messing with the bootloader?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheBay on July 30, 2018, 09:50:33 am
Thanks for clarifying, TheBay,

"sir,
this just is a warning. not limited .   you can click "don't show agian".
because some sellers changed it from CS to A."

But isn't that statement from Autoelectric in conflict with what others have observed with their CS-to-A converted units? I thought the message is not "just a warning", but indicates that the firmware update will not be performed, or will even brick the unit by messing with the bootloader?


I'm not sure if that's the case with 6.82, mine just flashed and updated, but then showed this annoying nag screen. (Granted I can tick the box) But it still shows as a TL866A in the software. I do hope it hasn't changed anything in my hardware.

Has anyone with a converted CS gone straight to 6.82? And it still shows as a A model and the latest firmware?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on July 30, 2018, 09:53:40 am
Hi Radioman,
I think I need your help. When I tried it after write & resetting it says Reflash failed
If the programmer is still in boot mode try again.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: banglanetdhk on July 30, 2018, 11:30:40 am
Hi Radioman,
Thanks a lot. I recovered it as your suggestion. Thank you again.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: indman on July 30, 2018, 12:51:45 pm
Has anyone updated to 6.82 with a Genuine A model and not had this message?
Yes, is! One of owners of original TL866A when updating an firmware hasn't received any negative results and messages. MiniPro6.82 works for it normally. :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheBay on July 30, 2018, 06:46:27 pm
Has anyone updated to 6.82 with a Genuine A model and not had this message?
Yes, is! One of owners of original TL866A when updating an firmware hasn't received any negative results and messages. MiniPro6.82 works for it normally. :)
So we only know of one person that updated to 6.82 and didn't get a nag screen?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 30, 2018, 06:53:27 pm
6.82 may have addressed some issues for the serial recognition. The really big problem was with 6.80.

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on July 31, 2018, 02:58:21 am
"sir,
this just is a warning. not limited .   you can click "don't show agian".
because some sellers changed it from CS to A."

But isn't that statement from Autoelectric in conflict with what others have observed with their CS-to-A converted units? I thought the message is not "just a warning", but indicates that the firmware update will not be performed, or will even brick the unit by messing with the bootloader?

Version 6.80 was the one that disabled devices that were detected as counterfeit. Version 6.81 removed that "feature" in favor of a nag message (much safer way to go about it).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mauroh on July 31, 2018, 07:41:41 am
5.Serial number and device code section.
Just click the write button in the serial number section. This will rewrite the same serial with the correct checksum.
This was a flaw in my reencrypted serial. A single byte checksum was wrong and the autoelectric discovered this after five years! good. I like this.
6.Close the advanced window, check the TL866A firmware and click reflash again.
Now the new firmware is ready.
If you have the original serial then you're good.
Random generated serials can be detected so beware.

Hi radioman, first of all thank you for all the effort and the great tool. I bought a legit TL866CS some years ago only because it was possible to tonvert it to A  :-+.

If I got it correctly, most probably the only way the software can tell if our TL866 is a converted device or a clone is by verifying the incorrect checksum wrote by your tool (this should apply for device converted) or validating the serial number (for clones or random generate serial numbers).

If this is correct I must reflash my device with your new reflash tool (TL866.exe v2.4) keeping my original serial number.
This should fix the checksum and I should be safe to use the new 6.8x software.
At this point the 6.8x will detect a legit TL866A and will upgrade the firmware without any issue.

If this is not correct or something goes wrong I should recover my device with a PIC programmer (I have a PICKit3) loading the TL866A Firmware Generated.hex I saved from your tool.

Make sense?

Thank you
Mauro
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on July 31, 2018, 11:27:22 am
If this is correct I must reflash my device with your new reflash tool (TL866.exe v2.4) keeping my original serial number.
This should fix the checksum and I should be safe to use the new 6.8x software.
At this point the 6.8x will detect a legit TL866A and will upgrade the firmware without any issue.

Yes this is correct. If you have the original serial number just do what i said above to fix the checksum and you can upgrade to last version.

As a matter of fact the correct checksum is more important than an random generated serial. So from what i tested so far we can have the following situations:
1. Original serial and good checksum. This case is for genuine unmodified devices or converted devices with good checksum. These are not detected.
2. Original serial code and bad checksum. This will detect as "converted from CS" for A devices and "maybe clone" for CS devices. A simple checksum fix is needed here.
3. Random generated serial code and bad checksum. These devices are detected as pirated, "the infringement of copyright and piracy!" message.
4. Random generated serial code and good checksum. These devices are not detected by the minipro software and you don't get any warning! These bad serials are still detected by the firmware, but so far there's no limitations or warnings, so this is-yet-a good case. The new TL866 firmware updater V2.4 (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq) will generate compliant serial numbers so please generate another one to correct this issue.

Regarding to the serial code there's no CS or A serial code but only valid serials. I have tested this. The 8 chars. Device code and 24 chars. serial number are somewhat connected as an unique ID.

A special case is for devices who have the copy protect bit unset in the config bytes. These devices have the bootmode dissabled in the firmware and you can't do any upgrade/downgrade/reflash or else because he can't enter in boot mode; so this is a semi-brick and my updater will report 'Reset error!' when you try to reflash something.
For these devices the bootmode must be forced as i stated above with the help of one resistor.
These devices are those which were  reflashed by an external programmer with a hex file generated by my tool. This generated hex file had the CP bit unset.
So, for these kind of devices you must set the CP bit and correct the bad checksum.

A very special case is for genuine unmodified devices who are detected as pirated durring the firmware update and are deliberately bricked by deleting(overwriting) the bootloader.
These devices can be restored only by an external programmer(pickit) with a new generated firmware.

The bad checksum is actually missing checksum. At that time i was not aware of it. This is a single byte 8 bit checksum of the serial code inserted somewhere in the 80bytes encrypted serial block.

At the development time (five years ago) i was expected to such actions fom the manufacturer. This is why the advanced window in my firmware updater have all those settings.
I don't know what manufacturer want. After five years and a programmer no longer in production to have these anti-user actions is...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mauroh on July 31, 2018, 09:49:09 pm
Success!!!!!  :phew:

Everithing worked just fine on my TL866CS convetted to A long time ago.
I reflashed it following the instruction and the new MiniPro_V682 is working fine in ICSP mode without any warnings.

Thank you radioman  :clap:

Mauro

PS: is there a bug on the forum? Why all my pictures are followed by a random picture full of test gear??
Edit: I think this happen only on old browsers... Never mind.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on July 31, 2018, 10:52:59 pm
Hmm, old browsers are now being afflicted with TEA? :-DD
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Brumby on August 01, 2018, 12:44:36 am
Not "afflicted" ... it's bonus content  ;D
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 01, 2018, 03:29:19 pm
Another minor update in my firmware updater. It will generate compliant serial numbers.
Here's the link TL866 firmware updater V2.4 (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq)
Enjoy!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: erhanzeynel on August 01, 2018, 11:04:05 pm
Hi all from Turkey.

My TL866A was from a known good dealer as used and it's labelled as TL866A but it also recognized as changed form TL866CS.
Package seem like original and labeled as A, enclosure labeled as A, also ICSP cable seems like original but damn I'm getting that rubbish warning too.

Only I noticed, device serial number is different at enclosure label and software. Is it fine?

As luckily I passed that bricker updates  ;D   

I backed up radioman's flasher and minipro V6.82 for any future events. Also I have my diy powered LPT ICSP programmer. 8)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: art-666 on August 04, 2018, 09:08:03 am
At the development time (five years ago) i was expected to such actions fom the manufacturer. This is why the advanced window in my firmware updater have all those settings.
I don't know what manufacturer want. After five years and a programmer no longer in production to have these anti-user actions is...
Yes I find it Strange that they start messing about, after they stop production.
Maybe their new toy, is not as good as they believe it to be.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jpham on August 04, 2018, 04:21:04 pm
Just wondering if anyone ever program a PEEL 20V10 using the TL866?  from the device drop down
there is no PEEL only GAL 20v10 is listed.  So can one use the GAL 20v10 to program a PEEL 20v10?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: pelule on August 04, 2018, 05:37:17 pm
I did not pogram a PEEL 20v10, but several variants of 20v10 from pther suppliers without issues.
See at: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/datron-cpu-board-pal-data-(1271-1281-)/msg1346121/#msg1346121 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/datron-cpu-board-pal-data-(1271-1281-)/msg1346121/#msg1346121)
/PeLuLe
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Marcustv on August 05, 2018, 08:42:27 am
I'm trying to apply the change with the TL866 V 2.4
I have a TL866CS modified in TL855A

I have the problem that once the reflash has been done, the "advanced" label does not appear.
Why ?

If I use the update.dat file from version 6.81 the reflash does it correctly, while if I use the version 6.82, it gives me a failed reflash error.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Marcustv on August 05, 2018, 10:58:15 am
I solved the problem, I did not set frmware dumper but TL866A.   ;)
Now it works correctly.
I tried the procedure several times using the version 6.81 and 6.82 as upload.dat files.
Almost always that of 6.82 gave me problems.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 05, 2018, 12:10:18 pm
I tried the procedure several times using the version 6.81 and 6.82 as upload.dat files.
Almost always that of 6.82 gave me problems.
Hi Marcustv and welcome to the forum!
Regarding to the update.dat issue, the two versions are identical. So there's no difference between the two files.
The most likely the reflash error message is due to the usb communication error. Use another usb port or update the minipro usb driver. Another problem I've encountered on some machines is something software or driver which is interfering with the usb communication (filter driver or else).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sathex on August 05, 2018, 03:49:06 pm
I solved the problem following the procedure with some difficulties
because using the "firmware dumper" puts me a bad crc!

so I did it again with "TL866A firmware" and it's ok

thank you radioman
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 05, 2018, 06:48:07 pm
I solved the problem following the procedure with some difficulties
because using the "firmware dumper" puts me a bad crc!
Can you give me more details? where or when you receive that bad crc?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sathex on August 05, 2018, 10:23:35 pm
I had bad crc on my first attempt
with the "firmware dumper"
after
I used "tl866A firmware" and now everything is back in order
I do not know if it can help!
I tried to reproduce the situation but without success
because now if I put the "firmware dumper" TL866 v2.4 works well but opening the soft minipro v6.82 for example when I want to detect i ve 
 "read error code 31"
(http://oi64.tinypic.com/25qtahx.jpg)
and when i want to use the read id i have this
(http://oi68.tinypic.com/kcikpz.jpg)

but as I said everything is ok with "tl866A firmware"
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 06, 2018, 12:23:59 pm
Oh my...
You've got the wrong idea of what the firmware dumper is.
The firmware dumper is not a replacement firmware but a firmware which allow you to change the internal serial code, rewrite of bootloader and save the firmware.
Is not supposed to be used as a normal firmware, this is why you got all those errors.
As you discovered you must use the normal firmware aka. TL866 firmware as the working firmware.
Use the firmware dumper only if you want to change/correct the serial number or changing of bootloader via the advanced window. After that you must reflash back the normal firmware!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Ketturi on August 06, 2018, 09:53:43 pm
Radioman saved my day! I had working TL866CS which I believe is legit one. I saw that there was update so of course I went and installed it. Problems started when I hit reflash button and I think I nudged usb cable at same time causing programmer to disconnect or something. It just went dead, no signs of being detected as usb device. Luckily I had previously backed up serial numbers and firmware hex while playing around CS - A conversion, and I just put that hex file back with ISP. My day just got worse in that point, now when I started new MiniPro it just said that "Your device might be clone" or something similar, and everytime I tried to read any chip, even without putting chip in socket, I got just same garbage strings all over buffer. After coming back to this thread I saw that there was lots of speak about counterfeit detection in new version and stumbled upon radiomans post about check sums and copy protection bits. I used 2.4 version to set copy protection bit and to write bootloader and first time today I was not greeted with piracy popup and garbled data. I actually went this time so far that I put missing ISP header in and changed bootloader to A version and still not any problems with popup nags.

P.S. I replaced that bloody USB connector that was behind all this with nice orange rugged usb socket from my sample box.
And if this anti-piracy blocking and nuance continues, maybe it is time to make truly open source firmware and software. They won't get money from sloppily fighting counterfeiters on discontinued product while hampering users in process.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 06, 2018, 10:32:03 pm
Radioman saved my day!
Yeah i'm a saver... and i'm sure that "Your device might be clone" message is an misdetection bug!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sathex on August 07, 2018, 12:01:07 am
Quote
Oh my...
You've got the wrong idea of what the firmware dumper is.
The firmware dumper is not a replacement firmware but a firmware which allow you to change the internal serial code, rewrite of bootloader and save the firmware.
Is not supposed to be used as a normal firmware, this is why you got all those errors.
As you discovered you must use the normal firmware aka. TL866 firmware as the working firmware.
Use the firmware dumper only if you want to change/correct the serial number or changing of bootloader via the advanced window. After that you must reflash back the normal firmware!

thanks again radioman
that's what I understood, just that I followed what you described on page 51
Quote
1. Browse for update.dat file (any version is good including the new 6.80, 6.81 and 6.82)
2.Select the firmware dumper and click reflash.
3.After reflash click the advanced button
4.Now pay attention: if the copy protection checkbox is unchecked please check this and click write button.
If the copy protection checkbox is checked leave it alone.
This is important if you leave the copy protect bit unchecked then the new firmware will disable the bootmode, so beware!
5.Serial number and device code section.
Just click the write button in the serial number section. This will rewrite the same serial with the correct checksum.
This was a flaw in my reencrypted serial. A single byte checksum was wrong and the autoelectric discovered this after five years! good. I like this.
6.Close the advanced window, check the TL866A firmware and click reflash again.
Now the new firmware is ready.
If you have the original serial then you're good.
Random generated serials can be detected so beware.
I still need to analyze the new firmware, seems that there's a serial validation in the firmware.
If you have problems please post here and feel free to send me an PM.


a question !
some friends have completely lost the serial
see the pictures
(http://www5.0zz0.com/2018/08/06/19/934934760)

what should they do to find the serial!

can you show me on the pictures (a and a1)  what is there to do
because I'm not good at English ...  |O
just French that I master the subtleties of the language  :-//

...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Willem52 on August 07, 2018, 12:20:29 pm
Please look at the newest version, which can generate compliant serial numbers:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1716014/#msg1716014 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1716014/#msg1716014)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 07, 2018, 12:24:32 pm
a question !
some friends have completely lost the serial
what should they do to find the serial!
The serial number is not lost. That device is bricked and you (or your friends) must unbrick it.
The first step is to put the device in boot mode, like this:
(https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/?action=dlattach;attach=481178;image)
If you have a steady hand, there's no need to solder that resistor; just keep the resistor terminals still in the indicated points while inserting the usb cable. The programmer should enter in boot mode and after that remove that resistor.

Once the device is in bootloader mode, flash the firmware dumper by selecting "firmware dumper" and click reflash.
If the firmware dumper reflash was sucessful open the Advanced window. It should look like what you posted in a1 image.
Make sure to check the "code protection bit" checkbox and click the write button next to it.
After that in the "device serial code" field click the write button to correct the wrong checksum.
That's all! Close the advanced window select "TL866A firmware" in the main window and click reflash.
You should now have a working device!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on August 07, 2018, 01:24:12 pm
Radioman, the manufacturer must really hates you.  >:D :-DD

Btw, thanks again for your generosities.  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 07, 2018, 01:56:50 pm
Radioman, the manufacturer must really hates you.  >:D :-DD
Yeah, especially that he was searching for five years to block my tool. And when he finally found the method, well i updated my tool in 2 days! poor soul!  :palm:
And he is an arogant ... because i had a "nice" offer from him to try to break his new TL866II plus programmer. And if i succeed he will pay me. This is like "check this you son of the... break it!". Such arogance!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on August 07, 2018, 02:57:07 pm
So... Did you decrypted the new version? :D
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on August 07, 2018, 03:12:18 pm
And he is an arogant ... because i had a "nice" offer from him to try to break his new TL866II plus programmer. And if i succeed he will pay me. This is like "check this you son of the... break it!". Such arogance!

As I am not aware that you ever published your private credentials, so I guess he must be contacted you thru this forum's PM for the challenge ?  :-DD
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 07, 2018, 03:27:55 pm
And he is an arogant ... because i had a "nice" offer from him to try to break his new TL866II plus programmer. And if i succeed he will pay me. This is like "check this you son of the... break it!". Such arogance!

As I am not aware that you ever published your private credentials, so I guess he must be contacted you thru this forum's PM for the challenge ?  :-DD
Of course! He used this forum PM.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 07, 2018, 03:36:27 pm
So... Did you decrypted the new version? :D
Good question! :-+
Well not yet. And i don't know if will be...
However, the new TL866II Plus programmer is different from the normal TL866. It has an 16bit controller(PIC24FJ256GB110), the I/O expander is simplified and the DC to DC converters are the same.
From the software point of view the communication is using now the winusb library and the device have implemented a multithreaded usb communication using six endpoints (3 endpoints for write and 3 for read); see the Linux USB wrapper for this new TL866II plus in my github repo (https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866/tree/master/wine/TL866II).
I have decrypted the new updateII.dat file, the usb protocol and the update method for the new device. So i can update the device with whatever version i want. But not the encryption algorithm itself (i'm not tried yet, i don't want).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sathex on August 07, 2018, 06:44:09 pm
i know it's shaking the minipro house if it was possibe ...

  that's a naive question,

may someday have a tl866A turn into tl866II anymore!
as for the cs in A ...! maybe you have to add some parts on the tl866A
no!!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: pamperchu on August 07, 2018, 11:43:59 pm
you can easily mod the CS- model to the A- , there is also unused header connections on the motherboard that can be added , i managed to get my CS one to work with some of the pro only software.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james_s on August 07, 2018, 11:52:38 pm
There are probably a lot of people out there like myself who bought the CS assuming it was better than the A. I converted it to A some time back although I rarely even use it anymore since I got a GQ-4X.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: janekdrukarz on August 11, 2018, 02:21:04 am
Hi
In the tl866_prog.pdf file, on page 3 it is written quote:
"As you can see, we can force the bootloader mode by holding the RC1 pin at logic one at startup, this can be
done by soldering an resistor of approx. 100-200ohm between +3.3 V and pin 36 (R26) of the controller:"
Is this correct?
In the PIC18F87J50.pdf file on page 5, RC1 is on pin 35.

Best regards
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on August 11, 2018, 04:22:59 am
Welcome to the forum, janekdrukarz.

Yep, take a look at the photo 10 posts above yours.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 11, 2018, 11:33:00 am
Hi
In the tl866_prog.pdf file, on page 3 it is written quote:
"As you can see, we can force the bootloader mode by holding the RC1 pin at logic one at startup, this can be
done by soldering an resistor of approx. 100-200ohm between +3.3 V and pin 36 (R26) of the controller:"
Is this correct?
In the PIC18F87J50.pdf file on page 5, RC1 is on pin 35.

Best regards
Hi @janekdrukarz  and welcome to the forum!
Well, good observation! yes indeed the pin involved in bootloader is RC1 pin 35 not 36 how the pdf says. Clearly this is my mistake probably a typo while editing the document.
However, i fixed that error. Thanks.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on August 11, 2018, 06:15:21 pm
Thanks for the quick fix, radioman.

For those who don' t have the link to radioman's files handy, it's http://bit.ly/YaJYDq (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: janekdrukarz on August 12, 2018, 04:25:25 am
Hello
Last night I made a backup of all the processor's memory (v6.71) and saved it in a hex file. Tonight I tried to upgrade to version 6.82 and unfortunately I made a mistake when uploading a new version of the software. A "Bad CRC serial" error or something similar. I had to connect to the J1 connector of the Pickit3 programmer and upload again the backup I made. Then I followed the description in the pdf file and the description in the forum. Now I have a working programmer with the latest version of the software. Good job  :-+ @Radioman
Regards
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dwaine on August 15, 2018, 03:16:36 pm
I must have an original. I upgraded to 6.82 and no messages were displayed.  I confirmed that the firmware was updated.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jcarlson on August 16, 2018, 01:07:52 pm
Hello,
I have a TL866Cs modified to A version. I rencently made successfuly upgrade to v6.82 using Radioman procedure (BTW thanks Radioman for the great job). The programmer is working very well, but I have observed that I get a GND #25 error in the programmer self test, evne if it does not affect the functionality of the programmer.

Is somebody observing the same behaviour ?

Any idea or comment about this ?

Thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 16, 2018, 02:59:43 pm
Hello,
I have a TL866Cs modified to A version. I rencently made successfuly upgrade to v6.82 using Radioman procedure (BTW thanks Radioman for the great job). The programmer is working very well, but I have observed that I get a GND #25 error in the programmer self test, evne if it does not affect the functionality of the programmer.

Is somebody observing the same behaviour ?

Any idea or comment about this ?

Thanks
Hi! you have a short in the GND20 signal affecting the Pin 20 on the ZIF socket and probably this is why you don't have any error yet.
You must check the Q7 transistor and the R26 resistor like in the atached image.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jcarlson on August 16, 2018, 05:33:22 pm
Hi Radioman,

Thanks a lot for your help and wise analysis. I now understand that I probably made short on the R26 resistor during the connection of the 100 Ohms resistor to enter the boot mode.

You are of great help.
Thanks again
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 16, 2018, 05:40:57 pm
Thanks a lot for your help and wise analysis. I now understand that I probably made short on the R26 resistor during the connection of the 100 Ohms resistor to enter the boot mode.
Yes, this is the most common mistake! Use A magnifying glass and check for solder joints or solder execess that can make shorts between the PCB traces.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jcarlson on August 17, 2018, 02:01:47 pm
Hi,

R26 changed. Self test working now perfectly.

Thanks again
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Peppered on August 20, 2018, 10:44:54 pm
Hi,
Many props to radioman and everyone else for making this possible.
I attempted to upgrade my tl866CS using the old 2.2 updater without reading the later pages :palm:.  When i ran the minipro software it tells me that i have a pirate device and can no longer program anything as it only will see an id of 0x 02 00 55 even when nothing is in the socket.

Looks like i may have botched it.

I've built the LPT ICSP programmer and attempted to flash a hex file created by the 2.4 firmware updater but it does not seem to program.  I've checked all the solder connections are OK and that the settings mentioned in the pdf for picPGM are good but i seem to have managed to proper brick it.
Does anyone know anything i can try to get it back on it's feet?
I don't really want to have to buy another one if i can help it especially with the hostility the developer has.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Peppered on August 21, 2018, 12:06:13 pm
OK, i managed to figure out why it was not working.  Turns out i forgot to re-enable the code protection bit when flashing the firmware  :-DD

In the end i re-read the instruction PDF and used the bootloader resistor and re-flashed it back to CS firmware then flashed it to the A firmware with the 2.4 updater.

tl;dr - don't take the ikea furniture instructions approach when doing this mod.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on August 22, 2018, 02:34:36 am
tl;dr - don't take the ikea furniture instructions approach when doing this mod.

Indeed. Glad you got it working. :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Willem52 on August 25, 2018, 08:11:00 am
@radioman

If we may know...
What are the changes in the TL866 firmware updater V2.5 ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 25, 2018, 10:50:51 pm
@radioman

If we may know...
What are the changes in the TL866 firmware updater V2.5 ?
Not so many changes. Just an improved algorithm for encryption and serial code generation.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: keropi on September 02, 2018, 08:30:08 pm
thanks a mil radioman for all your hard work, really appreciated!
I had an original CS version that converted to A some time ago and now I get the "converted message" and when I try to read some brand new W28C512 eeproms I get an ID error - if I disable ID check then it starts "reading" but all it does is repeating a string periodically that consists of my device and serial numbers plus some giberish after that  :palm:
I had no idea this bricking was a thing and today I updated to 6.82.

I guess the manufacturer thought if he starts bricking programmers then most customers will buy the II version or something  |O

Before I do anything stupid, v2.5 of your software gives me this:

(http://i65.tinypic.com/wlvlhw.jpg)

I checked the displayed device/serial numbers and they are my original ones - I saved them before I did the A conversion.
So just to be sure, I follow your guide here: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1704092/#msg1704092 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1704092/#msg1704092) right? There is no other way to fix only the checksum correct?
I also need to do the bootloader mod, it is disabled on my programmer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: janekdrukarz on September 02, 2018, 08:57:22 pm
I had exactly the same mistake (Bad serial checksum), it was my mistake during upgrade.
I've fixed this picprog3 to upload full flash. I think you can use the 100 ohm resistor described by Radioman if you do not have a pic programmer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: keropi on September 03, 2018, 09:42:23 am
took 4 reflash tries to succeed but all is good now. Thanks again for all the help and to radioman for the hard work!

I also plan to buy the II version so I don't move the programmer around - dev weirdness aside this was really useful to my projects. I also have the gq-3x programmer but there is no comparison at that price point, TL stuff is just better. I know I know feeding the weird behavior but is there any other descent alternative?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Southerner on September 21, 2018, 07:21:31 pm
What Windows programming software should be used with a working TL866CS?  Or does it even matter?  I saw in an earlier message that http://picpgm.picprojects.net/download/winpicpgm_v1650.zip (http://picpgm.picprojects.net/download/winpicpgm_v1650.zip) was used but assumed that was just to program the PIC in the TL866 rather than a general programming package for the TL866 and its many various type and manufacture microprocessors.

I have never used my TL866CS since I bought it 2 years ago.  I assume it is a clone.  I bought it to program a Rensas R8C/27 but was not sure it would even do it since I did not see the R8 series in the list.

Thank you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Abbas on September 21, 2018, 11:04:53 pm
What Windows programming software should be used with a working TL866CS?  Or does it even matter?  I saw in an earlier message that http://picpgm.picprojects.net/download/winpicpgm_v1650.zip (http://picpgm.picprojects.net/download/winpicpgm_v1650.zip) was used but assumed that was just to program the PIC in the TL866 rather than a general programming package for the TL866 and its many various type and manufacture microprocessors.

I have never used my TL866CS since I bought it 2 years ago.  I assume it is a clone.  I bought it to program a Rensas R8C/27 but was not sure it would even do it since I did not see the R8 series in the list.

Thank you.
The official software for the TL866CS/A is the Minipro. Available for download at their official website Autoelectric.cn

Alternatively here is the link to the software http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/minipro_setup682.rar

By far this is the best programmer I have ever used for the past 6 years.

Sent from my SM-G955F using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Willem52 on September 22, 2018, 08:43:41 am
Attached a new icon for MiniPro.

If someone needs a replacement icon for the MiniPro tool.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Nprod on September 26, 2018, 05:49:57 pm
Wow i was planning to get a TL866II to program some 27128 EPROMs but after looking at this thread i find out that the manufacturer likes to pull scumbag tricks with their customers... :palm:

Is the TL866A a better option then, seeing how radioman has already generously provided the tools to prevent these shenanigans? There are so many chinese sellers offering these with prices ranging from 40$ to 110$ that it's hard to discern what's a clone, a modded CS model or whatever...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Folxs on September 27, 2018, 09:11:02 pm
Hi, I got a problem with AT27C010 on TL866A APP v6.82 (newest) Firmware: 03.2.85.
I have 3 ICs with the same orignal program.
1. I "can" read - i have only ".. .. .."
2. I can't program any of those 3 chips because: "Error! Address: 0x000000 Buffer Data:0x11 Verify:0x00

What's wrong?
VPP 13.5V
VCC Verify 5.00V
VDD Write 6.25V (maximum)
Puls Delay 100us
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on September 27, 2018, 09:16:53 pm
Hi, I got a problem with AT27C010 on TL866A APP v6.82 (newest) Firmware: 03.2.85.
I have 3 ICs with the same orignal program.
1. I "can" read - i have only ".. .. .."
2. I can't program any of those 3 chips because: "Error! Address: 0x000000 Buffer Data:0x11 Verify:0x00

What's wrong?
VPP 13.5V
VCC Verify 5.00V
VDD Write 6.25V (maximum)
Puls Delay 100us
Have the 27C010s been properly erased in a UV eraser?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Folxs on September 27, 2018, 09:20:08 pm
Hi, I got a problem with AT27C010 on TL866A APP v6.82 (newest) Firmware: 03.2.85.
I have 3 ICs with the same orignal program.
1. I "can" read - i have only ".. .. .."
2. I can't program any of those 3 chips because: "Error! Address: 0x000000 Buffer Data:0x11 Verify:0x00

What's wrong?
VPP 13.5V
VCC Verify 5.00V
VDD Write 6.25V (maximum)
Puls Delay 100us
Have the 27C010s been properly erased in a UV eraser?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
This is regular EEPROM ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on September 27, 2018, 09:22:03 pm
Hi, I got a problem with AT27C010 on TL866A APP v6.82 (newest) Firmware: 03.2.85.
I have 3 ICs with the same orignal program.
1. I "can" read - i have only ".. .. .."
2. I can't program any of those 3 chips because: "Error! Address: 0x000000 Buffer Data:0x11 Verify:0x00

What's wrong?
VPP 13.5V
VCC Verify 5.00V
VDD Write 6.25V (maximum)
Puls Delay 100us
Have the 27C010s been properly erased in a UV eraser?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
This is regular EEPROM ;)
So not a 27C010?

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Folxs on September 27, 2018, 09:22:44 pm
Or...
Shit - it could be OTPROM!? (One Time PROM)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on September 27, 2018, 09:43:28 pm
Oops.
You could buy some more with windows to erase or more OTP ones if you won't need to erase or don't have a UV eraser.
Or maybe the circuit could be rigged to accept say a 28F010 or maybe even a 29F010 that the programmer can erase before programming.
As far as I remember only one or two pins max would need different connections. Maybe the 28F would even plug in without changes.
Been a while since I did this kind of thing.

Later: Yes. Looks like a 28F010 is a drop in replacement unless something really weird was in the original circuit.
Just need to get one that's fast enough access time.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Folxs on September 27, 2018, 09:54:30 pm
Oops.
You could buy some more with windows to erase or more OTP ones if you won't need to erase or don't have a UV eraser.
Or maybe the circuit could be rigged to accept say a 28F010 or maybe even a 29F010 that the programmer can erase before programming.
As far as I remember only one or two pins max would need different connections. Maybe the 28F would even plug in without changes.
Been a while since I did this kind of thing.
Thank You very much!
First time I also thought that 27C010 should be EPROM with Window but when I see it is 100% plastic I thought this is EEPROM - so I was wrong, You aimed me that this is OTPROM.
Thanks for advice of changingig it for different chips but the circuit have to be 100% original ;) - but always it is good to know!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Folxs on September 28, 2018, 01:50:04 pm
Can I replace AT27C010 OTP with AM27C010 EEPROM? I think it is just a difference in branding right? AMD vs Atmel
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on September 28, 2018, 03:21:28 pm
Can I replace AT27C010 OTP with AM27C010 EEPROM? I think it is just a difference in branding right? AMD vs Atmel
Correct.

Except that these are EPROM not EEPROM.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Southerner on September 28, 2018, 03:31:28 pm
Can I replace AT27C010 OTP with AM27C010 EEPROM?
A 27C010 is not an eeprom it is an eprom.  If you don't get the otp (one time program) then it will have a window for erasing with a UV eprom eraser/light and you can't erase and rewrite it electrically like you would with an eeprom.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Folxs on September 28, 2018, 03:39:26 pm
Can I replace AT27C010 OTP with AM27C010 EEPROM? I think it is just a difference in branding right? AMD vs Atmel
Correct.

Except that these are EPROM not EEPROM.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk
You are right - EPROM ;)
Thanks!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: hwarin on October 02, 2018, 10:22:00 pm
Hi

I've lost the entire evening of yesterday fighting with my (upgraded some time ago) TL866 and the "new" 6.82 that I was trying to setup on my new laptop ... Symantec Protection was complaining  :wtf: !

As I had not already read this thread, I've passed into the "protection hole" of this AV's protection and got it installed in my embedded test VM ... All worked as expected (FW upgrade then piracy messages and so on) but I was happy as everything seemed "normal" except that none of the components that I was inserting appeared to be okay !

After hours or search and mess between v6.82 and my old 6.5 FW version, I've finally found this thread.

==> THANKS RADIOMAN - With your help, your new tool, and your clear instructions, I've "repared" tonight my TL866 in less than 10 minutes.

Hervé
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: GarouSP on October 05, 2018, 01:44:08 pm
Hi, I'm new here and  got here after search for some answers about TL866CS.
I never had any trouble burning 27c322 or 27c160 with this burner using an adaptor but yesterday I had to burn some 322 and 160.
The question is that I burn the 322 with no problem but the 160 I can't anymore, always got a error burning 160.
Today I tried to burn the 160 in another burner from a friend of mine and all was burned w/o problems.
Could this be a problem from my burner or from the adaptor?
I'm using the latest firmware 6.82, maybe this firmware colud be causing this problem?
I will attach a picture of my adaptor.
 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Eruil on October 07, 2018, 01:35:39 am
to radioman:

 first of all i apologize about my bad english. it´s not my mother language and i seldom practice it. got a question for you. i converted my TL866CS (original device) into a TL866A. everything worked perfect but i made a mistake installing minipro 6.82 (obviously the result was a bricked device) i made a backup .hex file first.  i thought that the posible solution was changing the serial number and i made the "resistor method" (now i got the bad serial error but tl866 works fine)

 how can i restore my original device serial ? (your tool doesnt have a "load serial from hex file" option) . i will thank any information that you can provide me . thanks  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on October 07, 2018, 10:11:30 am
how can i restore my original device serial ? (your tool doesnt have a "load serial from hex file" option) . i will thank any information that you can provide me . thanks  :-+
Indeed,  there's no load serial from hex option.
If you have the original hex and if you want your serial back (why?) you have two options:
1. Reflash your device using an external programmer (like pickit) with your original hex and convert it again using the last version of my firmware updater.
2. Send the hex file to me to decrypt your original serial and I'll give you back your serial to put in the advanced window.

Another option is to generate a new serial code using the last version of my firmware updater. This is the most simple option to have a compliant serial code.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Southerner on October 07, 2018, 06:25:38 pm
Radioman this has been a very useful thread.  I came into the thread late.  I bought a TL866CS clone.  I found it hard to sift through the 54 pages of this thread.  I wonder if it would be possible to occasionally pot the/a link to a web page somewhere that lists or outlines the latest method of updating  the firmware?  I know you have a zip file stored at:
http://bit.ly/YaJYDq (http://bit.ly/YaJYDq)
that has your latest version updater and a schematic of the TL866. 

This message is quite useful:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1704092/#msg1704092 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1704092/#msg1704092)

What I am a little confused about is how to implement the update.  I assume that I need a PicKit and either pull the PIC or use an ICSP cable to reflash the pic in the TL866.  Correct?
Thank you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on October 07, 2018, 07:29:13 pm
I wonder if it would be possible to occasionally pot the/a link to a web page somewhere that lists or outlines the latest method of updating  the firmware?
Sure! but where? there's a wiki page here: https://minipro.txt.si/index.php?title=Main_Page (https://minipro.txt.si/index.php?title=Main_Page) and here: http://proghq.org/wiki/TL866 (http://proghq.org/wiki/TL866) but needs to be updated.

Regarding to the:
Quote
What I am a little confused about is how to implement the update
this is easy!
If your device bootloader is still intact use the firmware updater to update it with any version you want! if the device is totally bricked then yes, you'll need a PicKit to program the PIC. The J1 connector is for this scope. This is how the manufacturer burns the initial firmware, thru J1 connector. And yes, you'll need an ICSP cable for this, no need to pull the PIC.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Eruil on October 08, 2018, 04:13:12 am


wrote by radioman :

" 1. Reflash your device using an external programmer (like pickit) with your original hex and convert it again using the last version of my firmware updater.
2. Send the hex file to me to decrypt your original serial and I'll give you back your serial to put in the advanced window."


To Radioman:

thanks dude. im going to send you my .hex file . i dont have any pick it or other 18F87J50 programmer device to reflash my original serial number (you said before that minipro software can detect generated serials , thats the why im trying to leave it the most "stock mode " possible . you rock dude:  :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on October 08, 2018, 10:00:21 am
you said before that minipro software can detect generated serials , thats the why im trying to leave it the most "stock mode " possible . you rock dude:  :)
The software detects non compliant generated serials. This was the case for older version of my firmware updater. My last versions (V2.4/V2.5) will generate compliant serial code.
Actually the algorithm is very simple! there is a crc16 of the dev code embedded into serial code like in the attached image.
Who want to play here is the online crc calculator: https://www.lammertbies.nl/comm/info/crc-calculation.html (https://www.lammertbies.nl/comm/info/crc-calculation.html)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: RSistem on October 08, 2018, 02:09:10 pm
Hi gay s plese help me i need programing this chip but i had problem programing beacose this chip is wrong ID chip,can you help me.I need progrming SPI chip mx25l12845e can't write and bin is DIR636LA1_FW105B09 for router. PS: sory for mi language  :-\
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Eruil on October 08, 2018, 03:33:44 pm
From radioman:

The software detects non compliant generated serials. This was the case for older version of my firmware updater. My last versions (V2.4/V2.5) will generate compliant serial code.
Actually the algorithm is very simple! there is a crc16 of the dev code embedded into serial code like in the attached image.
Who want to play here is the online crc calculator: https://www.lammertbies.nl/comm/info/crc-calculation.html (https://www.lammertbies.nl/comm/info/crc-calculation.html)

To Radioman:

i love ya dude. everything its working perfect. thanks a lot for your help  :clap:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Southerner on October 08, 2018, 05:11:58 pm
Do all of the TL866's use the Pic18FJ50 including the clones?  I went to the autoelectric.cm web site and looked at the "Fake TL866" compared to the genuine autoelectric TL866's and mine is not like the fake one or the real one.  Also the PIC has had its identifiers removed so I can't tell what the chip is.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on October 08, 2018, 06:11:40 pm
Do all of the TL866's use the Pic18FJ50 including the clones?
Yes, all of them use the PIC18F87J50. Changing the controller will require changing the firmware and the firmware comes from autoelectric and is written only for this type of controller.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: karpinto on October 09, 2018, 09:45:43 pm

I do not understand anything, my tl866a programmer on one of my computers does not work at all when I start the program minipro always tells me ANTIQUE SOFTWARE PUT THE MODERN AND LAST and nothing works (I speak of any version before 6.82) and on another computer I put any Minipro software before v6.82 and with the same programmer does not appear that label, I do not understand anything, where is the problem ????
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on October 10, 2018, 10:32:22 am
where is the problem ????
The problem is the software version.  If the firmware is older than required by minipro then you are advised to upgrade the firmware. If the firmware version is newer than required by the minipro then you are advised to upgrade the minipro version.
In your case you have different versions of the software.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: karpinto on October 10, 2018, 05:28:20 pm

you mean the computer software ?? 'windows ???, if I put the miniprog program 6.82 it will spoil the programmer or that I think, please clarify it to me, the firmware is the programmer ???.
thanks radioman for the clarifications
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on October 10, 2018, 06:02:58 pm
Are you using the same version of the minipro program on both computers?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on October 11, 2018, 09:48:49 am
you mean the computer software ??
That's right, the computer software aka minipro.exe.
if I put the miniprog program 6.82 it will spoil the programmer or that I think, please clarify it to me
It will not 'spoil' your programmer. If you have a converted CS->A one just use my firmware updater to correct the bad checksum if applicable and update to the last firmware version.

The Firmware (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Firmware) is the software running inside your programmer.
For example: minipro version 6.82 requires firmware version 3.2.85; minipro version 6.70 requires firmware version 3.2.81 and so on. When the two version mismatch, then you get a warning as i said above.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Southerner on October 11, 2018, 06:46:34 pm
Does someone have a decent picture of the ICSP header coming out of the TL866A?  The one picture I saw was here:
http://atariage.com/forums/topic/246355-minipro-tl866-upgrade-instructions/#entry3412521 (http://atariage.com/forums/topic/246355-minipro-tl866-upgrade-instructions/#entry3412521)
but it is so out of focus that I can't tell if it is one row of 6 pins as in the PIC standard or if it is 2x5.  I assume single row of 6 but can't tell for sure.  Does anyone have a link to the right angle male header that goes on the board?

Thank you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on October 11, 2018, 07:17:31 pm
Here: (http://proghq.org/mediawiki/images/b/bd/TL866_A_mainboard_top_scan_1200dpi.jpg)
and here (https://m.ru.aliexpress.com/item/32764469210.html?trace=wwwdetail2mobilesitedetail&productId=32764469210&productSubject=50Sets-KF2510-6Pin-Connector-Kit-Pitch-2-54mm-Right-Angle-Pin-Header-Terminal-Housing) is the connector.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Southerner on October 11, 2018, 07:57:02 pm
Does J1 use the PIC standard single row 6 pin connector (straight)?  Or is it's function not to act as a ICSP header for the onboard PIC?  I had seen someone suggest to program the onboard PIC using the ICSP header you have pictured so I was wondering if J1 had the same function.  I realize it would be hard to access but only wondered if it was put there to easily reprogram the cpu.

Here: (http://proghq.org/mediawiki/images/b/bd/TL866_A_mainboard_top_scan_1200dpi.jpg)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on October 11, 2018, 08:13:40 pm
Yes the J1 connector is only for reprogramming the onboard PIC18F87J50. Don't solder any connector here; if you need to reflash your onboard pic just insert the icsp connector from the pickit in the J1 pcb holes (they are metallized so there's no contact problem) and reflash. This case is for total brick.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: karpinto on October 14, 2018, 06:04:55 pm
THANKS RADIOMAN, I'M UNDERSTANDING EVERYTHING.
My programmer was tl866cs and I converted it to tl866A.
I have started the program minipro v6.82 and when plugging in the programmer recognizes me the tl866A v03.2.82, effectively I will have to do a REFLASH FIRMWARE and it will become V03.2.85., But it will not be damaged and everything will work, I already made the reflash yours with the resistance of 100 ohms, tell me if it works with this version and if it breaks I'll do the reset again.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on October 14, 2018, 10:23:46 pm
But it will not be damaged and everything will work, I already made the reflash yours with the resistance of 100 ohms, tell me if it works with this version and if it breaks I'll do the reset again.
Please do the update if you want so. You can revert to any previous version anytime if you want. By updating the firmware you can't physically damage your programmer.   

Even if you brick the programmer you can easily restore it with the help of another pic programmer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on October 20, 2018, 11:43:32 pm
I see V6.85 of the software has been released.

Anyone tried it?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheBay on October 21, 2018, 11:03:36 am
I see V6.85 of the software has been released.

Anyone tried it?

Just installed it, still getting the warning message "This is a changed programmer from the TL866CS!!"
When mine isn't! it still shows as a TL866A though in the programme, unsure yet if anything has been gimped.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: FrankBuss on October 21, 2018, 11:17:00 am
Just installed it, still getting the warning message "This is a changed programmer from the TL866CS!!"
When mine isn't! it still shows as a TL866A though in the programme, unsure yet if anything has been gimped.

This doesn't sound good. Does it still work? I have v6.60, works fine for me, without warnings.

For tools, IDEs etc., usually I follow the principle "if it ain't broke don't fix it", meaning if I don't need a new feature, I don't update (if the program is not security related, like the operating system, which of course needs to be updated all the time, or other internet connected programs). Just yesterday I used the programmer for an ATTiny25 and it supports the parallel programming mode, and all fuse settings in the "Config" tab, without problems, so I can set the fuse for the reset pin etc. and don't brick it. Doesn't matter much for a price of 0.70 cents per IC, but easier to develop if you can do lots of iterations and tests without fearing to pay like one postage stamp per test :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheBay on October 21, 2018, 11:24:33 am
Just installed it, still getting the warning message "This is a changed programmer from the TL866CS!!"
When mine isn't! it still shows as a TL866A though in the programme, unsure yet if anything has been gimped.

This doesn't sound good. Does it still work? I have v6.60, works fine for me, without warnings.

For tools, IDEs etc., usually I follow the principle "if it ain't broke don't fix it", meaning if I don't need a new feature, I don't update (if the program is not security related, like the operating system, which of course needs to be updated all the time, or other internet connected programs). Just yesterday I used the programmer for an ATTiny25 and it supports the parallel programming mode, and all fuse settings in the "Config" tab, without problems, so I can set the fuse for the reset pin etc. and don't brick it. Doesn't matter much for a price of 0.70 cents per IC, but easier to develop if you can do lots of iterations and tests without fearing to pay like one postage stamp per test :)

I just used Radioman's TL866 tool.
And it said I had an invalid checksum, so I followed all his instructions and flashed 6.8.2 in firmware dumper mode, let it write a new checksum then flashed 6.8.2.
Installed Minipro 6.8.5 and let it update the firmware, now the error message has gone and its still showing as a A model. (Mine was always a genuine A, not sure what went wrong with one of the minipro updates)

Thanks Radioman for all your hard work!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tchicago on October 22, 2018, 11:26:54 pm
Just installed it, still getting the warning message "This is a changed programmer from the TL866CS!!"
When mine isn't! it still shows as a TL866A though in the programme, unsure yet if anything has been gimped.

This doesn't sound good. Does it still work? I have v6.60, works fine for me, without warnings.

It doesn't work after that error. Whenever you try to read some MCU, it will always give ID check error. And will read gibberish if you ignore error. Tried rebooting disconnecting, restarting everything. Tried to read multiple controllers (PICs and ATMEL's) - same ID check error everywhere.

I then reverted it all back to v6.71 - both PC software and firmware, keeping it kept firmware at "A" version though. And it all works now, with same MCUs I tried before - they now ID'd and read just fine.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: FrankBuss on October 22, 2018, 11:39:24 pm
It doesn't work after that error. Whenever you try to read some MCU, it will always give ID check error. And will read gibberish if you ignore error. Tried rebooting disconnecting, restarting everything. Tried to read multiple controllers (PICs and ATMEL's) - same ID check error everywhere.

I then reverted it all back to v6.71 - both PC software and firmware, keeping it kept firmware at "A" version though. And it all works now, with same MCUs I tried before - they now ID'd and read just fine.

There is even a V8.05 version out now:

http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/tl866_main.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/tl866_main.html)

But it lists the changelog as well and I don't need it at the moment, just a few PICs that were added could be interesting someday, but I have a PICkit3 for this.

And the webpage says "TL866CS/A programmer has ceased production.". Maybe this is the reason that it is not compatible anymore? Or is it the fight with Radioman and then inadvertently introducing bugs? This would be bad.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tchicago on October 23, 2018, 01:22:04 am
It doesn't work after that error. Whenever you try to read some MCU, it will always give ID check error. And will read gibberish if you ignore error. Tried rebooting disconnecting, restarting everything. Tried to read multiple controllers (PICs and ATMEL's) - same ID check error everywhere.

I then reverted it all back to v6.71 - both PC software and firmware, keeping it kept firmware at "A" version though. And it all works now, with same MCUs I tried before - they now ID'd and read just fine.

There is even a V8.05 version out now:

http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/tl866_main.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/tl866_main.html)

But it lists the changelog as well and I don't need it at the moment, just a few PICs that were added could be interesting someday, but I have a PICkit3 for this.

And the webpage says "TL866CS/A programmer has ceased production.". Maybe this is the reason that it is not compatible anymore? Or is it the fight with Radioman and then inadvertently introducing bugs? This would be bad.

Those 8.x versions are for TL866-II hardware. The latest version for TL866CS/A is 6.8.5. It is a bit lower on that page, there is a separate section with the software for the non-II versions of the programmer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheBay on October 23, 2018, 03:24:50 am
Just installed it, still getting the warning message "This is a changed programmer from the TL866CS!!"
When mine isn't! it still shows as a TL866A though in the programme, unsure yet if anything has been gimped.

This doesn't sound good. Does it still work? I have v6.60, works fine for me, without warnings.

It doesn't work after that error. Whenever you try to read some MCU, it will always give ID check error. And will read gibberish if you ignore error. Tried rebooting disconnecting, restarting everything. Tried to read multiple controllers (PICs and ATMEL's) - same ID check error everywhere.

I then reverted it all back to v6.71 - both PC software and firmware, keeping it kept firmware at "A" version though. And it all works now, with same MCUs I tried before - they now ID'd and read just fine.
What about if you correct the checksum and refresh,
Does it still have problems with certain MCU's?
Mine has always stayed an A and it's actually a genuine A model and annoying got that nag screen. I contacted them and they just said to turn the message off lol.

Now I've corrected the checksum it's never thrown that nag screen up again.


Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tchicago on October 23, 2018, 07:11:41 pm
What about if you correct the checksum and refresh,
Does it still have problems with certain MCU's?
Mine has always stayed an A and it's actually a genuine A model and annoying got that nag screen. I contacted them and they just said to turn the message off lol.

Now I've corrected the checksum it's never thrown that nag screen up again.

It showed the nag screen only once, at the end of updating firmware via the MiniProg. After that, all status was OK upon restarts and reconnects. Yet, it was consistently failing to work properly - ID check errors and reading garbage from various MCUs. Those were mature MCUs - like ATMEGA328, ATTINY84, some not very recent PICs. Some MCUs were known blanks straight out of Digikey packaging, some with my code.

I decided not to mess up with the versions that do hardware checks anymore, and rolled back to 6.71. Everything was working properly after that.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheBay on October 23, 2018, 07:47:48 pm
What about if you correct the checksum and refresh,
Does it still have problems with certain MCU's?
Mine has always stayed an A and it's actually a genuine A model and annoying got that nag screen. I contacted them and they just said to turn the message off lol.

Now I've corrected the checksum it's never thrown that nag screen up again.

It showed the nag screen only once, at the end of updating firmware via the MiniProg. After that, all status was OK upon restarts and reconnects. Yet, it was consistently failing to work properly - ID check errors and reading garbage from various MCUs. Those were mature MCUs - like ATMEGA328, ATTINY84, some not very recent PICs. Some MCUs were known blanks straight out of Digikey packaging, some with my code.

I decided not to mess up with the versions that do hardware checks anymore, and rolled back to 6.71. Everything was working properly after that.

Checksum is still wrong if it showed the nag screen.
Fix the checksum, remove programme and flash again.
Title: MiniPro TL866 Supported chip list
Post by: Southerner on October 29, 2018, 04:26:36 am
I was looking at the supported chip list for the TL866 but was surprised by the absence of the AVR chips (ATMega's).  I also thought it interesting that there were listed many logic chips like almost all of the 74HCxx and 74LSxx and 74LSxxx logic chips that are not programmable.  Why are those in the list at all?

I was hoping to use it to program some ATMega382P's but guess that won't happen.
Title: Re: MiniPro TL866 Supported chip list
Post by: drussell on October 29, 2018, 04:33:37 am
I also thought it interesting that there were listed many logic chips like almost all of the 74HCxx and 74LSxx and 74LSxxx logic chips that are not programmable.  Why are those in the list at all?

They are listed because those logic chips can be tested for proper operation, that all gates function correctly, etc.

As for ATMegas, under ATMEL the supported chip list includes:

Code: [Select]
ATMEGA8
ATMEGA8L                  ATMEGA8A                  ATMEGA16                 ATMEGA16L                   
ATMEGA16A                 ATMEGA32                  ATMEGA32L                ATMEGA32A                   
ATMEGA48                  ATMEGA48V                 ATMEGA48A                ATMEGA48PA                 
ATMEGA64     @TQFP64      ATMEGA64A    @TQFP64      ATMEGA64L   @TQFP64      ATMEGA88                   
ATMEGA88V                 ATMEGA88A                 ATMEGA88PA               ATMEGA128    @TQFP64       
ATMEGA128A   @TQFP64      ATMEGA128L   @TQFP64      ATMEGA162                ATMEGA162V                 
ATMEGA164A                ATMEGA164PA               ATMEGA165A  @TQFP64      ATMEGA165P   @TQFP64         
ATMEGA165PA  @TQFP64      ATMEGA165PV  @TQFP64      ATMEGA168                ATMEGA168A                 
ATMEGA168PA               ATMEGA168V                ATMEGA169A  @TQFP64      ATMEGA169P   @TQFP64       
ATMEGA169PA  @TQFP64      ATMEGA169PV  @TQFP64      ATMEGA324A               ATMEGA324PA                 
ATMEGA325A   @TQFP64      ATMEGA325PA  @TQFP64      ATMEGA328                ATMEGA328P                 
ATMEGA329A   @TQFP64      ATMEGA329PA  @TQFP64      ATMEGA644A               ATMEGA644PA                 
ATMEGA645A   @TQFP64      ATMEGA645P   @TQFP64      ATMEGA649A  @TQFP64      ATMEGA649P   @TQFP64         
ATMEGA1284                ATMEGA1284P               ATMEGA8515               ATMEGA8515L
Title: Re: MiniPro TL866 Supported chip list
Post by: Macbeth on October 29, 2018, 10:11:52 pm
I was hoping to use it to program some ATMega382P's but guess that won't happen.

This is most unfortunate, those '382P's must be something special. I guess a unique part like that really can't be supported as nobody else knows what they are.

All other ATmega or ATtiny I haven't had any problem with the TL866 whatsoever. Indeed it has recovered many a young ATtiny by HV programming.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: texaspyro on October 30, 2018, 12:19:18 am
There isn't a '382P... did you mean '328P?
Title: Re: MiniPro TL866 Supported chip list
Post by: drussell on October 30, 2018, 01:05:58 am
I was hoping to use it to program some ATMega382P's but guess that won't happen.

This is most unfortunate, those '382P's must be something special. I guess a unique part like that really can't be supported as nobody else knows what they are.

There isn't a '382P... did you mean '328P?

I had made the assumption that it was a typo when Southerner said 382P that she actually meant 328P.

I don't think there is such a thing as a 382 but it is a common transposition.  :)
Title: Re: MiniPro TL866 Supported chip list
Post by: Southerner on October 30, 2018, 04:35:12 am
Quote from: drussell
I had made the assumption that it was a typo when Southerner said 382P that she actually meant 328P.
I don't think there is such a thing as a 382 but it is a common transposition.  :)
Yes,  it was a typo.  I did mean 328P but see that the link I took was to an old support list and did not include the ATMega328P but noticed that it is now included.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Synthtech on October 30, 2018, 07:33:14 am
Sorry if this has been brought up already somewhere in the last 56 pages but I just want to make sure that I am up to speed before I order: the current version of the programmer (TL866 II Plus) doesn’t support 21V programming unlike the older versions so it’s somewhat useless to me as most of the chips that I program are 21V devices. I was however thinking of getting one just to use as a tester for 4000 and 74 series IC’s, does it do a decent job of this?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: minsik on October 31, 2018, 12:52:39 pm
seems like autoelectric.cn has gone awol. saves on making updates eh?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: drussell on October 31, 2018, 01:19:09 pm
seems like autoelectric.cn has gone awol. saves on making updates eh?

Huh?  It works fine for me...

http://autoelectric.cn/EN/TL866_main.html (http://autoelectric.cn/EN/TL866_main.html)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: pelule on October 31, 2018, 05:54:10 pm
Works also fine for me...(but slow as usual)
/PeLuLe
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Southerner on October 31, 2018, 06:16:07 pm
(but slow as usual)
/PeLuLe
Slow is putting it mildly!  It took 7 minutes to finally come up and load after I clicked on the link!  Yes it is usually slow...but not that slow.  It did eventually come up though.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: drussell on November 01, 2018, 03:47:35 am
Works also fine for me...(but slow as usual)

Slow is putting it mildly!  It took 7 minutes to finally come up and load after I clicked on the link!  Yes it is usually slow...but not that slow.  It did eventually come up though.

You folks might want to check into your upstream provider's network connectivity.

It loads instantly from here, checked from three different upstream providers.

The ping times do go up by about 200 ms as soon as it gets to China (normal for China) but it works fine.

Perhaps your ISP (or government or something) is manipulating your traffic in some way?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: monacco on November 01, 2018, 09:16:17 pm
Yes, the red LED is lit up
No, on none PC shown up in the device manager, either with installed driver already or new PC for this device.

So far only tested under Win10/x64 but (when it still worked) it could be installed on three differnt PCs without any issues.

It should show up even without a driver.  It sounds faulty to me.

This is a long shot but have you tried making sure that the USB cable is fully inserted and even swapped it for another ?

Although it is already a while ago it may be interesting for the solution of this issue: it was indeed broken.  :-BROKE
The seller replaced the defective in warranty and it is working incl. last update as expected.  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dwaine on November 03, 2018, 12:56:58 am
I'm trying to program a ST M27C1024-10F1 chip.   Do  I need an adapter to program this chip?  Or will the MiniPro TL866 be able to program this chip on it's own?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: drussell on November 03, 2018, 01:15:58 am
I'm trying to program a ST M27C1024-10F1 chip.   Do  I need an adapter to program this chip?  Or will the MiniPro TL866 be able to program this chip on it's own?

The -10F1 version means it should be the DIP version with the window for UV erasure, 100ns, standard temperature....  Since it is one of the DIP versions, it will plug right into the ZIF socket on the programmer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on November 04, 2018, 01:16:13 pm
seems like autoelectric.cn has gone awol. saves on making updates eh?

I've bookmarked http://www.xgecu.com/en/ (http://www.xgecu.com/en/)
which is working well for me.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on November 04, 2018, 03:02:43 pm
must be in part due to cloning :  http://autoelectric.cn/EN/note.html (http://autoelectric.cn/EN/note.html)

Important tips on Piracy:

1. TL866CS/A programmer has ceased production. If there is a large number of sales may be counterfeit products.

2. There is a large number of pirated TL866CS/A programmers in the market. Counterfeit products can not test every IOs of the programmer, and the quality of products can not be guaranteed.

3. Do not use the third party cloning software to operate the program firmware illegally, otherwise the warranty was cancelled.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on November 04, 2018, 05:09:00 pm
must be in part due to cloning :  http://autoelectric.cn/EN/note.html (http://autoelectric.cn/EN/note.html)

Important tips on Piracy:

1. TL866CS/A programmer has ceased production. If there is a large number of sales may be counterfeit products.

2. There is a large number of pirated TL866CS/A programmers in the market. Counterfeit products can not test every IOs of the programmer, and the quality of products can not be guaranteed.

3. Do not use the third party cloning software to operate the program firmware illegally, otherwise the warranty was cancelled.

Who are you replying to?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on November 04, 2018, 10:34:30 pm
I see V6.85 of the software has been released.

Anyone tried it?

I installed it today as they mentioned fixing a GAL issue in the release notes.

I used to be able to program GAL22V10Ds but an update broke this.  I had to buy a different programmer.

I did quite a bit of testing after the update and was able to erase, program and verify the devices.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: drussell on November 05, 2018, 05:01:34 am
I installed it today as they mentioned fixing a GAL issue in the release notes.

I used to be able to program GAL22V10Ds but an update broke this.  I had to buy a different programmer.

You are unable to use an older version of the software which was previously able to successfully program your GAL22V10Ds?

I'm very confused in that you appear to be saying that a software update to your previously working TL866-series programmer somehow physically (electrically?) broke your existing programmer so you had to go out and buy some other programmer??  Is it another TL866 style unit?  Please elaborate.

Quote
I did quite a bit of testing after the update and was able to erase, program and verify the devices.

I'm still confused.  Are you talking about your new programmer?   :-//
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bprosman on November 05, 2018, 12:22:00 pm
Yesterday I accidently upgraded my TL866 to the newest version. I got the "nag screen" , but I assumed it was just text (once) and didn't alter the functionality I left it this way. However I tried erasing/flashing an AMD29F040 and the AT29C512 and both gave an error. Reading eproms gave only a few hundred bytes for the rest 0xFF.
With help of Radioman's software I flashed back to an older version of the Minipro firmware.
So it seems that there might be some "clones" (which I like more than counterfeits) that are being broken by the newest firmware.
Anyone a tip for an affordable replacement (for the TL866) ?

Kind regards, Bram
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: netdudeuk on November 05, 2018, 03:25:06 pm
I have the Genius G540 programmer.  I've used it for GALs without any issues but not for much else.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on November 06, 2018, 12:50:12 am
Welcome to the forum, bprosman. Why not just fix yours as radioman described and then use it with the latest firmware?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Marcustv on November 06, 2018, 06:02:41 am
Is it possible with the Radioman software to also run version 6.85?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Southerner on November 06, 2018, 06:15:21 am
Is it possible with the Radioman software to also run version 6.85?
Yes.
I am running MiniPro 6.85 and used Radioman updater to flash my programmer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bprosman on November 06, 2018, 02:53:11 pm
Quote
"Why not just fix yours as radioman described and then use it with the latest firmware?"
The latest firmware doesnt seem to work with my hardware, programming EEPROMS fails at the 1st byte.
That is why I went back to an older (6.7) release.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on November 06, 2018, 09:29:07 pm
It's because your programmer still has an error, probably the checksum is incorrect. Fix it as radioman described, then all the firmware versions will work (except the ones for the TL866 II, of course, since that's a different product).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on November 08, 2018, 02:33:44 am
seems like autoelectric.cn has gone awol. saves on making updates eh?

I've bookmarked http://www.xgecu.com/en/ (http://www.xgecu.com/en/)
which is working well for me.

It was anyway. It's really slow tonight [9th Nov 2018, 02:30 UTC] whichever domain name you use to get to it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Arduino IDE question
Post by: Southerner on November 08, 2018, 03:16:23 am
Can someone tell me what kind of programmer to pick from the list in Arduino IDE (v1.8.7 in this case) to use the TL866 to program AVR's (ATMega328P)?  Is it even recognized by Arduino IDE or do I absolutely have to use MiniPro?

Thank you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on November 08, 2018, 03:32:53 am
You have to use the MiniPro TL866 software to program chips, including AVR microcontrollers, using the TL866. The TL866 is not supported via Arduino IDE that I'm aware of.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on November 08, 2018, 04:59:48 am
Just in case anyone missed this, bumping this info that already buried in this gigantic thread, you can use your Android phone/tablet (as long its supported) to run the TL866.

Posted -> WizardProg Mobile by SergMM (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1322926/#msg1322926)

Grab it here at Google Play -> https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.wizardprog.mobile (https://play.google.com/apps/testing/com.wizardprog.mobile)

Fyi, even beta, it works at my Andoid.  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on November 08, 2018, 09:37:54 pm
Thanks, BravoV. I indeed missed that.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TERRA Operative on November 09, 2018, 03:03:33 am
Hey, if it could be made to work on a raspberry pi, just add a screen and battery and you got a convenient portable field tool.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on November 09, 2018, 03:05:56 am
I was thinking the same thing. The Pi can run Android. So, it may work.

https://developer.android.com/things/hardware/raspberrypi
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: zino on November 09, 2018, 02:11:21 pm
I might be missing some detail like wanting to use the Andrious UI, but Pi can already run the native Linux Minipro programmer: https://gitlab.com/DavidGriffith/minipro/
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on November 09, 2018, 07:35:14 pm
I didn't know someone made a linux program for it. Cool. Thanks, zino. And welcome to the forum!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ace_ventura on November 28, 2018, 08:15:25 pm
I see V6.85 of the software has been released.

Anyone tried it?
I want to try it but I keep getting popups from Comodo AV about infection (Malware / Worm).
(http://i65.tinypic.com/33c0pdx.jpg)

Could you please anybody confirm by another AV there is no hazard? Thanks.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: orefat on December 03, 2018, 07:42:14 am
Hi everyone!
 I came here to say thanks to radioman! He saved my original TL866CS (converted to A) from its own creator.
 I had problem when I downloaded, currently the latest V6.85 sw. It offered to update the firmware on my TL866A , I accepted and regretted. From then my TL866A could not read the Chip ID, and it was unsuccessful to properly program or erase the serial flash memory (SPI).

 After a google search I found this forum and radioman, and solved my problem by forcing the bootloader and flashing to lower version of firmware.

 Thank you sir, again!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: casinada on December 05, 2018, 10:46:36 pm
Tried to download 6.85 version today but Microsoft antivirus tells me that it has a Trojan: Occamy.C  :-// I see that on a previous post another user also got a similar message for this version
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: octal on December 09, 2018, 11:45:10 pm
Tried to download 6.85 version today but Microsoft antivirus tells me that it has a Trojan: Occamy.C  :-// I see that on a previous post another user also got a similar message for this version

Same problem here, it keeps saying Trojan inside.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: octal on December 10, 2018, 12:19:24 am
Well, found a temporary solution, use version v682 and it works without any virus detected.

http://www.xgecu.com/MiniPro/minipro_setup682.rar (http://www.xgecu.com/MiniPro/minipro_setup682.rar)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: FrankBuss on December 10, 2018, 12:26:06 am
Tried to download 6.85 version today but Microsoft antivirus tells me that it has a Trojan: Occamy.C  :-// I see that on a previous post another user also got a similar message for this version

Did you try to submit it to Microsoft for testing? Might be a false positive:

https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/filesubmission (https://www.microsoft.com/en-us/wdsi/filesubmission)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: texaspyro on December 10, 2018, 12:30:56 am
Also submit it to virustotal.com
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dwaine on December 11, 2018, 02:29:23 am
I downloaded it last week and was ok.  No issue with Microsoft scanner on the file.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on December 11, 2018, 04:44:05 am
I downloaded it last week and was ok.  No issue with Microsoft scanner on the file.

Well, that doesn't tell you much, does it? It merely suggests that Microsoft have added a new virus signature to their scanner since last week, which is triggered by some pattern in the TL866 software. Whether the TL866 software actually contains a trojan or whether it is a false positive (since the signature byte sequence just happens to be in there for innocent reasons) remains unknown.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TERRA Operative on December 11, 2018, 05:25:49 am
I'm looking to get one of these programmers soon.
Does anyone have a legit link to buy a genuine TL866II Plus? Or should I just hit ebay?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Willem52 on December 11, 2018, 08:20:45 am
HSEC seems to deliver genuine goods, I got my TL866CS from them:

https://hsec12345.aliexpress.com/store/group/TL866II-Plus/534941_513497334.html (https://hsec12345.aliexpress.com/store/group/TL866II-Plus/534941_513497334.html)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dwaine on December 12, 2018, 12:12:35 am
I'll check again tonight and see...

Dwaine
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: octal on December 13, 2018, 12:12:10 am
Also submit it to virustotal.com

https://www.virustotal.com/#/url/869c8e83ccf13cc659981af158fab4a1bdde50764e3e230606feebe3ef51bef1/detection (https://www.virustotal.com/#/url/869c8e83ccf13cc659981af158fab4a1bdde50764e3e230606feebe3ef51bef1/detection)


(http://)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Wiljan on December 14, 2018, 09:50:43 am
Hi, I just bought the TL866II plus programmer.

Running windows 7 64bit and have downloaded Xgpro V 8.11 from your website since the CD supplied V7.08
When starting the software say's firmware should be updated.

Choosing tool and firmware update in the Xgpro v8.11, it does report Current FW V04.2.94
Pressing "Reflash" it does are fine quick erase and the start programming ...but it takes like 1 hour and then says it succeed

But FW stays on version 04.2.94 even after restarting the program and reconnected the programmer. and then it says firmware needs update again .

I tried to update 3 times (1 hour each) and still same result.

Please advise, thank you
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Willem52 on December 14, 2018, 12:59:31 pm
Please, contact autoelectric:

http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/ContactUs.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/ContactUs.html)

This site has no relation with the autoelectric manufacturer.

Here are just users... trying to help eachother.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: shuvodutta on December 14, 2018, 08:54:42 pm
I would like add my 2Cent on this topic. This is specifically reg. the Software (Xgpro TL866-II Plus).

I’ve acquired a TL866-II Plus (from banggood.com) recently after going through this Forum and after watching Dave’s Video Review on it.

Initial Impression was good (as Dave has already described.). I’ve installed the Programming Software (Xgpro TL866-II Plus) on Win7 Virtual Box Guest (Host: Ubuntu 16.04 L.T.S., U.S.B. Passthrough enabled for Win7 Enterprise;64bit Guest and works Flawlessly with other U.S.B. Instruments connected to the Host.). Installation went smoothly and I can’t remember it asking for any ‘Special Privilege Level’ (more on it later.). It detected the Programmer with ease and Self-Check on the Device completed successfully. However the Software prompted me to Upgrade the Programmer’s Firmware for which I’ve given permission and voila it failed (erasing part went fine, programmer disconnected from the Host; probably was performing actual Writing Operation and never got connected back to the Computer)! When I’ve disconnected and reconnected (by physically removing and reattaching the U.S.B. Cable) the Programmer, the Software was able to ‘See’ it but Self-Test started failing. ‘Firmware Upgradation’ Prompt was still being displayed but will not proceed further than what has happened before. I tried using different versions of the Software (Firmware Upgrade comes bundled with it.), even on a separate WinXP Laptop but to no avail. It was same everywhere and the Software was not helpful in giving any proper ‘Error Message’. I was about to hit the road end and exhausted all available options (even started getting doubt on insufficient Power Delivery to the Programmer over U.S.B. but it was not the case.). It was kind of Brick for me.

I was sure about one point at this moment that basic ‘Boot-Code’ is still intact and working fine (as P.C. Software was able to detect it.) and most probably the ‘Upgrade Routine’ is still there. As last resort before giving up, I’ve launched the Software (which came with the Programmer, same Virtual Box Environment) with ‘Elevated Privilege’ (‘Run as Administrator’ on Win7, although my User Account is with Administrative Privileges.) and tried to Upgrade the Firmware. This time it could complete the Process Successfully, Self-Test Passed and reported Correct Firmware Version (this was not there earlier.). To be doubly sure, I’ve disconnected and reconnected the Device few more times, performed self Tests and Programmed/Read few Micro-Controllers (Atmel and PIC), everything was Rock-Solid.

This Programming Software has never asked for any ‘Elevated Privileges’ during Installation or Start-Up. U.S.B. Communication was always working as the Software could detect the Programmer every time (even when the Firmware Upgrade was failing.). It could program the devices without running it as ‘Administrator’. It only got issues when upgrading the Firmware. Without using ‘Run as Administrator’, it’s not going to work and it’s nowhere documented (I’ve gone through the User Manual provided.)!

Hope this will be helpful for someone facing the same weird issue.
 
(Please bear with me if I was being naive with Windows, I’m not a native Windows User for long time. I’ll probably settle for the Linux Software, wanted to give it a Quick Try using it’s own Software.)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on December 14, 2018, 09:20:23 pm
Here are just users... trying to help eachother.

Which might include helping Wiljan?  :-//
Strange reponse.

@Wiljan: I would recommend that you try
  - a different USB cable,
  - a different computer, and
  - a fresh download of the software.
If the error persists, something might be wrong with your TL866, and then you should contact the vendor or the manufacturer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: shuvodutta on December 15, 2018, 06:21:41 am
Hi, I just bought the TL866II plus programmer.

Running windows 7 64bit and have downloaded Xgpro V 8.11 from your website since the CD supplied V7.08
When starting the software say's firmware should be updated.

Choosing tool and firmware update in the Xgpro v8.11, it does report Current FW V04.2.94
Pressing "Reflash" it does are fine quick erase and the start programming ...but it takes like 1 hour and then says it succeed

But FW stays on version 04.2.94 even after restarting the program and reconnected the programmer. and then it says firmware needs update again .

I tried to update 3 times (1 hour each) and still same result.

Please advise, thank you

Hi,

Your Issue looks Similar to mine. Can you give it a try by launching Xgpro with 'Run as Administrator'?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Wiljan on December 15, 2018, 11:43:19 am
@ Willem52:  I'm a normal user and normal I help other users, I have already send a email to "autoelectric" but have got no answer yet.

@ shuvodutta:  The latest download of the Xgpro from the web are "XgproV811_Setup.rar" I did run on 2 different Windows7 64bit all as "Administrator" and I also did find and old Win7 32 bit PC... all same behavior: Says the FW should be updated and the current are 4.2.94
on all 3 PC's it takes like 15 sec to "erase" the programmer a the almost 1 hours to program ...  then it says are successful, apparently it's not since the same fw are still reported after a reconnect of the programmer and a restart of the software.

I also have software version 7.08 from the CD coming with the programmer, and 7.10 from the web they both claim they are to old and I should grab the latest from the the web... back to square one again.

So what version do you guys  run on the TL866II Plus Xgpro? and what FW?
How long time did it take to flash the new FW when you did it?

1 hour feels way wrong

Only thing I can think of, I do run a danish version of Windows and here the number separation are like this 1.000,00 and not 1,000.00 as the US
So lets say the timing in the programmer fails on this it might make sense

Are there any 3. party software supporting the plus model?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: supercilious on December 15, 2018, 12:55:25 pm
Choosing tool and firmware update in the Xgpro v8.11, it does report Current FW V04.2.94
Pressing "Reflash" it does are fine quick erase and the start programming ...but it takes like 1 hour and then says it succeed

I had a similar issue with my TL866II where it would hang during the flash procedure. I left it overnight but it made no progress. I tried it a couple of more times, but I never waited more than about 10 minutes on those occasions before killing it.

The "solution" turned out to be using a different USB port. On my machine, the USB 3.0 ports did not work for flashing the firmware on the programmer, even though the programmer worked fine on those same ports once flashed. I simply moved it to a USB 2.0 port and the firmware upgrade finished in seconds, and the self test succeeded. I can only assume its a bug in the driver.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Wiljan on December 16, 2018, 06:42:19 pm
Still having trouble with the TL866II Plus and the FW update

Tried different USB2 ports and also via a HUB hub.. same result
Tried with an old win xp and the driver fails to install correctly.
Tried win 10 all started as administrator.. same result.

I do have a PICkit3 so if the fw could be extracted from the "updateII.dat" file it might be possible to program the pic directly

I would like to get feedback from people out there on what version FW you do have in your programmer and what windows version you did update with

Thank you
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: supercilious on December 16, 2018, 07:55:17 pm
I do have a PICkit3 so if the fw could be extracted from the "updateII.dat" file it might be possible to program the pic directly

You might be able to get the raw firmware image by sniffing the USB traffic using Wireshark with USBPcap? That's usually my first step when reverse engineering any USB based device.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Wiljan on December 17, 2018, 05:51:27 pm
Ok some progress  :)

If I load old software says it need to use a newer version, I guess due to the FW in the programmer
The one on the webpage is 8.11 and that one will ask for upgrade of the FW in the programmer

On the http://www.xgecu.com/en/TL866_main.html (http://www.xgecu.com/en/TL866_main.html) you can see the release log on the software versions
If you open the link for the 8.11 download and change http://www.xgecu.com/MiniPro/XgproV811_Setup.rar (http://www.xgecu.com/MiniPro/XgproV811_Setup.rar) that for the version you want it's still online (very slow)

I now do have several version downloaded 7.08 (from the CD) 7.10, 7.35, 7.38, 8.00, 8.01, 8.02, 8.05, 8.08, 8.11
And the Magic one which does work with the FW 4.2.94 are 8.01  :-+

I still have no clue why the FW upgrade does not work for me..
I have listen on the USB with WireShark and can see small packet send like every 10 sec, for now I have not used any time to figure out how to make a hex file and use the PICkit3 to program the PIC.
I also have the feeling that only a part of the chip should be reprogrammed since it's doing the USB comm at the same time while reprogram itself.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: supercilious on December 17, 2018, 06:30:42 pm
And the Magic one which does work with the FW 4.2.94 are 8.01  :-+

This opens up a new avenue to get the newest firmware if you can dump the existing image from the chip you can compare it to the v8.01 files looking for those bytes. That will tell you where the image is in the newer version? That assumes the firmware isn't write-only on the chip itself.

As for the USB packets, it seems like the update process is not getting acknowledgements for its writes and waiting for a 10 second timeout before continuing. That would explain the extremely slow flash procedure and the lack of changes afterwards.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Southerner on December 17, 2018, 08:14:51 pm

 you can compare it to the v8.01 files looking for those bytes.

How do you compare the two files?  What do you use to compare the files?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: supercilious on December 17, 2018, 08:30:43 pm
Just the standard command line utilities like strings and grep and diff. Use strings to find a unique substring in the firmware dumped from the chip. Then search for it in the progam files using grep. Then diff the existing version with the new one. (Sorry for the typos, I'm on my phone)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on December 18, 2018, 01:15:13 am
How do you compare the two files?  What do you use to compare the files?

This maybe: https://www.prestosoft.com/ps.asp?page=edp_examdiff (https://www.prestosoft.com/ps.asp?page=edp_examdiff)

Or if you want to pay for something better this:
https://www.scootersoftware.com/ (https://www.scootersoftware.com/)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Wiljan on December 18, 2018, 02:56:47 pm
This opens up a new avenue to get the newest firmware if you can dump the existing image from the chip you can compare it to the v8.01 files looking for those bytes. That will tell you where the image is in the newer version? That assumes the firmware isn't write-only on the chip itself.

The microcontroller in the TL866II plus does have 100 pins and the label of the chip are removed.

If I try to connect the PICkit3 to the internal programming connection ICSP and set it for eg. PIC18F96J60 which does have 100pins and allow 3v from the PICkit3 then the LED's on the TL does start up and flicker like when USB are connected.

Asking the PICkit to read the PIC does turn off the LED and after short time  and error comes up and says the ID are equal to 0x00 and does not fit the PIC18F96J60.

Here I assume the PIC are read protected or it's not a PIC  :'(
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Wiljan on December 19, 2018, 09:31:32 am
Here is a video showing the FW update, it does only take 10 sec in total.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b_78Jx6gF4 (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7b_78Jx6gF4)

What I do see which are different from the above video is when I press "Reflash"  and it starts to Erase then immediately there comes a pop-up telling "Please reflash the firmware" like if the USB was disconnected / reconnected shortly.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Marcustv on December 31, 2018, 05:54:24 am
I have a problem with my TL866 A.
I do not read the devices.
If I try to update the software with the new version 6.85, when I run the patch (with the resistor on pin 35 as shown) I go into boot mode, but then tells me it can not flash.
If I run the self check test from the program, everything is OK, but in the GND test I get an error in No. 25
What can you depend on?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Marcustv on December 31, 2018, 06:33:42 am
These are some images of the mistakes I have

(http://)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on December 31, 2018, 01:11:27 pm
If I run the self check test from the program, everything is OK, but in the GND test I get an error in No. 25
What can you depend on?

Read this Msg from radioman:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1750487/#msg1750487 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1750487/#msg1750487)

This solves your Problem.
It seems you have a short in the GND20 Pin.

Regards
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Marcustv on January 01, 2019, 10:00:53 am
Thanks James38, I revovd and checked Q7, it was good, the problem was the resistance R26 that was open.
Now the error No. 25 no longer appears, unfortunately if I read an eeprom I always see the values shown in the figure "read error", and if I write it remains the problem that I had even before you see file "write error".
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rope on January 01, 2019, 04:29:45 pm
Try another 24C02, or 24XX .
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Marcustv on January 02, 2019, 05:48:27 am
Try another 24C02, or 24XX .

I saw that even without any eeprom if I make a reading the programmer always shows me the same data.
The thing is very strange
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: qrti on January 02, 2019, 08:22:51 am
After saving my original TL866A (thank you radioman) and a 100 ohm resistor (thank you Georg Simon), now using the programmer again, I was remembered of some lacks and misshaped concepts of the enclosed software.

(points may only be valid for various Atmel AVR-chips)

1. 'device/erase' or 'erase before' erases flash and sets fuses to their default value
   this is confusing non standard behavior
   erasing should only erase the flash   

2. in the 'chip program' dialog you have to check 'Con.FUSE Bit'* for programming the flash
   otherwise fuses are set to their default value
   this is a consequence of point 1.

3. programming out of the buffer
   every software change forces to reload the buffer manually
   costs a lot of (boring) clicks when developing and testing
   a function to program right from a hex or bin file would be appreciated

4. the 'chip program' dialog opens with all options checked when a project is loaded
   seems like an error, should be fixed
   (with no project loaded this dialog remembers options)


* 'Con.FUSE Bit' this label seems to say it ;)


(a copy of this post was sent to autoelectric.cn)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rauloliv on January 03, 2019, 09:55:22 am
Hello,

I need to copy a PIC16C54(C), i'm struggling with it and i don't have any experience with PIC programing.

Can anyone please check if it can be copied to a new one?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Marcustv on January 04, 2019, 07:55:34 am
I finally managed to solve the problem of not reading and writing EEPROM.
I have re-programmed the TL866 by performing the indicated procedure and using the PICKIT2 but nothing to do.
After several attempts, I remembered a post in which another user said he had problems with his TL866 and for this he had returned to use version 6.71 of the program.
I reloaded the 6.71 and the programmer resumed working properly by reading and writing the EEPROM correctly.
I hope this can be useful for other users
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: djomano on January 04, 2019, 08:14:08 pm
hello all
i have some problem like many people here ... i have a minipro tl866cs and i convert here before to tl866a to suport many models
but today i have a problem when i follow method radioman

(https://serving.photos.photobox.com/326356011ef110761b13c0861aa45ec4a1e43b1547f018f8c00d00a6b07b4101caef2297.jpg)

what mean this pic !!!!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 04, 2019, 09:55:10 pm
I dont know exactly what you want to know?

This Pic shows the advantage section if you want to make your Tl866CS to an A version or vicy versa. (Bootloader section)
when you have load the Firmware dumper.

You can further more change the device code and the serial number. (dont use it unless you have problems with serialnumber)
Only use clone serialnumber if there are zerofilled.
It also tells you that at this momet if somethings goes wrong you can brick your device (power lost or someting else).

Normaly you will use only the Write Button in the Bootloader Section.
All the others are additional methods that should only be used in some situations.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: djomano on January 05, 2019, 12:16:07 am
The problem isnwhen i update my device to 6.8xx i see messgae serial pirate and i cant use it
So how i can fix serial and convert to tl688a safety if i cn
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 05, 2019, 02:44:59 am
Be sure you have the latest firmware updater from radioman.
This one will generate compliant serial numbers.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1716014/#msg1716014 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1716014/#msg1716014)

When you are in the advanced section go to edit.
A new window comes up with two buttons called random.
Use the random button under serial and generate a new one.

Hope it helps


Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: djomano on January 05, 2019, 09:45:00 am
after i follow this steps no serial too :

(https://serving.photos.photobox.com/82249870f33a4af4dc8d744b61879a065803b51bcbf4db9e7c9415276fe6f027482c77de.jpg)

i need latest firmware updater to donload it because i ca
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 05, 2019, 03:03:33 pm
It seems something you're doing wrong here.

The Steps from radioman in Post 1257 are the following:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1704092/#msg1704092 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1704092/#msg1704092)

> 1. Browse for update.dat file (any version is good including the new 6.80, 6.81 and 6.82)
> 2.Select the firmware dumper and click reflash.
> 3.After reflash click the advanced button
> 4.Now pay attention: if the copy protection checkbox is unchecked please check this and click write button.
> If the copy protection checkbox is checked leave it alone.
> This is important if you leave the copy protect bit unchecked then the new firmware will disable the bootmode, so beware!
> 5.Serial number and device code section.
Just click the write button in the serial number section. This will rewrite the same serial with the correct checksum.
>  This was a flaw in my reencrypted serial. A single byte checksum was wrong and the autoelectric discovered this after five years! good. I like this.
> 6.Close the advanced window, check the TL866A firmware and click reflash again.
> Now the new firmware is ready.

In Step 5 you must generate a new Serial. Have a look on the device code. This must be also filled. If not generate a new one too.
Dont forget to click the Write button under this section! If you dont do this no new serial will be written to the programmer.
I know there are several write buttons but the only important Button is the Write button under the Serial number and device code section.

When you still have no results please tell us exactly what you do so we can see where the mistake is.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: djomano on January 05, 2019, 04:03:02 pm
i try that but some problem
now i am in 6.71 firmware and it is work like that :

(https://serving.photos.photobox.com/3809222464473e9b26f839602add7021ae61a32c422b1b5c38080dad38983e63e4dc7155.jpg)

but if i try to update to 6.8xx i see the problelm so what i do :

1- run tl866.exe  octobre 2015 version

2- chose firmware dumper and file update.date for 6.82 version

3- click reflash 4- and after message ok 5- click tl866a firmware 6- after message ok i run minipro exe and the message error the serial pirate bla bla bla

so what is problem friends ....
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on January 05, 2019, 04:47:21 pm
1- run tl866.exe  octobre 2015 version

so what is problem friends ....

I believe you are running an outdated version of the firmware updater (tl866.exe).

The original tl866.exe did nor generate correct serial numbers, and Autoelectric (the manufacturer of the TL866) did eventually notice that and check for the correct serial number format. Radioman has posted a new updater here:

https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1713203/#msg1713203 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1713203/#msg1713203)

EDIT: It seems that the post which james38 aready linked to above contains the same (newer) tl866.exe. How did you end up with the 2015 version? Please be sure to follow the provided instructions carefully.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: djomano on January 05, 2019, 05:09:10 pm
i cant download from this lien :

(https://i.imgur.com/SNvzHRO.png)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: PA0PBZ on January 05, 2019, 05:13:53 pm
i cant download from this lien :

There is a download button on the top right of the window.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 05, 2019, 05:38:14 pm
Its a drop down Button as PaoBPZ said.
Use then "direct download".

You will then get a Zip-File for download.
When you start tl866.exe pay attention that the title of the windowbox has the Version V2.5.
As far as I know this was the latest version from radioman.
Only this version works to generate compliant serial numbers.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: djomano on January 05, 2019, 06:40:08 pm
thanks friends so the problem in version updater  ...

now i fix 6.8xx problem with version 2.5 updater ....

now i run 6.82 and all thing work perfectly but serial like that  '?!!' is normaly ???

(https://i.ibb.co/g3Hb7wM/itre.jpg)

and can i update to version 6.85 safety now ??

thanks more time friends
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 05, 2019, 08:51:54 pm
What do you mean with serial ?!!
There should be only to see valid alphanumeric numbers (A-Z 0-9) not signs like ?!!

When you start the tl866 what do you see on the botom section.

You shoud see something like this (firmware is for V6.85):

Device version: TL866CS
Device status: Normal working mode.
Device code: 93165131
Serial number: E3513ADD389179C142BED399
Firmware version: 3.2.86

What do you see under "Device code" and "Serial number"?
When you go to Firmware Section (click the Tab -> Firmware) and then press "Clone" what do you see here?
Its not normal but it seems you dont generated a new Serial number isn't it?
As you have proceeded the flash process do you registered that the fields in device code and serialnumer are filled with valid values?
If not you now have a correct checksum but with an serialnumber wich contains confused signs somehow.

It woulde be very helpfull for us when you could tell us step by step what you have done.
In this case i dont know why you have not a valid number there.
Maybe you missed a step somewhere.
If you dont generate a new serial number the updater takes the old one. When this one is garbage you have also a garbage number.

The V6.85 is ok. I have them running without problems.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: djomano on January 06, 2019, 12:34:54 am
I dont see any alphanumeric in serial number just this symbols : ?!!

Like picture i post here before this is it

(https://serving.photos.photobox.com/3809222464473e9b26f839602add7021ae61a32c422b1b5c38080dad38983e63e4dc7155.jpg)

And if any one can creer a video tutorial for this steps to help us ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 06, 2019, 02:35:29 am
I mean the tl866.exe you have downloaded (Firmwareupdater v2.5).
Not the Programming Software.

And please answer the questions I wrote.
Here the questions again:

1.) What do you see under "Device code" and "Serial number"?
2.) When you go to Firmware Section (click the Tab -> Firmware) and then press "Clone" what do you see here?
3.) As you have proceeded the flash process do you registered that the fields in device code and serialnumer are filled with valid values?

Its not normal but it seems you dont generated a new Serial number isn't it?
If not you now have a correct checksum but with an serialnumber wich contains confused signs somehow.

It woulde be very helpfull for us when you could tell us step by step what you have done.
In this case i dont know why you have not a valid number there.
Maybe you missed a step somewhere.

If you don't generate a new serial number the updater takes the old one.
When this one is garbage you have also a garbage number.

Please try again the flash process to change the serial number an then pay attention if device code and serial number is shown.
If NOT  or you see other values than alphanumeric in this case GENERATE NEW ONE with the Random button.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: djomano on January 06, 2019, 12:50:29 pm
no serial number friend just this

(https://i.imgur.com/UQZa2rE.png)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on January 06, 2019, 03:58:53 pm
no serial number friend just this

@djomano: Yes, we have all understood by now that your TL866 does not have a valid serial number.
That is why james38 wrote the following in his prior post:

Please try again the flash process to change the serial number an then pay attention if device code and serial number is shown.
If NOT  or you see other values than alphanumeric in this case GENERATE NEW ONE with the Random button.

Here is what you need to do:
In the dialog shown in your latest post,
 - select the "Firmware" tab,
 - click the "Edit" button,
 - in the new dialog which opens, click the "Random" buttons.

Three separate people have been very patient with you in this thread.
Please read the advice carefully and follow it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: djomano on January 06, 2019, 07:05:36 pm
first thanks for any one helps Peoples ...

second if you see my reply #1459 i try to flash my device with tl866.exe and no serial number found ...

third i try again to flash it with this vertion 2.5 ....
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on January 06, 2019, 08:01:17 pm
second if you see my reply #1459 i try to flash my device with tl866.exe and no serial number found ...

Yes, I read and understood that.

Because your TL866 has no valid serial number, you need to generate a new serial number. To do that, you use tl866.exe. Please follow the steps explained in my previous post. ("Random" button.)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 06, 2019, 08:02:36 pm
@djomano
You forgot a very important thing.

As you said:
Quote
second if you see my reply #1459 i try to flash my device with tl866.exe and no serial number found ...

And what i tell you what you have to do?

Quote
Please try again the flash process to change the serial number an then pay attention if device code and serial number is shown.
If NOT  or you see other values than alphanumeric in this case GENERATE NEW ONE with the Random button.

You said by your self there are no serial number.
Then you must genaerate a new one.

In all the mails you dont answer my questions.
Pease read all of them not the first sentence.
Answer not with only one sentence.
We want to help you but if you dont cooperate there is no chance that we can help you.

I do not want to have to write countless mails here.
Our mebmber ebastler have said it in in short words.

Quote
Please read the advice carefully and follow it.

I don't think that's very complicated.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: djomano on January 06, 2019, 09:10:48 pm
finaly i fix the problem is when i use old tl866.exe version and i dont click in random serial number and code

so i download version 2.5 tl866.exe and follow step by step what you tell me and this is the résultat

(https://i.imgur.com/MTFAEn3.png)

thanks all again ...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 06, 2019, 11:12:50 pm
Very good.
Thanks for your feedback.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on January 07, 2019, 05:16:04 am
Ahhh!  :-+

Glad you got it to work, and thank you for the summary of steps. I think it can be simplified slightly: Flashing the firmware dumper is not needed, you can go directly to flashing the TL866A software. But that doesn't matter; you have a working programmer again!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rope on January 08, 2019, 12:42:39 pm
The last Minipro is 6.85, did you try to update ? And the firmware version is 03.2.86 .
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: djomano on January 09, 2019, 04:36:49 pm
every things is fine friend :

model tl866 is "a" ... the version is 6.85 ... the firmware ver is : 03.2.86   

(https://i.imgur.com/twTHoLB.png)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rope on January 10, 2019, 09:32:15 am
 :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rope on January 11, 2019, 06:42:00 pm
About TL866IIplus, today I received one, the software is 8.11 , FW is 4.2.99  and it works fine till now. No asking for updates . W7/64
Title: ATMega32U and TL866 problem
Post by: Southerner on January 22, 2019, 08:47:08 pm
I am having trouble with a ATMega32U2.  I am using Windows 7.  The TL866 is running version 6.85 and the firmware is 3.2.86 as it should be.  I am not sure where my problem lies, whether it is a flaw in MiniPro of somewhere else.  When I select the ATMega32 device and hit "Info" it shows that the chip goes in the 40 pin zif socket...all 40 pins filled!  This is a 32 pin device!  When I select read (of a new blank ATMEga32U2 chip that is a QFN32 package in an adapter socket) I get an ID error and it can't read it.  If I tell it to program that chip with a bootloader Hex file it again shows me that the chip goes in all 40 pins of the 40 pin zif socket and if I tell it to program it again returns a "ID Error!  Check the Chip Correctly? Whether contacted good pin?"  and the box shows the same thing:
"Check ID Error!
Checked ID is: 0x FB FF FB
Wihs to continue programming, please cancel [check Device ID] option."

When I uncheck Check Device ID and tell it to program the chip I get a
"OverCurrent Protection Actions! External short circuit. IC reverse or damaged." error.

What am I running into?
A MiniPro problem?
A TL866 problem?
An Adapter problem?

Thank you.
Title: Re: ATMega32U and TL866 problem
Post by: ebastler on January 22, 2019, 09:38:23 pm
I am having trouble with a ATMega32U2.  [...]
When I select the ATMega32 device and hit "Info" it shows that the chip goes in the 40 pin zif socket...all 40 pins filled!  This is a 32 pin device! 
[...]
What am I running into?
A MiniPro problem?
A TL866 problem?
An Adapter problem?

A user problem maybe?  :P
(Or an "Atmel unfortunate part numbering" problem?)

The ATMega32 is not the same as the ATMega32U2. The former is indeed a 40 pin part. At first glance, it looks like the TL866 cannot program the latter; can't find the part number in the menu.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 22, 2019, 09:45:08 pm
As far as I can see is, that the software can not handle an ATMEGA32 in QFN32 Package.
There is no additional @TQFP32 description in the device area so it will not be supported by the software.
Only the 40pin version is supportet (AMEGA 32 L/A).
I don't believe that it will be still implemented.

The TL866 II Plus also don't yet support this package form in software version 8.11.
Maybe later.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Southerner on January 22, 2019, 09:58:35 pm
As far as I can see is, that the software can not handle an ATMEGA32 in QFN32 Package.
There is no additional @TQFP32 description in the device area so it will not be supported by the software.
Only the 40pin version is supportet (AMEGA 32 L/A).
I don't believe that it will be still implemented.

Wow.  And I thought a ATMega32 definition would include all variants of the chip!  So what can I use to program this ATMega32U...assuming I did not just make a very dead bug out of my chip?  The other programmer I have access to has a 28 pin dip but not 32 or 40 pin.  I did notice that although I have been programming ATMega328P's in 28 pin dip packages but the smt version is a QFN32 or a QLP32 smt chip and not 28 pin but 32 pin!

Thank you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 22, 2019, 10:59:36 pm
If your TL866 is the A version maybe there is a possibility to program it via ICSP.
The radio button is not greyed when you choose ATMEGA32 so it should be running.


Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on January 23, 2019, 05:31:51 am
I'll say it again: The ATMega32U2 is not the same as the ATMega32! It is also not "the same part in a different package".

Just compare the front pages of the two datasheets. The two microcontrollers have a rather different complement of peripherals. No pinout adapter or ICSP programming will work around the fact that they are not compatible.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Southerner on January 25, 2019, 12:19:29 am
I'll say it again: The ATMega32U2 is not the same as the ATMega32! It is also not "the same part in a different package".
Yes I understood that, especially after finding out the hard way!  I would have never guessed that a ATMega32U2 was a totally different family and chip than a ATMega32! That even defies logic...and yet!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Southerner on January 25, 2019, 12:29:34 am
Here: (http://proghq.org/mediawiki/images/b/bd/TL866_A_mainboard_top_scan_1200dpi.jpg)
and here (https://m.ru.aliexpress.com/item/32764469210.html?trace=wwwdetail2mobilesitedetail&productId=32764469210&productSubject=50Sets-KF2510-6Pin-Connector-Kit-Pitch-2-54mm-Right-Angle-Pin-Header-Terminal-Housing) is the connector.
I was just getting ready to install that 1x6 male header.  I had some Molex headers but turned the other way.  I pulled the pins and turned it around so the locking ramp is down like shown.  Can you tell me which way a ribbon cable needs to plug in.  I realize if it has the locking ramp then pin 1 is to the left but some cables have a single notch pointing up.  So how should cables be oriented when plugged in correctly?

Thank you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 25, 2019, 01:48:01 am
It's a little bit hard for me to understand what you really mean.

The pinout orientation on the board remains the same no matter how you install the connector.
If you look at the front of the jack, Pin1 is on the left and Pin 6 is on the far right.

My plug is made so that it can not be plugged in incorrectly.
If your plug can be plugged in in both orientations you must be carefull have a look on it.

Maybe you could explain it in detail what you mean.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on January 25, 2019, 06:39:49 am
Pin 1 is on the left; it is also indicated on the PCB by a square pad.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Willem52 on January 25, 2019, 10:26:28 am
Perhaps this might be of some help too:

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 27, 2019, 06:49:08 pm
Some Update-News of the TL866 II Plus

Last Update V8.30 with FW: 4.2.101 works fine.
No Problems (Updated on a Win7- 64 bit System)

Update-History:

Version: V8.30 Support:15458--2019.1.21
ADD: GD25B128C ACE25QC160G ACE25QC320G ACE25QC128G
FIXED:
1. It becomes more stable when programming NAND Flash.
2. PIC12F509 BIN file config format adjustment.
3. Adjust the adapter prompt interface, which is more intuitive and convenient.
4. Add the old version of Microsoft WINUSB driver to fix the problem that the driver cannot be installed on individual XP.
5. Fixed pin detection errors of some chips.
6. Fixed some other known bugs.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on January 27, 2019, 07:38:25 pm
1. It becomes more stable when programming NAND Flash.

"It's still far from stable, but more stable than before".  ::)
Title: How do you add part definitions to MiniPro?
Post by: Southerner on January 27, 2019, 08:49:37 pm
A few messages back I asked about programming a ATMega32U2.  It was pointed out that MiniPro does not support the ATMega32U series but only the ATMega32 which is not the same and not even part of the same family even though it shares a common part number with it.  Can someone tell me how hard it is to add a definition (any definition) to MiniPro?  How is a definition added?  Or can it even be added by me, the user?

Thank you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 27, 2019, 09:05:04 pm
@Southerner
You cannot add definitions.
Alle the chip-types and the programming algorithmus ist hardcoded in the Software.
There exist no custom usage to define by yourself.
No chance.

Only the developer of the software are have the ability to do this.
Since the TL866CS/A Series is EOL we will get no further updates.
It's surprising that there have been 2 more updates.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Southerner on January 27, 2019, 09:21:33 pm
You cannot add definitions.
All the chip-types and the programming algorithm is hardcoded in the Software.
There exist no custom usage to define by yourself.

Only the developer of the software are have the ability to do this.
Since the TL866CS/A Series is EOL we will get no further updates.
Are there any software alternatives to MiniPro that work with the TL866?  I found it very odd that the ATMEga32U series was missing and I assume also the ATMega16U series.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 27, 2019, 10:13:43 pm
Yes it does.
It exists an open source Software for Minipro TL866 by David Griffith

You can get it on gitlab.
https://gitlab.com/DavidGriffith/minipro/
This should be the latest aktive repository as far as i know.

There exist no Executable. Must compile it by yourself.
The Atmega32u is not in the device.h list so this Software don't yet support your Chip also.

I don't know other actual software projects than this one.

In this case you must use an other prgrammer for the ATMEGA32U2.
Mini Pro and the Plus Version can't yet do that. That's fact.

I am not familiar with the ATMEGA32U2
so i don't know an appropriate programmer you can use.

Some googeling gave me results for an ATmega32U2 USB Development Board for about 16 bucks.
Software to use is "FLIP".
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: smpsdoctor on January 29, 2019, 09:07:12 pm
Primeiro de tudo, agradeço a todos pelos esforços de todos, especialmente Radioman, e esta semana eu fiz uma atualização para a v685, ela era antigamente v682 e funcionava sem erros, meu gravador e tll866a que foi convertido pelo maldito vendedor, agora eu não pode obter o erro ... config file error .. ajuda, por favor
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 29, 2019, 09:26:12 pm
Hi SMPSdoctor,

please in english.This is the main language here in the forum.

I have translate your question via google.
As far as i can read you have successfully updated the tl866 to 6.85 with radiomans updater.
But what you mean with config error?
Please explain in detail what has happend.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: smpsdoctor on January 29, 2019, 09:43:57 pm

sorry for the bad English ... this tl866a certainly converted by the seller ... I am using at this moment to v6.71 everything ok ... serial ... so the questionable cheksun ... the error appears ... config file error e of faults when programming, grateful!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: smpsdoctor on January 29, 2019, 10:18:17 pm

every time you start the recorder software appears ... CONFIG FILE ERROR
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 29, 2019, 10:20:38 pm
I belive to understand.
I have google around and found some similar problems with config error.

It seems that the installation path for the OS has not enough rights.
You can first try it to run as Administrator and look if the error disapears.

If you use Windows 7 you should not install it on a path like C:\
The correct path should be C:\Program Files (x86)\MiniPro.

Here is a Thread with this problem.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/tl866-140318/msg1897790/#msg1897790 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/tl866-140318/msg1897790/#msg1897790)

In this case uninstall the software and install it in the correct path.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: smpsdoctor on January 29, 2019, 11:38:23 pm
James38 thank you very much, I did exactly this installation and solved the problem of the message !!!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 30, 2019, 12:16:03 am
Thanks.
I am glad that I could help you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review WITH CPLD LATTICE
Post by: leonardovenpin on February 08, 2019, 06:34:41 am
Alguien que me ayude a decirme como puedo programar un CPLD de Lattice modelo: M4A3 220-1819-5-ND Empaquetado: 44PLCC en un tl866A!!!
URGENTE!!  |O :'(
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on February 08, 2019, 07:05:15 am
MACH4 are not supported by the TL866, to my knowledge. Better stop banging your head...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kubino on February 08, 2019, 09:21:10 am
@Southerner
You cannot add definitions.
Alle the chip-types and the programming algorithmus ist hardcoded in the Software.
There exist no custom usage to define by yourself.
No chance.

If there is similar algorigthm you can add your own definitions (already tried for mega2560), however you need to use modified infoic.dll. I'm using nullsoft approach with a modified infoic.dll which could externaly load xml file. The easiest way to work on custom definitiones ;-) I can add sources to github if there is interest.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: leonardovenpin on February 08, 2019, 07:41:55 pm
At the time of programming the GAL22V10B in my tl866A it tells me to "verify error" address 2904

Did someone else happen to this? help me fix it please! |o :'(
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Willem52 on February 10, 2019, 08:27:25 am
Do you use firmware version 6.85 on the TL866? Because:

VERSION: V6.85 Support:14337--2018.10.19

ADD:    ATF20V8B
FIXED: GAL22V10B ; M95320W ; M95128W
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mykrowyre on February 16, 2019, 02:45:51 am
Hi everyone I'm super late to this party.. but I purchased a TL866CS because it would go up to 21V. Problem is, every single rom I read, shows only FF.

I have a HN482764G-4 which is a bios for a printer, but shows all FF. If I erased it in UV light for a few hours, no difference and it will not program either.

Then I have a Amtel A28C64B which is supposedly pre-programmed with the XT-IDE bios. When I read it, I get FF's again. 

I've noticed that the results are the same whether a chip is installed or the socket is completely empty. Exactly same behavior for both read and write.

What the heck is going on? I also purchased some wintel eeproms on ebay which must have been fake because I could not read or write them


I am using windows 10 with version 6.85.  I've contacted seller but there are some communication problems of course.

Thanks
Tom
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on February 16, 2019, 01:49:37 pm
Could  you tell us which firmware/software version do you use?

An empty eprom should be have FF.
Some old eproms have problems. I also have one that i can erase but on programming the verify already fails.
But this should not be on new ones.

For the A28C64B do you use the DIP Version?
If you use an adapter it could be a faulty pin connection.
If it is a dip than then this is really an odd thing.

When you said you could not Read/Write the Wintel which error message do you get here?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: crx991 on February 16, 2019, 07:02:40 pm
You can also try with a self test.
Tools > System Self-Check
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mykrowyre on February 17, 2019, 01:55:43 pm
Could  you tell us which firmware/software version do you use?

An empty eprom should be have FF.
Some old eproms have problems. I also have one that i can erase but on programming the verify already fails.
But this should not be on new ones.

For the A28C64B do you use the DIP Version?
If you use an adapter it could be a faulty pin connection.
If it is a dip than then this is really an odd thing.

When you said you could not Read/Write the Wintel which error message do you get here?

Hi thanks for the help. Firmware version is 3.2.86.  The AT28C64B is DIP 28. It's in the database, and it displays the correct number of pins in the INFO button.

Honestly I can't remember what it was doing with the Wintel fake eeproms. I think it was telling me invalid chip every time I tried to read them.  These were $1 eeproms from ebay, screen printed, and the markings on the bottom of the chips were completely different. I concluded they were fakes and tossed them in the trash.

The AT28C64B is supposed to be a pre-programmed bios which came with my XT-IDE kit so it's either empty, or my reader isn't actually reading it.

The reader does pass when I do the "Self Check".

Thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on February 17, 2019, 03:27:22 pm
Ok so it's the latest available version. That's good.

The Tl866 try to identify the Chip by Id if it provide this.
You can disable this when you disable the "Check ID" Section at the bottom.
This could help if you try to use a Chip which is not listed but have the same programming alogorythm like an other chip.

If the AT28C64B is empty you should then be able to re-programm it. But this fails as you said.
That's not normal.

I rember that i has the same situation with an 93C56N (using a TL866 II Pro)
I choose the first item in the list which chip named to 93C56 8Bit 8Pin Dip version (ACE) an gets me FF. I could read it without an error.
When I try to progam it fails with "Error! Code Adress ...."

Tried many in the list und only the NSC NM93C56 gave me a positiv result in read and programming.
The crux is when I read the chip with ACE 93C56 it gave my FF.
Changed to NM93C56 it gives the correct content.

That is very confusing.

Later I have seen 2 waves on the chip which identifies it as an NSC.
Seems that other manufacturer have different algorithm to read chips
even the Base chip name is the same. In my case 93C56.
I mean here NM93C56, ACE93C56 ...
An yes I know that the Suffix N in 93C56N could not be the same Chip as an 93C56 without the N.


Have you tried other chips in the list with the same basetypename?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mykrowyre on February 18, 2019, 01:47:47 am
Ok I went down the list and tried every single DIP with 2864 in the name.  None of them would give anything other than FF.

I reflashed it changing it from a CS to an A, and it did show up as a TL866A, but still just reading FF no matter what I do.

I also tried filling this eprom with 0x00, and nothing, it's still FF.

I am getting the feeling this programmer is defective. :P  How in the world do I prove to the seller that it's defective when it passes it's own self check?


Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Treehouseman on February 18, 2019, 02:03:46 am
It may be worthwhile at this point to make a control, either manually read out a rom to know that there is data there or use another programmer to verify contents of a chip. Alternatively you can use a chip which is known "working' like a socketed bios chip of a working computer (though keep in mind if this programmer is faulty it may damage the chip making the computer it came from unusable until a new one is flashed).

With a standard dip eprom you can just breadboard it up and use some leds and dip switches to read out the data.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on February 18, 2019, 02:42:14 am
@mykrowyre
When you program the Chip did you get a successful message or an error?
Do you see the yellow LED is blinking when programing?

Do you have any alternate Chips you can test like Treehouseman said?

I have to admit that I have not seen such behavior before.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: xoom on February 20, 2019, 04:31:29 pm
Not checked if some1 already posted but i think i can read MCU part number on my programmer :) got it today so opened up and numbers was rubbed off.. but with drop of  iso-prophyl i  can clearly see its an Microchip part and i think its PIC24FJ256. Maybe its useful info :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on February 20, 2019, 04:49:06 pm
Not checked if some1 already posted but i think i can read MCU part number on my programmer :) got it today so opened up and numbers was rubbed off.. but with drop of  iso-prophyl i  can clearly see its an Microchip part and i think its PIC24FJ256. Maybe its useful info :)

Yours must be the new "II plus" version then. The original one is based on a PIC18F87J50.

A fair bit of information on these programmers is out there already. Here's a nice compilation:
http://proghq.org/wiki/TL866 (http://proghq.org/wiki/TL866)
http://proghq.org/wiki/TL866_design (http://proghq.org/wiki/TL866_design)
http://proghq.org/wiki/TL866_II_PLUS (http://proghq.org/wiki/TL866_II_PLUS)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Wiljan on February 20, 2019, 06:52:16 pm
I have the TL866II plus and thank you for the link to thehttp://proghq.org/wiki/TL866_II_PLUS (http://proghq.org/wiki/TL866_II_PLUS) nice information on the bootloader

Regarding the PIC24FJ256GB110 I just tried to Read it out with with my PicKit3 and if does match the chip ID and does complete the read out ...unfortunately all the data are = 0x00 which mean the PIC are Read protected.

Code: [Select]
Currently loaded firmware on PICkit 3
Firmware Suite Version.....01.40.13
Firmware type..............dsPIC33F/24F/24H

Programmer to target power is enabled - VDD = 3,250000 volts.
Target device PIC24FJ256GB110 found.
Device ID Revision = 4

The following memory area(s) will be read:
program memory: start address = 0x0, end address = 0x2abf7
configuration memory

Reading...
Read complete
2019-02-20T19:34:59+0100- Read complete

I'am still on 8.01 since it loose USB connection each time I try to update the firmware
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: xoom on February 21, 2019, 08:33:03 am
is there sop44 adapter reverse engineered? :)

i also wondering if i can use software from http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/ (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/) page (8.30) as software provided with CD is 7.30 ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on February 21, 2019, 06:45:09 pm
If you mean the Attiny13 chip on the TSop48 look here.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg936055/#msg936055 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg936055/#msg936055)

About the Software. Why not?
The software on CD is very old and i believe that it will be never updated.
I have running V8.30 without problems.
Be sure you must update the Firmware at once but that procedure runs also without problems.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: leonardovenpin on February 26, 2019, 08:52:55 am
 Excuse me, does anyone know what peak-to-peak voltage I should put to program an ATF16v8B on a tl866A?  :-//
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on February 26, 2019, 10:16:59 am
Excuse me, does anyone know what peak-to-peak voltage I should put to program an ATF16v8B on a tl866A?  :-//

Why would you need to change the voltage settings? The ATF16V8B is available as a predefined part in the TL866 software, if I remember correctly. Just select it and program away!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on February 26, 2019, 07:08:20 pm
I know what he mean.

When you select the ATF16v8B you have also the ability to select a VPP voltage.
Predefined is 12,50V.

You can select then between 10.0V until 21.00V.

The Datasheed says that the programming voltage with respect to ground can be -2.0V to +14.0V
So in this case try the default with 12,5V but not over 14V.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on February 26, 2019, 07:40:47 pm
When you select the ATF16v8B you have also the ability to select a VPP voltage.
Predefined is 12,50V.

You can select then between 10.0V until 21.00V.

The Datasheed says that the programming voltage with respect to ground can be -2.0V to +14.0V
So in this case try the default with 12,5V but not over 14V.

Thank you for checking the TL866 software and the datasheet. But please note that the -2V to +14V you state are the "absolute maximum ratings", i.e. the range where you won't damage the device. Nowhere does the datasheet say that voltages in this wide range are suitable for programming. The nominal programming voltage is not stated in the datasheet.

Hence, @leonardovenpin:
Simply don't mess with the 12.5V default value! Autoelectric will either have found out the specified voltage from Atmel or other sources, or have determined it through experimentation. Why would your guess be better than theirs?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on February 26, 2019, 09:56:00 pm
Yes your are right.
This values are absolute max values.
The overshoot is +7V for pulses of less than 20 ns.
It's a little bit suspicious that in the datasheet they don't declare the correct nominal programming voltage.

Also google says nothing about the voltage.
Seems that its a very guarded secret. ;-)

I only found some Basics for general Gals like 16V8.
Put 12V on Edit to set the Gal in Programming Mode and a slight higher Voltage on the Pins for programming.

Now i am a little bit confused what is the right voltage.
So in this case 12.5V could be already to high.

Maybe I can still find some information about the right Vpp.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: oPossum on February 26, 2019, 10:15:45 pm
The programming voltage is part of the programming specification that is a separate document from the general data sheet.

Don't change the default voltages selected by the TL866.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on February 26, 2019, 10:30:22 pm
The programming voltage is part of the programming specification that is a separate document from the general data sheet.

Which, in this case, is another way of saying it's a well-kept secret.  ;)

Thank you for repeating that one should not fiddle with the programming voltage pre-set by the TL866. I did not dare repeating it a third time... I can certainly confirm the the default value of 12.5V worked well for me; although 12.0V would probably work just as well. (If the TL866 even offers that value?)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on February 26, 2019, 10:41:02 pm
The next lower Vpp is 10.00V (it is also the lowest Value you can select).
The next higher is 13.50V from the predefined 12.5V
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: leonardovenpin on February 28, 2019, 09:09:34 pm
What happens is that when I do a combinational circuit (which does not require a clock), I program it well tl866 but when I want to program a sequential circuit (which uses a clock), the PLD does not work and I simulate it in a diagram time of the same software (ispLEVER Classic) and it works.
So I simulate it in Proteus using the JEDEC file and it works.

and I thought it was because of the "VPP", which in the case of combinational circuits only works with 10Vpp.

help me solve it! : '(

I do not know if I have to see that the algorithm to use the GAL16V8D clock is not the same as that of ATF16V8B
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on February 28, 2019, 10:29:24 pm
I am note sure I fully understand. Could you please clarify the following?

I thought it was because of the "VPP", which in the case of combinational circuits only works with 10Vpp.

Do you mean that the TL866 software sets a different VPP when you program a GAL in combinatorial vs. registered (clocked) mode?! That can't be; the voltage setting is not influenced by the content of the JEDEC file, right?

Quote
I do not know if I have to see that the algorithm to use the GAL16V8D clock is not the same as that of ATF16V8B

From your prior post, I assumed that you are programming an ATF16V8B, and are using the ATF16V8B setting in the TL866 software. Is that right? If so, what does the 16V8D have to do with it?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: leonardovenpin on February 28, 2019, 11:13:37 pm
What happens that I use
  "ispLEVER Classic" to do the vhdl thing, and it asks me which device I'm going to use, and it only gives me to choose from the GAL family, which is obvious because the software is from Lattice, so, according to me, I select the more similar (GAL16V8D) to my device (ATF16V8B).

When I make a circuit that does not require "Flip Flops", it works well when programming it with the tl866A, but when I use the Flip Flops it does not work anymore.

for example:
- an adder works
- a multiplexer works
- a decoder works
- a Flip Flop type D, JK, RS or T does not work
- a counter does not work

and it is that the software puts me automatic in port one for the clock, but it does not work when programming it, but in the simulators that I mention, yes.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on February 28, 2019, 11:24:53 pm
The ATF16V8 should be logically equivalent to the Lattice 16V8, so the generated JEDEC file should be directly compatible. And I am pretty sure that your problem has nothing to do with the programming voltage either, if things work fine in combinatorial mode.

So it could be some error in your VHDL, and/or a mismatch of the boundary conditions between the simulation vs. real world. Difficult to diagnose remotely... A few ideas come to mind:

- Do you have a clean supply voltage in your real-world test?
- Do you have a 100nF capacitor across Gnd and Vcc?
- Do you have a clean CLK signal?
- Have you grounded the /OE pin (pin 11)?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: leonardovenpin on March 01, 2019, 01:40:46 am
I used an NE555 as a clock, I use a steren source and I have it at 5V, should I put a capacitor between the power terminals, should I put EO on the ground?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on March 01, 2019, 01:49:24 am
should I put EO on the ground?

In GAL registered mode, all outputs operate in tristate mode, and all are controlled by a common output enable.

So yes, the /OE input on pin 11 needs to be pulled to GND, otherwise the outputs will remain in high impedance state.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: leonardovenpin on March 01, 2019, 01:55:55 am
When to use the watch, then, in automatic it is put in pin 11 as port as OE?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on March 01, 2019, 02:15:35 am
When to use the watch, then, in automatic it is put in pin 11 as port as OE?

Sorry, I am not sure I understand that sentence. In registered mode of the GAL, pin 11 is always configured as /OE. It’s described in the datasheet.

(By the way: Note the / character which I keep writing, and you keep omitting. It means that the signal is „active low“.)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: texaspyro on March 01, 2019, 02:32:09 am
The ATF16V8 should be logically equivalent to the Lattice 16V8, so the generated JEDEC file should be directly compatible.

Not necessarily...   when I was using GALs, ages ago,  I  ran into some issues where various makers of GALs did not have compatible fuse maps.   You could not program BrandX's devices with BrandY's JEDEC file.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: leonardovenpin on March 01, 2019, 07:59:33 pm
hank you very much friend, that was the problem, the output was disabled, by the way, if I understood your reference, I know that / OE was that the entry was "denied", nothing more than I always represent it in text like this: (OE)' hehe  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on March 01, 2019, 08:07:13 pm
Thank you for the feedback, Leonardo -- glad you got it to work!
(And glad we could confirm that the TL866 handles ATF16V8 GALs nicely, simply using the default settings!)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on March 01, 2019, 10:51:41 pm
The ATF16V8 should be logically equivalent to the Lattice 16V8, so the generated JEDEC file should be directly compatible.

Not necessarily...   when I was using GALs, ages ago,  I  ran into some issues where various makers of GALs did not have compatible fuse maps.   You could not program BrandX's devices with BrandY's JEDEC file.
I've never seen that, but maybe that can happen on larger more complex GALs.

You can of course have a function in a circuit that can be implemented in either a PAL or a GAL and then there will need to be different JEDEC files, one for the PAL version and a bigger one for the GAL version.

Sent from my SM-N9005 using Tapatalk

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ChrisG on March 03, 2019, 12:07:50 pm
Hi Radioman, I'm stuck after re-applying your instructions twice. I did convert my original (by the looks of the images etc) from CS to A a long time ago. Perhaps I'm doing things wrong and my update.dat file is not the right one? How can I check this or get a good one? The result I have so far is that when using the V6.85 software it immediately says to reflash, which it claims is successful, but does not I believe.
One silly question I do have what bootmode on this device is. I did solder the resistor and was able to flash (according to the success messages)

I've added the screenshots in a pdf document.


p.s.: I did read the Djomano super clear pictorial instructions once more and went to flash as a TL866A but constantly get the message upon plugging in or starting minipro 6.85v to go to : Main Menu -> Tools -> Flash Firmware

Appreciate the help on trying to identify where I'm going wrong. Again I have no idea on my update.dat file version
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: landsfiskalen on March 03, 2019, 01:13:51 pm
Hi,
I also did the firmware conversion from CS to A a few years ago. And when I tried to install v6.85 of the software it told me it was a converted CS bla bla bla, and refused to start. So i tried radiomans guide of reflashing the firmware. I soldered the resistor and managed to get the Firmware updater running (v2.51), I did all the steps and flashed it with the 6.82 update.dat file. It looked like everything went ok, and I didn't get any errors. But when I tried to start the v6.82 software I got a "IC List Dll file error!" and it refuses to start. So I thought I'd do it all over again. So I soldered back the resistor and tried to get it back into bootloader mode. But now Firmware updater won't find my device, it just says "0 devices connected". So I tried once more, but with the same result. Any ideas on what to try next? Any help is greatly appreciated.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ChrisG on March 04, 2019, 12:18:11 pm
Hi,
I also did the firmware conversion from CS to A a few years ago. And when I tried to install v6.85 of the software it told me it was a converted CS bla bla bla, and refused to start. So i tried radiomans guide of reflashing the firmware. I soldered the resistor and managed to get the Firmware updater running (v2.51), I did all the steps and flashed it with the 6.82 update.dat file. It looked like everything went ok, and I didn't get any errors. But when I tried to start the v6.82 software I got a "IC List Dll file error!" and it refuses to start. So I thought I'd do it all over again. So I soldered back the resistor and tried to get it back into bootloader mode. But now Firmware updater won't find my device, it just says "0 devices connected". So I tried once more, but with the same result. Any ideas on what to try next? Any help is greatly appreciated.

How do you know which update.dat file you have. How can I find this out? I have a file from 2017 and no clue which version or how to determine this.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: landsfiskalen on March 04, 2019, 10:16:00 pm
I downloaded the 6.82 installation rar file, then extracted it. That gives you the setup file, which can also be extracted. And in that folder is the Update.dat file. :)

Hi,
I also did the firmware conversion from CS to A a few years ago. And when I tried to install v6.85 of the software it told me it was a converted CS bla bla bla, and refused to start. So i tried radiomans guide of reflashing the firmware. I soldered the resistor and managed to get the Firmware updater running (v2.51), I did all the steps and flashed it with the 6.82 update.dat file. It looked like everything went ok, and I didn't get any errors. But when I tried to start the v6.82 software I got a "IC List Dll file error!" and it refuses to start. So I thought I'd do it all over again. So I soldered back the resistor and tried to get it back into bootloader mode. But now Firmware updater won't find my device, it just says "0 devices connected". So I tried once more, but with the same result. Any ideas on what to try next? Any help is greatly appreciated.

How do you know which update.dat file you have. How can I find this out? I have a file from 2017 and no clue which version or how to determine this.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ChrisG on March 05, 2019, 07:11:13 am
Hi all, I think I resolved by now. After a 4th attempt and then still updating it after the "Menu -> Tools -> Update Firuware"  message. One question I do have is if you guys think that the logic IC testing is a reliable test by this TL866?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: xoom on March 06, 2019, 07:49:48 pm
Can someone help me with post #594
I just need someone who have a original adapter PSOP44 just to copy me a wire connection

I believe this is correct:
Code: [Select]
Socket Flash Flash Socket
1 36 1 16
2 35 2 15
3 38 3 18
4 37 4 17
5 40 5 20
6 39 6 19
7 43 7 22
8 41 8 21
9 n/c 9 24
10 n/c 10 23
11 44 11 25
12 43 12 26
13 n/c 13 27
14 n/c 14 28
15 2 15 29
16 1 16 30
17 4 17 31
18 3 18 32
19 6 19 33
20 5 20 34
21 8 21 35
22 7 22 36
23 10 23 37
24 9 24 38
25 11 25 39
26 12 26 40
27 13 27 41
28 14 28 42
29 15 29 43
30 16 30 44
31 17 31 45
32 18 32 46
33 19 33 47
34 20 34 48
35 21 35 2
36 22 36 1
37 23 37 4
38 24 38 3
39 25 39 6
40 26 40 5
41 27 41 8
42 28 43 7
43 29 43 12
44 30 44 11
45 31 n/c 9
46 32 n/c 10
47 33 n/c 13
48 34 n/c 14

Hi, i found this entry from older posts.. but bit not sure how its all written here.. im bit confused about pin 2 on socket that have to go to pin 35 on flash.. as on adapter i have looks like pin 2 on socket is unconnected..
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: xoom on March 06, 2019, 08:34:02 pm
Yep. It's Fixed.. :) PIN2 was not connected to Flash PIN35
(https://i.imgur.com/WrU1Ni4.jpg)

(https://i.imgur.com/fEtvcu6.jpg)

Reads now every time same content.. Programs also everytime ;)
Sorry if i'm double posting it :)

Thanks goes to tsmith35 and everybody involved in this thread :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: 5OCIAL_5Y5T3M on March 09, 2019, 09:47:00 pm
Hi, I still have problems with my TL866-A.

It was working fine with v6.60 but now I upgraded to 6.85 and it tells me it's a convertet CS version which is not true.
So I tried the fix from radioman, but so far I was not succesfull.

I soldered the resistor to my original A version which puts it into boot mode.
Radiomans Firmwareupdater 2.51 is recognicing my device.
I tried to write the firmware direcly as well as using the firmware dumper.
I tried version 6.60, 6.71, 6.82 and 6.85, nothing worked so far.
It is always erasing and writing but immediately after writing a "reset failed" appears.

https://www.bilder-upload.eu/bild-341813-1552167846.png.html (https://www.bilder-upload.eu/bild-341813-1552167846.png.html)

Also the MiniPro software is telling me that the version is 0 or no device.
When trying to flash firmware with MiniPro software it's also telling me a "reset fail" message.

Is there any fix for that?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 10, 2019, 08:05:55 pm
I soldered the resistor to my original A version which puts it into boot mode.

It is always erasing and writing but immediately after writing a "reset failed" appears.

Is there any fix for that?
That resistor is still soldered? if yes you must remove it because the programmer cannot enter the normal mode. It will reset to boot mode again and again thus giving that reset failed message.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: 5OCIAL_5Y5T3M on March 14, 2019, 10:04:04 am
Thanks radioman, that was the issue.

I was able to restore it with the firmware dumper, but after using it
I was not able to flash the normal firmware from the update.dat.
Anyways it's reading and writing chips again and they also work.

The only remaining problem is that it disconnects when flashing (typical usb disconnect windows sound).
Also the TL866 ist often not recogniced and I have to install the USB drivers over and over again.
Then at some point the software recognices the device and I can use it again.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Willem52 on March 15, 2019, 08:41:49 am
Did you try another USB port and/or another USB cable already?
You could check if this behaviour also exists on another system.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 15, 2019, 10:46:24 pm
The only remaining problem is that it disconnects when flashing (typical usb disconnect windows sound).
Also the TL866 ist often not recogniced and I have to install the USB drivers over and over again.
Then at some point the software recognices the device and I can use it again.
Most likely this is a usb issue, probably not enough current available on that usb port or else. Like the @Willem52 said please  try it again on another computer/os.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Gods on March 18, 2019, 08:21:07 am
Hi,
I've updated my genuine TL866A from 6.80 to 6.85 FW and it say that my TL866A is a nodded tl866CS  :(. I know my programmer is original. Using the Radioman software it say that a have a bad serial checksun. Using the write serial function with my own serial number and reflash with tl866a FW ( and 6.80 update.dat) .It worked ! Checksun fixed without the need to open the unit. Thanks Radioman.
One question, is the HEX file generated complete (with bootloader) for programming in ISP with Pickit3 ?
Thanks, and sorry for my bad english.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 18, 2019, 09:33:56 am
Yes the generated hex file is complete, you can program your  device with pickit3 if you need that.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Gods on March 18, 2019, 12:58:50 pm
OK. Thanks.  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on March 26, 2019, 11:17:05 pm
New Version V8.33 for TL866 II PLus available.
Installed and flashed to Firmware Version 4.2.103 without Problems.


Version: V8.33 Support:15466--2019.3.25
ADD: PIC18F1220 @DIP18 PIC18F1220 @SOIC18
PIC18F1220 @SSOP20 PIC18F1320 @DIP18
PIC18F1320 @SOIC18 PIC18F1320 @SSOP20
PIC18LF1220 @DIP18 PIC18LF1220 @SOIC18
PIC18LF1220 @SSOP20 PIC18LF1320 @DIP18
PIC18LF1320 @SOIC18 PIC18LF1320 @SSOP20
FIXED:
1. SST89E516RD2 algorithm.
2. GD25Q32C/64C/128C status register.
3.Fixed some other known bugs.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: MindFlare on March 31, 2019, 04:49:09 am
Hi Radioman. A question for you, please... I have a TL866CS that was converted to an A successfully about a year ago. I recently installed the Programmer software v6.85 on a new computer and foolishly let the software do a firmware update --- I got the nag window. I performed the bootloader mode trick using a resistor (resistor is removed after power up) and reflashed with your latest TL866.exe v2.51 to get everything working as an A again.


However:
1. If I click Reset in your software I get the "Reset Error" — that never used to happen (see attached screen shot)
2. I can no longer read or write any ICs (EPROMS, in my case) — when reading any EPROM, whether blank or previously written to, the programmer software shows a specific block of data (see attached screen shot), and that exact block of data repeats every so often throughout the address range


I have tried flashing back to my original CS firmware (latest v3.2.86) but the problem persists.


Any assistance would be greatly appreciated.


Thanks.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 31, 2019, 11:17:32 am
Hi MindFlare and welcome to the forum! You have this issue because you forgot something! You forgot to write-protect your controller. The last 6.8x version will check for CP0 bit of the PIC18F87J50 controller from your TL866 and if found unset will disable the bootmode (hence that reset error) and block the device by spitting out that funny data block that you see.

In fact that funny data block was everything i needed to do my analysis! This 80bytes block it's the internal decrypted serial number data block (this block is stored in an encrypted format internally at the 0x1FD00 address). When the firmware detects the CP0 bit unset then will spit out this block instead of normal data. I don't know if this is by design (for debug purpose) or a firmware bug.
Anyway this block is ok. This serial numberblock has a cyclic redundancy check (CRC16) inserted at the end of the block (the last two bytes 31 45) of the first 78 bytes and a simple 8 bit checksum of all bytes from offset 5 to 33:
Code: [Select]
39 38 34 39 46 38 37 36 34 33 42 30 32 39 37 35 45 41 46 41 39 32 35 39 33 32 32 01 36The 8bit checksum of those bytes is 0x2D which is inserted at the offset 34.
The device code and serial number are ok as well.

You must force the boot mode again with that resistor, which btw there's no need to solder it; just keep the resistor leads still at the indicated points while inserting the usb cable. Once the programmer has entered boot mode remove the resistor (keep the firmware updater open to see if the programmer is entering boot mode).

After that you must tick the code protection bit and click the write button next to it (see the attached image). This will set the CP0 bit of the PIC from the programmer. Of course in your case select the A bootloader and click the write button next to this option to change to A version.
Finally close this advanced window, select A firmware from the main window and click reflash to flash the normal firmware version. That's all! good luck and please report back!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: MindFlare on March 31, 2019, 12:01:52 pm
Ah, I understand now. Thanks you for the very quick and thorough response, and thanks for the great work and support. This is greatly appreciated.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: szoftveres on April 09, 2019, 10:10:50 pm
Is there a current distributor that is known to sell genuine (not counterfeit) TL866 programmers and accepts PayPal? Can you insert a link please? Thanks!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: vsmlibs on April 09, 2019, 11:04:24 pm
HI Radioman

i have an original tl866CS  that i added a header too and made type A i think a long time ago
on the reverse is a serial number bar code its 10 digits

ive never tried to read this  ill try to find an app for my phone
does this tally with anything??

perhaps the protection routine has a componet from this long code

and can i thankyou
many happy project over 6 wires happy days
and can i add im glad you made this very usefull  and skillfully made great BEre-engineer tool
screw the chinese   a 6 pin header   was it worth it too them too do this
the pice of the A version was terrible !! 
i would have happily payed $150  for a TL866 programmer  no a no CS 
all the tooling they had too do and megeffort  and the added bloat
and protections
not worth it
if you buy a dataman what you get is perfect  sometime but works ok
most usb is rubbish
so  yes copy the chinese for sure and crack them and patch them
there engineering skills in software are ok at best
i respect your motive for making the unit utility tool

i mean if they had published the last version they made sources
we could add echo parallel to serial stream over a small i/o group
many more ics etc etc
and fixed a few of the eproms 27c1001  some dont work right
i traced a fault to a nibble order issue {i think}
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on April 10, 2019, 04:13:50 am
Is there a current distributor that is known to sell genuine (not counterfeit) TL866 programmers and accepts PayPal? Can you insert a link please? Thanks!

If you are specifically asking about the original TL866 programmer, then the answer is probably "no". The original model has been discontinued for quite  while now, and the manufacturer points out on their website that all non-plus version still being offered are probably fakes: http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/tl866_main.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/tl866_main.html)

On the other hand, if you are interested in the current TL866 II plus -- have there been any reports of counterfeits at all for this new model? It seems that Autoelectric went to some length to make it more difficult to clone this one.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: szoftveres on April 11, 2019, 09:08:49 pm
Quote
current TL866 II plus -- It seems that Autoelectric went to some length to make it more difficult to clone this one.
Thanks, I was not aware of this. Just wanted to make sure that whatever I buy won't give nasty surprises. Bought a II plus from eBay.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: nus on April 14, 2019, 06:42:26 pm
how do i find out what the error codes mean.
is there a way to use this for data recovery from USB drives. those resolut ones are really expensive.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on April 14, 2019, 06:46:04 pm
how do i find out what the error codes mean.

There is no "error code" shown in the screenshot you have attached. The message tells you that, in CODE memory at address 0x01, the programmer wanted to write a 0x50 (from its memory buffer), but the EEPROM read back a 0xFF.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: nus on April 15, 2019, 07:06:54 am
ah right, so that's a message from the verify, it only program fragments of info. Anyone have any ideas on what to do, is this bad chips. Also is there a way to manualy set the voltage, im fairly sure the 2816 just programs at 5v. I cant even try my 2716, bastards sent me a tl866ii plus and i needed the cs for 21v.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on April 15, 2019, 08:57:04 am
I don't have personal experience with the "plus" version; my old TL866 programs the AT28C16 just fine. You do have an actual Atmel/Microchip chip there, right? If so, a bad chip seems like
a plausible explanation.

What makes you think that the programmer gets the voltage wrong and that you need to set it manually? The AT28C16 is written with 5V, but needs 12V to erase, to my knowledge. If the software says something about 12V in a dialog, I would assume that it refers to the erasing voltage.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: nus on April 15, 2019, 10:07:21 am
It says atmel on itand at28c16, but it came from china. I have 2 they both do the same thing.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: nus on April 15, 2019, 10:13:16 am
The lthe chip says at28c16-15pu. at work now, maybe it was the wrong ic select ill check later.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eduardopupucon on April 29, 2019, 12:31:23 am
hey can someone help me out please? i am completely perplexed and i don't know what to do, i have an original TL866 but when i installed the software on my vm(i'm using linux) and ran it i get this message:

 (https://i.imgur.com/aqpo7p6.png)

however my device is completley original, heres a pic proving that it's an original one:

(https://i.imgur.com/nhVK5tj.jpg)

(sorry for the crappy quality i took this image with my webcam but you can see it's the original box and the exact same thing as the original one)

the worst part is that i tried to test it on the open source linux version (i installed that one because i wanted to have a nice GUI) and it looks like my minipro is completely bricked, i can't do anything!

sorry if the images are too large, it's been a long time since i used forums and i can't remember how to format them to a smaller size, this is my first post on this forum i made it just to answer this question
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on April 29, 2019, 12:51:24 am
hey can someone help me out please? i am completely perplexed and i don't know what to do, i have an original TL866 but when i installed the software on my vm(i'm using linux) and ran it i get this message:

You can follow these instructions to unbrick it: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1689620/#msg1689620 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1689620/#msg1689620)

The manufacturer later changed their firmware to not brick the device, instead just showing a warning. They were accidentally bricking legit devices. Go figure.

If you don't have ICSP available, you can try the resistor trick: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1690301/#msg1690301 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1690301/#msg1690301)

More info on the resistor: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1690985/#msg1690985 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1690985/#msg1690985)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on April 29, 2019, 12:52:55 am
Hi eduardo and welcome to the forum!
Sorry to say but your device is not original or the firmware was changed. Anyway that message says truth! you have a bad serial code. I sugest you to read this topic starting from page 51. If you read carefully you will  find valuable information and i assure you that your issue will be fixed.
If you don't understand what to do please reply here; i will guide you step by step.
Good luck!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eduardopupucon on April 29, 2019, 12:59:34 am
Hi eduardo and welcome to the forum!
Sorry to say but your device is not original or the firmware was changed. Anyway that message says truth! you have a bad serial code. I sugest you to read this topic starting from page 51. If you read carefully you will  find valuable information and i assure you that your issue will be fixed.
If you don't understand what to do please reply here; i will guide you step by step.
Good luck!

i know it's hard to see with my crappy webcam image, but i looked at the minipro with that reference from their website and i saw that everything seemed to be correct, this device had the "pow" and "run" text, it had the second board visible on those identations, the back is the same and the box is the same, i'm pretty certain that it's an original one, but i'll try to reflash it.

however, i have a question, i don't have a 100ohm resistor the minimum one i have is 460 ohms, is it going to work finely?

and after i reflash it how am i going to be able to use it with the minipro software? do i need to download an older version or just not update the firmware?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eduardopupucon on April 29, 2019, 01:06:38 am
sorry for doubleposting but heres some images of my programmer with better resolution that i took with my phone
https://imgur.com/a/58zDdXW
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on April 29, 2019, 01:14:59 am
however, i have a question, i don't have a 100ohm resistor the minimum one i have is 460 ohms, is it going to work finely?

If you have two 460 ohm resistors, you can run them in parallel and have 230 ohms or three in parallel will yield 153 ohms.

and after i reflash it how am i going to be able to use it with the minipro software? do i need to download an older version or just not update the firmware?

Just use the older version of software and firmware. Or you can use v6.81 or newer and just ignore the warning message it pops up each time.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on April 29, 2019, 01:21:19 am
The 460ohm should be fine but i never tried with such value.
Don't  solder that resistor. just keep the terminals still in the indicated points and insert the usb cable. The device should enter in bootloader mode. After you download my firmware updater you'll need to flash a so called firmware dumper. This will allow you to make changes to the serial code. If you fix this problem you can use any software version you want. First download my firmware updater (the download link is in the page 51) and run it. You'll see if you have a bad serial code.
On the other hand your device can be original no doubt but the seller perhaps altered the firmware to upgrade from cs to a. If you want send me the device and serial code and I'll check for correct crc.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eduardopupucon on April 29, 2019, 01:33:18 am
oh sorry i didn't see your message radioman, i'll download your updater and see if it's a bad serial code
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eduardopupucon on April 29, 2019, 01:39:20 am
i ran your program and i got this message:

"Device version: TL866A
Device status: Normal working mode.
Device code: 36892516
Serial number: A44A2B9A1284B0387D996406
Firmware version: 3.2.86
Bad serial."
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eduardopupucon on April 29, 2019, 01:48:45 am
i noticed that i need a .dat file to update my firmware, where can i find an older firmware to download? according to the updater it got into boot mode after i pressed reset without needing to add the resistors.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eduardopupucon on April 29, 2019, 02:16:28 am
The 460ohm should be fine but i never tried with such value.
Don't  solder that resistor. just keep the terminals still in the indicated points and insert the usb cable. The device should enter in bootloader mode. After you download my firmware updater you'll need to flash a so called firmware dumper. This will allow you to make changes to the serial code. If you fix this problem you can use any software version you want. First download my firmware updater (the download link is in the page 51) and run it. You'll see if you have a bad serial code.
On the other hand your device can be original no doubt but the seller perhaps altered the firmware to upgrade from cs to a. If you want send me the device and serial code and I'll check for correct crc.


thanks! i got it working finely, i followed the tutorial on page 51 and now everything is working correctly, i didn't need to create a new serial code, thanks for answering so quickly i was expecting to be answered in days but you answered in about 30 minutes and helped me out, this world really needs people like you. also sorry for making all these posts i didn't really pay attention to what was written on page 51.
i am really really grateful for your help, when i got that message that my product is pirated i was really scared that i bricked my device forever(because i've read some posts about the dvice being bricked), and it was very expensive, i pestered my parents for weeks for them to buy this programmer for me and i was mortified when it didn't work out of the box, you really helped me out dude  :-+ :-+ :-+ :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bitseeker on April 29, 2019, 02:59:43 am
eduardopupucon, welcome to the forum! I give you bonus points for (1) a good attitude, (2) reading the valuable information here to get your programmer working again, and (3) making the effort to go to page 51. :clap: :-+

You'd be surprised how many people won't put in that little bit of effort despite everything that folks like radioman have contributed.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TERRA Operative on April 29, 2019, 03:59:56 am
Does anyone know which online sellers are selling genuine units?
I see these all over ebay, but I'd prefer to buy a known legit unit.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: oPossum on April 29, 2019, 04:18:38 am
The TL866II Plus has not been cloned yet, so all those should be genuine.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Wiljan on April 29, 2019, 12:04:48 pm
Hi
I have a TL866 II pro with FW 04.2.94 which I can't upgrade and it's stucked with 8.01 (but it can be operated)

I have tried a numbers of PC and different OS with same result

I now ordered another TL866II pro from Amazon and it looks exactly as the same hardware
It came with FW 04.0.86 and could be updated in first try to FW 04.02.96 (I stayed there so I can do further updates while logging)

The interesting thing is that when you look on the update procedure then when  it does "Erase" the FW it actually goes to FW 04.1.00 and then to the new ones.

If you look around time 0:36 in the video I do link to in post #1449 you will see this is the same behavior.

When I try to upgrade the one I have (which fails) the it never goes to FW 04.1.00 and I expect the problem are it's actually not erased.

I believe there are something which prevent it to allow erase, any ideas are welcome

The 2 units does have different DEV code and serial number.

I have done a complete wireshark log of the USB update both on  the failing unit and on the successfully unit.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on April 29, 2019, 03:29:40 pm
i ran your program and i got this message:

"Device version: TL866A
Device status: Normal working mode.
Device code: 36892516
Serial number: A44A2B9A1284B0387D996406
Firmware version: 3.2.86
Bad serial."
This serial code is bad indeed. This was generated by an earlier version of my firmware updater. So the seller from where you bought your device sells fake units (or original units with changed firmware).

thanks! i got it working finely, i followed the tutorial on page 51 and now everything is working correctly, i didn't need to create a new serial code, thanks for answering so quickly i was expecting to be answered in days but you answered in about 30 minutes and helped me out, this world really needs people like you. also sorry for making all these posts i didn't really pay attention to what was written on page 51.
Good but you should generate a new serial code. Sure, it can work like this; the minipro software doesn't limit yet devices with such random generated serials but who knows in the future. So i suggest you to generate a new compliant serial with my firmware updater. This is simple just flash the firmware dumper and in the advanced window the serial code section, click the edit button and generate a new serial. After that click the write button to write the new serial to the device and that's is. Close the advanced window and reflash the normal firmware and you're done.

You'd be surprised how many people won't put in that little bit of effort despite everything that folks like radioman have contributed.
Indeed  :-+ despite that, all the info is here in this thread no one wants to read these days, jus asking the same thing again and again.


Now into @Wiljan issue.
The interesting thing is that when you look on the update procedure then when  it does "Erase" the FW it actually goes to FW 04.1.00 and then to the new ones.

When I try to upgrade the one I have (which fails) the it never goes to FW 04.1.00 and I expect the problem are it's actually not erased.
The problem is that your unit fails to enter into boot mode. This new TL866II+is reporting diferently its working state (normal or bootloader mode). The TL866A/CS has a dedicated byte in the report structure from which you can distinguish between the two modes. The new version does not report its status this way. Instead the minipro software(well xgpro now) is looking for firmware minor version to see the device state. So you have something like this. 4.2.96 right? we have three parts here hardware version (4) firmware version major (2) and firmware version minor (96). The bootloader only reports 4.1.0 and the xgpro knows that the device has entered boot mode. After that the erase command is issued (to clear the device flash) and then updateii.dat is decrypted and sent in small chunks to the bootloader. Finally the reset command is issued and the devicce enters normal mode.

So your device fails to enter into boot mode! why? i don't know! maybe a bootloader bug or maybe some flash corruption who knows.
Why you don't ask the manufacturer directly? i think he is the @autoelector (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/profile/?u=176648) user on this forum. Who knows maybe he will answer this year or maybe the next year  :=\ /sarcasm.

Anyway, moving on, right now I have a working firmware updater for this new device, but only the updater part, no firmware generator no other funny features, just the updater part. The updateii.dat structure, and the update algorithm has been cracked March last year I think, but I never release the new updater it in the wild. So if you want I can send it to you, but I don't know if this will solve your issue.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Wiljan on April 29, 2019, 04:19:30 pm
TL866II Pro FW update fails

The problem is that your unit fails to enter into boot mode. This new TL866II+is reporting diferently its working state (normal or bootloader mode). The TL866A/CS has a dedicated byte in the report structure from which you can distinguish between the two modes. The new version does not report its status this way. Instead the minipro software(well xgpro now) is looking for firmware minor version to see the device state. So you have something like this. 4.2.96 right? we have three parts here hardware version (4) firmware version major (2) and firmware version minor (96). The bootloader only reports 4.1.0 and the xgpro knows that the device has entered boot mode. After that the erase command is issued (to clear the device flash) and then updateii.dat is decrypted and sent in small chunks to the bootloader. Finally the reset command is issued and the devicce enters normal mode.

So your device fails to enter into boot mode! why? i don't know! maybe a bootloader bug or maybe some flash corruption who knows.
Why you don't ask the manufacturer directly? i think he is the @autoelector (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/profile/?u=176648) user on this forum. Who knows maybe he will answer this year or maybe the next year  :=\ /sarcasm.

Anyway, moving on, right now I have a working firmware updater for this new device, but only the updater part, no firmware generator no other funny features, just the updater part. The updateii.dat structure, and the update algorithm has been cracked March last year I think, but I never release the new updater it in the wild. So if you want I can send it to you, but I don't know if this will solve your issue.

The FW which I can't upgrade from are V04.2.94 works with Xgpro 8.01

I have been in contact with "Wang" (yes some delay may occur) who told me all the problem was PC, OS, HUB's etc....
until he after some mail did referred to that the issue was due to that I had tried to read the PIC wit Pickit3 (this means he does read this forum )
Quote
you connected it with a Pickit3 tool. this operation will break  the programmer.
maybe you only reading. the results is same.


The problem was there before I even opened the unit and then a later I got a new answer
Quote
upgrading as: erase the flag >down load and self programming  > than verifying > if no error than mark successful flag. if error you can repeat upgrading.
generally it is impossible to damage the programmer.

I then offered him to send Wireshark log's so he could find  the problem and potential fix a kind of properly known issue.
Never got any answer on that.

I now for sure know that Win7 64bit DK can do an update (on the new programmer)

regarding the "updateii.dat" I noticed in the Wireshark log that the data from that file are transferred clear

"it's almost impossible to destroy the programmer"  :o

Since the original dealer will not take TL866 II back since it does work with 8.01 I'm willing to do some more testing so please send the FW updater and let see how it does react  :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on April 29, 2019, 05:50:32 pm
I have been in contact with "Wang" (yes some delay may occur) who told me all the problem was PC, OS, HUB's etc....
until he after some mail did referred to that the issue was due to that I had tried to read the PIC wit Pickit3 (this means he does read this forum )
Quote
you connected it with a Pickit3 tool. this operation will break  the programmer.
maybe you only reading. the results is same.

This is f...g hilarious! oh my god! You Mr. Wang you are such a character! A fine observer of this thread and not even one repply here!  are you undercover or something?
Dude, please don't believe us all stupid.

The problem was there before I even opened the unit and then a later I got a new answer
Quote
upgrading as: erase the flag >down load and self programming  > than verifying > if no error than mark successful flag. if error you can repeat upgrading.
generally it is impossible to damage the programmer.

I then offered him to send Wireshark log's so he could find  the problem and potential fix a kind of properly known issue.
Never got any answer on that.


I now for sure know that Win7 64bit DK can do an update (on the new programmer)
Yes, when you enter into tehnichals details Mr. Wang stops working; i know this.

regarding the "updateii.dat" I noticed in the Wireshark log that the data from that file are transferred clear
Yes, but the updateII.dat file is already encrypted. Beside that there are some extra data attached before each data block.

"it's almost impossible to destroy the programmer"  :o
Almost but not impossible!

Since the original dealer will not take TL866 II back since it does work with 8.01 I'm willing to do some more testing so please send the FW updater and let see how it does react  :)
Ok but to P.M.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: okurka on April 30, 2019, 07:10:24 am
until he after some mail did referred to that the issue was due to that I had tried to read the PIC wit Pickit3

Wait, is Wang still deliberately bricking/blocking devices? Didn't he learn from his previous mistake?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: okurka on April 30, 2019, 07:39:27 am
sorry for doubleposting but heres some images of my programmer with better resolution that i took with my phone
https://imgur.com/a/58zDdXW

That label doesn't look like the original one.
You can tell by the bottom 2 lines of text being in a different font with horrible spacing compared to the original. They even forgot a colon after http.

Yours looks like a CS converted to an A. You should contact or report your seller.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on April 30, 2019, 09:16:52 am
Wait, is Wang still deliberately bricking/blocking devices? Didn't he learn from his previous mistake?
Yes, there are bricked TL866II+ devices right now by the firmware update procedure. The @Wiljan's unit for example was faulty from the begining,  see the original post here. (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg2038825/#msg2038825)

His unit can't enter boot mode to do a simple firmware update. The device is stuck in normal mode. His unit arrived faulty and Mr. Wang doesn't give a s..t about this only crap like try another OS, another PC, perhaps the USB hub is... bla, bla, bla. Of course he bought another one but where is the waranty? oh.. wait there's no waranty, where is the support? well nada. Just buy another one.  So Mr. Wang (@autoelector) please be honest and repply here. Please give this man the right answer on how to restore his device.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Wiljan on April 30, 2019, 04:02:42 pm
Thanks to Radioman I did test with the TL866II+ FW updater and it fails to set the Bootloader "mode"
So I guess next step are to find out how to force it somehow  |O
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: autoelector on May 04, 2019, 02:25:40 am
I could not resolve this.Please contact your seller.Send back to repair
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: autoelector on May 04, 2019, 03:11:43 am
Thanks to Radioman I did test with the TL866II+ FW updater and it fails to set the Bootloader "mode"
So I guess next step are to find out how to force it somehow  |O


Please contact your seller,If you can't find a seller,You can send me a private message, I will help you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 05, 2019, 06:46:15 pm
@autoelector, thanks for clarification! You have no relationship with the autoelectric company. Now i know who you are, my apologies! but after you contacted me last year you should  have answered to my question regarding to your relationship with autoelectric. You never answered me and this led to my misunderstanding.

The question is: for what purpose do you need a firmware updater/generator for this new TL866II+ ? are you a cloner?(i know you really are!)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: vortex on May 07, 2019, 12:09:52 pm
hi how are you radioman i have a dead jhw 2013 that laying around a while now after update that mess up the bootloader
could you please take a look at the dump i read from c8051f340 by tnm5000
thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on May 07, 2019, 02:32:03 pm
hi how are you radioman i have a dead jhw 2013 that laying around a while now after update that mess up the bootloader
could you please take a look at the dump i read from c8051f340 by tnm5000
thanks

Is the JHW 2013 technically related to the TL866 in any way? (Besides the fact that they are both programmers...) I had not realized that radioman is offering "remote repair on demand".  :P
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 07, 2019, 03:15:51 pm
hi how are you radioman i have a dead jhw 2013 that laying around a while now after update that mess up the bootloader
could you please take a look at the dump i read from c8051f340 by tnm5000
thanks
Sorry but this thread is for TL866 only. Technically speaking that jhw2013 is some chinese clone of the ezp2013 which in turn is a clone of ezp2010  :palm:

I had not realized that radioman is offering "remote repair on demand".  :P
Ha ha! That was a good one! nor i!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: vortex on May 07, 2019, 04:47:04 pm
i know this thread is only for TL866 but i said maybe you can help anyway i just use tl866 firmware updater to fix mine thanks for your help
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: flarn2006 on May 10, 2019, 06:47:03 pm
I have a TSOP48 chip (specifically an AM29F160DB) that I want to read from, and I bought a TSOP48-to-DIP48 adapter thinking that's what I would need. But now that I have the programmer, I see that it only has room for 40 pins, and I'd need a special adapter. But the thing is, I was looking forward to messing with that chip this weekend, and I can't find anyone selling that adapter who can get it to me soon enough. I'm thinking I can use the DIP48 adapter, which should arrive tomorrow, on a breadboard, and just wire the pins to the programmer manually...but the software just says to use the adapter, and doesn't show any alternative methods or any information about how the adapter is wired. Someone listed the pinout of the top part on this page (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/1125/), but what about the bottom part? Anyone know?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: orion242 on May 10, 2019, 07:28:38 pm
There is an IC of some sort on the TSOP48 adapter.  Not sure what it is as the markings are sanded off.  Might be a bit more to it than just some bodge wires.  I have a few spares, but they ain't shipping to you before the weekend at this point.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: oPossum on May 10, 2019, 08:08:07 pm
There are three chips on the adapter board. Two are 74HC373 octal latches. The other is a microtroller that identifies the adapter.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: flarn2006 on May 11, 2019, 05:01:00 am
There are three chips on the adapter board. Two are 74HC373 octal latches. The other is a microtroller that identifies the adapter.

Why does it need to identify the adapter? If the software specifically asks for the adapter isn't that enough?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: flarn2006 on May 11, 2019, 05:01:43 am
There is an IC of some sort on the TSOP48 adapter.  Not sure what it is as the markings are sanded off.  Might be a bit more to it than just some bodge wires.  I have a few spares, but they ain't shipping to you before the weekend at this point.

Sanded off? Why?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: oPossum on May 11, 2019, 05:20:15 am
Adapter schematic: https://proghq.org/wiki/index.php/TL866_TSOP48_adapter
Compatible firmware for the microcontroller: https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866/tree/master/TSOP_Encryption
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on May 14, 2019, 03:40:11 am
There is an IC of some sort on the TSOP48 adapter.  Not sure what it is as the markings are sanded off.  Might be a bit more to it than just some bodge wires.  I have a few spares, but they ain't shipping to you before the weekend at this point.

Sanded off? Why?

It's a cheap form of IP protection. Makes it just a bit harder to duplicate by sanding off the markings, but it usually only stops amateurs.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on May 17, 2019, 01:46:18 pm
I have a TL866CS that I got 15 months ago and have put about 1000 1Mx8 eproms through it and it has been great. I use it on WINE on Linux, and someone wrote setupapi.dll to make the programming software (version 6.60) work properly with WINE. I decided I wanted to get another 3 units and run them side by side but now I see they have been replaced by a later version.

The question is, will the older software work with the newer programmers, or if there is newer software, will it work okay under WINE?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 17, 2019, 02:24:00 pm
I use it on WINE on Linux, and someone wrote setupapi.dll to make the programming software (version 6.60) work properly with WINE.
I'm the author of that setupapi.dll. So:
Quote
The question is, will the older software work with the newer programmers, or if there is newer software, will it work okay under WINE?
The old minipro software will not work with this new TL866II+ device. On the other hand there's a new setupapi.dll for this new device.
Here is the link: https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866/tree/master/wine/TL866II
You can edit the udev rule file which you created for the TL866CS and add the new device rule. Then copy the setupapi.dll file to the Xgpro software directory and you're good to go!
Good luck!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: flarn2006 on May 17, 2019, 06:32:27 pm
Anyone know of any way I can get this to work with an NXP P89C51RD2BA?

I have a device that uses a P87C51RB2BA (PLCC44), and I want to experiment with firmware modifications, but the P87 is only OTP (one-time programmable, like a CD-R.) So I bought the P89 chip, since it's rewritable and has the same exact pin configuration. I forgot to check the list of supported chips and it turns out it wasn't in the list, but I figured it would likely be compatible, even though I wasn't positive, so I didn't cancel the order. It arrived today, and I tried telling the software it's a P87C51RD, but apparently it isn't compatible enough.

Is there any way I can get it to work? Any supported chips that are compatible enough with the P89 that it will work if I choose that one? Is there some kind of unofficial patch or something I can install to add support? Barring that, does anyone know of any chips that will work in a device in place of a P87C51RB2BA, that can be programmed more than once? I want to experiment with the code, but I don't want to buy a whole bunch of blank chips.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on May 31, 2019, 05:14:59 am
The stuff for my "gang programmer" arrived today...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on May 31, 2019, 05:38:10 am
The stuff for my "gang programmer" arrived today...

Neat. :)   
Does the TL866 software have an option to drive multiple programmers in parallel, or how do you intend to control them?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on May 31, 2019, 06:38:47 am
The stuff for my "gang programmer" arrived today...

Neat. :)   
Does the TL866 software have an option to drive multiple programmers in parallel, or how do you intend to control them?
This is XGPro running on WINE using radioman's setupapi.dll  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: EEVblog on May 31, 2019, 06:51:37 am
The stuff for my "gang programmer" arrived today...
Neat. :)   
Does the TL866 software have an option to drive multiple programmers in parallel, or how do you intend to control them?

It is supposed to, or at least a new version coming will  ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on May 31, 2019, 06:53:29 am
These newer programmers are a bit slower!
ST M27C801 1Mx8 EPROM, the old programmer took 165 seconds, these new ones take 281 seconds! So my 4 new programmers are really only equal to 2.35 old ones...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TERRA Operative on June 03, 2019, 09:42:00 am
The stuff for my "gang programmer" arrived today...

FWIW, those USB hubs are generally really really crappy.....

youtube.com/watch?v=4RfMiyjQ12s
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on June 03, 2019, 10:04:31 am
The stuff for my "gang programmer" arrived today...

FWIW, those USB hubs are generally really really crappy.....

youtube.com/watch?v=4RfMiyjQ12s
I wonder if my USB hub is making the programmer slower than the older ones, as I mentioned ^^
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on June 03, 2019, 01:16:29 pm
These newer programmers are a bit slower!
ST M27C801 1Mx8 EPROM, the old programmer took 165 seconds, these new ones take 281 seconds! So my 4 new programmers are really only equal to 2.35 old ones...
Whoops! My bad.
I was using the default 50uS "Puls Delay" (sic) instead of 25uS.
Not sure what it does but the 25uS still programs reliably and is a whole lot faster than 50uS.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: dexters_lab on June 09, 2019, 02:11:09 pm
I posted this question in another part of the form but someone suggested i post it here as it's related to the TL866

I've been needing to read out some vintage PROMs for a project to emulate a quantel paintbox within MAME

i have a TL866 but it doesn't directly support many of these old PROMs in the machine so i have been making up adaptors to convert the pinout to something basic like a AM2716 which is supported doing a direct pin mapping for the data and address lines. Most of the devices i am reading are much smaller in size so any unused address lines are just left unconnected and i make the appropriate conenctions for the chip select. I then edit the results in a hex editor to account for differences in length etc as all these devices are all smaller than the 2k 2716, this has worked really well on several other devices 27S19, 63S441, 27S33 & 28L22

However i am having issues reading an AMD AM27S29 (512*8 PROM), i am getting very inconsistent reads, sometimes large portions differ on each read and sometimes it's just a few bytes

I have checked and rechecked my wiring and re-soldered everything and can't see any errors, shorts or bad connections etc so i am not sure what's causing this

anyone have any thoughts on this issue or things i could try to get error free readout?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: oPossum on June 09, 2019, 02:16:26 pm
Put a 'scope on Vcc. Some of those old chips are quite power hungry and may be pulling Vcc too low.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: dexters_lab on June 09, 2019, 03:11:00 pm
Put a 'scope on Vcc. Some of those old chips are quite power hungry and may be pulling Vcc too low.

i did think of that and powered it (the PROM) directly from my bench PSU and it didn't seem to make much difference... i will have a probe with a scope though and see if i can see anything odd
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: oPossum on June 09, 2019, 03:23:53 pm
Checking Gnd at the ZIF socket would be a good idea too.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rastro on June 09, 2019, 04:34:08 pm
Put a 'scope on Vcc. Some of those old chips are quite power hungry and may be pulling Vcc too low.

i did think of that and powered it (the PROM) directly from my bench PSU and it didn't seem to make much difference... i will have a probe with a scope though and see if i can see anything odd

How do you know the PROMs are not the problem?  Does the equipment you took them from work/boot OK?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: dexters_lab on June 09, 2019, 04:53:42 pm
Put a 'scope on Vcc. Some of those old chips are quite power hungry and may be pulling Vcc too low.

i did think of that and powered it (the PROM) directly from my bench PSU and it didn't seem to make much difference... i will have a probe with a scope though and see if i can see anything odd

How do you know the PROMs are not the problem?

I don't, but i will consider that when I've exhausted all other possibilities.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rastro on June 09, 2019, 10:06:57 pm
... Most of the devices i am reading are much smaller in size so any unused address lines are just left unconnected and i make the appropriate conenctions for the chip select. ...
Don't leave the Address lines floating tie them to low if they are unused.  Floating inputs/address lines can create inconsistencies since they are in an unknown or unstable state.

...However i am having issues reading an AMD AM27S29 (512*8 PROM), i am getting very inconsistent reads, sometimes large portions differ on each read and sometimes it's just a few bytes...
I would do about 10 or 20 reads and compare them. 
- In the cases where they differ by only a few bytes are they the always same bytes? 
- Could the problem be with a particular data bit on these problem bytes?  For example changing one bit would make them match.

On the hardware side. 
Is it possible to replace the programmers crystal with a slower one without breaking the USB communication to the host.  This would be an unlikely long shot...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on June 09, 2019, 11:45:21 pm
... Most of the devices i am reading are much smaller in size so any unused address lines are just left unconnected and i make the appropriate conenctions for the chip select. ...
Don't leave the Address lines floating tie them to low if they are unused.  Floating inputs/address lines can create inconsistencies since they are in an unknown or unstable state.
Those unused address lines are programmer output pins, not chip input pins.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: katarakt on June 15, 2019, 07:52:13 pm
I'm new here, saying hello 2 all  :)

I've updated my TL866CS to T866A v6.85 described in the post on page 51 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1704092/#msg1704092). I've never done a FW update before, so everything was original (have this programmer laying around for about a year or so). It worked really great and everything is working fine i think, no error warning after starting the minipro software. Haven't burned something yet. Thanks a lot to radioman  :-+

As the tutorial says nothing about changing the bootlader to A i've leaved it as CS ...should i flash the bootloader to A too ? If i should flash it to A, simply start the flashtool again and only write A bootloader ? Is it necessary to select update.dat again and reflash again because the advanced tab is not available...i'm not sure about the steps for only changing the bootloader.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on June 17, 2019, 04:50:41 pm
You don't have to reflash the bootloader if you don't want.
The only advantage of doing this is that you can update your firmware from minipro because if you have an CS model flashed with the A firmware and the bootloader is still CS then the minipro software will revert back to CS after the first firmware update. No big deal in this as you can use my tool again to flash whatever version you want.

On the other hand if you want to use only the minipro software to do the future firmware upgrades then you must reflash the bootloader.
But i think that there will not be any firmware updates for this model.
 Here's the link you'll need: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg383943/#msg383943 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg383943/#msg383943)

And welcome to the forum btw!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: katarakt on June 17, 2019, 06:30:04 pm
Thanks a lot radioman, followed your guide and steps from the link and flashed to A bootloader. Looks like everything works perfect, thanks a lot  :-+

So, where can i check, which bootloader i have on the minipro now?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on June 17, 2019, 06:43:54 pm
So, where can i check, which bootloader i have on the minipro now?
If you followed my instructions then you should have the A bootloader. However if you click the reset button then you should have the same device version in both normal and boot mode. There's a video tutorial about the firmware upgrade made by one of this forum members. Here is:
https://youtu.be/JM_2fd9YtFk
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: malagas_on_fire on June 20, 2019, 12:13:30 pm
Hi there.

Does this programmer also supports the older Microchip PIC_14000 series?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on June 20, 2019, 12:32:09 pm
Hi there.

Does this programmer also supports the older Microchip PIC_14000 series?

Don't know about the new TL866II model but the TL866A and TL866CS do not support the PIC14000.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mcinque on June 20, 2019, 02:59:38 pm
Does this programmer also supports the older Microchip PIC_14000 series?
I'm afraid not since not even the XGecu TL866 II (which supports 2.000 devices more) does, see http://www.autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/TL866II_List.txt (http://www.autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/TL866II_List.txt)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: oPossum on June 20, 2019, 03:23:28 pm
The PIC14000 is a somewhat obscure old PIC. The PICSTART Plus can program it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: malagas_on_fire on June 20, 2019, 03:32:30 pm
The propic2 also can program this old pic... but uses parallel port , old software, old drivers... PIC start plus is no longer available on the microchip website, but i'll check other alternatives...:

https://www.microchip.com/Developmenttools/ProductDetails/DV003001 (https://www.microchip.com/Developmenttools/ProductDetails/DV003001)


Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: malagas_on_fire on June 20, 2019, 03:42:19 pm
The propic2 also can program this old pic... but uses parallel port , old software, old drivers... PIC start plus is no longer available on the microchip website, but i'll check other alternatives...:

https://www.microchip.com/Developmenttools/ProductDetails/DV003001 (https://www.microchip.com/Developmenttools/ProductDetails/DV003001)

My first attempt....
https://www.olimex.com/Products/PIC/Programmers/PIC-MCP-USB/ (https://www.olimex.com/Products/PIC/Programmers/PIC-MCP-USB/)

Obsolete...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: oPossum on June 20, 2019, 03:47:44 pm
I don't think you will find any current products that support it. It was a short lived little known chip. There is a chance the Microchip PM3 may support it. You would have to ask Microchip.

I have used the PICSTART Plus with a USB to RS-232 cable without problems. An older version of MPLAB is required.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on June 24, 2019, 10:02:44 am
Updated to WINE 4.11 yesterday and now both MiniPro Programmer and Xgpro TL866II Plus won't start!  :scared:

Code: [Select]
me@my_pc ~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/XGpro $ wine Xgpro
Dll Loaded.
Found Xgpro v8.51
Base Address = 0x00400000
Code section = 0x00401000,0x0020E000
Open Devices found at 0x004649D0
Close Devices found at  0x004647C0
Usb Handle found at  0x006A8C14
WinUsb Handle found at  0x006B0248
Devices count found at  0x006B0000
wine: Call from 0x7bc6d971 to unimplemented function setupapi.dll.SetupDiGetClassDevsW, aborting
0037:fixme:ntdll:RtlNtStatusToDosErrorNoTeb no mapping for 80000100
0037:err:user:load_desktop_driver failed to load L"C:\\windows\\system32\\winex11.drv"
0037:err:winediag:nodrv_CreateWindow Application tried to create a window, but no driver could be loaded.
0037:err:winediag:nodrv_CreateWindow The explorer process failed to start.
Open devices.
Close devices.
0037:fixme:ver:GetCurrentPackageId (0x33fe94 (nil)): stub
Dll Unloaded.

Code: [Select]
me@my_pc ~/.wine/drive_c/Program Files/MiniPro $ wine minipro
Dll Loaded.
Found MiniPro v6.60
Base Address = 0x00400000
Code section = 0x00401000,0x000A2000
Open Devices found at 0x0044A850
Close Devices found at  0x00461AB0
Usb Write found at  0x00461920
Usb Read found at  0x004619C0
Usb Write2 found at  0x00461970
Usb Read2 found at  0x00461A70
Usb Handle found at  0x004E78EC
Patched brick bug at 0x00401C1C
Patched RegisterDeviceNotification at 0x7EB1E650
wine: Call from 0x7bc6d971 to unimplemented function setupapi.dll.SetupDiGetClassDevsW, aborting
003b:fixme:ntdll:RtlNtStatusToDosErrorNoTeb no mapping for 80000100
003b:err:user:load_desktop_driver failed to load L"C:\\windows\\system32\\winex11.drv"
003b:err:winediag:nodrv_CreateWindow Application tried to create a window, but no driver could be loaded.
003b:err:winediag:nodrv_CreateWindow The explorer process failed to start.
Open devices.
Close devices.
Dll Unloaded.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on June 25, 2019, 02:22:54 pm
Quote
Updated to WINE 4.11 yesterday and now both MiniPro Programmer and Xgpro TL866II Plus won't start!  :scared:
This is outrageous!  :palm:
The last wine 4.11 implemented a new feature which messed up my wrapper.
Quote
wine: Call from 0x7bc6d971 to unimplemented function setupapi.dll.SetupDiGetClassDevsW, aborting
Aha! this is correct. None of setupapi functions are implemented in my wrapper but wtf is 0x7bc6d971 ? well the new winex11.drv who want to call functions from my setupapi to "enumerate displays".
Ofcourse  this will lead to a crash because the target functions are not implemented.
However i fixed this issue by redirecting all the needed functions to the original setupapi.dll .
@Circlotron please try the new wrappers from my github repo.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on June 26, 2019, 01:31:30 am
@Circlotron please try the new wrappers from my github repo.
The new .dlls seem to work properly!
I read and wrote a M27C801 1Mx8 eprom on both programmers.
I didn't look at the terminal output though.

Github location for the benefit of others: https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866/tree/master/wine (https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866/tree/master/wine)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on June 30, 2019, 08:36:49 pm
So I have buggered my programmer. Radioman's software was the beginning. Yes I have used it before for 6.82 and its woes, and no problem. I was trying to update it to 6.85 and that's where things went sideways.
All this is because I couldn't ID, read or program a PIC16F877 in a DIP package.
I found a stash of CCS & melabs DIP & ICSP programmers and both work properly.
Now for my dilemma. I tried to use the saved hex files the Radioman's software makes (4 in all) to program via the ICSP. It wouldn't program the PIC. So I erased it and it programmed just fine.
Well, not really, as the code is there in the internal PIC, but it does nothing. Not even connecting to the USB.
My question is this, does anybody have a raw hex file that I can program on this? Of course it can be a random serial. Whatever works, Please.
Attached is a screenshot of the config screen for which I have no clue if it picked up from the hex dump or is it all wrong. More less frustrated minds are really needed.
Again any help would be appreciated.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: malagas_on_fire on June 30, 2019, 09:26:29 pm
So I have buggered my programmer. Radioman's software was the beginning. Yes I have used it before for 6.82 and its woes, and no problem. I was trying to update it to 6.85 and that's where things went sideways.
All this is because I couldn't ID, read or program a PIC16F877 in a DIP package.
I found a stash of CCS & melabs DIP & ICSP programmers and both work properly.
Now for my dilemma. I tried to use the saved hex files the Radioman's software makes (4 in all) to program via the ICSP. It wouldn't program the PIC. So I erased it and it programmed just fine.
Well, not really, as the code is there in the internal PIC, but it does nothing. Not even connecting to the USB.
My question is this, does anybody have a raw hex file that I can program on this? Of course it can be a random serial. Whatever works, Please.
Attached is a screenshot of the config screen for which I have no clue if it picked up from the hex dump or is it all wrong. More less frustrated minds are really needed.
Again any help would be appreciated.

What about flashing a bootloader such as the tiny bootloader
And communicate with the serial program. ;

http://www.etc.ugal.ro/cchiculita/software/picbootloader.htm (http://www.etc.ugal.ro/cchiculita/software/picbootloader.htm)


or a led blinking :

https://circuitdigest.com/microcontroller-projects/led-blinking-with-pic-microcontroller (https://circuitdigest.com/microcontroller-projects/led-blinking-with-pic-microcontroller)



Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on June 30, 2019, 09:49:30 pm
Yes. But I'm trying to program the PIC18F87J50 in the TL866 right now not the 877. If I had a good dump, I could test it. It's not a matter of programming the PIC18F87J50, it's a bad hex file.
But thanks for trying though...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: oPossum on June 30, 2019, 09:58:46 pm
Hex file from my TL866 attached. Also fuse settings from that file.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on June 30, 2019, 10:28:02 pm
It came right up with that file!
However, there's always one of those... It won't recognise or read an 877 or 876.
I can read a M328P, 8518 etc. Just not this PIC :palm:

You have saved me pulling out the rest of my remaining hair.
So now that I have a good (CS) dump that's okay too, I can fiddle with Radioman's software and try to put (I hope) v6.85 on.
Please feel free to stop me if that's a bad thing.
Again many thanks.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on June 30, 2019, 10:55:07 pm
Refashed everything is working EXCEPT the software says that it is too old. v6.85 from their own website! I am lost until someone who knows better than I.

UPDATE I put v6.71 on and it reads a M328P as bad ID but it reads the data.
And now I can actually read the 877 data & ID!
Bad firmware or what did I miss 33 pages ago?

v6.82 Doesn't work either. I am using Radioman's v2.51.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Frvnt on July 01, 2019, 07:50:17 am
Hi !
Sorry for popping like that but I couldn't find answers about my problems in the past pages..

I'm trying to program a 29C801 chip with my TL866 but it fails just after clicking on "programming", no matter how heavy is the file I try to program. The error message is : "ERROR! Address:0x000002 Buffer Data:0xC208 Verify:0x0200"

I've tried to change the chip, the USB cable, the computer I'm working on, the VPP voltage (should be 12,75v for 29C801) but nothing works. Self test shows Ok everywhere.. Where should I look ?

Thanks a lot for any help, I'm a little bit diheartened  :-\

https://ibb.co/pzr75GT (https://ibb.co/pzr75GT)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on July 01, 2019, 08:41:12 am
^^ M27C801 is an ST eprom. I use them all the time. Your 29C801 is flash? I don’t expect the programming algorithms would be the same. Don’t know enough to explain why.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on July 01, 2019, 08:43:13 am
Can someone explain to me what the “pulse delay” setting does?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on July 01, 2019, 10:05:59 am
Can someone explain to me what the “pulse delay” setting does?
This is how long the VPP programming voltage is applied to the chip for each memory cell. This is from the manufacturer  datasheet but you can alter this setting to increase this time if the chip is not "burned" properly.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on July 01, 2019, 10:37:55 am
I'm trying to program a 29C801 chip with my TL866 but it fails just after clicking on "programming", no matter how heavy is the file I try to program. The error message is : "ERROR! Address:0x000002 Buffer Data:0xC208 Verify:0x0200"

I've tried to change the chip, the USB cable, the computer I'm working on, the VPP voltage (should be 12,75v for 29C801) but nothing works. Self test shows Ok everywhere.. Where should I look ?

Are you sure you have the right part number there? 29C801 seems to be quite exotic?

As Circlotron had pointed out, according to your screenshot you have selected a different part in your programmer software, and can't expect it to be compatible.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on July 01, 2019, 10:53:16 am
Are you sure you have the right part number there? 29C801 seems to be quite exotic?
The same thing i wanted to say about this. This part is so exotic that it doesn't exists! Sure this was a typo but what confused me is the error message which indicates an 16bit chip but the screenshot shows an 8bit eprom.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Frvnt on July 01, 2019, 04:48:54 pm
Doh ! Sorry, this is effectively a M27C801 from ST, not a flash one

...and by highering the VPP voltage to 16 and increasing pulse delay, I was able to write up to 003FF0 but it seem that some data have been duplicated because line 003F80 is the same as line 001F80...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on July 01, 2019, 06:36:42 pm
Software & hardware are strange bedfellows.
So I went to make a working copy of my 6.82 version with my melabs programmer via ICSP. Instead of hitting the read icon I hit the program button with an empty buffer! :palm: It also lacked the usual "Are you sure warning" It gets straight to it.
So lets start again with the donor file so kindly provided by oPossum.
I then updated it to version 6.85 and everything is working without any bugs, not like 6.82. Go figure. :phew:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on July 01, 2019, 06:48:30 pm
Software & hardware are strange bedfellows.
So I went [...]

Seems to me that there is a third fellow in bed with those two -- the user and his antics...  ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Gandalf_Sr on July 02, 2019, 09:36:52 am
I have an old TL866A (I bought the A) but haven't used it for a couple of years.  I came back to this thread and tried to catch up with what's changed, any summary would be appreciated.

I notice that Autoelectric has a new product called the TL866II Plus (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/tl866_main.html) and the link has all sorts of comments about how the old TL866CS/A are obsolete, are not supported by their latest (Vn 8.51) firmware, and should be destroyed!!!!  :wtf:

Other than it goes down to 1.8V and has 18V vs 21V max programming VPP, I can't see much difference TL866II Plus vs TL866A and many of the ebay hits for 'TL866' come up with new TL866II Plus items for sale.

Any thoughts on keeping my old TL866A and what software works best with it (on Win 10 64 bit) vs getting the new TL866II Plus?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: oPossum on July 02, 2019, 03:52:06 pm
Latest software is generally the best. There have been a few updates to the software and firmware since the TL866II came out. Note that the software for the TL866A/CS is not the same as the software for the TL866II. Make sure you download the correct version.

The only reason to get the newer TL866II would be if you need device support that only it has. That would mostly be lower voltage parts that the older TL866A/CS can not do due to hardware limitations.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on July 03, 2019, 01:13:49 am
Just had a look at the programming pulses for a 27C801 eprom (pin 24) for the TL866CS and newer TL866II Plus. What's the deal with every second pulse not even going fully to ground?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: oPossum on July 03, 2019, 01:21:39 am
It has three logic levels. Low, High, and Program.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: oPossum on July 03, 2019, 01:23:35 am
It is doing two program pulses followed by a read (verify).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on July 03, 2019, 11:43:08 am
It is doing two program pulses followed by a read (verify).
Correct! the VPP and /G share the same pin. /G is the output enable pin and must be pulled low to read the chip. I wonder how the /E (chip enable) pin is manipulated in the write process? pulled low for the entire writing process or after the VPP voltage is applied is pulled low for what 'pulse delay' time is necessary?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Frvnt on July 04, 2019, 02:07:49 pm
Thanks for helping :)
For the record, I put the TL866 USB cable to a Y USB cable with 2 male connectors to get the power of 2 USB ports to be sure there were'nt any issu with my computer powering. It didn't change anything.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Gandalf_Sr on July 06, 2019, 01:03:33 pm
I downloaded and installed the latest Windows program from autoelectric and then the manuals.  The program runs on my Win 10 64 bit PC just fine and I originally got the Chinese help.  I tried replacing the .chm and .chw files in the minipro folder with the English ones I downloaded but now I don't get anything coming up when I click on help from the programmer drop downs.

Any ideas?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on July 06, 2019, 11:54:29 pm
Are the new help files the exact same name as the old ones? Maybe the expected file names are hard coded rather than looking for just any .chm or .chw file?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Sorcerer on July 08, 2019, 01:37:58 pm
Hello all ....

I've tried the operation just now and everything works fine.
The names of the chinese CHM file and the name of the
english one was exactly the same.
I just copy the english CHM file over the existing one and
all is OK ( and in english).

Regards
Serge
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BrianG61UK on July 08, 2019, 02:04:55 pm
Hello all ....

I've tried the operation just now and everything works fine.
The names of the chinese CHM file and the name of the
english one was exactly the same.
I just copy the english CHM file over the existing one and
all is OK ( and in english).

Regards
Serge
Don't think I've ever needed the help file.
Isn't it in indecipherable chinglish anyway?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on July 08, 2019, 10:33:08 pm
I've only ever used my TL866 with older stuff like PLCC 32, 44, SOIC8 and good old fashioned DIP and have the necessary adapters.

Recently I need to work with TSOP48 Flash and so have bought an 8 piece upgrade adapter kit that should even work with SOP56 whatever that is used for.

What I would like to know is if these very common TL866A/CS compatible adapters can be used with the TL866II+? Backwards compatible? If not, then no need to purchase the new model until absolutely needed.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on July 08, 2019, 10:42:24 pm
]Don't think I've ever needed the help file.
Isn't it in indecipherable chinglish anyway?
I vaguely remember the English help file gave me some pointers with programming some ATtiny AVR's in HV mode and setting the fuse bits correctly. It was a long time ago, before google translate was any use, but I did seek out the Chinglish help files and they did come in use.

Point is some information whether it be in Chinglish, Mandarin, or Russian is better than no information at all.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jellytot on July 14, 2019, 02:06:44 pm
I've only ever used my TL866 with older stuff like PLCC 32, 44, SOIC8 and good old fashioned DIP and have the necessary adapters.

Recently I need to work with TSOP48 Flash and so have bought an 8 piece upgrade adapter kit that should even work with SOP56 whatever that is used for.

What I would like to know is if these very common TL866A/CS compatible adapters can be used with the TL866II+? Backwards compatible? If not, then no need to purchase the new model until absolutely needed.

AFAIK  the original adapters for the TL866 are compatible with the TL866II+ except for a new TSOP48 adapter for Nand Chips.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: orion242 on July 15, 2019, 01:36:58 am
AFAIK  the original adapters for the TL866 are compatible with the TL866II+ except for a new TSOP48 adapter for Nand Chips.

I haven't had any issues with the old adapters with the II+.  Only used the old TSOP48 adapter with 29F400BTs, but it works just fine with the II+. 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: San Magog on July 15, 2019, 11:46:38 am
Hello. I have problem a programmer XGecu Pro TL866II Plus. Program xgpro v.8.51 after launch asked to perform refresh firmware. After starting the firmware update, it took about 10 minutes and ended with an error message "Reset error". The programmer has disconnected itself from the controller's USB devices. After that, it was no longer determined by the system. The computer does not respond to the connection of the programmer. It only receives power from the usb port. And that's it!

How do I restore the programmer?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on July 20, 2019, 05:52:45 am
..
How do I restore the programmer?
Basically you can't restore it by yourself. Sorry to say this but your programmer is bricked. Maybe contacting the manufacturer can help but personally i disagree. Or contacting your seller, who knows.

To restore it you will need a firmware image and a programmer. The problem is that firmware image because the manufacturer doesn't provide any firmware or something else to restore bricked devices (in fact he deliberately brick programmers but this is another discussion).

Anyway welcome to the forum!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: andreszerocross on July 24, 2019, 08:41:21 am
I tried the procedure several times using the version 6.81 and 6.82 as upload.dat files.
Almost always that of 6.82 gave me problems.
Hi Marcustv and welcome to the forum!
Regarding to the update.dat issue, the two versions are identical. So there's no difference between the two files.
The most likely the reflash error message is due to the usb communication error. Use another usb port or update the minipro usb driver. Another problem I've encountered on some machines is something software or driver which is interfering with the usb communication (filter driver or else).

Hi i am new here,, i bought TL-866CS and i update the firmware bfore with your old version tool. Now my Device is detected as clone in firmware 6.8.5. I just soldered 150ohm as your pdf described, it's in Bootloader mode now. But i always get "Reflash Failed" after write firmware. I repeat it in 5 times,, still same. Any suggestions? Thanks very much
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: andreszerocross on July 24, 2019, 09:19:22 am
Sorry,, i can flash it succesfully.

I need to remove resistor after enter boot mode before flash :)

Now everything ok.

Just want to ask,, anybody flash WInbond W25Q32BVSIG with this device?? I don't know,, my device can't detect this chip. Always "Unknown Device"
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on July 24, 2019, 06:55:17 pm
But i always get "Reflash Failed" after write firmware. I repeat it in 5 times.
...
I need to remove resistor after enter boot mode before flash :)
As you discovered by yourself, yes, that resistor must be removed otherwise you will get that "reflash failed" message because the device  is forced in boot mode  again and will fail to enter to normal mode.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kroome88 on August 03, 2019, 12:04:37 pm
@radioman... thank you for your unselfish contribution to this topic... i was able to bring back the life of my TL866 that got bricked upon updating... have read from the beginning of this thread and found a lot of useful information... your post from #16 had save many folks who encountered "autoelectric's not so good plan" ... i remember what happen to the FTDI's... same incident... ridiculous!!!   once again, thank you for sharing...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 03, 2019, 06:29:14 pm
have read from the beginning of this thread and found a lot of useful information... your post from #16 had save many folks
Finally someone who read the whole thread. Congratulations and welcome to the forum! A minor clarification: #16 is the page number not the post number.

i remember what happen to the FTDI's... same incident... ridiculous!!!
Yes but the difference is that the autoelectric deliberately bricked genuine devices .
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kroome88 on August 05, 2019, 01:31:48 am


Finally someone who read the whole thread. Congratulations and welcome to the forum! A minor clarification: #16 is the page number not the post number.


@radioman... thanks for your kind words... sorry, thought #16 is post no. ...  new to this thread...  :) :)


Yes but the difference is that the autoelectric deliberately bricked genuine devices .
yup!!!  agree...    pirated by their own fellow countrymen!! :) :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: alank2 on August 07, 2019, 09:52:15 pm
What is the best software version for the TL866A now?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tocsa120ls on August 09, 2019, 08:40:48 am
V6.85 is the last one for the old hardware.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: alank2 on August 09, 2019, 12:56:58 pm
thanks!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Zantan on August 16, 2019, 10:12:59 am
Hello guys, I am new here and am interested in reading and reflashing mostly automotive chips such 95xxx.
So from the discussions above I gather TL866A is better than TL866CS as many people want to change theirs and also TL866A may also be better than new TL866ii.
Furthermore, If I have read correct should I purchase TL866A then chances are it may be a clone as the manufacturer decided to discontinue it and as such it could be bricked as soon as upgrade the firmware from manufacturer. Am I right in thinking they even bricked their own ones as well?
Anyway should I order one then do I simply ignore the manufacturers firmware and go straight to firmware as per kind forum contribution of Radioman?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on August 16, 2019, 02:07:33 pm
Anyway should I order one [TL866A] then do I simply ignore the manufacturers firmware and go straight to firmware as per kind forum contribution of Radioman?

If I had to buy a new programmer today, I would order the new "II Plus" version. There is no further support (addition of new programmable devices) for the old model, and the II plus already supports quite a few more devices.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Zantan on August 16, 2019, 11:47:57 pm
Thanks for the info.
Currently using CH341A for reading and writing 95xxx and though people claim this should not work with 95 series, mine does work. As to why? I have no idea but hey maybe there is some ingenious Far East engineering. As this is forum for TL866 rather than CH341A I will end it here.
Anyway I am going to read up more on this IIplus and then also scour ebay for best deals as I need another programmer for these automotive chips in case above starts behaving in the manner it ought to have.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: RetroSwim on August 20, 2019, 03:36:02 am
I have a TL866CS modded to TL866A, and was able to read but unable to write ST M27C256B, and AMD Am27C010 UV EPROMs.

The AMD chip was from a Socket 3 486 motherboard, I was able to read the contents of the ROM BIOS, and use the resulting image to boot the PCEM emulator. The ST chip was of unknown origin, but the resulting image contained a handful of human-readable text throughout, so I can assume it dumped OK.

I erased the chips in a cheap eBay UV eraser for 20 minutes, and verified that the chips read out all FF's. They both passed this test.

When I attempted to program these chips, the problems began. I decided to write all 00's as a test. The AMD chip fails on the first byte: 0x0000 Buffer=00 Verify=FF. It's clearly failing to write anything at all.

The ST chips fail in more of an insidious way: The programming process will get to some random stage and fail with a similar error: 0x**** Buffer=00 Verify=C6, where C6 is some random value. On reading back the contents of the ST chip, garbage is displayed, not even matching up with the alleged "Verify" value from the failure message.

I suspect that Vpp is not getting high enough, but my oscilloscope is still packed away from moving house, so I can't verify that just yet.

However, say it is, has anyone else experienced this? And if so, were you able to resolve it by providing additional 5v power externally? That's something I can try easily with what I have to hand.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on August 20, 2019, 04:59:44 am
The ST chips fail in more of an insidious way: The programming process will get to some random stage and fail with a similar error: 0x**** Buffer=00 Verify=C6, where C6 is some random value. On reading back the contents of the ST chip, garbage is displayed, not even matching up with the alleged "Verify" value from the failure message.
Are you keeping them away from sunlight when programming and especially reading? I know sunlight can make uncovered UV erasable microcontrollers act strangely.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: RetroSwim on August 20, 2019, 05:19:32 am
The thought had occurred, but the symptoms are the same even if I cover the UV window during these operations. :(
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: RetroSwim on August 20, 2019, 02:23:06 pm
Vpp pulses aren't being generated at all, I think my programmer is dead.

(https://i.imgur.com/sAHJ8H2.png)

The garbage readbacks could have been from the programmer malfunctioning in some other way, I suppose.

Mystery solved, sadly. :(

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Sorcerer on August 21, 2019, 01:35:59 pm
Hello m8 ...
Did you download the schematics of your TL866?
It seems that the different Vpp signals each pass through two transistors.
[attachimg=1]
One of the two could be HS.
It might also be useful to check if the Vpp signal is coming out of the micro-p of thr TL 866 (Pin 10)
and is generated by the power supply?
Still a little work.
Regards
Serge
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tocsa120ls on August 21, 2019, 06:55:17 pm
Vpp pulses aren't being generated at all, I think my programmer is dead.

I think this might be the latest software from Autoelectric intentionally fucking up because of the CS > A reflash. I am testing this right now.

*UPDATE* yup. If the TL866CS is modded to Model A spec, at least the eprom read/write functions won't work, it will display garbage (funnily enough it pretends to read, but actually it is not reading anything, I don't see pulsing on the data lines)
Well, tomorrow flash back to CS. I am too tired, I'm afraid I will mess something up.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on August 21, 2019, 07:37:13 pm
I think this might be the latest software from Autoelectric intentionally fucking up because of the CS > A reflash. I am testing this right now.

*UPDATE* yup. If the TL866CS is modded to Model A spec, at least the eprom read/write functions won't work, it will display garbage (funnily enough it pretends to read, but actually it is not reading anything, I don't see pulsing on the data lines)
Well, tomorrow flash back to CS. I am too tired, I'm afraid I will mess something up.

Please check again tomorrow before you jump to conclusions. I don’t think this behavior has ever been reported as a consequence of „upgrading“ the programmer?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mcovington on August 22, 2019, 11:51:33 pm
Query: I see that Autoelectric's web site warns of counterfeit products.  Where is the best place for an American to buy a TL866 that won't be counterfeit?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: oPossum on August 23, 2019, 12:19:58 am
Anyone selling the Mk II version should be OK. It has not been cloned yet.

I got my TL866 from Dalbani in Florida. If you want to buy from a USA seller, I can recommend them.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/141978692525 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/141978692525)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on August 24, 2019, 09:23:43 pm
Somebody help. I forgot on the Minipro in fuse config radio buttons, if it is set (black check), is that a 1 or a 0? Also is it universally true for all devices?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: oPossum on August 25, 2019, 02:32:44 am
I think in most cases set/checked/enabled would be 0, but this is not universal.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on August 25, 2019, 09:14:09 am
Much like quantum entanglement I see... It could be a 1 or a 0 depending on whether I was looking at the check box when I clicked on it.
If there was only a manual for the Minipro, things would be much easier.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mcovington on August 26, 2019, 03:42:56 am
Anyone selling the Mk II version should be OK. It has not been cloned yet.

I got my TL866 from Dalbani in Florida. If you want to buy from a USA seller, I can recommend them.

https://www.ebay.com/itm/141978692525 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/141978692525)

I just got a TL866 II from Amazon.  The Amazon listing said "Minipro" but this one calls itself "XGecu" and says to download the latest software from xgecu.com, not autoelectric.cn.  That *looks* like the same company (I had to have the web page translated from Chinese).  Should I be concerned?  Where should I download from?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on August 26, 2019, 05:01:11 am
I just got a TL866 II from Amazon.  The Amazon listing said "Minipro" but this one calls itself "XGecu" and says to download the latest software from xgecu.com, not autoelectric.cn.  That *looks* like the same company (I had to have the web page translated from Chinese).  Should I be concerned?  Where should I download from?

Same company, and actually the same web page which can simply be reached under two different domain names. So it does not matter which one you use. The web page can be switched to English (links in the upper right), you don't have to use an external translator.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: electro1q on August 31, 2019, 06:26:54 am
Hello,
Guys i'm new here and have an problem
want to program pic16f876a with minipro 6.85
but not successfully,
I think that need the right config bytes
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on August 31, 2019, 11:41:42 am
Show the setting under the config tab please.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: electro1q on September 03, 2019, 11:46:24 am
Sorry,
was away.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on September 03, 2019, 12:08:09 pm
You are setting the „copy protection“ bit CP, so the contents of the EEPROM cannot be read back. I assume you get a verification error message? That would be the expected behavior.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: electro1q on September 03, 2019, 12:37:49 pm
If i set verify after programming it gives error config.no matter if cp are selected or not.
br.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on September 03, 2019, 02:32:10 pm
Try a FULL ERASE first and then program the memory and config bits. If you save the whole thing as a hex file, the config bits will be save with it. If it's saved as a bin file, no config bits will be saved.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: electro1q on September 03, 2019, 05:29:19 pm
Thks,
but always the same.
On verify gives error.
When turn off verify then writes ok.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on September 03, 2019, 06:21:22 pm
Maybe a bug.

What did you get when you programm only the Data-Section?
Uncheck Con.FUSE Bit when you programming the chip.
Erase all before programming.

Programm it with verify enabled.
The only way to check the programmed content is to verify it. ;-)
If the result is positiv you can programm the config bits seperatly in the final step.
 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quarlo Klobrigney on September 04, 2019, 12:26:09 am
Also make sure that the chip ID is correct by looking in the datasheet for the chip you have and compare it to what the MiniPro thinks it is, even if you have to read it in non-check ID mode.
Try https://www.microchip.com/forums/download.axd?file=0;901120 (https://www.microchip.com/forums/download.axd?file=0;901120)
It shows: PIC16F876A.dev 30: m1 id=0xe00, not what I see in your photo.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: clip on September 08, 2019, 06:49:12 pm
Hello,
I read the whole thread and didn't find a satisfactory answer to my problem. Hopefully, over the time, there will be a way to restore my programmer. I bought the TL866II plus programmer. After installing the software from the manufacturer's website there was a requirement to upgrade the software. It was done and one evening everything worked normally. The problem occurred the next day when the programmer stopped being detected by the laptop and only the red LED lights. Unfortunately, the programmer manufacturer does not respond. Up untill this point I did not know about this forum and because I needed to work I bought the same programmer just from another vendor. I installed the software from the supplied CD but there was still a problem with the USB driver failures. Therefore, I installed the latest software from the manufacturer's website and had the firmware updated. Everything went well up untill to almost 100 percent. Suddenly the installation firmware was terminated and the programmer has not been detected by the laptop since then. Only the red LED on the programmer is lit and the yellow LED flashes quickly as if no USB driver is available. But it is installed. I tried to install the entire operating system again, but the result is the same. I use W7 32bit. I'll be grateful for any idea ...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on September 08, 2019, 07:28:21 pm
Quote
Everything went well up untill to almost 100 percent. Suddenly the installation was terminated and the programmer has not been detected by the laptop since then
This is a bit unclear. What was almost 100 percent? software installation or firmware update?
And btw welcome to the forum!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: clip on September 08, 2019, 08:20:43 pm
Quote
Everything went well up untill to almost 100 percent. Suddenly the installation was terminated and the programmer has not been detected by the laptop since then
This is a bit unclear. What was almost 100 percent? software installation or firmware update?
And btw welcome to the forum!

Firmware update
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on September 08, 2019, 08:33:54 pm
Looks like a failed firmware update to me. Can you try it on another PC? smells like a bad usb communication. Also can you boot a linux distro on that laptop? even a live cd is good.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: clip on September 09, 2019, 06:08:51 pm
Looks like a failed firmware update to me. Can you try it on another PC? smells like a bad usb communication. Also can you boot a linux distro on that laptop? even a live cd is good.
Tested on another laptop. With W10 and Linux Ubuntu. The programmer was not detected
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on September 10, 2019, 04:41:58 pm
Quote
The programmer was not detected
The yellow led is still blinking? I don't know what to say, seems like a hardware failure but the same thing on both devices is very strange.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: clip on September 10, 2019, 09:01:26 pm
Quote
The programmer was not detected
The yellow led is still blinking? I don't know what to say, seems like a hardware failure but the same thing on both devices is very strange.
Yes on one device number 1 permanently lit red LED diode.
On the other device, the red LED is permanently lit while blinking. Video here device 2  https://mega.nz/#!Nl5UDCLL!VPQEA9qA_3bFtXymfVsDM3OmtojZWw1fBvmBQRxDdTE
 (https://mega.nz/#!Nl5UDCLL!VPQEA9qA_3bFtXymfVsDM3OmtojZWw1fBvmBQRxDdTE)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on September 10, 2019, 10:13:30 pm
Quote
it is impossible to damage the programmer
This is what the manufacturer says. Well true no doubt, they are damaging itself. Right Mr. Wang?
There's a serious issue with the quality control with these programmers.

I remember couple of months ago someone had a strange issue with his device. The yellow led was randomly blinking and something usb error message saying that device usb error bla bla.
After couple of hours with no result i had the idea to clean the pcb with IPA. That was the cure!

In your case i don't know what the problem is. Can be a  hardware issue; have you tried another USB cable? just saying. That yellow led is rapidly blinking when the device is in unconfigured state. Also this can be a firmware issue (a boot loop or something). When you are in linux that yellow led still blinks?
Here: https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866/raw/master/docs/TL866II.pdf is the schematic diagram for the TL866II+ if someone needs it.
My advice is to return both programmers if you can. Or perhaps the manufacturer will provide us something to restore bricked devices.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: clip on September 11, 2019, 07:07:53 pm

My advice is to return both programmers if you can. Or perhaps the manufacturer will provide us something to restore bricked devices.
[/quote]
The manufacturer is not communicating. I'm trying to return the device
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dwaine on September 19, 2019, 05:23:56 am
I've had my MiniPro TL866 programmer for about a year.    I have been using it to make copies of my snes and Sega game carts so I have backups.   I've never had a problem and I'm actually glad I purchased it.

I see a lot of the messages of people having a lot of problems with theirs.  Are there any people here that really like their MiniPro TL866 and use it a lot?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: DarkThanatoS on September 28, 2019, 12:58:08 am

Good evening, I'm new to the forum. I need your help I want to buy the TL866iiPlus minipro by Amazon, and I want to know about all those who sell which is the original since I don't want to buy the cloned versions.
I also want to buy with all the accessories with the different sockets.


Thank you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: all_repair on September 28, 2019, 02:49:51 am
I've had my MiniPro TL866 programmer for about a year.    I have been using it to make copies of my snes and Sega game carts so I have backups.   I've never had a problem and I'm actually glad I purchased it.

I see a lot of the messages of people having a lot of problems with theirs.  Are there any people here that really like their MiniPro TL866 and use it a lot?
Some bought clone, and many are those buying the cheaper version and trying to hack it to a slightly more expensive (few dollars more) version and ran into issue.  Normally I don't reject this hacking as I do it myself when the manufacturer sells at much more expensive price and with features that I seldom use.  But this cheap programmer, I bought the more expensive version, hope to support the maker to be around longer so they can write more algo to support more chips.  I figure that as soon as they stop writing new algo, I shall need to spend more to get yet another new universal programmer to support the newer chips.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: don.r on September 29, 2019, 06:32:13 pm
Thanks radioman for all the help on this thread. I have a genuine TL866CS that I foolishly flashed using the firmware of 6.85 and it never worked properly afterwards. I did the resistor trick tacking it to the regulator and holding it to R26 and reflashed it with the firmware from 6.71 and all is well again... after a few reboots/programming attempts.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on October 02, 2019, 09:09:38 am
Hi EVV Community,
I want to program an AMD AM29F800BB, which is a TSOP chip and supported accordingly to the MiniPro Software.

I found the following adapter, but it is not compatible with Minipro due to that it has 44-DIP:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SOP44-To-DIP44-IC-Socket-Programmer-Universal-Converter-Adapter-/173692224913?fbclid=IwAR334as6qdB5LNtYGP9zXhdchUaqj7VLKzd3x35VHTlulfOKCH1l9Jj-pWo (https://www.ebay.com/itm/SOP44-To-DIP44-IC-Socket-Programmer-Universal-Converter-Adapter-/173692224913?fbclid=IwAR334as6qdB5LNtYGP9zXhdchUaqj7VLKzd3x35VHTlulfOKCH1l9Jj-pWo)

Any suggestions?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on October 02, 2019, 01:19:12 pm
Hi EVV Community,
I want to program an AMD AM29F800BB, which is a TSOP chip and supported accordingly to the MiniPro Software.

I found the following adapter, but it is not compatible with Minipro due to that it has 44-DIP:
https://www.ebay.com/itm/SOP44-To-DIP44-IC-Socket-Programmer-Universal-Converter-Adapter-/173692224913?fbclid=IwAR334as6qdB5LNtYGP9zXhdchUaqj7VLKzd3x35VHTlulfOKCH1l9Jj-pWo (https://www.ebay.com/itm/SOP44-To-DIP44-IC-Socket-Programmer-Universal-Converter-Adapter-/173692224913?fbclid=IwAR334as6qdB5LNtYGP9zXhdchUaqj7VLKzd3x35VHTlulfOKCH1l9Jj-pWo)

Any suggestions?

You need special adapters.

(https://i.imgur.com/bti30vV.png)

http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/TL866_Adapter.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/TL866_Adapter.html)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on October 02, 2019, 04:23:02 pm
Good idea to add the "TL866" for my search.

The one you pictured below is not working as it programs from another side of the chip.

I found the following, this should work? right?

Link:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/878397297.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.34552e930HQfgA&algo_pvid=e352d3ad-5f20-443d-a52a-b1517fb7e64a&algo_expid=e352d3ad-5f20-443d-a52a-b1517fb7e64a-4&btsid=a68cdd42-1854-48ef-9e77-92ec0dd5f7b8&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_52 (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/878397297.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.34552e930HQfgA&algo_pvid=e352d3ad-5f20-443d-a52a-b1517fb7e64a&algo_expid=e352d3ad-5f20-443d-a52a-b1517fb7e64a-4&btsid=a68cdd42-1854-48ef-9e77-92ec0dd5f7b8&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_52)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on October 02, 2019, 05:29:14 pm
Yes, if you have a SOP44 Chip it works.

Beware that you need also the Base-Adapter.
The socket as standalone does not work.

Regards Chris
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on October 02, 2019, 06:30:32 pm
Hi Chris,

thank you for the hint / tip, so long story short. To program AMD AM29F800BB, I will need following.

SOP32 base adapter (Option 1, in link below)
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32819090603.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.1d4c10a4IPC5Ab&algo_pvid=db2cd105-cbf0-44f6-badf-aad462a46a7f&algo_expid=db2cd105-cbf0-44f6-badf-aad462a46a7f-37&btsid=7fded22e-2040-4a4b-93ca-8a0863da6f88&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_52 (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32819090603.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.1d4c10a4IPC5Ab&algo_pvid=db2cd105-cbf0-44f6-badf-aad462a46a7f&algo_expid=db2cd105-cbf0-44f6-badf-aad462a46a7f-37&btsid=7fded22e-2040-4a4b-93ca-8a0863da6f88&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_52)

SOP44 IC Adapter:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/878397297.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.34552e930HQfgA&algo_pvid=e352d3ad-5f20-443d-a52a-b1517fb7e64a&algo_expid=e352d3ad-5f20-443d-a52a-b1517fb7e64a-4&btsid=a68cdd42-1854-48ef-9e77-92ec0dd5f7b8&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_52 (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/878397297.html?spm=a2g0o.productlist.0.0.34552e930HQfgA&algo_pvid=e352d3ad-5f20-443d-a52a-b1517fb7e64a&algo_expid=e352d3ad-5f20-443d-a52a-b1517fb7e64a-4&btsid=a68cdd42-1854-48ef-9e77-92ec0dd5f7b8&ws_ab_test=searchweb0_0,searchweb201602_,searchweb201603_52)

Correct?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on October 03, 2019, 09:39:55 am
Yes, you have to have the Base-Adatper.

The best is you buy a Adapter-Kit.
My one i have buyed from the Bay.
https://www.ebay.de/itm/TSOP32-40-48-PSOP44-SOP-56-adapter-for-TL866CS-866A-programm-29LV800-39VF80/332847085357 (https://www.ebay.de/itm/TSOP32-40-48-PSOP44-SOP-56-adapter-for-TL866CS-866A-programm-29LV800-39VF80/332847085357)

You can see it includes also a Psop44.
Its not a Fake Adapter and works like a charm.

On Ali you need this one if you want only to programm a Sop44:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32756548203.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000023.22.4ea2302cyTsHDL (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/32756548203.html?spm=a2g0o.detail.1000023.22.4ea2302cyTsHDL)

Sometimes its cheaper to buy the whole Kit.
You have then some Adapters as an additional Bonus.

Regards Chris
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Purduephotog on October 04, 2019, 05:42:14 pm
@firewalker Since you appear to be the de-facto expert (hexpert?) here- I've about to try and bugger up my brand new TL866. I have a 48 TSOP NAND, and wanted to read it in-system rather than desolder it. To do so, I used the Chip-Clip 360 (480)- so I can snap onto the chip, then break it out to program.

http://www.360-clip.com/ (http://www.360-clip.com/)

It's the full pin-out, 48 (56)... I see some other adapters, but I'm not guessing much more.

The first 4 pins aren't used (NC) on the breakout board, but without knowing how to setup the TL866 to actually use all the pins I didn't want to go around snipping standoffs yet.

Any suggestions or did I get the wrong on-circuit breakout cable?

(And yeah, I could just desolder it, but this is nicer if it works...)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on October 05, 2019, 01:10:18 pm
radioman is the absolute ruler of this thread!  :) :) :)

What is the part number of the memory? In any case, there is no guaranty even if you make the right connections that you will be able to read the chip. By applying voltage to the circuit it could do many unwanted things.

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Chriss on October 14, 2019, 09:23:58 pm
Radioman thank you for this hack from CS to A version.

I already upgraded my CS tool to A version as you mentioned in the post #1257 on the page 51 and the tool is working like a rocket!

Thank you.
My best regards.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Zucca on October 15, 2019, 05:35:36 am
Radioman for president.
Another happy customer here.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on October 16, 2019, 04:06:31 am
Radioman for president.
Another happy customer here.

Agree, but, as president, Radioman probably is targeted for an assassination as the manufacturer probably still has pile of stock of A model that is soooo difficult to sell.  :-DD
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebclr on October 16, 2019, 07:42:07 am
Do this firmware update A to CS works with 6.85 software version ??
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on October 16, 2019, 11:54:27 pm

Thank you all guys!

Radioman for president.
LOL! this was a good one :-+

Agree, but, as president, Radioman probably is targeted for an assassination
Well, that's why i don't candidate! Because I'm afraid of Chinese triad. :phew:

Seriously they should pay me for free advertising and years of free support for their crappy products. And also for adding Linux support to their devices. Right Mr. Wang?

This is the Linux support thread:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/tl866-linux-support/ (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/reviews/tl866-linux-support/)
Please post there any questions regarding to Linux/wine issues or related questions.
The Linux minipro project page is here:
https://gitlab.com/DavidGriffith/minipro/ (https://gitlab.com/DavidGriffith/minipro/)
Many people contributed to this project including me.

Regarding to that
Quote
pile of stock of A model
they should donate them to poor students not to recycle them.

The new TL866II plus model suffers from the same disorder as his little  brother. Bunch of people with bricked devices because of a failed firmware update. Why motherboard (an other) manufacturers will give you the firmware(efi/bios) on their website and you don't? afraid of cloners? We all know where those cloners are located! they are your own countrymen.
Please find and sue them but don't implement malicious(and shi..y) code to brick clones.
That shi..y code already bricked genuine devices but thanks to my work those people restored their devices.

The history is repeating again! Bricked TL866II+ ! And because of this thread notoriety some people asks for help here or by PM me because the manufacturer don't even respond.

Do this firmware update A to CS works with 6.85 software version ??
Yes this will work with any version. But this depends if your device is genuine or not. Even if you have a clone you can but sometimes you can brick it. Not a big deal if you have some technicall skills. The restore procedure is quite easy.
There are two possible upgrade methods. The first one is very similar to how an arduino board works. There's a bootloader and you upload a 'sketch' (in our case the sketch is the A or CS firmware). Simple as that.
The second upgrade option is more risky and involves reflashing the whole chip. This is a two step process. First upload a custom firmware and then that custom firmware will erase and reflash the new bootloader. Then the normal firmware is flashed back.
I recommend you to try the first method first.

Happy firmware reflashing and may the force be with you!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheSteve on October 17, 2019, 01:38:24 am
Just imagine how powerful the 866 could be if the creator gave us the ability to add our own devices.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mcovington on October 17, 2019, 08:37:31 pm
Is it just my PC, or does the TL866 software (latest version, downloaded today) have places on the screen where the font is the wrong size?

(http://www.covingtoninnovations.com/michael/blog/1910/20191017-XGecu.png)

Am I lacking a font that is present in Chinese but not American Windows?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on October 17, 2019, 08:59:27 pm
Is it just my PC, or does the TL866 software (latest version, downloaded today) have places on the screen where the font is the wrong size?

You might have text scaling selected in your Windows settings, and the TL866 software doesn't handle it well? What physical screen resolution do you have, and what text scaling have you set in Windows?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Zucca on October 17, 2019, 09:13:18 pm
Just imagine how powerful the 866 could be if the creator gave us the ability to add our own devices.

That github SW for the TL866 does not help?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mcovington on October 17, 2019, 09:15:48 pm
Is it just my PC, or does the TL866 software (latest version, downloaded today) have places on the screen where the font is the wrong size?

You might have text scaling selected in your Windows settings, and the TL866 software doesn't handle it well? What physical screen resolution do you have, and what text scaling have you set in Windows?

That's going to take some investigation.  I did initially open it on a screen that has text scaling (a very high-res screen).  But the problem persisted when it was opened on a screen without scaling. 

I gather other people's copies of the software don't do this?  I will investigating the scaling settings for this specific software (they can be set for a specific .exe, in Properties, and I have had to do it with some software).  I wanted to check that it wasn't a known problem.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: mcovington on October 17, 2019, 09:45:11 pm
OK, it did help considerably to find XGpro.exe, right-click on Properties, and choose Compatibility, Change High DPI Settings, Override High DPI Scaling, System (Enhanced).

"Blank check" is still cut off, and when I choose Russian or Chinese language, I do not get the appropriate character set, so I still think the designer was using a font that I don't have, maybe a font that almost nobody has.  It's an easy mistake to make. 

Thanks for the suggestion to look into this.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SergMM on October 18, 2019, 05:08:32 am
Hello!
I am pleased to announce that a new Android version of the software for TL866A/CS has been released.
Now WizardProg Expert supports 13966 devices. Original windows soft TL866A/CS supports 14037 devices.
WizardProg Expert does not support only PAL/GAL, Dallas SRAM DS series, not work testing SRAM and logic IC.
Everything else works!
Look WizardProg Expert at Google Play.
Free version of WizardProg Expert is WizardProg Mobile, supports 3000 devices.
Thanks.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebclr on October 18, 2019, 06:58:57 am
Sregmm you did a great job, but fail on the same point that the Chinese did, does not support custom creation of chip profiles by the user, With this feature well documented you will gain hundreds of new parts per month made by the user community
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheSteve on October 18, 2019, 07:13:18 am
I want ramtron fram support.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: BravoV on October 18, 2019, 07:38:35 am
Sregmm you did a great job, but fail on the same point that the Chinese did, does not support custom creation of chip profiles by the user, With this feature well documented you will gain hundreds of new parts per month made by the user community

If I'm not mistaken, our president candidate radioman  :P, had explained in the past, that this programmer by design, customized profile must be supplied by the manufacturer as they're hardcoded at the chip, not at the client software PC side.

I'm not the expert, CMIIW.  :-//
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on October 18, 2019, 05:01:56 pm
If I'm not mistaken, our president candidate radioman  :P
knock knock who's there? me autoelectric. I kill you!  ;D

Yes that's right. I explained here in this post:
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg408976/#msg408976 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg408976/#msg408976)

The open source CLI minipro software has some user defined devices, but these are only variations of the existing protocols.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: UpLateGeek on October 31, 2019, 10:55:32 am
Just trying to get my new TL866II Plus up and running, but I don't fancy the 36 hours it's going to take to download the software via their 1200 baud modem connection to their website. Is there anywhere else I can download the software from that won't turn my PC into a virus?

EDIT: Never mind, I managed to download it in a few minutes at work. Apparently you need a couple of gigabit fibre Internet links to get around 175KB/sec through the Great Firewall of China.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on November 14, 2019, 06:23:32 pm
What am I doing wrong here?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on November 14, 2019, 06:33:41 pm
What am I doing wrong here?
Hmm... i think that you're using the wrong base adapter.
Make sure you use this one: https://proghq.org/wiki/index.php/TL866_TSOP48_adapter
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on November 15, 2019, 06:21:02 am
What am I doing wrong here?
Hmm... i think that you're using the wrong base adapter.
Make sure you use this one: https://proghq.org/wiki/index.php/TL866_TSOP48_adapter

thanks for the heads-up, I need to replace the base adapter then, I have ordered this one instead:
https://de.aliexpress.com/item/32751137057.html?spm=a2g0s.9042311.0.0.13364c4dfQk4yl
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on December 13, 2019, 04:54:23 am
I have a set of four XGecu Pro programmers that seem to have replaced the MiniPro version, and run them from a powered 4-way USB hub. Just now I used them all together and part way through programming I noticed that I hadn't turned on the plug pack that powers the hub. The whole four programmers were running off DC supplied solely from a single PC USB socket and it worked just fine.

So the questions are:
how much current does each programmer draw when programming an eprom?
what is the current rating of a PC USB connection?

Edit  - it draws 130mA per programmer, so 520mA total. USB looks to be rated at 500mA so am I risking something?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Electro Fan on December 13, 2019, 05:09:48 am
Edit  - it draws 130mA per programmer, so 520mA total. USB looks to be rated at 500mA so am I risking something?

I don’t know if you are risking anything but fwiw I wrestled with updating the firmware on the TL866 and after several unsuccessful tries I discovered that the USB ports built into my computer chassis didn’t supply as much power as some after market PCI USB ports I had installed (I think with a molex power cable).  Once I switched from the PC chassis’ integrated USB ports to the PCI card USB ports everything worked fine.  Net, net there is some threshold below which power is insufficient (and probably a threshold above which might be harmful).  (Sorry I can’t help with the specific min/max current thresholds.)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Lucy on December 21, 2019, 01:48:50 pm
Thanks to this forum for helping me unbrick my minipro, I was just about to trash it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: noJunk on December 29, 2019, 05:26:21 pm
I got an TL866II PLUS and it's not capable with an 5250 and jumper wire to program anything in or offline system (soldered).
SPI flash from ZIF jumper wired to any soldered chip will statically trigger a pin detection error.


(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=preview&id=1z6lhjUx_ARNUFJd7xLRtCEZHf8YgEfaB)

(making example here)
SST25VF080B  PIN ERROR 2 3 6 7
W25Q16BV PIN ERROR 5 6
ETC ETC

The programming software doesn't allow typically 2.7-3.6V SPI EEPROM device to be programmed with the embedded ICSP port or if it does and the internal programmer VCC is supplied, the programmer will trigger it's own over-current protection mechanism.
The TL866II PLUS doesn't passively identify, read or write, it expect and flow the whole 3.3v circuit on, some desktop board require this to not happen altogether.
It work on bare programmable device in the ZIF socket, or trough adapter but that's all.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: flash2b on January 02, 2020, 11:37:14 am
Disable "PIN detect" on options and try again. The TL866II+ sees a load when the device is in circuit and PIN detect will stop the programming.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: noJunk on January 02, 2020, 10:24:22 pm
Thank you, but it's more then disabling the pin detection.
Connecting the TL866II Plus with it's own VCC in either ICP or ZIP to CLIP make the software throw an error about over-current protection, or inverted IC or some other error like that when no other external power source are supplied.
In ICP mode it let you have the VCC connected to "monitor" the external VCC level but it doesn't do actually any "monitoring".
The hardware is not capable to drive the board 3v3 circuit with safety, to discover the Manufacturer ID: EF, Memory type: 40, Capacity: 16 or to targeting the SPI or to interpose with the PCH, pull low other masters or high other signal, ETC etc.
The Xgecu TL866II Plus doesn't read or write while in-circuit on specified soldered device.
It's an in-socket programmer without any affinity or compatibility.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on January 03, 2020, 10:55:20 am
You are trying to read a soldered spi memory. Why do you expect it to work flawlessly? By supplying supply, you enable more than the memory it self. If there is an mcu present that controls the memory, locate the reset pin and hold it in the logic level that resets it. Then try reading the memory.

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on January 03, 2020, 06:35:15 pm
Here's an interesting comment (http://disq.us/p/1m2v49n) that may help you:

"I think desoldering this chip is not neccessary if you want to dump its content only. It is very risky, especially for unexperienced/unequiped hobbyists. This memory use SPI bus so you need to connect only 4 or 5 wires. It is usually easier to figure out traces DI/DO/CLK/CS on PCB and scratch soldermask. Wires can be soldered via small resistors for safety. You can power up the board while reset line of main controller is pulled low (check datasheet if it is high/low). It is common to wire reset line to external connector/solderpin for testing/programming reason, so finding this pin should be easy. In reset state, most microcontrollers set their pins in floating mode, so you can change their level externally without risk."
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: noJunk on January 03, 2020, 07:39:44 pm
 That's something sold as In Serial Circuit Programmer should do with just the /CS /HOLD function for the supported configuration.
The board I'm currently testing (DQ57TM|DQ77MK|DX58SO|DX58SO2) are simple desktop board, no quartz freeze or other hardware escamotage are required by user to reprogram the BIOS in off-line mode (NO POWER | NO BATTERY with only PSU ATX connected for the GND routing | VCC programmer ).
The older ( 10 sec BUSY ) W25Q16BV or W25Q16AV or the other W25Q64FV on the latter doesn't have an documented hardware reset pin and will not recognize any standard SPI instruction when powered up in the last "wrong" (QUAD) condition. Maybe raising /CS and then lowering could reset the AX condition and driving the /CS low and then shifting the 03h instruction followed by 24-bit address (A23-A0) into the DI pin could change the operational state, anyway, something not in user hand with the software provided on the TL866II PLUS.
The PCH may have it's own but I have not yet found how and by the way on the DX58SO|DX58SO2 it's not implemented to do anything without the battery @ software level.
Other hardware programmers ( I'm actually checking on most currently as per today available ) [with these board] sold with a price tag as hardware MCU\SPI\ICPS\ISP (no custom devboard) doesn't awake other component on the circuit except for the PWR_LED and the selected chip by just connecting the clip.
Few of these MCU\SPI\ICPS\ISP programmer read, write and verify the full content.
Other read and the content mismatch by lot percentage [I'm working on the signal quality on these] but unlike some few cheap programmer ( fully powering on everything 3v3 without any operation ) the TL866II PLUS can't even detect the ID while in-circuit, desoldering is not an option right now, thanks for the mild suggestion.
I will solder an composite chip carrier SOW8 type (ACA-SPI-004-K01) someday down the point when I'm done checking the status.

(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=preview&id=1iZcrsl4nO2mlEwLp_srww_VTi-lvKDcj)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on January 03, 2020, 09:20:47 pm
I have read soldered spi memories many time with this programmer. I doesn;t always work though. It depends ton the surrounding circuits. Some times you may need extra power. Like in the video bellow.

https://youtu.be/Jjv1ETu89vY?list=PLvOlSehNtuHsc8y1buFPJZaD1kKzIxpWL&t=1511

On the image you attached the memory seems to need some cleaning.

(https://i.imgur.com/rlID5P3.png)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: noJunk on January 03, 2020, 11:54:37 pm
I know not the best but the board work in a condition like that, other programmer work too.
I'll try to brush it of on next iteration, or touch up... someday or the other! plus the place is kinda low space (1.5cm \ 0.55inch) and the surrounding is filled with plastic with low melt temperature.
Need like six displaced probe for temperature checking and five layer of kapton tape to work in the area.
Can't get better magnification it's currently mounted inside a case here an alternative view with more UV light.


(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=thumbinal&id=1333t4AfuqJ9aLPTPi4A_bBZnRwyfoPZ2)


I'll might do better with an iron.
About the external power supply, external VCC (MB102 prototype board) with shared GND ( programmer < power supply > target ) on the Xgecu TL866II PLUS make the overcurrent protection error disappear but W25Q16BV remain not detectable, like in the first figure (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg2849110/#msg2849110 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg2849110/#msg2849110)). Serial Clock (CLK) and Serial Data Input (DI) are likely on /HOLD.
This or something like also happen with few programmer capable to read, write and verify if external VCC is supplied along the embedded programmer.
W25Q16BV seems not supported in circuit ( board DX58SO2 ) W25Q16AV seems not supported in circuit ( board DX58SO ), W25Q32BV\W25Q64FV seems not supported in circuit either ( other board ) on the Xgecu TL866II PLUS.


(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=preview&id=1QF9qmTLbrFd08o7e2Fep3tFWk_pM3Bjj)

(is that a miniPRO?)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tchicago on January 04, 2020, 01:56:29 am
Need like six displaced probe for temperature checking and five layer of kapton tape to work in the area.

Try Chipquik kit part # SMD1NL. The main component is an alloy that melts at the temperature lower than water's boiling point. The idea is that you rub this alloy on the pins using the regular iron, and the alloy mixes with the motherboard's solder alloy, lowering its melting point. Then, once mixed, it takes a long time for this mix to cool and harden, so you just heat one side then the other, then just pick that chip off the board. Very easy.

You can get this alloy cheaper on eBay from Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia... Look for "Rose alloy", or "Rose metal" 50 grams of it will be more than enough for a lot of future work like that.

Just make sure this is "Rose metal" and NOT "Wood's metal". The latter is toxic and has even lower melting point: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood%27s_metal . To ensure what kind of alloy it is,  test its melting point using the table from Wikipedia.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sotos on January 04, 2020, 09:13:46 am
Need like six displaced probe for temperature checking and five layer of kapton tape to work in the area.

Try Chipquik kit part # SMD1NL. The main component is an alloy that melts at the temperature lower than water's boiling point. The idea is that you rub this alloy on the pins using the regular iron, and the alloy mixes with the motherboard's solder alloy, lowering its melting point. Then, once mixed, it takes a long time for this mix to cool and harden, so you just heat one side then the other, then just pick that chip off the board. Very easy.

You can get this alloy cheaper on eBay from Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia... Look for "Rose alloy", or "Rose metal" 50 grams of it will be more than enough for a lot of future work like that.

Just make sure this is "Rose metal" and NOT "Wood's metal". The latter is toxic and has even lower melting point: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wood%27s_metal . To ensure what kind of alloy it is,  test its melting point using the table from Wikipedia.

Do you have a link for the product you mention. I cant find it at Ebay.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on January 04, 2020, 10:13:43 am
Do you have a link for the product you mention. I cant find it at Ebay.

Mouser, Digikey, Amazon UK carry it.
You can use a technology called "Google" to find out.  ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sotos on January 04, 2020, 10:21:45 am
Do you have a link for the product you mention. I cant find it at Ebay.

Mouser, Digikey, Amazon UK carry it.
You can use a technology called "Google" to find out.  ;)

I did nothing comes up, the only thing at Ebay are flowers and jewelry. And my friend I have it and its very expensive to buy it again so Im looking for less expensive ones.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on January 04, 2020, 11:16:06 am
Mouser, Digikey, Amazon UK carry it.
You can use a technology called "Google" to find out.  ;)

I did nothing comes up, the only thing at Ebay are flowers and jewelry. And my friend I have it and its very expensive to buy it again so Im looking for less expensive ones.

I said "Google". That is not the same as "Ebay".
Here, let me show you: https://www.google.com/search?q=Chipquik+SMD1NL (https://www.google.com/search?q=Chipquik+SMD1NL)

It's a brand-name product for a rather specialized use. Why would you expect to find it for cheap on ebay?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sotos on January 04, 2020, 01:54:38 pm
Mouser, Digikey, Amazon UK carry it.
You can use a technology called "Google" to find out.  ;)

I did nothing comes up, the only thing at Ebay are flowers and jewelry. And my friend I have it and its very expensive to buy it again so Im looking for less expensive ones.

I said "Google". That is not the same as "Ebay".
Here, let me show you: https://www.google.com/search?q=Chipquik+SMD1NL (https://www.google.com/search?q=Chipquik+SMD1NL)

It's a brand-name product for a rather specialized use. Why would you expect to find it for cheap on ebay?

Although not the proper topic to chat it, but please read again post 1765 what he says and that’s why I was interested for it.

You can get this alloy cheaper on eBay from Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia... Look for "Rose alloy", or "Rose metal" 50 grams of it will be more than enough for a lot of future work like that.

I think you didn’t read what he is saying.

As for Chipquik I have it and work with it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on January 04, 2020, 02:00:36 pm
Oh, right -- I did indeed overlook that. When you referred to "the product you mentioned" in your first reponse to tchicago, I thought you were referring to the "Try Chipquik kit part # SMD1NL" at the beginning of his post. My apologies!

EDIT: When I search for "rose alloy" (including the quotes) on ebay.com, the first four hits are for the metal, a lead/bismuth/tin alloy. All of them from Russia, three with free international shipping. A less convenient format though, little beads instead of a long wire.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: noJunk on January 04, 2020, 03:16:16 pm
Probably you can get away with electric meters security seals or with some type of golf\fishing equipment or 60/40.
But anyway, Yea, I rather save the equipment then wasting the whole board.
 I'm looking to flash those board like hundred of time so, the socket ( like in the attached image ) is the best option but, it's not an easy task ( require experience ) and the resulting planned budget is similar to an industrial ICSP hardware programmer if it work out.
I just thought more hardware programmer were by now compatible in-circuit with desktop board such like these. I still have 3 or 4 to check out.

(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=preview&id=1OgHsZR_Xjqe60DXZ7AoNCpU7vVeD1i_T)

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on January 04, 2020, 06:15:37 pm
I've had success in the past with this programmer (https://www.arlabs.com/eprom_plus.html) and surface mount chip clip (https://www.arlabs.com/connections.html#ASOIC8). YMMV It's not cheap, but it worked for me.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: clip on January 04, 2020, 09:18:45 pm
Hello everyone,
I need advice on how to connect to the board via ICSP port programmer TL866. I do not know what pin to connect. See picture

Thank you
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: noJunk on January 04, 2020, 10:13:02 pm
I'm currently on the path of testing the RK-System Uprog-ICP, should arrive any day by now.
But I'm already having issue with it's unclear DAQ software licensing type which seems to be used by the logic analyzer port.
Software is also crashing on VM with an NINI library error exception. So, hope are low and return policy will make the difference.
The Dediprog SF100 (firmware 4.1.1) work already on most of these intel board, dunno if newer version still do, but should.
GQ-4x4 partially work. Content is not begin correctly read and might require the ADP-056 adapter - got one inbound.
With a price tag over 300 I can virtually buy one QUICK 861DW do the training required on dead hardware and somehow try when ready in the next decade.
At the same quote I could also opt to find any PCB custom assembly services nearby and call it done with haste and warranty.
Next in the line is REVELPROG-IS once I'm done I'll evaluate the working\partial one.
TL-866II PLUS doesn't work.

@clip
Either the software will tell you or it's not supported and the option is disabled and will not work.
OR it may not work even if the option is selectable and supported with an visual scheme.
good luck
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on January 05, 2020, 10:16:36 am
Hello everyone,
I need advice on how to connect to the board via ICSP port programmer TL866. I do not know what pin to connect. See picture

Thank you

I don't think that you can use the icsp port on that eeprom.

(https://i.imgur.com/MG6buYGs.png) (https://i.imgur.com/MG6buYG.png)

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: clip on January 05, 2020, 02:15:47 pm
Hello everyone,
I need advice on how to connect to the board via ICSP port programmer TL866. I do not know what pin to connect. See picture

Thank you

I don't think that you can use the icsp port on that eeprom.

(https://i.imgur.com/MG6buYGs.png) (https://i.imgur.com/MG6buYG.png)

Alexander.

Thank you.
Thus, I would do it. The Eep 95160 is inaccessible to the board. I need to connect without disassembling complex boards using ICSP port.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tchicago on January 06, 2020, 09:57:55 pm
You can get this alloy cheaper on eBay from Romania, Moldova, Ukraine, Russia... Look for "Rose alloy", or "Rose metal" 50 grams of it will be more than enough for a lot of future work like that.


Regarding the ebay items these are the examples:

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Roses-metal-Rose-metal-alloy-Rose-Lead-Bismuth-Tin-alloy/254142597132?hash=item3b2c14480c:g:8dAAAOSwBRdcdrBu (https://www.ebay.com/itm/Roses-metal-Rose-metal-alloy-Rose-Lead-Bismuth-Tin-alloy/254142597132?hash=item3b2c14480c:g:8dAAAOSwBRdcdrBu)

https://www.ebay.com/itm/Roses-metal-Rose-metal-alloy-Rose-Lead-Bismuth-Tin-alloy-Lot-of-50g/232200217143?hash=item3610362237:g:THcAAOSw1WJZIzF0 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/Roses-metal-Rose-metal-alloy-Rose-Lead-Bismuth-Tin-alloy-Lot-of-50g/232200217143?hash=item3610362237:g:THcAAOSw1WJZIzF0)

I use a similarly looking stuff bought at local electronics market in Ukraine (locally called KarDachi). It is equivalent to Chipquik product https://www.chipquik.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=220001 (https://www.chipquik.com/store/product_info.php?products_id=220001) , just more of that special solder for less price.

Sorry about the late response to this topic - I was away for vacation.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: noJunk on January 07, 2020, 04:33:07 pm
I think the malleability equivalent is more on the leaded ChipQuik SMD4.5 alloy side.
 The ChipQuik SMD4.5NL (lead free) would not give the same result especially on iron with less power or with cheap unoptimized thermal conductivity\design.

The thing with bismuth and lead you linked it's almost the best to desolder on budget, nobody should try with lead free product on SMD or valuable hardware.
 If you do use lead free with cheap iron: be ready to repair pads and trace and replace the IC.

In the EU leaded soldering product are an issue for hobbyist but should be written all over on any "desoldering video".
Wear the gloves, the mask and do it with an fume extractor and also while at check the material before on copper and aluminum for reaction.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: noJunk on January 21, 2020, 11:52:12 pm
In the end I soldered the socket on the board.

(https://drive.google.com/uc?export=preview&id=19iz8ZqsuLSWcS3NjVmOTZzBv1qwVZOsH)

 :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Macbeth on January 22, 2020, 12:07:07 am
In the EU leaded soldering product are an issue for hobbyist but should be written all over on any "desoldering video".
Wear the gloves, the mask and do it with an fume extractor and also while at check the material before on copper and aluminum for reaction.
Au contraire, Rodney, au contraire.
Lead 60/40 solder has a lower melting point and not so nasty fluxes which are required for unleaded solder. Your soldering iron will never turn lead into a gas that you breath in. The flux is another matter.
Normal people wash their hands before eating anyway so if a tiny miniscule of lead was on your fingers from handling 60/40 then it will be gone immediately.
Let me say, the EU RoHS is a typical globalist politicians response to a problem that did not exist and has exacerbated electronic waste and pollution (because nothing lasts any more with that shit lead free solder and just ends up in landfill).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: noJunk on January 22, 2020, 01:21:31 am
Yea, I'm not advocating for lead free stuff, like I said: I save more by repairing the hardware or begin able to.
There just low quality inorganic stuff smelling really bad or making real sickening fume. Rosin flux usually smell not so bad, or alot (I'm using the SMD291 for availability) and doesn't leave acidic residue by product.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on January 22, 2020, 06:58:36 am
Let me say, the EU RoHS is a typical globalist politicians response to a problem that did not exist and has exacerbated electronic waste and pollution (because nothing lasts any more with that shit lead free solder and just ends up in landfill).

Now there's an interesting take on history. The RoHS regulations have caused the transition to "disposable" electronics?! Where were you in the 80s and 90s, mate? (RoHS first became effective in 2002.)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tocsa120ls on January 22, 2020, 10:09:38 am
Let me say, the EU RoHS is a typical globalist politicians response to a problem that did not exist and has exacerbated electronic waste and pollution (because nothing lasts any more with that shit lead free solder and just ends up in landfill).

Now there's an interesting take on history. The RoHS regulations have caused the transition to "disposable" electronics?! Where were you in the 80s and 90s, mate? (RoHS first became effective in 2002.)

It certainly added to the problem. We've scientifically proven that satellites were lost because tin whishers growing out of lead-less solder shorted out their nav boards. At least one NPP (AKW) shutdown is attributed to tin whiskers (Millstone, CT). Toyota could tell stories too... (conformal coating does not stop tin whisker growth, snatch).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on January 22, 2020, 12:05:54 pm
It certainly added to the problem. We've scientifically proven that satellites were lost because tin whishers growing out of lead-less solder shorted out their nav boards. At least one NPP (AKW) shutdown is attributed to tin whiskers (Millstone, CT). Toyota could tell stories too... (conformal coating does not stop tin whisker growth, snatch).

But my point is that the whole industry -- first and foremost consumer electronics and computing, then increasingly also measurement & control devices etc. -- was moving to "disposable", non-repairable electronics as a business model, and that RoHS was introduced in response to that. Macbeth's claim that there was no good reason for introducing RoHS, and that RoHS has caused the proliferation of electronic waste, is a very "Brexit" thing to say...

As a side note, all the critical applications which you mention in your examples are actually outside of the RoHS scope: vehicles including satellites, as well as fixed industrial plants, are not covered to my knowledge.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: charlyd on February 10, 2020, 11:07:38 pm
did anybody in this topic ever managed to burn  EPROMs TMS2516/2532  if yes please PM me.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Blendama on March 17, 2020, 04:49:39 pm
Hi everyone! 

Long time lurker here. I’m looking to purchase a TL866 and decided to invest the time in reading this forum post from page 1!  All I have to say is; Radioman you ROCK!

I checked autoelectric’s website and it looks like a new programmer is going to launch soon.  If I read it correctly it will support Vpp > 18V!

http://forums.xgecu.com/redirect.php?tid=19&goto=lastpost#lastpost (http://forums.xgecu.com/redirect.php?tid=19&goto=lastpost#lastpost)

I think I may hold out until it launches...curious if anyone else knows any more about it?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kalle_wirsch on March 18, 2020, 03:20:12 pm
Hi,

I bricked my TL866A (which was a TL866CS) by accidently flashing a new offical firmare.
Then I tried to flash an older firmware with TL866.exe (version 2.52). I soldered a resistor from +3.3V to register R26 as described in the documentation.
Then I tried to flash the firmware dumper and the TL866.exe showed that it was first erasing and than writing something. Than I got a "reflash failed" message. I tried several times. Always the same result.
Now the device completely dead. It is no longer recognized as USB device.

The documentation mentions how to reflash the TL866 with an ICSP programmer. I have no pic programmer or any other ICSP programmer (the TL866A was my ICSP programmer).
Is there any other solution to do this? Maybe with an Arduino? I have some Atmel ISP programmers, can I use them as ICSP programmers too?

kalle
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 20, 2020, 02:06:16 pm
Then I tried to flash an older firmware with TL866.exe (version 2.52). I soldered a resistor from +3.3V to register R26 as described in the documentation.
Then I tried to flash the firmware dumper and the TL866.exe showed that it was first erasing and than writing something. Than I got a "reflash failed" message. I tried several times. Always the same result.
Now the device completely dead. It is no longer recognized as USB device.
kalle
That reflash failed message was caused by that resistor. Until you remove it the programmer will keep enter into boot mode after power up or reset. My firmware updater will test the reflash success status by looking at the device status after the reset command. If the device status is ''Normal mode" then a reflash ok is issued, otherwise if the device is still in boot mode you'll see that 'reflash failed' message.  So that resistor will force to always start in bootloader mode even after a succesfull firmware reflash. 

So the problem here is that you can keep reflash your device and you will get that annoying error message until you remove that resistor. But this will not brick your device.  Something else happened here.

Restoring a bricked device is easy, but you will need a PIC programmer. The most simple one is described at the end of that pdf file. three resistors an a DB-25 male connector. Of course you will need a quite old computer with a real LPT connector on the motherboard.   
If you can't find one, maybe you can borrow a Pickit from someone.  Also check this: http://picpgm.picprojects.net/hardware.html (http://picpgm.picprojects.net/hardware.html)
The PicPgm software accepts a plenty of hardware programmers. Maybe you have an usb to serial adapter (PL2303 or FTDI based) to make a JDM programmer like this: https://www.instructables.com/id/The-2-USB-Pic-Programmer-Serial-Cable (https://www.instructables.com/id/The-2-USB-Pic-Programmer-Serial-Cable)

Anyway generate a new firmware with my firmware updater tool and if you encounter any difficulties please reply here.




I checked autoelectric’s website and it looks like a new programmer is going to launch soon.  If I read it correctly it will support Vpp > 18V!

http://forums.xgecu.com/redirect.php?tid=19&goto=lastpost#lastpost (http://forums.xgecu.com/redirect.php?tid=19&goto=lastpost#lastpost)

I think I may hold out until it launches...curious if anyone else knows any more about it?
I found the first reference of the Xgecu T56 while searching for some strings in their software back in january 2018 or so and i was quite confused because i saw that the Xgecu software has some implementations for another programmer (other than TL866II+) so yes is about two years since then and is still in the development stage. 

Specs are OK. 32bit processor, 56 pins and other cool stuff.   Unfortunately same Windows closed source software no other OS support and maybe easy to brick as their first two programmers. Because i'm also involved in the open source software for their TL866A/CS and TL866II+ programmers i know how difficult is to keep the open source software up to date with those firmware changes introduced in each software version.  So i doubt about any collaboration with them to release some docs about the protocol or something else,  because what we have right now is based only on reverse engineering. 
The only strong point about their programmers is price.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kalle_wirsch on March 21, 2020, 04:26:49 pm
Restoring a bricked device is easy, but you will need a PIC programmer. The most simple one is described at the end of that pdf file. three resistors an a DB-25 male connector. Of course you will need a quite old computer with a real LPT connector on the motherboard.   

Thank you for your reply. I soldered the adapter for the printer port and tried it on an older Dell laptop with the version of the picpgm software, that was linked to in pdf file (Version 1.6.5.0). I connected it with the TL866 device and powered it by USB. I used the hardware setup for the picpgm software that was mentioned in the pdf file. But the software reports "ERROR opening LPT driver!".
Does this older software version work with Windows 7?

At picprojects.net there is a newer version of the software available, but the descriped programming adapter is more complicate, with a driver circuit.

kalle
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 21, 2020, 05:07:51 pm
Never tried this on Windows 7. The pictures from that pdf file are taken by me from a Windows XP machine seven years ago while searching for a cheap solution to reflash bricked TL866. The old now picpgm version was the last version then. There's a driver (portio.sys) which i think that is not supported by the newer operating systems as this is a 32bit driver (i guess).

You can try a new version but i think that you will get the same result. Perhaps a win7 32bit version should work? More info here: http://picpgm.picprojects.net/faq.html#FAQ_002 (http://picpgm.picprojects.net/faq.html#FAQ_002)  see FAQ002

Quote
At picprojects.net there is a newer version of the software available, but the described programming adapter is more complicate, with a driver circuit.
Yeah, there's a buffered version there, but don't worry this el cheapo three resistor version will work even with the last software version.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kalle_wirsch on March 21, 2020, 05:51:51 pm
That reflash failed message was caused by that resistor.

I still have a question about the resistor.

Without the resistor, TL866.EXE got stuck when trying to deleting the boot sector. The green indicator that the boot sector is active was off.
This was the reason why I soldered in the resistor as described in the pdf file.

What would have been the correct procedure to install another firmware with TL866.EXE, when the boot sector is not activated?

kalle
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 21, 2020, 06:31:08 pm
Perhaps by reflashing a new firmware version you got a semibrick. Meaning that you can't upgrade the firmware because the bootloader is locked. That's why TL866.exe was stuck while trying to switch your programmer into bootloader mode. So you soldered that resistor to force bootloader mode. Good move.  At this point you should remove that resistor (while the device is still powered) or continue with that resistor and flash the firmware dumper. After the firmware dumper is flashed, if that resistor is still in the circuit you will get that error message (reflash failed) because the programmer cannot switch back to normal mode. This situation is like you keep pressing the DEL key while booting your computer and you enter to bios mode again and again. There's no chance to load the OS (in our case  the normal firmware).   
That's why i keep repeating here in this topic to not solder that resistor, but to keep his terminals to the indicated points with one hand while inserting the usb cable with the other hand. Sounds hard but after a few tries you should succeed.  :)

After that if the firmware dumper is flashed  ok the advanced button will become available. In the advanced window, check the CP bit and click the write button in the code protection section and then just click the write button in the bootloader section to rewrite your bootloader and correct his checksum.   
Then close the advanced window, select 'TL866A' from the main window and click reflash. At this moment you should get a working device and you can flash the latest firmware version (6.85).
So that resistor is only to force your device into boot mode. I should update that pdf file with this info because as i can see there's a confusions here.

But in your case you should get that PicPgm working to manually reflash your firmware.  Again what version of Windows 7 you have: 32 or 64 bit?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kalle_wirsch on March 21, 2020, 07:24:51 pm
But in your case you should get that PicPgm working to manually reflash your firmware.  Again what version of Windows 7 you have: 32 or 64 bit?

32 bit. I have an old Toshiba laptop with Windows 2000. Will try this tomorrow.

Now I've got the point with the resistor.  ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on March 21, 2020, 08:58:27 pm
I just updated the software for my TL866 Mk2 from version 10.00 to 10.02, but I cannot find any changelogs?  :-//
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 21, 2020, 09:17:16 pm
Here: http://www.xgecu.com/en/TL866_main.html (http://www.xgecu.com/en/TL866_main.html)  ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 21, 2020, 11:17:39 pm
I think I may hold out until it launches..
Already on sale!?  https://www.ebay.com/itm/XGecu-T56-Universal-Programmer (https://www.ebay.com/itm/XGecu-T56-Universal-Programmer-56-Pin-Drivers-support-20000-ICs-NAND-Flash-EMMC/193386374573?hash=item2d06b9e5ad:g:85AAAOSwxrJecN7s)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on March 22, 2020, 08:32:21 am
Already on sale!?  https://www.ebay.com/itm/XGecu-T56-Universal-Programmer (https://www.ebay.com/itm/XGecu-T56-Universal-Programmer-56-Pin-Drivers-support-20000-ICs-NAND-Flash-EMMC/193386374573?hash=item2d06b9e5ad:g:85AAAOSwxrJecN7s)

$156 US. Let's hope that is the "early adoptor, need to have the latest gadget" price, and it will come down over time...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kalle_wirsch on March 23, 2020, 06:38:45 pm
32 bit. I have an old Toshiba laptop with Windows 2000. Will try this tomorrow.

Success! My TL866 is working again!  :-+

First I tried the old Windows 2000 laptop with the picpgm software and the simple LPT programmer was detect. But when I connected it to the TL866 board the PIC was not detected.
But the TL866 was USB powered by another laptop and that laptop suddenly detected an new USB device. So I started the TL866.EXE again an it detected the Firmware dumper that I flashed some days ago.
Now I was able to reflash the bootloader and the firmware and everything is working fine.  :D

Thank you very much for your support!  :-+ :-+ :-+

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 23, 2020, 08:36:53 pm
But the TL866 was USB powered by another laptop and that laptop suddenly detected an new USB device. So I started the TL866.EXE again an it detected the Firmware dumper that I flashed some days ago.
So, the programmer was not bricked after all. Must have been  something else. Glad you finally restore it. :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on March 29, 2020, 10:58:22 am
I've got a set of four newer type Xgpro programmers running on Linux with with Radiomans software and I program M27C801 1Mx8 eproms. Don't ask me why... Anyway, if I have 3 going at once it usually works okay but if I have all 4 going one or more programmers often stop partway. I have a powered USB hub and a 5V 2A power supply. The programming software is version 8.51. I'm a bit scared to update it in case something gets bricked. What could be the problem?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on March 29, 2020, 11:53:43 am
Did i understand it right. You connect four TL866II plus device on the same hub?
You connect three at the same time it works but when you connect four then you have trouble when you flash a devicechip (M27C801). I'm right?

In this case it seems that the current is too high when you use four programmers at the same time.
The 2 A current source should be higher. Test it with a 3 or 4 Amp source.

By the way when you flash the firmware of the TL866II you always should do it one by one not 4 at the same time.

A small risk when flashing the firmware of the tl866II always could be happen.
When I do this i cross always my fingers.
Since the new device has no recovery process like the older one.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on March 29, 2020, 12:15:35 pm
Did i understand it right. You connect four TL866II plus device on the same hub?
You connect three at the same time it works but when you connect four then you have trouble when you flash a devicechip (M27C801). I'm right?
Yes. 100%
More precisely, all 4 can be connected but only 3 programming at the same time.
And I was worrying about updating the programming software that runs on the pc, not the programmer firmware.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on March 29, 2020, 01:31:50 pm
Quote
And I was worrying about updating the programming software that runs on the pc, not the programmer firmware.

OK, forgot to read that you run on linux with radiomans software.
I am not familiar with his software so I don't know how to handle a backup if an update fails. Sri.

But regardless of the update question.
The trouble when you connect 4 programmes is an current problem from the power supply.

When you flash 4 devices the current of each programmer could be raised above 500mA per programmer.
In this case your power supply with only 2 Amp are not enough. Do you have a stronger one?


Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on March 29, 2020, 01:45:35 pm
No I don’t have a stronger one but I might put a meter across the power and see if it drops while programming. Or maybe a scope. Actually I should first try it on my windows laptop and see if it works okay on that. That would show if it is a software or a power problem.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 29, 2020, 03:43:04 pm
Actually I should first try it on my windows laptop and see if it works okay on that. That would show if it is a software or a power problem.
This is a good test. Also do another one: leave only three devices connected to that USB hub and the 4th one to another USB port and do some tests.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on March 30, 2020, 05:21:51 am
Okay... connected the programmers to a windows 8.1 laptop. Didn't have the original version 8.51 installation CD so I downloaded the latest version 10.06. It demanded that I reflash the programmers before it would do anything so I did them one at a time and checked they would read an eprom to make sure they were not bricked. Then I set all four programmers going and sure enough two of them quit partway... Standby current = 590mA total,  current while programming = 850mA total, so psu would appear to be large enough.

Now what?

Edit -> The two programmers that failed, I swapped those eproms into the two good programmers.  Aha! These "good" programmers now failed partway... These same eproms will program just fine on my one older TL866CS programmer though. And faster too.  One thing is different. When I select M27C801 eprom the older programmer software shows Vpp voltage = 13.5 whereas the newer one shows 13.00V. Also VDD write = 6.25V and 6.50V respectively. Cant select 6.25V on newer one, only 6.5V. Are VPP and VDD voltages critical?

Edit 2 -> Just updated the programming app on the Linux desktop (wouldn't talk to re-flashed programmers) and plugged the 4 programmers into 4 USB connectors on the front panel of the pc. Sure enough, 2 are okay and two fail partway.  :palm: These newer programmers just don't handle marginal eproms very well, as well as being slower than the old ones. Dang!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: flash2b on March 30, 2020, 10:33:48 am
Does someone have a mirror for XgproV1006_setup.rar since de XGecu site is >4h to download from. Tnx
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on March 30, 2020, 11:15:18 am
Does someone have a mirror for XgproV1006_setup.rar since de XGecu site is >4h to download from. Tnx

Here: https://we.tl/t-GxjEBlc8xy


Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: flash2b on March 30, 2020, 11:34:52 am
Thx !! Downloaded it in 1 second now.....
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on March 30, 2020, 02:13:24 pm
Cant select 6.25V on newer one, only 6.5V. Are VPP and VDD voltages critical?

The datasheet from ST says for Vpp -2 to 14 V and on Vcc/Vio (except A9) -2 to 7V.
So you are in the specific range.

Do you have the same results when you try to burn with only one programmer?
Maybe the software cannot good handle multiProgramming and stucks sometimes.

These newer programmers just don't handle marginal eproms very well, as well as being slower than the old ones. Dang!
Seems more that it isn't the programmer at all but more the Feature for multiprogramming.
The old one can the newer one not so good.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElektroQuark on March 30, 2020, 06:14:12 pm
It has been a long time I have used my TL866.
Today I have tried it and minipro software (6.85) doesn't load (Linux with Wine 5.4). It worked perfectly with 6.85 earlier.
The only changes had been Wine updates.
Is it a wine 5.4 compatibility issue?
I have the last dll installed.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on March 30, 2020, 06:28:52 pm
Just checked. It fails for me with:

Code: [Select]
0009:err:module:import_dll Loading library setupapi.dll (which is needed by L"C:\\windows\\system32\\user32.dll") failed (error c000012f).
0009:err:module:import_dll Library user32.dll (which is needed by L"C:\\windows\\system32\\usb.dll") not found
0009:err:module:import_dll Loading library SETUPAPI.dll (which is needed by L"C:\\MiniPro\\MiniPro.exe") failed (error c000012f).
0009:err:module:LdrInitializeThunk Importing dlls for L"C:\\MiniPro\\MiniPro.exe" failed, status c0000135

wine-5.3 works fine.

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 30, 2020, 06:37:38 pm
The datasheet from ST says for Vpp -2 to 14 V and on Vcc/Vio (except A9) -2 to 7V.
So you are in the specific range.
These are absolute maximum ratings not typical voltages needed for a proper programming.  You can't program  a chip with VPP=2V for example. The datasheet is clear about  programming voltage: 12.75V ± 0.25V.  The VCC voltage while programming should be (according to the datasheet)  6.25V ± 0.25V. 

I simulated a chip write (i don't have this chip though) with a 150ohm load resistor  between VSS and VPP (~100ma current for the Vpp) and 150ohm for VCC (~50ma). 
The VCC voltage was ~6.9V during write and the VPP was about 13.8V.

Here is a snapshot of the VPP for the old TL866A
[attach=1]

And here is the newer TL866II+(XGpro)
[attach=2]

Both programmers use the same 50uS Vpp pulse width in the main interface but the total programing time is about twice for the TL866II+(~300sec for TL866II+ vs ~150sec for the TL866A/CS). From the waveform we can observe that for the TL866A a programming pulse is Ton=60us +Toff=20us (80us/cell) and for the TL866II+ Ton=Toff=63us (126us/cell).   

Despite all these differences there should be no problem.
@Circlotron can you hook a single Xgpro (TL866II+) programmer with one of those problematic chips and post what the error is when fail?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on March 30, 2020, 06:40:09 pm
Today I have tried it and minipro software (6.85) doesn't load (Linux with Wine 5.4). It worked perfectly with 6.85 earlier.
Good to know, I'll try to investigate what the problem is.


Later edit:
Due to some recent wine version implementations i had to rewrite some code from my usb wrapper.  Should work now with wine => 5.4. Thanks for heads up @ElektroQuark.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElektroQuark on April 05, 2020, 06:21:39 am
Your new DLL version solves the problem with Wine 5.4 and 5.5.
Thank you very much radioman.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on April 11, 2020, 01:16:18 pm
Looking to update my TL866A (original as far as I'm aware) to the latest version, will be running the original software on a Windows box in this instance. Are there any precautions or steps I should take prior to running a later version such as 6.85 or is it a guaranteed bricker? Just need to know this so I can recover back perfectly if I need to etc. I have 6.70 6.71 6.82 6.85 downloaded.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on April 11, 2020, 01:35:12 pm
As far as i know the latest 6.85 don't brick the device anymore. This was on an earlier Version. I don't know which one.
If the Software means to detect a clone it only give you a popup but nothing more. The device itself runs with 6.85.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on April 12, 2020, 07:56:22 am
It looks like the company has made a new product called XGecu T56 with 56-pins
http://forums.xgecu.com/redirect.php?tid=19&goto=lastpost#lastpost (http://forums.xgecu.com/redirect.php?tid=19&goto=lastpost#lastpost)

They are a bit pricey still, but I like the design  :-+

(https://i.ebayimg.com/images/g/9bEAAOSwE-Vebjb9/s-l1600.png)

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: grizewald on April 15, 2020, 08:47:11 pm
Looking to update my TL866A (original as far as I'm aware) to the latest version, will be running the original software on a Windows box in this instance. Are there any precautions or steps I should take prior to running a later version such as 6.85 or is it a guaranteed bricker? Just need to know this so I can recover back perfectly if I need to etc. I have 6.70 6.71 6.82 6.85 downloaded.

I hope it works for you.

I updated my TL866CS (flashed to A version) which is probably a clone with the latest 03.2.86 firmware and it screwed the device up. When I tried to read an EPROM with it (using the Linux based minipro software), it looked like it worked, but the output was obviously rubbish. To make sure it was the programmer and not the EPROM, I took a different EPROM out of the multimeter I'm trying to fix and tried to read that again. Same thing, rubbish output.

So I thought, what the hell, I'll downgrade it back to 03.2.69 (which is what it had before), but no dice. Radioman's TL866_Updater reports "Bad serial checksum" and can no longer reboot the device into bootloader mode.

So now I'm hoping that I can use my PICKit2 programmer to flash the .hex that I generated from Radioman's tool and get it working again.

-- edit

And it worked. Now running again on version 03.2.82. I think I'll stick with that!
I also found out the the EPROM I wanted to check is actually blank. Kind of explains why the meter was doing mad things when it started up!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on April 16, 2020, 02:57:30 am
That is good news, not updated mine yet. I might have a play later on today.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: grizewald on April 16, 2020, 07:02:23 am
The output I got when I'd flashed the latest firmware looked like this:

38 32 35 34 36 33 35 31 31 33 41 39 38 43 42 42
37 31 44 45 36 30 38 34 31 33 45 37 41 30 44 30
C5 CA D3 B0 71 66 1F 6C 5D 42 AB 68 89 5E 77 A4
F5 BA 83 20 A1 56 CF DC 8D 32 5B D8 B9 4E 27 14
25 AA 33 90 D1 46 7F 4C BD 22 0B 48 E9 3E 8B 0B

repeated every 100 bytes or so for the entire size of the EPROM.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on April 16, 2020, 07:16:29 am
Every 128 bytes?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: grizewald on April 16, 2020, 08:24:44 am
Every 128 bytes?

Something like that. I forgot to preserve the file and only kept the strange data.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on April 16, 2020, 11:33:54 am
I explained this strange data block here: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg2309859/#msg2309859 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg2309859/#msg2309859)
This is decrypted device serial code block stored (in an encrypted format) at offset 0x1FD00.   

Your serial code was correct so it must be a CS genuine device converted to A.
Here i explained the serial code 'encryption' : https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1878068/#msg1878068 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1878068/#msg1878068)


   
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: grizewald on April 16, 2020, 12:47:20 pm
Thanks for the info!

My search-fu wasn't good enough to find those messages. It's a shame that this wealth of information has grown organically on top of Dave's review thread. This thread is really crying out to be split into a separate thread where you have the first post in the thread. That would let you condense all this wonderful information into the first post and make it so much easier for people to find the nuggets of gold hidden in this thread.

Maybe Dave or Simon could make this happen?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: hamidsaffari on April 19, 2020, 01:48:11 pm
Hi, everybody.
I've been trying to program some 29F800 both raw and programmed chips with the special TSOP48 adapter board but have got faults.
and I can read from this chip but can't pogrom it, although even for reading I have to uncheck the "Check ID".
I think there is no problem with adapter board because I did program some other chips like S29GL064N90TFI03 without problem.
also have the same writing problem with AM29LV160DT and 29F400 chips.
I attach the problem image.
I saw someone report that too: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg343080/#msg343080 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg343080/#msg343080)
I have also tested that with TL866II as well as TL866A but the same.
Can some one check and report it?
Thanks.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on April 22, 2020, 12:13:10 am
I found this online and thought it might be useful for forum members.

Code: [Select]
* Firmware Official Release Firmware
 * Version Program Date Version
 * String Version ID
 *
 * 3.2.86 6.85 Oct 19, 2018 0x0256
 * 3.2.85 6.82 Jul 14, 2018 0x0255
 * 3.2.82 6.71 Apr 17, 2018 0x0252
 * 3.2.81 6.70 Mar  7, 2018 0x0251
 * 3.2.80 6.60 May  9, 2017 0x0250
 * 3.2.72 6.50 Dec 25, 2015 0x0248
 * 3.2.69 6.17 Jul 11, 2015 0x0245
 * 3.2.68 6.16 Jun 12, 2015 0x0244
 * 3.2.66 6.13 Jun  9, 2015 0x0242
 * 3.2.63 6.10 Jul 16, 2014 0x023f
 * 3.2.62 6.00 Jan  7, 2014 0x023e
 * 3.2.61 5.91 Mar  9, 2013 0x023d
 * 3.2.60 5.90 Mar  4, 2013 0x023c
 * 3.2.59 5.80 Nov  1, 2012 0x023b
 * 3.2.58 5.71 Aug 31, 2012 0x023a
 * 3.2.57 5.70 Aug 27, 2012 0x0239
 * 3.2.56 5.60 Jun 12, 2012 0x0238
 * 3.2.51 4.95 Mar 31, 2012 0x0233
 * 1.00 Jun 18, 2010
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on April 22, 2020, 02:28:00 am
Radioman,

So it's update day today I was on 3.2.69 with a confirmed hardware genuine TL866A. Clean installed 3.2.82 (6.71) software did the firmware update and everything is seemingly ok. Unstalled both driver and software.

Clean installed 3.2.86 (6.85) did the firmware update and...
"This is a changed programmer from TL866CS"

Launched the TL866 updater 2.52 in Windows (I hope this is the current version). Said I had a bad/invalid checksum. So after a bit of investigation trying to write myself a new serial in the firmware menu then reflashing (flashed but no serial change) I went into the firmware dumper and did a reflash which allowed the advanced menu to be used.

From there I wrote a new bootloader, wrote a new generated device id and serial and changed the code protection bit to unchecked (which may have been a mistake). I then did a reflash and subsequently a reset but I don't think it changed into bootloader mode. My bad/invalid checksum message has gone. I have confirmed it's still the original device id and serial even though I was flashing a new random one.

So I go into Minipro and it looks all happy, passes test and no errors or warnings. However I seemingly cannot reflash with TL866 firmware updater 2.52 anymore. When I do reflash I get reset error, same thing when I reset. I assume this means I cannot get into boot mode. I've tried this on the current and older firmware cannot reflash either of them (been selecting the update.dat of course).

Your direction please, do I need perform the resistor trick? What order should I do things in? I'm thinking just to make sure everything is correct once I can get into boot mode and flash again (if that is my problem) then I start over again so I can rewrite the firmware at will. I should get your proper instructions this time. Thanks for your help.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on April 22, 2020, 10:23:42 am
Yes you need that resistor trick to force the boot mode. Leaving the CP bit unchecked was a bad move. That's why you cannot enter boot mode anymore.
Not a big deal, just force the botloader mode again with that resistor(don't solder anything, just keep the resistor leads still in the indicated points and plug the usb cable and remove it after) and, flash the dumper.
Then from the advanced window check the cp bit and click the write button next to it. Flash the normal firmware back and you're set.
That's all.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on April 22, 2020, 10:25:13 pm
Had to give up on holding a resistor in place after the 4th attempt. So soldered it in with a little dip switch so I could easily toggle it. All back to normal now from what I can tell, thanks heaps.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on April 23, 2020, 12:51:13 am
This is funny  :-DD I can't imagine you after the 4th attempt but I'm glad you finally succeeded.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on April 23, 2020, 03:24:12 pm
Heh, I have skills ;). I was holding it on fine but the resistor was a bit oxidized so wasn't making proper contact. Rather than messing around I just soldered it on with the switch to make it easy if I needed to do it multiple times.

Any idea why the Minipro detected it as the CS version? I'm using genuine hardware with the same device id and serial correct boot loader the whole time. What did the updater end up changing?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on April 23, 2020, 03:32:40 pm
My also genuine A programmer was detected as an CS converted unit and was intentionally bricked by the software a while ago. The answer from my supplier was that the autoelectric wants to push everyone to the newer plus model.

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on April 23, 2020, 05:10:24 pm
Mine wasn't bricked, at least as far as I could tell (I locked myself out of the boot loader by mistake). Though I didn't check if flashing and ICSP was working, perhaps I should have.

It was just coming up with the converted TL866CS nag in Minipro and Radiomans updater was saying bad/invalid checksum. Was wondering what actually fixed it.

I'm going to try jumping back and update it again to see if I can get the nag back.

Edit:

Nope still works fine and no nag this time so it would seem originally I had either a bootloader that the 3.2.86 (6.85) didn't like or some other data (other than the device id and serial) that Radiomans updater corrected.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on April 23, 2020, 05:34:10 pm
My also genuine A programmer was detected as an CS converted unit and was intentionally bricked by the software a while ago. The answer from my supplier was that the autoelectric wants to push everyone to the newer plus model.

Or maybe the supplier wasn't "genuine"?  ;)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on April 23, 2020, 05:51:39 pm
My also genuine A programmer was detected as an CS converted unit and was intentionally bricked by the software a while ago. The answer from my supplier was that the autoelectric wants to push everyone to the newer plus model.

Or maybe the supplier wasn't "genuine"?  ;)

Αcording to autoelectric it was genuine. I send photos to then an said it might be a fluke.

From the supplier I had bought two programmers. Only one got bricked.

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on April 24, 2020, 08:40:42 pm
Any idea why the Minipro detected it as the CS version? I'm using genuine hardware with the same device id and serial correct boot loader the whole time. What did the updater end up changing?
Because the device ID and serial code are not stored in clear text. Let me explain some insides because i see a lot of confusion here.
 
The central unit of this programmer is obviously a Microchip PIC18F87J50 processor. This processor has an internal flash of 128Kb which is divided like this:
- the first 6KB is reserved for the bootloader; this code region is identical in the two versions (A/CS).
-the next 121Kb is the actual firmware (i name it the normal firmware); This is the upgradable area. We have two firmware versions: the A version and  the CS version. The CS version is a castrated A version with disabled ICSP functions. This area is updated by the bootloader; nothing special here.

Now we reach the last Kbyte of flash where some magical things exists! So we have 1Kbyte of flash between the address 0x1FC00-0x1FFFF.
The last 8 bytes (1FFF8-1FFFF) are reserved for configuration bytes.

This region is divided like this:
-1FC00-1FCFF = 256bytes; here is a random generated table. Just pure random numbers. This table is used internally by the bootloader as a "key" for the decryption process. There is a table for the A version and one for the CS version;

-1FD00-1FD4F = 80 bytes. Here in this data block the device ID and serial code are stored. This block is encrypted and is unique for each device. I will explain later about this block.

- 1FD50-1FF4F = 512 bytes; Here is a precomputed CRC16 lookup table used internally by some CRC16 routines; this table is identical in the two versions.

The rest of 1FF50 to 1FFF7 is a free region (FF) followed by the configuration bytes.

But let's go back to that encrypted 80bytes data block where the device ID and serial code are stored. This block is decrypted by the firmware (either bootloader or the normal firmware) using that Random generated table from 1FC00-1FCFF. The encryption/decription process uses some byte swaping/shifting and xoring each value of this block against that random table. Nothing special here  but a weak encryption algorithm.

After decryption we have a clear text data block (80bytes). Something like this:
0-7 = 8 characters device ID (00000000 for example) only decimal digits.

8-31 = 24 characters serial number; only hex numbers (0-9; A-F); Four digits from this field are the computed CRC16 of the device ID. See this post (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1878068/#msg1878068)

32-77 = 46 bytes; filled with random rubbish data.
78 and 79 = 2bytes; computed CRC16 of the first 78 bytes; if you screw this CRC the firmware will refuse any transaction.

But wait! At the offset 34 we have an 8bit checksum computed from all bytes from offset 5 to 33. Go figure! something like byte34 = SUM(5 to 33);  This is where my first version of the firmware updater screwed. I was not aware of this checksum and also the embedded crc from the serial code.
Also in my first updater version there was no advanced window to tweak the serial and other things 'on the fly'. Only the firmware generator which generates a hex file and then with the help of an external programmer (like PICKIT) the new firmware was flashed. 

The algorithm to generate that 80bytes data block was something like that:
-generate or copy the existing device ID and serial to offset 0-31;
-fill the rest of bytes from offset 32 to 78 with random numbers;
-compute a 16bit CRC of the above 78bytes and store it at the offset 78 and 79
-encrypt this block

Later this block is inserted at the offset 1FD00 in the generated firmware. So this block is unique.
In time my updater evolved and the firmware dumper was developed (a custom firmware to dump/manipulate the data in the last kilobyte) but the routine which generate that encrypted data block remained the same.

This was at year 2013/2014 if i remember correctly. A lot of people converted their programmers from CS to A for the ICSP capabilities. Also many sellers converted their CS stock and sold them like A (for extra money of course). Those programmers were genuine produced by Autolelectric.

After 4 years the Autoelectric suddenly didn't liked this anymore. And the evil Minipro V6.80 was pushed out. Flood of bricked and locked devices!
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1688264/#msg1688264 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1688264/#msg1688264) here is where the fun begins.

Also some counterfeit hardware appeared on the market.  Those programmers were loaded with the same generated hex file by my earlier version of firmware updater. So the same device ID and same serial code!
The autoelectric discovered this and if someone with this kind of device tried to update the firmware and the firmware update routine found such device during the update process then the bootloader is wiped out thus bricking the device.

This check was introduced in the Minipro 6.50 and is still present in the last known version (6.85).
But the check routine has one big flaw.
For example, if you want to detect a particular device ID and serial code you just compare two strings, like this:

Code: [Select]
//Pseudo code
if(deviceID == "00000000" and serialcode == "blabla") then brick_this_device

but instead the developer used something like that:
Code: [Select]
//pseudo code
if(CRC32(deviceID) + CRC32(serialcode) == 0xC8C2F013) then brick_this_device
which is very evil. That 0xC8C2F013 CRC can be computed from many pairs of device ID and serial code. Is called CRC collision and this is why so many genuine devices were bricked. This is a Russian roulette.

So if your device ID and serial code collide and you try to update your device, then the bootloader will be wiped out.

Another detection introduced in the minipro 6.8x was the block checksum (that byte at the offset 34), serial code and code protect bit check.

If the CP0 is found unset then the bootloader will be locked. So a semi brick; you can't update your device anymore (you can force the bootloader mode with the resistor trick). This was the case of my generated hex files which had the CP0 bit unset.

If the checksum at the byte 34 is wrong, but the device ID and serial code is good, then you'll get that nag screen "converted from CS" and your device will work.
This was the case of many devices either converted by the seller or the final user. Rewriting the serial code in the advanced window corrected this checksum.

The last case is random generated serial code with my earlier firmware updater. Those devices are detected as "pirated/piracy" and my last firmware upadater will show "bad serial" in the info field"
For those device a new serial must be generated to work otherwise when you read something you will get gibberish data instead of real data.

Hope this cleared some confusions about this subject.

Heh, I have skills ;).
I have no doubt about this, but it's still funny.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on May 06, 2020, 05:07:17 am
Forwarding a message from new user Dany, who hasn't quite figured out the forum and sent this to me as a personal message unintentionally. I will send him a reply directing him to this thread.

I have a problem with the TL866II-Plus programmer, that is, while I was updating the firmware, the system gave me an error and now it no longer connects to the USB port, the orange LED flashes and does not want to know how to connect.
I sent an email to the manufacturer, but he didn't even answer me, before throwing it away I ask this forum if anyone has the firmware to reinstall and possibly the recovery procedure
Thanks
Dany
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 06, 2020, 05:16:29 pm
@Dany, the post that @ebastler forwarded here is also yours. You are just asking yourself!  :)

To answer to your question: there's no firmware released yet, so if your programmer is bricked then you have no chance to restore it.

Normally when you do an upgrade two operations are made:
an erase followed by a reflash. Depending on where the problem appeared(perhaps a usb communication error or a driver issue) you might end with an incomplete firmware upgrade.

But in this case the bootloader will keep the programmer in boot mode until a successful reflash is made.
Can you remember at which point that error appeared?
Also this kind of issue can appear when switching between normal and boot mode.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dany on May 07, 2020, 09:27:24 pm
Hi,
I tried to reflash the firmware via ICSP (serial) with the "updateII.bin" file but now the programmer is dead.
I can write it and read it, but the program does not start.
I think there is a boot protection code at 0x02ABFE 0x02ABFC 02ABFA
Do you have any idea?
I remind you that it uses a 16 bit processor of the Microcip type 24FJ256GB110
Hi
Dany
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dany on May 07, 2020, 09:33:19 pm
Of course the question is about the TL866ii plus programmer
Hi
Dany
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 07, 2020, 10:01:18 pm
Where did you get that updateII.bin file?  :palm:  You just destroyed your programmer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dany on May 07, 2020, 11:34:38 pm
simple, it is in the program folder
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dany on May 07, 2020, 11:45:07 pm
destroyed is a big word, only with a hammer you can no longer recover it.
Via ICSP you can reprogram, you must have another programmer, I have one and it's called UPP628 and it also has the serial connection (ICSP).
there is probably a password or key to start the prg.
The first one that finds it, we put it in the back (not to say a dirty word) to the Chinese, they have already infected us with the covid virus 19
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 07, 2020, 11:58:29 pm
simple, it is in the program folder
Yeah, i know this. But we have a BIG problem here: That file is encrypted and you just flashed your programmer with garbage data. So, ciao bambina!  :-+
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dany on May 08, 2020, 08:53:16 am
so if things are as you say, that the file is encrypted, if you are good you should extract the file during the update from the program.
You would buy many points
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dany on May 08, 2020, 11:38:31 am
try to understand if with the attached file you can decrypt the firmware and if you tell me how you did it or you are running
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dany on May 09, 2020, 11:12:15 pm
Hello,
where can I find the link to download this program?
See Attachment.
Thanks to those who answer me

Dany
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dany on May 09, 2020, 11:25:23 pm
Hello,
where can I find the link to download this program?
see Attachment
thanks to those who answer me

Dany
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on May 10, 2020, 01:46:04 am
http://forums.xgecu.com/viewthread.php?tid=20&page=1&extra=#pid23 (http://forums.xgecu.com/viewthread.php?tid=20&page=1&extra=#pid23)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on May 10, 2020, 06:57:35 am
Hello,
where can I find the link to download this program?

That looks a lot like radioman's utility for the original TL866. But I was not aware that he (or someone else) had developed a tool for the newer II plus version. And radioman has already answered you in this thread, with bad news unfortunately. You might consider simply believing him -- he knows a thing or two about these programmers...

Where did you get that screenshot? Or did you photoshop it to show us the software you would like to have?  ???
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dany on May 10, 2020, 09:59:50 am
ok, then I just have to send it back and have it repaired or replaced under warranty, since I just bought it.
Can you give me an address or an email where I can contact for the return
Thanks
Dany

P.S. sure that radioman (the guru of tl866) has been fooled by the chinese mah !!!!!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on May 10, 2020, 12:18:57 pm
ok, then I just have to send it back and have it repaired or replaced under warranty, since I just bought it.
Can you give me an address or an email where I can contact for the return

Come on, you bought it, you are the one who will know who the seller is. Contact them. I have no idea whether the manufacturer also offers some kind of warranty, but I wouldn't be interested at all to find out and ship that thing back to China.

Edit: If you are honest with yourself, you will know that you broke it. I would advise you to be honest with the seller too. Maybe you encounter a friendly seller who will replace it for you anyway.

Out of interest, how old are you?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on May 10, 2020, 04:12:55 pm
whose fault is it if it is broken if you make the firmware update in the end by mistake?

It is your fault, clear as mud.

You went to considerable lengths, programming the device via its ICSP port, which the user is not meant to use for firmware updates at all. And you programmed it with garbage, namely an encrypted file. Who else would you want to blame?

Time to move on. Try to get a replacement from the seller (telling them honestly what you did). But don't continue to dig your heels in on this forum, insisting that the world somehow should solve the problem you created for yourself. And stop the China-slapping, please.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on May 10, 2020, 05:18:18 pm
If it was originally not working, attempting to recover it by reflashing it with garbage isn't breaking it twice. But if it was working fine and you broke it then yes no warranty.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dany on May 10, 2020, 05:20:50 pm
Listen ebastler ,
I don't want to argue, put yourself in my shoes.
purchase the original programmer paid over 100$ three months ago on ebay and everything works ok with the diskette program.
The program tells me to update to the latest release that I do punctually and while I also update the firmware from error and here the problems begin.
The programmer no longer connects, the orange LED flashes and there is no way to make it go.
I reinstall the old program the USB drivers but nothing.
I am looking for the first version on the internet which is 7.03, but I do not want to go.
I write to the manufacturer XGECU.COM and give me some answers by telling me to reinstall the USB driver that I had already done by the way.
I rewrite him telling him to have reinstalled the program and USB driver but that nothing has changed, but he doesn't answer me anymore.
At this point I go around the internet and read on this forum that others have had the same problem as me.
Ok then I sign up and ask my questions, but even here nobody helps me to solve the problem, perhaps because there is no solution as "radioman" says.
Then I try to reflash the firmware via icsp as for the old model, but nothing to do.
I know that the updateii.dat file is encrypted, but I was hoping to start the USB driver at least, but nothing.
Where did I go wrong?
What would you have done in my place?
It's not that I have it with the Chinese, I usually buy in China and I also go to the Chinese hairdresser in Rimini (Italy)
Only that the manufacturer could have given me information on the restoration or said "when the firmware is protected by copyright, send it to us that we will restore it".
This is what a serious company should have done.
Do not you agree?
However, I take this opportunity to greet the "radioman" YO4BZC radio amateur on my part T72DF
73 and to hear from us
Dany
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: drussell on May 10, 2020, 05:54:58 pm
The program tells me to update to the latest release that I do punctually and while I also update the firmware from error and here the problems begin.
...
Where did I go wrong?

Updating the program makes sense, the question is what gave you the idea to mess with the firmware?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 10, 2020, 06:03:57 pm
That looks a lot like radioman's utility for the original TL866. But I was not aware that he (or someone else) had developed a tool for the newer II plus version.

Where did you get that screenshot? Or did you photoshop it to show us the software you would like to have?  ???
It's mine. I have developed a version for the new TL866II+ two years ago for personal use and to help me to test various versions of the firmware for the opensource client. I never released this version in the wild because is not very useful. You can only update the firmware and this already implies a working programmer. There's no firmware generator because there's no decrypted firmware yet.

That picture was posted couple of pages ago by one of the forum members because i gave him the new updater for testing purposes and because i fully trust him.
Anyway the updater is part of the opensource minipro client now along with other contributions to that project, so there's no secret here  :)

The updateII.dat file is double encrypted (as is the update.dat for the TL866A also). The first encryption step is a joke, the encryption algorithm is in the official windows software. You only need a good disassembler to get it.
The second decryption step is done by the bootloader inside the TL866, so the firmware is also sent encrypted to the bootloader during the upgrade procedure.


Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dany on May 10, 2020, 09:04:02 pm
Dear drussell,
if the firmware update is unsuccessful for the decryption reasons described by "radioman" and therefore by error, you no longer have the possibility to redo the operation because the orange led flashes and there is no more communication between the pc and programmer.
What would you have done?
73 by T72DF
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bmx on May 11, 2020, 04:13:36 am
Are you even sure of the model you have? Could it be a good old CS/A and not a 'plus', just sayin' because you're talking about ver. 7.xx, and current xgpro ('plus') is 10.xx.
Is it still blinking btw?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on May 11, 2020, 04:35:05 am
He is talking about the right firmware.

Version: V7.03 Support:15118 --2018.02.26
TL866II Plus First Release.

VERSION: V6.85 Support:14337--2018.10.19
TL866A/CS Last Release.

But yes Dany you should double check what hardware you have as sellers have advertised the TL866II+ and sent out counterfeit TL866A in the past.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dany on May 11, 2020, 09:53:08 am
Everything I wrote is correct, the programmer is original and corresponds to the TL866ii plus.
However I do not recommend the purchase of the product because if for any reason the firmware update is not successful, throw away the money, in fact there is no second chance
Instead if there is someone who has solved the problem, he can also contact me privately.
This is my email: info@electronic-center-rsm.com
Greetings to all from T72DF (oldmen)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on May 17, 2020, 10:25:02 am
You can get programming adapters to program TSOP48 package devices that use more than 40 pins. Seeing these programmers only have 40 pin sockets, how does that work?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 17, 2020, 04:50:34 pm
By using an I/O expander. Here is the TSOP48 adapter schematic diagram: https://proghq.org/wiki/index.php/TL866_TSOP48_adapter .
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: cypher007 on May 18, 2020, 02:07:05 pm
hello after buying a tl866a, which seems to be a fake board in an original case, id like to buy an original tl866ii plus.

ive found this one for sale but not sure if its original?

https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HIGH-PERFORMANCE-TL866II-Mini-Pro-USB-Universal-Nand-Spi-Eeprom-Programmer-Ku/263533947544?epid=2091954188&hash=item3d5bd8ea98:g:ZK4AAOSwMKVcPLXN (https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/HIGH-PERFORMANCE-TL866II-Mini-Pro-USB-Universal-Nand-Spi-Eeprom-Programmer-Ku/263533947544?epid=2091954188&hash=item3d5bd8ea98:g:ZK4AAOSwMKVcPLXN)

im uk based so need a seller that isnt going to annoy the customs people.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on May 18, 2020, 02:14:00 pm
There are no fake TL866II+ devices yet so you are safe to buy from whatever seller is good for you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: lazyman on May 22, 2020, 06:05:27 pm
Hi. I have same problem like Dany. I have used TL866II maybe a year, until last update. And then, when software suggested update, or reflash, got same situation.. Update progress being shown like very slow, but i was decided to let it go and finish. And then, message that device is unable to reset. After replugging  only blinking yellow light. Autoelectric does responded, but answer was stupid, basically about installing driver but this was not problem. Device is original V2, but now with this covid crisis shipping only one way from china, or sending there is more than price of device. So, i have left with bricked device, and now price of shipping is more than device cost, and device destroyed.

Seems ridiculous, but now smarter move is to buy fake A or CS model, than version II model.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dany on May 25, 2020, 10:49:22 pm
Dear lazyman,
Be patient, you will see that one day some of them manage to crack this too, only a matter of time.
It is truly fraudulent to market a product that aborts and fails to update the firmware if there is no longer any way to restore it, if desired, they would also be liable to be reported by the Chinese authorities.
If you think about it, it is also ridiculous to waste so many resources on a low-demand product like a programmer, not to mention the very low cost.
Thinking about cloning it in Europe is really insane would cost 10 times as much.
Only their compatriots can clone it, but with what gain since the original costs just over $ 50 complete with all the accessories? And then how many requests can there be? And then there are many others much more valid than this, for example I use the UPP628 model that can also program all the MCUs of the FRESCALE (ex Motorola) that the tl866 does not
However, in my opinion, it is not convenient to buy it or buy it again because then the problem of the upgrade reappears and therefore it is money, even if few, thrown away.
Regards
Dany
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: andromeda92 on June 12, 2020, 12:05:52 pm
Hi,
I have original genuine TL866II Plus and it work fine with all firmware.
The last version is 10.15.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: NivagSwerdna on June 14, 2020, 04:45:57 pm
Sorry to be dumb.... I have a MiniPro TL866A which I haven't used for years... today dug it out as I want to try and program a GAL 16V8 and went looking for the PC software.... I find http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/download.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/download.html) v6.85 which my PC won't let me install as it is a virus risk... and looking at the analysis it does look a bit scary.
I found and downloaded  v682 which isn't blocked by the PC but when running it I get...

"The current application software verion is too old and not available. Please download the new  application software"

It displays "Hardware Interface Ver: TL866A V03.2.86" at the bottom but any operation gives the out of data error above.

What's the best way out of this?  Thanks in advance

PS
I believe it to be a genuine TL866A according to the genuine/counterfeit rules on their web site... i.e. silkscreen line doesn't cut through box, no lugs inside case, good relief and position of markings, non-rounded cooling fins etc.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: philoupat83 on June 14, 2020, 06:35:08 pm
Hello
 I have a tl866 cs it works very well modify thank you radioman.
my question is: I bought the TL866II Plus in March. it generates a default overcurrent protection .......
whatever the circuit used (example 2716) or test logic ttl.
more possible to send it back to China have you an idea
thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on June 14, 2020, 07:00:05 pm
I find http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/download.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/download.html) v6.85 which my PC won't let me install as it is a virus risk... and looking at the analysis it does look a bit scary.

I have been running 6.85 for a while now (the installer file dates from October 2018), without any complaints from Windows Defender and without anything untowards happening on my computer. What virus scanner do you use?

If you like, feel free to PM me, and I could send you my old setup file via email -- to rule out the possibility that a modified file has been uploaded by Autoelectric at some point.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: philoupat83 on June 14, 2020, 07:14:33 pm
thanks
I precise it is the Xgpro with version 10.15
seen connected and which at the time
of a reading signals disconnected and overcurrent protection .......
Title: read error code: 31!
Post by: sathex on July 01, 2020, 01:04:17 pm
Hi,

I use a minipro tl 866cs transformed into tl866A it works well,

except that I have a "read error code: 31!" on Windows7 and also on XP !!

this only happens when I use the "SOIC8 SOP8 Flash IC Chip Test Clips"

does not work when the chip is on circuit board

it's when i try to detect

if anyone had the same problem?

is there a solution?

(https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/?action=dlattach;attach=1014488;image)

(https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/?action=dlattach;attach=1014492;image)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 01, 2020, 01:30:25 pm
When the chip is soldered on a board, the supply of the programmer can turn on other ics that interferes with the communication with the memory chip and the programmer.

Also a common problem with cheap clips for soldered ics is bad contact.

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on July 01, 2020, 08:01:38 pm
I have also one.
The problem is often that the chip contact pins are very deep in the clamp. 
On the other hand you must also note that you have a limited
current supply from the programmer.
If the whole board consumpts more it does not work too.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: powersola on July 04, 2020, 01:35:50 pm
Hi all,

after some years I'm going to pull the trigger and buy one of these programmers.

I read all the thread, very informative. After surfing aliexpress I'm stuck between deciding about "TL866A" (of course knowing it would be a counterfeit one, or an old CS converted to A) or a TL866II Plus.
As far as I understand, the TL866II Plus would surely be genuine because no clones are around as of today.
On the other side, the CS/A models have "radioman" 's knowledge and support tools available.

The "II Plus" model is sold by "XGECU Official Store" on AliEx, but after many years in there, and having more than 1000 order history, I have suspect that that's not the real XGECU official store as the name would suggest.

The price is almost the same, more or less.

What do you recommend as of today?

Thank you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on July 04, 2020, 09:42:46 pm
If you have a newer device to read or program that is only supported on the TL866II Plus it makes sense to buy it. The VPP max voltage was lowered to 18V but there are workarounds to get 21V. The downside is if it bricks or dies, no manufacturer support. This is the more expensive option.

The advantage of the older TL866A/CS model is community support, schematics and being fully repairable and recoverable. The VPP max voltage goes to 21V without messing around so this may suit someone programming older devices. Ideally an original TL866A/CS is better than a clone. Clones may come with subtle differences and be cheaper quality.

I'd also consider the adapters you are getting with the programmer as you want as many as you can get as cheaply as possible so you don't need to buy or make them later. If you are buying a TL866II Plus you still need to get it from a genuine seller otherwise there is a chance you'll end up being sent a TL866A/CS clone.

The differences are listed on the manufacturers website.
http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/tl866_main.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/tl866_main.html)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: powersola on July 05, 2020, 09:07:47 am
If you have a newer device to read or program that is only supported on the TL866II Plus it makes sense to buy it. The VPP max voltage was lowered to 18V but there are workarounds to get 21V. The downside is if it bricks or dies, no manufacturer support. This is the more expensive option.

The advantage of the older TL866A/CS model is community support, schematics and being fully repairable and recoverable. The VPP max voltage goes to 21V without messing around so this may suit someone programming older devices. Ideally an original TL866A/CS is better than a clone. Clones may come with subtle differences and be cheaper quality.

I'd also consider the adapters you are getting with the programmer as you want as many as you can get as cheaply as possible so you don't need to buy or make them later. If you are buying a TL866II Plus you still need to get it from a genuine seller otherwise there is a chance you'll end up being sent a TL866A/CS clone.

The differences are listed on the manufacturers website.
http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/tl866_main.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/tl866_main.html)

Thank you Shock.
I usually program oldish (and mostly common) devices, so I probably won't have any advantage having support for the latest cutting-edge micros.

The VPP Max thing is interesting to know. This, and the community support, is what is making me go for the TL866A/CS.

However, when can I find a good one? I know that the original ones were removed from the marked since some time. Any suggestion will surely be appreciated

Thank you for your helpful reply,
Have a nice day

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on July 05, 2020, 09:58:18 am
Well unlikely you would get a new original one anywhere. But for secondhand ask in the buy/sell/wanted here and keep an eye out on different ebay websites. The manufacturer has a webpage that shows how to identify the original from clones. http://www.autoelectric.cn/EN/note.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/EN/note.html)

I can't comment on the clones as mines genuine. Aside from the ethics of counterfeit products, like with most of these cheap Chinese products you have to do your own quality control and testing. Ebay tends to have a slightly more honest feedback system and better buyer protection from bad sellers. So purchasing there gives you time to check things over.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: powersola on July 05, 2020, 11:13:50 am
Well unlikely you would get a new original one anywhere. But for secondhand ask in the buy/sell/wanted here and keep an eye out on different ebay websites. The manufacturer has a webpage that shows how to identify the original from clones. http://www.autoelectric.cn/EN/note.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/EN/note.html)

I can't comment on the clones as mines genuine. Aside from the ethics of counterfeit products, like with most of these cheap Chinese products you have to do your own quality control and testing. Ebay tends to have a slightly more honest feedback system and better buyer protection from bad sellers. So purchasing there gives you time to check things over.

Thanks again Shock.
I checked already on eBay, but of course it's full of "stock" photos, and it's difficult to have a reasonable idea of what you'll get in your hands.
For the buy/sell/wanted section I can give a shot, but being from Europe it doesn't help. Shipping from US is very very expensive (and customs too... in Italy parcels from USA are heavily taxed).

I can see that the II Plus have VCC Voltage down to 1.8v. Probably useful? Now I'm going to understand what I can/can't do with the II Plus, and with the CS/A.

I see that they have a dealer listed on the website, from aliexpress, that could be a good resource for ordering the genuine II Plus. Even the "XGECU Official Store" I mentioned earlier is the 1st listed on their website, so they seem to be legit.

Whoa, that's so hard to make a choice  :palm:

Have a nice day,
Thank you

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Mark5 on July 12, 2020, 03:20:26 pm
Hi everyone,

Has anybody here noticed the recently added feature of the TL866II+ (also available for the new T56) that would allow for custom chips programming to be added ?
Does anyone knows how this feature works ?
It seems that adding a custom chip requires a "short" file that probably describes the pinout and other required stuff for the custom added chip, but I can't find any information on this.

BTW, to answser the previous post, the new T56 seems to be able to do whatever the TL866 and TL866CS could do. The only problem of that device is it's price...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on July 13, 2020, 02:59:27 pm
This Feature only copy the new unknown Chip Id which was not lists and link it to a known Chip Programming Profile.
You cannot add a new Chip with new programming algorithm.

You can provide this similar when you disable the Chip ID check.
Check it out in Menu under Select IC / Add by User.
So far as i know they mean this one.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ganimir95 on July 17, 2020, 08:51:00 am
Hello,
Everyone i don't know if this is the right place where i can share my problem which is regarding with my TL866cs version 6.85 but i will try. Excuse me if i did something bad :)
So the problem is as follow.
I had 2pc of AM28F020C chips and i tried  upload  into them  256kb Bin.file so i did it 2 3 times successfully but when i tried to do it one more time. My software show me the error which was  the same as the picture bellow. So after that error occurred i was struggling 2 days how to fix it. I tried a lot of thing but unfortunately without any success. So today i decided to find why this mistake occurred. I took  New chip AM28F02OC which was working okay.i uploaded to him the same 256kb bin.file as i uploaded on the other 2 chips and i did it without any errors.  Then i decided to  Erase it. and to read the (empty) chip after that when i did it. I save the empty fail into the "Desktop" and i uploaded  back to the chip which was already empty. I did it and after that i decided  to upload the file which wasn't empty back on it and guess what.My minipro showed me the same mistake he had shown me before on the other 2  chips. Now i have no idea how i can  fix all the 3 chips which i have on my hand.  I will be very glad to hear some suggestion or advice how i can fix this issue :(
 
(I forget to say that all the 3 chips which i have now are working perfectly on Minipro tl866 10.22 version.)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on July 18, 2020, 12:02:20 am
Looks familiar to me.
I remember that i had a similar problem with another Chip (M28P128) and the miniPro.
In my case the first write on a fresh chip was always ok.
Then I erased it and as I want to write again it fails like yours.

The issue was a softwarebug  in erasing the chip.
The workaround was, that I manually fills all with 00 then write it to the chip.
This works without error.
Now erase the Chip again. This has worked for me.
Now I had a really erased chip.

Have a try.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ganimir95 on July 18, 2020, 04:24:15 pm
Thanks mate,
I will try this method tomorrow  :)


Best regards,
Ganimir
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on July 19, 2020, 09:06:36 pm
The workaround was, that I manually fills all with 00 then write it to the chip.
This works without error.
Now erase the Chip again. This has worked for me.
Now I had a really erased chip.

That's real DIY. Wonder what the programmer is putting on the chip when it tries to erase it...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on July 19, 2020, 10:31:49 pm
That's real DIY. Wonder what the programmer is putting on the chip when it tries to erase it...
Maybe an ASCII text message, something like “Help! SOS. I’m being held prisoner at xx street address and forced to design chip programmers!”
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on July 19, 2020, 10:34:23 pm
I have to say that this happened with V 6.50.
I have dont tested it again with later Versions.
Maybe it was fixed in a Version later but i don't know it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ganimir95 on July 20, 2020, 05:06:32 am
Hello,
I tried to fill all the values 00 and write it into the chip but it giving me the same error as before. The chip, can verify only  "FF" data.
Any other suggestion how i can solve that software bug or how can i get around it  :-BROKE :-BROKE
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on July 20, 2020, 01:05:23 pm
What happens when you erase the chip and then make a blank check?
Does it succeed?

Maybe you can try to write FF instead of 00.
Uncheck first "Erase before" when you doing this.

If this doesn't help try a similar Chip Type from another Vendor.
Type 28F020 an try one from the listed vendors (Catalyst,Intel,Issi ...).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ganimir95 on July 20, 2020, 02:16:17 pm
Hello,
This is what happened when  i First erase the chip and the do a Blank check. For me everything looks okay for me.

If i write FF instead of 00 the chips is programing without any problem. But if i try to put something different in the datasheet which is filled with "FF"  doesn't matter what.  it will show me the  Error code adress.....
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on July 25, 2020, 02:16:25 am
The strange thing is, that you can programm it 2 times and then ist not writable anymore.

This does not looks like a software bug.
The Chip also has no fuses. Its a simple Flash.

Since the pro II has pin detection he can detect if some pins are not connected.

In some case i have also connection failures on my adapters which the pro II detects. Then I reseat the chip an all is ok.

Have you checked the adapter? Maybe its faulty.
Otherwise I don't know what it could be.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Parni on July 27, 2020, 07:46:21 pm
I have exactly the same problem. Any solution for this?

I'm using Xgpro v.10.27 and in Windows 10. Immediately after I run the "Reflash Firmware" I get a message "Reser Error! Please remove Programmer"

Is the programmer bricked or can I do something about it? Please help...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Parni on July 27, 2020, 07:52:47 pm
Is this fake?
[attachimg=1]
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on July 28, 2020, 12:40:54 pm
Looks genuine to me.

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Parni on July 28, 2020, 04:03:24 pm
Update regarding the firmware update, I got it working with Windows7, not sure if there is an issue with Windows10 and Xgpro v.10.27 ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on July 28, 2020, 05:57:51 pm
Update regarding the firmware update, I got it working with Windows7, not sure if there is an issue with Windows10 and Xgpro v.10.27 ?

This post (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg2040313/#msg2040313) reported problems with an older version of the XGpro software which were resolved by running it with elevated privileges ("run as administrator"). Do you possibly have different privileges set for the Windows 7 vs. Windows 10 accounts you tried? Or just give "run as administrator" a try under Win 10.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: DenisVS on August 09, 2020, 06:18:02 pm
Hi!
I have a problem with my new Xgecu TL866II Plus that I bought from Aliexpress.
The part of my available chips read and write pretty well (27512, Atmega32, 24c01, pm49fl002t, pm49l004t, w78e58p, am29f010), whereas others (cf25q16bs, mx25l1636e, en29f0002nt) have a constantly pin errors.

Empirically the first pin operates incorrectly because with some trouble chips the software shows pin 1 error.

I completely checked contact by multimeter through board before 70th pin of the PIC24FJ256GB110 and adapter if required and no luck.

I thoroughly soldered D109, R119, Q301, D201, then I clean out the flux around the connector and no result too.

I not even decoupled the PCB's.
Now I converse with the Chinese seller, but not confident about the outcome, he answers very reluctantly.

Please tell me on what to do next.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ElektroQuark on August 09, 2020, 08:53:42 pm
The ZIF sockets of those cheap copies are really bad. Change for a 3M made one.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 10, 2020, 04:55:02 pm
The ZIF sockets of those cheap copies are really bad. Change for a 3M made one.
The ZIF socket has nothing to do with this. The socket quality is indeed sh.t, i replaced myself with the Black Aries type and the effort was worth it.   
@DenisVS,
When you issue a hardware check, in which section do you have a pin error? (VPP, VPP or GND) ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: DenisVS on August 10, 2020, 08:26:21 pm

The hardware check says that all OK, tests are passed.
Errors appear while attempts of routines with chips and appear as for example in the screenshots:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 10, 2020, 08:45:37 pm
Strange. When you checked the resistance between pin 70 and zif socket pin 1 what was the value? should be 510 ohm.

What Windows version do you have, 32 or 64 bit? (i want to give you a test program and i don't know what your OS version is).   
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: DenisVS on August 10, 2020, 08:56:00 pm
Quote
When you checked the resistance between pin 70 and zif socket pin 1 what was the value? should be 510 ohm.
Yes, that is right. Recently I measured it.

Quote
What Windows version do you have, 32 or 64 bit?
Windows 7 32 bit.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: DenisVS on August 10, 2020, 09:06:35 pm
radioman, are you an author of  Linux software? Surprise.
By the way tried this utility on FreeBSD, it works!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 10, 2020, 09:26:18 pm
radioman, are you an author of  Linux software? Surprise.
Yes, one of them  :)

Anyway i attached a test program (a test branch of that linux software compiled for Windows) with the ability to test logic chips.
Download and unzip it, then from the command prompt (cmd) go to the 32bit folder.
Two files should be there: minipro.exe and test.dat. Now leave the zif socket free and issue the following command from the command prompt:
Code: [Select]
minipro -TWU test.dat -p zif_test
the result should say :
Code: [Select]
Error: Chip failed logic test (4 test vectors failed)Now put a piece of wire between pin 1 and pin 40 in the zif socket (short the zif 1 with zif 40) and issue the above command again.   
If the I/O path between processor pin 70 and zif socket is ok you should receive this:
Code: [Select]
Chip passed logic test
The test.dat file is a text file with some standard test vectors. You can open it and modify for other test pattern. I wrote the current pattern only for pin 1 and 40.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: DenisVS on August 11, 2020, 06:24:16 am
With wire
Code: [Select]
Chip passed logic test 
::)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on August 11, 2020, 01:45:58 pm
In this case @ElektroQuark was absolutely right. You have a socket bad contact problem. Or if you use an adapter it might be that adapter.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: DenisVS on August 15, 2020, 03:26:14 pm
Eventually I bought a new 25Q64BSIG and reached a success.
Although my old broken programmer AutoProg worked plenty stable with all my available chips as i recollect.
The new issue is that i cannot write to the all my 24xxx chips: 3 x Atmel 24c01A, Microchip 24LC04B, 4g08 (soldered by me from working mfp Canon 2440! presumably ROHM br24g08).
Each of them can be read, but writing cause a message "not empty error memory addr".
What else is wrong with it?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: CChin254 on August 16, 2020, 12:36:33 am
I did a IC Identification for the PCBs of this device:
There is a block diagram included here, but I'm not as confident of the one I made for this device than my past few device block diagrams I made.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: oPossum on August 16, 2020, 09:20:27 am
MCU is a PIC18F87J50

Schematic: https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866/tree/master/docs
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: CChin254 on August 17, 2020, 01:30:14 am
Fixed IC Identification and Block Diagram:
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: hyuma on September 05, 2020, 10:15:16 pm
Anyone have issue programming PIC with this? I got some problem with pic16f676 and with TL866IIplus... programming successful but the pic doesn't work as it should..
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: hyuma on September 06, 2020, 07:29:03 am
I'm doing now some PIC16F84 test with the file.hex code:

:020000040000FA
:10000000816A8A6A936A81880BEC00F0816A0BEC42
:1000100000F003EF00F07D0E606F640E616F830EE1
:10002000626F622F11EF00F0612F0FEF00F0602F71
:100030000DEF00F0560E606F8E0E616F612F1EEF98
:1000400000F0602F1CEF00F0040E606F602F26EFB1
:0600500000F000001200A8
:00000001FF

This should be a one led blinking.
After flashing with my tl866IIplus i got the error:

ERROR! CODE Address 0x000000 Buf_Val:0x2A81 IC_Val:0x0000

I tried different .hex code but same result but different error code with values..
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: dibro on September 07, 2020, 11:02:30 am
@hyuma

the hex file is incorrect, my emulator gives an error when loading the hex code:
  Input program file in Intel Hex Format contains errors.
  Line number 2: Invalid data byte in the record.
So I have analyzed the hex code and compared it with what Xgpro shows when loaded.
the maximum value for every second byte (little endian) may not exceed 3F
The * denotes the invalid values that will be truncated by Xgpro because of this
See the results below:


:10000000816A8A6A936A81880BEC00F0816A0BEC42  -  the analyzed record

:        record start
10       hex byte count (= 16)
0000     start address
00       record type
81 6A  8A 6A  93 6A  81 88  0B EC  00 F0  81 6A  0B EC  - record data
   *      *      *      *      *      *      *      *
81 2A  8A 2A  93 2A  81 08  0B 2C  00 30  81 2A  0B 2C  - when loaded in Xgpro
42       checksum

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Bricked
Post by: Southerner on September 09, 2020, 07:42:45 am
I have not seen much chatter about bricked TL866CS and how to get it back to the living lately.  A friend just ran RadioMan's updater.  He had installed v6.85 from their site and then ran the RadioMan updater to convert to TL866A but it bricked the unit.  Now nothing sees the device.  Where is the procedure to unbrick a unit and is it relatively current?

Thank you.

Jim
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on September 10, 2020, 12:22:41 am
Maybe look here (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg1690301/#msg1690301)?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on September 10, 2020, 04:20:06 am
As tsmith35 mentioned the documentation is on github.
https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866/blob/master/docs/TL866_prog.pdf

The green LED will indicate signs of life, if your programmer is not entering bootloader mode in the software or as indicated in the updater you can try forcing bootloader mode by using the resistor method outlined in the document at the bottom of page 3.  Then use the software or the updater to attempt to reflash your programmer (or as in my case renable the code protection by using the updaters advanced menu).

I found holding the resistor in place a little awkward as I wasn't working under ideal conditions, so I soldered it place in series with a switch. This allowed me to toggle it off easily after I confirmed it had entered the bootloader mode successfully.
 
Failing that if your programmer is fully bricked and bootloader mode is not working you probably need to manually reflash. This can be done via the programmers internal ICSP connection and discussed on the last few pages of the document.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dany on October 15, 2020, 09:54:48 pm
hello radioman,
I need to ask you for some information about a program.
I can explain the problem to you
Thank you
Dany
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: parkerlewis404 on October 29, 2020, 03:59:45 am
Sorry to be dumb.... I have a MiniPro TL866A which I haven't used for years... today dug it out as I want to try and program a GAL 16V8 and went looking for the PC software.... I find http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/download.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/download.html) v6.85 which my PC won't let me install as it is a virus risk... and looking at the analysis it does look a bit scary.
I found and downloaded  v682 which isn't blocked by the PC but when running it I get...

"The current application software verion is too old and not available. Please download the new  application software"

It displays "Hardware Interface Ver: TL866A V03.2.86" at the bottom but any operation gives the out of data error above.

What's the best way out of this?  Thanks in advance

PS
I believe it to be a genuine TL866A according to the genuine/counterfeit rules on their web site... i.e. silkscreen line doesn't cut through box, no lugs inside case, good relief and position of markings, non-rounded cooling fins etc.


I just had this same thing happen to me!   "The current application software is too old and not available.   Please download the new application software." Unfortunately, it seems autoelectric.cn no longer supports or has new software for this model, so I'm stuck.

Also the manufacturer seems paranoid about counterfeit programmers.. possibly even bricking clones, but looking at the pictures, seems my device is an original.
http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/note.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/note.html)

Plus, the software sees the USB device "Hardware Interface Version :  TL866CS V03.2.86", so I think the hardware is still good.. but just can't find any software that works.  (v6.17, 6.50, 6.85 etc.)

Perhaps it's possible to examine the .exe and disable the check?  If not, is there any programmer that can program an am29lv160dt TSOP48?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on October 29, 2020, 06:04:20 am
I just had this same thing happen to me!   "The current application software is too old and not available.   Please download the new application software." Unfortunately, it seems autoelectric.cn no longer supports or has new software for this model, so I'm stuck.

[...]just can't find any software that works.  (v6.17, 6.50, 6.85 etc.)

6.85 is the latest (and presumably final) software version for the TL866A/C programmer. It is still available from the Autoelectric website (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/tl866_main.html, (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/tl866_main.html,) right column, scroll down.)

It is not clear to me at which point you are stuck. Did you not find that software? Did your virus scanner refuse to install it, as experienced by NivagSwerdna? Or do you run 6.85 and then get the "tool old" message?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on October 29, 2020, 12:46:51 pm
The firmware 3.2.86 is for lastest software version 6.85 which is probably why you get a warning. I listed all the versions in this other post (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg3027732/#msg3027732) for convenience. So first it might be best to remove the old software completely and ensure you have 6.85 installed and running.

If anyone wants to compare against my SHA1 checksum for integrity this was the setup/executable file downloaded from the official website in April 2020.
minipro_setup685.rar
d0e1b5e66ccce151d501377cc92a6bb41fc9ba78
minipro_setup685.exe
c51ab1da5d8985277f6c095ecfbc4f27babd8c4f

Not that it means much (as it can be easily changed) the date stamp on the executable is Friday, ‎October ‎19, ‎2018, ‏‎6:22:58 PM.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: parkerlewis404 on October 29, 2020, 05:53:17 pm
Thanks, I was getting that popup everytime I tried reading the chip-id.. so I un-installed everything, downloaded 6.85 again, and it works!   

The software is now talking to the hardware, but the ID always reports FFFF FFFF  (instead of XX01 22C4 for the AM29LV160DT) :(

The chip was carefully pulled from a good board.. however, I've never used the TSOP32/40/80 adapter, is there any setting needed to tell minipro that I'm using it?  The "Set Interface" seems to only allow 40P adapter.   Any thoughts what else I could try?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on October 29, 2020, 11:25:09 pm
I don't have that adapter but here is some info I found after a quick search, is it this problem? The programmer firmware rollback is a workaround obviously.
https://proghq.org/wiki/index.php/TL866_TSOP48_adapter (https://proghq.org/wiki/index.php/TL866_TSOP48_adapter)

There is also a substitute firmware to turn a board into a V3 please check though if it's the latest firmware and info on this, as I've not done it.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg936055/#msg936055 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg936055/#msg936055)

Other than that I'd be verifying the programmer works on anything. Then pay close attention to the seating and orientation of the adapters and device. If you have just taken it off the board this includes cleaning and removing excess solder/flux/corrosion. Sometimes some slight pressure helps with intermittent contacts and sockets may need cleaning as well.

Have you used the programmer before? Are you saying you cannot perform a successful read? Are you getting a specific error? You can try turning the "check device ID" off. Attach some detailed shots of the front and back of the adapters so they can be identified and how you are orientating or setting them up.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: parkerlewis404 on October 31, 2020, 03:34:41 pm
The programmer itself appears to work as I can read other devices that don't use the TSOP48.

However looking at the images and the link to program the adapter's attiny13 chip to be v3..   my adapter doesn't have any active-ics!  I ordered the wrong one (tl866ii)   :palm:
https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33014215074.html (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/33014215074.html)

So now I ordered a tl866cs v3 adapter,
https://www.ebay.com/itm/TSOP-32-40-48-complete-standard-Adapter-set-for-TL866-programmer-no-soldering/321496089532 (https://www.ebay.com/itm/TSOP-32-40-48-complete-standard-Adapter-set-for-TL866-programmer-no-soldering/321496089532) 
hopefully that will fix it, thanks for the links!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheSteve on November 17, 2020, 04:23:21 am
Replaced the USB connector on my TL866plus tonight. It has sucked since I got it. The USB plug would frequently fall out. Not a good thing when programming stuff, it could also have easily lead to a brick during a firmware update. At least it was easy to change. If anyone else has a sloppy jack I recommend it be replaced.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Greybeard on November 23, 2020, 08:23:24 am
Can FM18W08 and FM16W08 (FRAM) be programmed by TL866A ?

I could not find them in the compatibility list:
http://www.autoelectric.cn/minipro/MiniProSupportList.txt (http://www.autoelectric.cn/minipro/MiniProSupportList.txt)

There are still TL866A available on ebay, how probable is it, to get a counterfeit?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheSteve on November 23, 2020, 08:43:21 am
You need the newer plus model to program the FM series of FRAM parts. If you buy an older A/CS there is a 99.9% chance it's a counterfeit as they've been discontinued quite a while. I have both and would only buy the plus model. The only limitation is the max Vpp programming voltage which is only needed for some EPROM's and there is a work around if needed. The plus also lets you program 1.8 volt parts.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Greybeard on November 23, 2020, 11:46:15 am
...the newer plus model...The only limitation is the max Vpp programming voltage which is only needed for some EPROM's and there is a work around if needed.
That's the other problem.
I cannot understand, why the manufacturer did not support 21/25V anymore...  |O
Is there a workaround from the manufacturer?

Does the TL866A counterfeits work reliable?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on November 23, 2020, 05:38:24 pm
I cannot understand, why the manufacturer did not support 21/25V anymore...  |O
Is there a workaround from the manufacturer?

I guess the large majority of customers is not interested in programming legacy EPROMs, so XGecu are not losing a lot of the addressable market and could probably save a few pennies in the design.

The manufacturer's workaround is to sell you the more expensive T56 model...  ::)
http://forums.xgecu.com/redirect.php?tid=19&goto=lastpost (http://forums.xgecu.com/redirect.php?tid=19&goto=lastpost)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on November 24, 2020, 10:48:30 am
That's the other problem.
I cannot understand, why the manufacturer did not support 21/25V anymore...  |O
Is there a workaround from the manufacturer? Does the TL866A counterfeits work reliable?

There is a workaround, you inject a few more volts when programming. But it requires modification or messing around with a custom adapter, then there is the software side of it. But it's not manufacturer supported no.

"Are TL866A counterfeits reliable?" is an age old question. An easier one would be "Can they be made reliable if needed?". Which I think is yes, the circuit has been reverse engineered so you can build and flash one as reliable as you like.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Greybeard on November 24, 2020, 01:12:54 pm
Thanks, I think I'll order a new TL866II+, and add some self-made adapters for 21/25V, if I need them.

Is there a 50ms pulse mode for those stone aged UV-EPROMS?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Pedro147 on December 01, 2020, 09:25:16 pm
Hi guys. I bought this TL866II Plus programmer on Ebay https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TL866II-Plus-Programmer-Suite-USB-2-0-TL866-USB-EPROM-EEPROM-7-Adapters-Socket/164171018343?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=463800793745&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649 (https://www.ebay.com.au/itm/TL866II-Plus-Programmer-Suite-USB-2-0-TL866-USB-EPROM-EEPROM-7-Adapters-Socket/164171018343?ssPageName=STRK%3AMEBIDX%3AIT&var=463800793745&_trksid=p2057872.m2749.l2649) to use for working on Macbook "BIOS" chips. Cleaning ME region and the like. I am a bit out of my depth here although I have done some firmware flashing on various drone flight controller and receiver projects in the past. There was no software link on the Ebay vendors site, but after some Googling I found this site http://forums.xgecu.com/viewthread.php?tid=20&page=1&extra=#pid23 (http://forums.xgecu.com/viewthread.php?tid=20&page=1&extra=#pid23) and installed their software. I seems to see my programmer but I just wanted to ask you guys in the know if this seem's like my best option for software to use with this no doubt Knock-off product. Thanks in advance.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on December 02, 2020, 06:16:55 am
The cloners can call their programmer whatever they like. I would double check if it's the older TL866CS/A first as they are no longer sold and widely cloned. The page linked below is the official page where you can find dealers links and photos to identify if you have a clone TL866CS/A model at the PCB level.
http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/tl866_main.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/en/tl866_main.html)

If it is a TL866CS/A clone then obviously you want that software instead. The developer has clone detection in his software to partially brick clones at a firmware level. This should be able to be reversed on a TL866CS/A which is discussed in this thread your reading.

If it's different it might pay to upload some images of the PCB so someone can tell you if it's the same layout as the newer TL866II Plus model or not. If it was me and it looked like a fake/clone of ANYTHING I'd be lodging an Ebay/Paypal dispute for a full refund (unless you specifically wanted a clone that is). You shouldn't have to send a counterfeit product back.

There are good reasons for owning both a genuine or clone TL866CS/A AND a genuine TL866II Plus, one is that the TL866 Plus model only supports programming voltages up to 18V. Other than that unless someone has brought from that specific seller who knows what it is. Their advert states from between 3.3V to 21V so that is wrong for a TL866II Plus model for a start, it should be 1.8V-6.5V VCC and 18V VPP.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Pedro147 on December 02, 2020, 08:05:39 pm
The cloners can call their programmer whatever they like. I would double check if it's the older TL866CS/A first as they are no longer sold and widely cloned. The page linked below is the official page where you can find dealers links and photos to identify if you have a clone TL866CS/A model at the PCB level.

thanks for the link I will check it out

If it is a TL866CS/A clone then obviously you want that software instead. The developer has clone detection in his software to partially brick clones at a firmware level. This should be able to be reversed on a TL866CS/A which is discussed in this thread your reading.

 
Thanks I will read back through the thread and hope that I don't have to go through the potential hassle of unbricking it if it is a clone. I suspect (read hope) that it is simply the earlier version

If it's different it might pay to upload some images of the PCB so someone can tell you if it's the same layout as the newer TL866II Plus model or not. If it was me and it looked like a fake/clone of ANYTHING I'd be lodging an Ebay/Paypal dispute for a full refund (unless you specifically wanted a clone that is). You shouldn't have to send a counterfeit product back.

To be honest as long as it works for my Macbook BIOS stuff I will be happy :)

There are good reasons for owning both a genuine or clone TL866CS/A AND a genuine TL866II Plus, one is that the TL866 Plus model only supports programming voltages up to 18V. Other than that unless someone has brought from that specific seller who knows what it is. Their advert states from between 3.3V to 21V so that is wrong for a TL866II Plus model for a start, it should be 1.8V-6.5V VCC and 18V VPP.

I don't think that the lack of being able to handle higher voltages will be an issue in my case but thanks for the heads up.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: MRCMRC on December 03, 2020, 05:58:40 pm
For programming an old 2732 EPROM on my TL866 I designed a quick&dirty adaptor to apply an external 25V programming voltage, see attached schematics.
Works like a charme :-)

Hi there,

Has someone succeeded in programming 2732s with a T866II Plus? Even using this Vpp raiser circuit, I can't program them. I've read about the insufficient programming pulse width used by the software. Is there anyway to change that parameter, or an alternative to the official software that can do that? Any trick for programming 2716s and 2732s with this programmer?

Thanks in advance!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: galaxy76 on December 14, 2020, 04:01:21 am
Hi everyone.  i just bought a TL866II PLUS.  reading the thread I realized that there are risks in updating the firmware of this product.  the TL866II PLUS may be locked.  and as i understand there is no way to unlock it, as you can do with the tl866cs / a. 
so I ask:

1) is it really necessary to update?  can I use the TL866II PLUS with the latest 10.53 software without being forced to update the firmware?

2)are there fake clones of the TL866II PLUS?  possibly how can i find out if mine is original?


Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheSteve on December 14, 2020, 04:24:23 am
I'm not aware of any fakes of the 866 Plus (yet anyway).

I am pretty sure you need to update the firmware in the programmer if you want to use the newer PC software.
I've had no problems updating mine, but I am sure to do it when nothing else is running on the PC and no cables etc are being moved.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: galaxy76 on December 14, 2020, 02:14:32 pm
thanks, I will use version 8.01. It seems that this should match the factory-loaded firmware.

anyway, if it were to brick, is there a way to unlock it today?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: galaxy76 on December 16, 2020, 07:32:08 am
i bought a chinese eprom erase 4w 254nm (grey) .  I have to delete some Chinese eprom m27C4001.  how many minutes does it take?  thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on December 16, 2020, 11:17:06 am
i bought a chinese eprom erase 4w 254nm (grey) .  I have to delete some Chinese eprom m27C4001.  how many minutes does it take?  thanks
For a good eprom, 10 to 15 minutes should about do it. I've used several thousand M27C801 Chinese eproms and on the rare occasion I've had to erase one they take 1-2 hours. They are branded ST but scrape off the black paint and they have some Chinese writing underneath.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: galaxy76 on December 17, 2020, 12:22:06 pm
thanks.  I've read a lot of bad things about Chinese eproms.  I eventually found and bought some original but expensive eproms.  I preferred to buy good memories than recycled Chinese junk
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Circlotron on December 17, 2020, 12:41:25 pm
Sure. The ones I have been using are supposedly 100nS access time but in reality are about 1uS. Quite okay for my application though. Also, with a "good" batch about 1 in 50 fail programming. I have had bad batches where about 3 in 10 fail programming. Reliability has been fine though, with some having run 15 years now.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheSteve on December 17, 2020, 06:58:21 pm
thanks, I will use version 8.01. It seems that this should match the factory-loaded firmware.

anyway, if it were to brick, is there a way to unlock it today?

You might find there are issues with the older versions, many bugs have been fixed. I have done many firmware updates, no issues so far.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: galaxy76 on December 17, 2020, 08:55:20 pm
i have read almost every page in this thread and some have had problems and stuck their TL866II PLUS.  of course it is really absurd that this does not unlock and the old ones do.  this is my fear.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: galaxy76 on December 17, 2020, 08:58:53 pm
anyway which operating system is best suited?  win XP: win 7 32 or 64 ?: win 10?  usb 2.0 or 3.0 ports?  are quite a lot of questions, but it could make all the difference when updating the firmware
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: galaxy76 on December 23, 2020, 09:18:59 am
meanwhile, the eproms have arrived.  they look original.  what do you think?


[attachimg=1]
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: frischky on January 21, 2021, 07:14:48 am
Finally picked up one of these units... went for a TLS866a from overseas, knew it was a clone as there is no legitimate source of the A/CS models anymore.

Right out of the box, I was getting read errors (writing is not a problem) on W27C512 and Atmel AT27C512Rs (from a legit source) when trying to read or verify.

Self test fails 9 out of 10 times, with GND 4/ZIF 4 coming back as a fault.  I've looked at Radioman's schematics, but I am not exactly on the level of probably 90% of the people here when it comes to rework (nor do I have their confidence).

If it was a constant error, obviously I would think a bung component or dodgy soldering being a culprit, but I can get it to pass the self-check about 10% of the time.

So I turn to your collective wisdom and ask, where do I start looking to try and track down the issue?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on January 21, 2021, 10:24:21 am
I would start with trying another computer, and another USB cable.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on January 21, 2021, 11:28:23 am
Similar problem reported here.
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/tl866a-self-check-failed/ (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/repair/tl866a-self-check-failed/)

this one here
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg669260/#msg669260 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg669260/#msg669260)
was solved here
https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg669313/#msg669313 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/msg669313/#msg669313)

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: frischky on January 21, 2021, 08:31:36 pm
Thanks for the suggestions.

No dice on the different USB cable or computer, same Pin 4 GND error.

I'll wait until the seller replies and see what they want to do.  Sending it back to China would probably be half the value of it.  It is probably a simple repair, but I get antsy when desoldering gets involved, especially on boards with lots of SMD. 
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: galaxy76 on January 23, 2021, 09:27:02 am
hi, how long does it usually take to erase an eprom (m27C4001)?  I bought a gray Chinese eraser like this one in the picture.  I have some m27512 eproms original that clear in 6 minutes.  instead the m27C4001 original are canceled in 40 minutes.  it's normal?  thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on January 23, 2021, 12:38:42 pm
@galaxy76 --
What is wrong with the answer below, which you received earlier in resonse to pretty much the same question?
Also, could you please delete two of the three redundant posts you just made? [Done, thanks!]

i bought a chinese eprom erase 4w 254nm (grey) .  I have to delete some Chinese eprom m27C4001.  how many minutes does it take?  thanks
For a good eprom, 10 to 15 minutes should about do it. I've used several thousand M27C801 Chinese eproms and on the rare occasion I've had to erase one they take 1-2 hours. They are branded ST but scrape off the black paint and they have some Chinese writing underneath.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: galaxy76 on January 23, 2021, 12:45:28 pm
this time they are new and original m27C4001.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bud on January 25, 2021, 08:55:21 pm
From ST datasheet:

Quote
The recommended erasure procedure for the M27C4001 is exposure to short wave ultraviolet light which has wavelength of 2537 Å. The integrated dose (i.e. UV intensity x exposure time) for erasure should be a minimum of 15 W-sec/cm2. The erasure time with this dosage is approximately 15 to 20 minutes using an ultraviolet lamp with 12000 µW/cm2 power rating. The M27C4001 should be placed within 2.5 cm (1 inch) of the lamp tubes during the erasure

You can compare the requirements such as the wavelength and dosage against the ones for other UV Eproms.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bsgd on March 12, 2021, 03:40:30 am
Hello,

Sorry to revive a somehow old thread, but does any of you know if the TL866ii Plus can reliably test 6116 Ram ICs? I've heard people saying they do test them fine and others saying it doesnt.

I would only buy it for this purpose and thats why Id like to hear from someone who actually owns it if its a good tool for this purpose.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: gmc on March 12, 2021, 07:59:46 am
The 6116 is in the chip database for the TL866+ but have never tested these chips before.
I've tested loads of 62256 and those work, so dont see any reason why the 6116 would not work.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: firewalker on March 12, 2021, 10:39:36 am
The problem is that TL866 will test chips in relative low speeds. I have tested several ICs with a pass result that would not work in the circuit, due to higher speed clocks.

Alexander.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: bsgd on March 12, 2021, 12:15:09 pm
The problem is that TL866 will test chips in relative low speeds. I have tested several ICs with a pass result that would not work in the circuit, due to higher speed clocks.

Alexander.

The thing is, Im trying to repair an HP test equipment and this is the first time Im actually messing with these 'old' digital circuits. How does one actually confirm an IC is bad (like in your case) with such defects? I mean is it even common for for ICs to fail this way, working only at lower speeds?

I need to test a few 6116 ICs and that why I was interested in getting the TL866, so it would be great if someone could confirm if its suitable as a 6116 tester, if someone here ever used it to test them. I dont like the repair approach of just replacing everything as we dont learn much from doing that, so Id rather test and find the issue than just replace all ICs... and I love test gear as everyone around here so a GOOD IC tester would be awesome to have.

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: oPossum on March 12, 2021, 05:54:20 pm
The TL866 and other affordable chip testers will be able to determine if a chips is definitely not working but can not determine if they are fully functional (meet all specifications). It is just not practical to fully simulate working conditions so they just test for basic functionality. So if a chip tests bad then it is very likely bad. If it tests good then it is still suspect.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on March 12, 2021, 06:47:43 pm
These are primarily universal programmers and as mentioned the software works more like a basic pass/fail so it's a check not a test. Since this thread is for the TL866A/CS and not IC/RAM testers please start a new thread in the test equipment forum (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/) if you want to discuss testers further. But you are looking for something like this, not the TL866:

https://8bit-museum.de/sonstiges/hardware-projekte/hardware-projekte-chip-tester-english/ (https://8bit-museum.de/sonstiges/hardware-projekte/hardware-projekte-chip-tester-english/)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_r4dLRvoAs (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=x_r4dLRvoAs)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: grantb5 on March 12, 2021, 07:07:46 pm
If you make a new topic, please post a link here. I am also interesting in SRAM testing. Speed is not the only issue in my case, these parts, like the 6116LP-3 and similar, were used in old music synthesizers for battery-backed settings. I have a couple of tubes of "not sure" SRAM parts.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: andromeda92 on April 15, 2021, 11:46:17 am
Hi,
How to disable SDP on AT28C256 with programmer TL866II-Plus ?
Thanks for your help.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Wiljan on May 31, 2021, 06:01:38 pm
I have to read out a AM27C010 DIL32,

TL866II plus have it the list

When pressing Read in Xgpro version 10.90 win7 64bit it complains about Pin Detect Error small red X on all pins except 16 (Gnd) and 30 (NC)

it also complain about wrong ID.

When deselect pindetect and ID check and the read it does read but all FF ( I know the Eprom does work and have content)

If run a self check all is fine

If I put a data pin to gnd (without Eprom) and read it sowhe the right Hex data for the gnded pin

So what's wrong?

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bad_Driver on May 31, 2021, 06:26:25 pm
I'm very late to this party but I found this topic by accident.
Earlier this year I bought after some advice from another topic a TL866A @ EvilBay - not knowing that this programmer is out of production for more than 3 years
and that there was the risk of counterfeit products.

Fortunately I got a NOS or very good counterfeit product and it has done the job I needed it for - reading out some old EPROMs with the last available software release after firmware successful upgrading and some reprogramming
of very old east german 2732. So far so good.

Than I tried to use it for reading out the code from a ANET A8 mainboard, I got the 3D printer used for less money but have no access to the used firmware.
Now I have to replace the main board (a analog input of the AT1284p seems to be dead) and I tried to dump it with the programmers ICSP port. The
board has a dedicated ICSP port! I double and tripple checked the cabling.
I bridged C22 to overcome the current protection warning but it doesn't work. After trying everything what I learned from this long topic I have to confess that I'm lost.

To get the hex dump for further reprogramming I bought a cheap 3€ USBasp programmer and with AVRDUDE (& AVRDUDESS - I prefer GUIs) the job was done in 5 minutes!

The USBasp stick powers the main board processor what is easy to see.

It assume that the TL866A  ICSP_Vcc supply doesn't work (yes - I crossed the field in the software). But I tried the printers PSU without the Vcc cable with the TL866A with no success as well.

Has someone experience with this kind of problem? Thanks for any advice!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on May 31, 2021, 08:38:23 pm
Since you suspect it's a power issue have you confirmed this?

You can check if you have an original or clone here, unlikely it being original.
http://www.autoelectric.cn/EN/note.html (http://www.autoelectric.cn/EN/note.html)

Let us know the hardware and software version you are using. What does the software identify the programmer as? Have you performed the CS to A mod on it?

Take screenshots of the software screen before you read and show the results/errors after clicking the read icon. This will help let people know exactly what is occurring.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Wiljan on June 01, 2021, 07:23:52 am
Re. AM27C010 DIL32,

As I wrote I can't read it in the 866II+,

I took a scope and did measure the Vdd and it goes to 5V when the menu are set for read 5.0 V so far so good.

But if you measure on all the address pins the only swing between 0 and 3.3 V
The data pins swings between 2.5 and 5V (so it's never going real low)

If I change the menu to lets says read at 3.3V Vdd changes fine to 3.3V
The data pins swings between 0.8 and 3.3V  (so it's never going real low) AM27C010 is a 5V device

I had expected that the address pin had same swing depending as the Vdd and not just 0 - 3.3 always
The output might have the problem with wrong pull-up.

Any sugestions?



Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Wiljan on June 01, 2021, 08:39:57 am
Reading some 27C256 and 27C512 (Fairchild)  I have around does work correct in the 866II+
So when I assume the 27C010 is a OK chip it might not be even though I see it work in the CPU board were it belongs to.
Will investigate a bit more
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: neli on June 02, 2021, 11:05:12 am
Hi radioman,
I just reflashed my TL866CS to ver.A. I get Reset error, during the last step. 
I can read from an earlier flashed eprom, when I deslect "Check ID".
I cloned my dev. code and ser.num. On this pic shows that it is ver. A, but ICSP connector not present.
How can I solve this?
Elemer
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on June 02, 2021, 01:58:09 pm
I just reflashed my TL866CS to ver.A. I get Reset error, during the last step. 
I can read from an earlier flashed eprom, when I deslect "Check ID".
I cloned my dev. code and ser.num. On this pic shows that it is ver. A, but ICSP connector not present.
How can I solve this?

If it won't go into boot mode you need to use a resistor to force boot mode by plugging the TL866 in with a 100-200 ohm resistor present then remove it once it's entered boot mode. Flash then it should boot back into normal mode. After that updating the firmware should be fine. The .pdf file (that comes with the updater) shows where the resistor should be connected.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: chekhov on June 16, 2021, 02:51:46 pm
Always check adapters before use, Murphy is always near ...  :wtf:
[attach=1]
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: eda8039 on September 04, 2021, 03:37:53 am
That's not a short, it's a long.
Title: TL866II and PALCE22V10H ?
Post by: eda8039 on September 04, 2021, 03:39:08 am
Hello,

I have a new TL866II+  and some Lattice PALCE22V10H chips.   I See that the IC select menu have GAL22V10's  B, C, D.   Which one is most compatible ?   

Should I use the lowest possible programming voltage selection ?

Thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Zapotec on September 11, 2021, 01:39:06 pm
Hi !
I'm new here :)
I have a TL866A (I think it is a clone one) And I'm using MiniPro v6.85
I would like to program an Atmel/Microchip AtTiny13A in DIL8, but, when I try to make some operation (read/id/calib read) I get "overcurrent" message.
I see that the programmer put 12V on Pin 1 (right for Hi voltage unlock operation), but also on pin 2  :phew:

Someone have an idea of why and how to fix this ?

Regards
Paolo
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: NibiruDawn on September 21, 2021, 06:31:15 pm
Hi all, many thanks Radioman for your excellent job!

I remembered to have a new TL866CS into my cellar...
Several years ago I also remember to read a similar topic: How to convert a TL866CS into a TL866A.
So, after 3 years I decided to apply this procedure, this time made easier by Radioman!

Ok, in brief my use case:

- TL866CS with v3.2.58 (environment Win 10 PRO)
- I installed MiniPro Programmer 6.85 and I updated to v3.2.86
- I opened the program Radioman Updater and I followed the Radioman's procedure.

Because I didn't apply the pull-up restistor I got "Reset Error" message.

Here my questions.

1) is it really necessary (in order to not compromise the correct functioning of the programmer) to apply a reset after of the programmer after flashing?
2) I see alphanumeric serial number and a numeric device code in minipro window. In additional, I read TL866A v3.2.86 below the MiniPro Programmer window and the same information clicking on Help-->About.
Radioman updater shows the device in "Normal Working Mode"
From Tools--> System Self-Check : all the 27 tests are OK and the end result is test finish ... successful.
Are please sufficient these informations in order to be sure that the programmer is really working? Exist a way to check it?
My questions because (if I am right) I read in the forum that some users discovered some issue during the programming\erasing of some IC.
Actually I don't have an IC in order to test the TL866.
3) Is it please possible to use the TL866 in UART (TTL) mode modality?
If the answer is affirmative , what's the correct pinout?

Many thanks and greatings :)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: teevee on November 02, 2021, 06:20:21 am
I have a refurbished chip with ID 20 86, there is written 27C1001 on it, but that is not correct,

Since Xgecu failed to implement a feature, which can also help you identifying the chip ID as an actual usefull indicator of what it is.

What is 20 86?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: grantb5 on November 02, 2021, 01:01:28 pm
Best I could find. Looks like ST maybe. Is it a windowed EPROM?

http://www.mcumall.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4974 (http://www.mcumall.com/forum/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=4974)

Look halfway down the page.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: lololo on December 08, 2021, 08:53:17 am
Hello,
maybe you can help me. I have a TL866II-Plus and am trying to read an N25Q064A11E (1.8V) eeprom. The pins are detected but I have an overcurrent protection problem. What I do not understand is that before you had to have an adapter for 1.8v chips but I see that now no longer need. Is it a hardware or software modification? I'm also looking for how to change the voltage, because in the list of available chips the N25Q064 appears without?

thank you in advance for your help
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Willem52 on December 21, 2021, 02:13:20 pm
I have a refurbished chip with ID 20 86, there is written 27C1001 on it, but that is not correct,

Since Xgecu failed to implement a feature, which can also help you identifying the chip ID as an actual usefull indicator of what it is.

What is 20 86?

Perhaps you could take a look at: https://hiddenpalace.org/EPROMs (https://hiddenpalace.org/EPROMs) ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dilbert66 on January 16, 2022, 11:05:50 pm
For those that need to program 21v devices on the TL866II+, you can  simply add a 10k resistor between pins 5 and ground (or pins 5 and 4) of U3 via a removable jumper .  This is effectively changing the voltage divider of r8/r9 which sets the output voltage .  This will give you an approx 3+ volt additional range and thus give you 21v when the programmer is set to 18v. Removing the jumper, returns the programmer to normal.   This allows me to program old 2764D's (that use 21 volts vpp). 

Edit: You can achieve 25v VPP (in addition to 21v)  by using a 6.2K or 6.8K resistor instead.  This gives a +7volt boost to the vpp voltage as viewed on the application. 
For example to get 21v, you set the programmer vpp to 14volt (14 + 7=21),  for 25v, you set the programmer to 18v (18+7=25)

Note: I've only tested this with 21volt eproms.  I have had success with TMS (TI) eproms and a few Toshiba (TMM2764's) (only ones I had on hand that required higher vpp). Some of the TMM2764/2732's I could read fine but couldnt program.  I have tried both XGpro (pulse witdh 1ms)  and minipro (with pulse width set to 50ms).  I'm not sure at this point what the problems with  those, so there is something else at play here that is affecting successful writes. I have not investigated this too much at this point. Possibly bad chips due to their age. I have insured that the vpp was correct at the chip using an oscilloscope.   

See my post here for more details: https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/modification-to-add-the-missing-21-and-25-volt-vpp-ranges-to-your-tl866ii-plus/msg3959678/#msg3959678 (https://www.eevblog.com/forum/testgear/modification-to-add-the-missing-21-and-25-volt-vpp-ranges-to-your-tl866ii-plus/msg3959678/#msg3959678)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Dilbert66 on January 21, 2022, 01:18:22 am
I did some scoping on the program logic and found out why the programmer (using latest 11.81 version) will not program any 2732's.  To program those there are only two lines used for logic.  an OE(low)/VPP and the CE(low) line.   To write a byte, it sets vpp to 21v on the OE pin and CE should go from high to low.  In this case. It goes from low to high which is backwards and incorrect. 

It's obviously a software bug. I went on the xegu forum and posted a message. I'll see if I can mail the manufacturer directly as well.

To prove the issue on the 2732, I put a jumper from pin 18(ce)  to gnd , basically forcing it low always and re-ran the program.  Success.  The chip programmed perfectly using 21v.  The 21volt pulse going high and ce tied low was good enough to program the chip.  Usually you set vpp, then after short delay you set ce low for 50ms then back high.

So for those having issues with 2732's (or other problematic eproms) you can try this and see if it does the job.  It might not work for those that have a dedicated program pin though but worth a shot.  Of course, you might need to have pin detect unchecked and  the correct vpp voltage set as well.

Edit: I had a look at the 2716 and the logic was correct for those.





Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: neli on January 30, 2022, 10:23:46 am
Hello,
I have the same problem. I try to flash PALCE22V10H both TL866A and TL866II Pro in Gal22V10 D settings.
I got overcurrent error at Vpp=12,5V, (this is the programming voltage in datasheet). But at Vpp=12V the procedure went on. It seems that the flashing method successful. The result is -when verifying- the fuse bit NOT changed. The IC content NOT changed.
So is there anybody who flashed this IC successful with Minipro?
Elemer
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: RSistem82 on January 31, 2022, 06:09:51 pm
Please help me im new on this forum. I had minipro TL866 II programmer can you help me with this chip Samsung S3F9454 it is MCU i need read firmware from W.E.P 872D hotair. In software ther isnt some specification from this chip. Very thanks for some solutions.  :-//
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on January 31, 2022, 10:26:58 pm
Please help me im new on this forum. I had minipro TL866 II programmer can you help me with this chip Samsung S3F9454 it is MCU i need read firmware from W.E.P 872D hotair. In software ther isnt some specification from this chip. Very thanks for some solutions.  :-//

I'm afraid the outlook is not good for that. The TL866 II programmer is not known for its expandability. The onboard firmware needs to know abot a device in order to read or write it, so if a chip is not supported, there is no easy way around that.

And in addition, I would assume that the Samsung microcontroller offers some kind of read protection option, and that the manufacturer of your WEP 872D has used that option to protect their firmware. So even with a programmer which knows this processor, you would probably not be able to read the 872D's firmware.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: DocRV on February 04, 2022, 03:19:08 pm
Hello guys,
First, thank you all ! Thanks to this forum, I saved my bricked TL866 ;-) !

I want to flash 29GL064 (8 or 16bits EEPROM) with a 8-bit file.
How can I tell MiniPro/TL866 to flash using 8-bit mode, instead of the default 16-bits mode ?

(note : in 8bit mode (BYTE# low), pin45 = A-1
            in 16bit mode (BYTE# low), pin 45 = DQ15)

Thank you for your help !
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Kjo on February 04, 2022, 05:56:26 pm
Great thread, just got a TL866II+.
Read through thread and noted quite a few references to acquiring EPROMs both new and old. So I thought it worth noting my experience in dealing with counterfeit parts. I use a lot of older 2732 & 2764 devices. I take what sources I can find. Recently I acquired a  batch of ST M2732A-2F1 devices. I have used many of these in the past that worked fine. I was using a Needhams EMP30 programmer that was quite professional in its day. It bricked the first few I tried to program. What gives I say? A peek into the window of a known good M2732A said it all. These new chips were not the same! (See Pics)

I sent some parts to Curious_Marc over at youtube who de-capped and did some high res photos. We could identify the fake as a NS CMOS part by die marking and a bit of layout tracing. The upper part of the fake is almost certainly a charge pump capacitor.

Best match I could make was to a NS NM27C32B device which programs at 5V not 21V. Needhams programmer happily programs them as a NS27C32B!
Now why anyone in China (where they came from)  would choose to relabel as ST M2732A 21V devices leaves me scratching my head.

Moral..... when buying ICs, dont believe the markings until you verify in some manner. eprom, micro, EPLD, FPGA it doesnt matter. Same goes for test equipment....

kjo - KO3Y
Title: Re: MiniPro V6.85 TL866 Universal Programmer Question
Post by: Southerner on April 05, 2022, 06:38:48 am
I hope this is the right place to ask this.  I am using Minipro v6.85 on a Windows 7 box as I understand that is the last Minipro version that will work with my converted TL866CS.  I have not used it much but have used it several times in the last few days. Can anyone tell me how to turn off the setting of lock bit as the default programming option?  I have no desire to set the lock bit as I do plan to reprogram these chips.  Am I reading it right or does setting that lock bit (the default) not set the lock bit fuse so I and others can't reprogram the ATMega328P without having to use a hv programmer to erase them and reprogram them?

Thank you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on April 05, 2022, 09:48:17 am
Try the project menu and save one.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: H.O on April 10, 2022, 02:48:29 pm
Has anyone been able to program AT27C4096 OTP devices using the TL866?

I'm using v6.50 of the software and a PLCC44 to DIP40 adapter which seems to "convert" the pinout properly but I'm not able to program the device nor will it read the correct ID from the device, it always returns FFFF FFFF. It does blankcheck OK but so does an empty ZIF-socket so that doesn't really say much.

These are EBAY devices so the likelyhood of them being fake is high, they do come from a seller with 100% positive feedback though and since there's like a year leadtime from Mouser I thought it was worth taking a chance. So before I contact the seller claiming these are fakes is there anything I can try?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on April 10, 2022, 07:23:38 pm
By comparing it against a device legitimately sourced and testing it. Sending it to someone who frequently uses them. Asking someone to send a genuine part to you (make a post in the buy/sell/wanted forum not here). Confidence that your programmer is working correctly and can program other devices in the same package or series, has the interface been used before?

If it came from China it's likely fake but anyone can resell fakes sourced elsewhere. You can google how to spot fakes for some tips. Obviously it's free money for the seller, every time someone buys them it makes it worthwhile even if small quantity.

You could profile the seller a little to get a better idea where all their items are supplied from, how long they have been selling. Plus you could contact them and ask where they were sourced from or put it to them that you believe the devices are not genuine. A conscientious seller would have some evidence of their origin. But you are probably wasting your time.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bimmeristi on May 11, 2022, 07:36:16 pm
Hi!

Is there solution use this ATMega64 - YAMAICHI IC51-0644-824-3 QFP64 TQFP ZIF Programming Adapter with TL866II Plus? Or need wiring pins to ICSP only. No possible use DIP?!?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on May 13, 2022, 02:40:15 am
Use ICSP. May get something like the Waveshare 3762 (https://www.waveshare.com/product/mcu-tools/programming-adapters/avr/m64-adp.htm) but doable. I've seen that many struggle since Atmel uses PDO/PDI instead of MISO/MOSI, but YMMV.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Bimmeristi on May 17, 2022, 04:50:10 pm
Yes, have that atmega64 socket(black in photo), but that PCB(blue in photo) missing. I thought it include because seller says "adapter" when i bought it. But my opinion its just socket. With PCB can call adapter... SO i am looking that PCB only if there have separate available. Maybe some knows?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on May 19, 2022, 01:14:47 am
Waveshare provides the schematic for the blue board in their wiki...
https://www.waveshare.com/wiki/File:M64%2B_ADP.pdf (https://www.waveshare.com/wiki/File:M64%2B_ADP.pdf)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kerouanton on June 09, 2022, 02:24:29 pm
Hello all, I have a TL866-II Plus with its latest firmware and XgPro v11.30 (up to date), and want to make sure I didn't brick my microcontroler (PIC16F1938) used in a ATU-100 Antenna Tuner. I was able to read the chip Flash and Eeprom using ICSP, but when reprogramming with the new firmware it doesn't seem to boot any more (I'm still able to access the chip via XgPro anyway).

The issue may be due to the fact the PIC16F1938 is not listed in the supported IC list, so I created a new IC on XgPro based on a PIC16F1829 (it has the same flash and eeprom size according to the datasheets). Anyway I wanted to make sure it was a safe method. Is it possible to alter the custom IC configuration to change details such as voltage, pinout and more? I didn't see where.

Thanks,
Bruno
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TheSteve on June 10, 2022, 03:17:15 am
I don't know about your PIC issue but the newest PC software is version 11.90, if you really do have 11.30 you might want to update.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kerouanton on June 10, 2022, 12:16:35 pm
Thanks for the tip, I didn't realize it wasn't the latest version. I updated to 11.90 but this doesn't change anything. PIC16F1938 still isn't in the list of supported MCU's although I can read flash and eeprom info from it, so I'm trying to understand what I need else to make sure programming/writing can work.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on June 10, 2022, 12:40:34 pm
I don't think there is much you can do -- if a specific chip is not supported, it is not supported, unless there is an exactly equivalent chip type which you can select in the software. You might have messed up some fuse settings by programming it using a different PIC type on the TL866?

You mentioned that you could read the flash and EEPROM. Did you save the original contents, and have you tried writing them back to the PIC to see whether that brings it back to life?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kerouanton on June 10, 2022, 02:12:36 pm
Yes I can read the Flash and Eeprom, I also have the full HEX file for the original embedded firmware (and I know the values of the eeprom).

Nevertheless, I wonder if there is a timing issue when I reflash the firmware, as the few first bytes are not set as they should be. Here is a comparaison of the original firmware on the left, and what I read from the Flash on the right. This was after reflashing the chip, so I suppose maybe the PIC16F1938 wasn't ready to receive the first bytes over SCPI and started to write the firmware only after byte 0x40. But I'm probably not right.

[EDIT] Reflashing the MCU another time did fix this. But the MCU still doesn't start. Must not be related to the Xgecu TL866  8)

Last questions about creating custom ICs on the TL-866 :

1. When I read the flash ID, I get this result: "Read Device ID: 0x11D Rev=03". However I didn't find a correct way to put this information on the Add Custom IC. There is an editable field for "ID", I tried several ways but each time I re-read the MCU, XgPro complains the ID does not match: "Check ID Error! Checked ID is: 0x11D. Wish to continue programming, please cancel [Check device ID] option!". Disabling this option enables me to read/program the MCU, but I'm wondering how to avoid this and how to set a correct info in the custom IC to avoid this warning.

2. When creating a new Custom IC from an existing one, is it possible to increase the chip flash size? It is grayed out.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kerouanton on June 10, 2022, 04:16:11 pm
Some feedback about my current tests:

- I've checked how XgPro defines the IC list. It's not a text nor a binary file, but an executable DLL called InfoIC2Plus.dll that seems to contain all IC references. Disassembling it shows some function exports (GetDllInfo, GetIcList, GetIcMFC, GetIcStru, GetMfcStru) that seem related to setting the right parameters. So it's not really convenient to alter the DLL and change any parameters (but should be possible in theory).

- The PIC16F1938 has a flash size of 0x4000, but the only similar MCU that I found and used to create the Custom IC is a PIC16F1829 that has only 0x2000 for Flash. That explains why my firmware doesn't work as expected.

- I've checked on the Microchip which PIC MCUs have 0x4000 flash, but all the references I found are not listed on XgPro (16F1519, 16F1939, 16F1527, 16F1947, 16F1518, and 16F1938).

So, has anyone succeeded in flashing a PIC MCU with a flash size > 0x2000 ? I'm beginning to believe the TL866-II Plus and T-56 don't support this flash size, but that seems weird because it's not so difficult to implement.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Quench1 on June 22, 2022, 05:24:57 pm
A new model of TL866 (3rd generation) has just been released - the "TL866-3G" aka the "T48":
It's supported in software version starting from v12.01

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004434848306.html (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004434848306.html)

Looks like the TL866ii+ will be killed off considering the price.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tokyoskies on July 22, 2022, 12:03:16 pm
A new model of TL866 (3rd generation) has just been released - the "TL866-3G" aka the "T48":
It's supported in software version starting from v12.01

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004434848306.html (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004434848306.html)

Looks like the TL866ii+ will be killed off considering the price.

Seems to be the market strategy. I got mine 3 days ago for a steal. Should I be worried???



On that note, I am worried, as my TL866II Plus is not really working! I posted my issue on XGECU forums and got some responses, but its just basically telling me that all my EEPROMs are too old and possibly faulty.
Hard to believe that, since I got some of them from Digitec on Wednesday. Anyway, I went through this thread and some folks seem to have had a similar issue. I am trying to program SST39VF020@PLCC32 with a bin I just read of my 2 "Master" EEPROMS (also SST39VF020).
I can read master and the "blank" EEPROMS fine. I saved the bin files of both masters. Now, I cannot seem to write the master bin to the blank chips. I cannot erase the blank chips either. I then thought "what the heck, I saved the master bin file, so lets erase the master eeprom".
It does not erase that either, in fact I cannot erase any chip. When trying to program a chip with the Air_Master.bin I get the following error:

APP Version : 12.05   Model : TL866II Plus
     Device : SST39VF020 @ PLCC32
Pins Detected Passed!
ID: 0x FF FF ......OK!
Erase  ...Succeeded. Time : 0.390 S
Programming FLASH ...
ERROR!  Address:0x000000   Buffer Data:0xA0   Verify:0xFF
Programming  ...Failed

I did create a new chip with ID FF FF, as I always get a Chip ID error when reading or writing, no matter what chip I use.

I tried:

1. Different USB Cable
2. Different PC with Windows 7
3. Downgrading the firmware from 12.05 to 10.13, 10.35, 11.90
4. Re-flashing 12.05 several times
5. Checked the ZIF PLCC32 socket adapter
6. Bought a new PLCC32 socket adapter
7. Bought 6 new SST39VF020 (in total I have 10 now and none can be programmed)
8. Tried a similar chip profile (Cat28F020 and Cat28C256) - Cat28F020 seemed to work at first. The erasing took much longer than on the native profile. Programming then took about 5 min, but failed in the end anyway.
9. I tried several USB ports and hubs
10. Self-Check is OK on all pins and OC protection

I am now thinking to send this back and get myself a Batronix.. Much more expensive, but if it works....

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: CRC on September 07, 2022, 12:44:50 pm
A new model of TL866 (3rd generation) has just been released - the "TL866-3G" aka the "T48":
It's supported in software version starting from v12.01

https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004434848306.html (https://www.aliexpress.com/item/1005004434848306.html)

Looks like the TL866ii+ will be killed off considering the price.

Seems to be the market strategy. I got mine 3 days ago for a steal. Should I be worried???



On that note, I am worried, as my TL866II Plus is not really working! I posted my issue on XGECU forums and got some responses, but its just basically telling me that all my EEPROMs are too old and possibly faulty.
Hard to believe that, since I got some of them from Digitec on Wednesday. Anyway, I went through this thread and some folks seem to have had a similar issue. I am trying to program SST39VF020@PLCC32 with a bin I just read of my 2 "Master" EEPROMS (also SST39VF020).
I can read master and the "blank" EEPROMS fine. I saved the bin files of both masters. Now, I cannot seem to write the master bin to the blank chips. I cannot erase the blank chips either. I then thought "what the heck, I saved the master bin file, so lets erase the master eeprom".
It does not erase that either, in fact I cannot erase any chip. When trying to program a chip with the Air_Master.bin I get the following error:

APP Version : 12.05   Model : TL866II Plus
     Device : SST39VF020 @ PLCC32
Pins Detected Passed!
ID: 0x FF FF ......OK!
Erase  ...Succeeded. Time : 0.390 S
Programming FLASH ...
ERROR!  Address:0x000000   Buffer Data:0xA0   Verify:0xFF
Programming  ...Failed

I did create a new chip with ID FF FF, as I always get a Chip ID error when reading or writing, no matter what chip I use.

I tried:

1. Different USB Cable
2. Different PC with Windows 7
3. Downgrading the firmware from 12.05 to 10.13, 10.35, 11.90
4. Re-flashing 12.05 several times
5. Checked the ZIF PLCC32 socket adapter
6. Bought a new PLCC32 socket adapter
7. Bought 6 new SST39VF020 (in total I have 10 now and none can be programmed)
8. Tried a similar chip profile (Cat28F020 and Cat28C256) - Cat28F020 seemed to work at first. The erasing took much longer than on the native profile. Programming then took about 5 min, but failed in the end anyway.
9. I tried several USB ports and hubs
10. Self-Check is OK on all pins and OC protection

I am now thinking to send this back and get myself a Batronix.. Much more expensive, but if it works....

I am having exactly the same result.

It's bizarre because it worked great the firsrt few days. I wonder if they are knockoffs and there is some sort of software detection going on that's bricking them.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Black Phoenix on September 08, 2022, 07:07:09 am
I know that is a working tool but heck the T48 is ugly as hell in terms of design. The MiniPro looked okay, but this one I can't go by the design.

It almost makes me try to design an alternative case for it in Solidworks. That and the font that Chinese like to use in their products, that kinda Times New Roman like called Zhongyi Songti.

But that's just small gripes I had, not regarding the tool itself since I've used in the last gig I done.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: TodayIsFridayInCalifornia on September 21, 2022, 12:23:50 pm
Does anyone else have issues using their TSOP48 adapters with the original TL866? I needed to replace the ATTINY13A on mine just to get it to be recognized as a V3 adapter, but whatever I do no chips will properly ID and I can't get anything in or out of them even if I bypass the ID check.

I really don't feel like buying the T48 if I don't have to (especially given how infrequently I actually need to use it), but I feel like I'm being pushed in that direction.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: landsfiskalen on September 29, 2022, 11:14:23 am
Finally decided to try and resurrect my old TL866CS clone. Tried to force the boot loader with the 100ohm resistor trick, but no luck. Decided to try and program it through ICSP from my TL866 II Plus. I downloaded the stock firmware from radiomans repo (https://github.com/radiomanV/TL866/tree/67487e2cd60fa8f755e977c9fc656559452f5092/TL866_Updater/C%23/firmware). But I get an error when trying to program it, I think it uses the same PIC as the original (but it's been grinded off), so tried with that one. It reads ok, but when programming I get this error message:

error flash address 0x00000 buf_val:0x87 ic_val:0x00

Does anyone have any clue on how to solve this?

Best regards,
landsfiskalen
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: radioman on October 01, 2022, 12:40:07 am
Hi folks. As i don't read this thread regularly, please drop me a PM if you encounter some issues regarding to the TL866 programmer.
Quote
I downloaded the stock firmware from radiomans repo
 
First, those files (.bin) are not intended to be used as firmware files ready to be flashed by a programmer. These are part of the firmware updater project (the serial code is invalid).
You should run the firmware updater tool and generate a new firmware (in the firmware tab) and load the generated hex file into your programmer (contains the correct fusebits).
If you don't have my updater tool (posted here, in this thread) I'll attach here an original firmware file extracted from a working TL866A.
 Regarding to your error, how the tl866ii is connected to the 'dead'?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Ricks on October 18, 2022, 07:46:29 pm
  I have a T48 that is bricked due to a failed firmware update.

Recovery anyone ?


Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Ricks on October 24, 2022, 11:10:01 am
runs again.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: alm on October 24, 2022, 05:41:25 pm
runs again.
For the benefit of anyone else running in the same problem, how did you recover?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Qw3rtzuiop on October 24, 2022, 06:37:50 pm
For the benefit of anyone else running in the same problem, how did you recover?

The newest software seems to have a bugfix if my translator works corretctly.
http://forums.xgecu.com/viewthread.php?tid=20&page=1&extra=#pid23 (http://forums.xgecu.com/viewthread.php?tid=20&page=1&extra=#pid23)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Marcustv on November 06, 2022, 07:13:56 am
Is the T48 a viable alternative to the TL866 ?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on November 07, 2022, 12:38:57 pm
The TL866II is not really more supported.
The T48 has some benefits to the TL866.
You can read a comparison table on their website.

It depends on which chips you are want to programm.
The TL866II provides many chips in the wild but the T48 can do some newer chips.
The T56 has the biggest chip portfolio he provides.

You must choose by yourself which one fits the best for you.

Regards Chris
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Marcustv on November 10, 2022, 04:36:12 pm
The TL866II is not really more supported.
The T48 has some benefits to the TL866.
You can read a comparison table on their website.

It depends on which chips you are want to programm.
The TL866II provides many chips in the wild but the T48 can do some newer chips.
The T56 has the biggest chip portfolio he provides.

You must choose by yourself which one fits the best for you.

Regards Chris


Thanks for the clarification
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: regged on November 16, 2022, 07:18:46 pm
Hi all. Does anyone know how to add new chip support to this programmer? I want to program S29JL032H70TFIG2 but there is absolutely no information on internet, how many banks, how many words or can i program this chip correctly with other model?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SuperSVGA on December 01, 2022, 09:49:58 pm
Hi all. Does anyone know how to add new chip support to this programmer? I want to program S29JL032H70TFIG2 but there is absolutely no information on internet, how many banks, how many words or can i program this chip correctly with other model?

Are you sure it ends with G2 and it's not S29JL032H70TFI02 or something? There are quite a few S29JL032 models supported.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ollihd on January 07, 2023, 03:47:05 am
Can anyone suggest a legit source to buy an authentic t48 or t56 from? It seems there is a lot of clones/fakes out there.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on January 07, 2023, 07:44:20 am
Can anyone suggest a legit source to buy an authentic t48 or t56 from? It seems there is a lot of clones/fakes out there.

Is that so? I don't think I have ever read about clones of the T48 or T56. Knock-offs were becoming a big problem for the original TL866 (CS and A), but it seems Xgecu has been successful in keeping the successor products safe from cloners. They still have a piracy warning notice for the TL866 on their website today, but nothing concerning the current models: http://www.xgecu.com/en/ (http://www.xgecu.com/en/)

So I think you can buy a T48 or T56 from whichever source is convenient, and can be pretty confident that it will be genuine.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Qw3rtzuiop on January 07, 2023, 11:53:42 am
Can anyone suggest a legit source to buy an authentic t48 or t56 from? It seems there is a lot of clones/fakes out there.

They have a store on aliexpress. https://xgecu.aliexpress.com/store/4805043?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: JacquesBBB on January 15, 2023, 10:12:35 pm
I no longer can use my minipro programmer (V. 6.17) . Probably, if I understand because I updated the firmware.

I need to instal the minipro_setup685.exe, but the original site autoelectric.cn  is unreachable.
Can someone post it here  ?

Thanks

Update :  I found it on xgecu.com  . Obviously they change name.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: james38 on January 16, 2023, 06:40:11 am
Have you tried this Url? http://www.xgecu.com/en/ (http://www.xgecu.com/en/)
Note it is only reachable with "http"
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: JacquesBBB on January 16, 2023, 08:07:35 am
Have you tried this Url? http://www.xgecu.com/en/ (http://www.xgecu.com/en/)
Note it is only reachable with "http"

Yes James, I found it on this site ( see my above  updated post).
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sswcharlie1 on April 13, 2023, 07:54:59 am
Hi

Has anyone used the TL866  with the TMS1000 and checked the rom.

Thanks

Charles
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: rsjsouza on April 13, 2023, 05:04:25 pm
Charles, the TMS1000 is a masked ROM that has no electrical way to be read from the outside. The only way is to decap the IC and decode the metallization layers.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Fluffhamster on May 06, 2023, 10:00:38 pm
Hi
I have a borrowed TL866 II plus programmer with ICSP output and cable.

I have Microsoft Surface Book 2 open and the ability to dump a complete BIOS from the Winbond 25Q128JV (wson8) chip that is on the motherboard.
I want to take the opportunity to rip the bios from the chip without desoldering. I'm an amateur so I'm asking for safety's sake how to do it.

I could easily and temporarily solder 8 wires to its legs and connect it to the TL866 II plus.
The question is whether to read using the ZIF socket or cables on the port on the side of the programmer (ICSP).
How to do it safely for the system and for the board, what to watch out for.

please treat me like an amateur

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: coromonadalix on May 10, 2023, 10:30:07 am
you dont need 8 wires, its an spi  interface,  you need to find the correct connection ... its listed in the devices as 25Q128
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: sahraoui123 on May 16, 2023, 06:19:13 pm
hi
please conversion tl866A to tl866 II plus it's possible ! :) :) :)
thanks
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on May 16, 2023, 06:34:27 pm
hi
please conversion tl866A to tl866 II plus it's possible ! :) :) :)
thanks

There are hardware differences between the two models -- different ranges of programming voltages, and maybe further changes. (More address lines for support of larger flash memory in the II plus?) I am not aware of any documented way to upgrade an A/CS model to a II plus.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: scopeman on June 27, 2023, 07:04:05 pm
I am not sure if this is the right place to ask but here goes:

I have a TL866II Plus that I bought off eBay and set aside for future use. When I got it out to use it I installed the software and the USB drivers. It appears that the USB drivers installed correctly but the software does not see the programmer. It's almost like the Flash is corrupt or something. I just received a new XGecu T48 programmer that runs the same software and when I plug it in it works fine but the same software asks for the programmer type and when I select the TL-866II Plus it loads the software in demo mode.

So does anyone know how to force flash the firmware in the TL866II Plus or do I have a brick. Does XGecu have a repair/exchange depot or am I just wishful thinking?

Sam
W3OHM
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on July 07, 2023, 06:04:12 am
Sam you could always try to contact the manufacturer directly especially if it's in warranty. Unfortunately the autoelectric and xgecu websites aren't working for me at the moment.

This is one of the problems with buying chinese gadgets, getting direct support can be awkward. But I'd suggest if you are wanting to try troubleshooting it yourself start by confirming you haven't brought a counterfeit or mislabeled TL866A/C.

Then disassemble it and give it a clean with pure isopropyl alcohol, an extra soft bristled toothbrush is idle to very gently loosen up and remove any pcb contaminants both sides. Then I would rinse it again in alcohol and let it dry thoroughly before testing again before proceeding with board power and microcontroller diagnostics to confirm it's actually trying to boot.

I flash recovered my TL866 with Radioman's firmware updater. I'm not sure the process for the TL866II+ though. You may wish to start a thread in the repair section if you need detailed assistance with troubleshooting it at board level and also taking photos of the PCB etc.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: kerouanton on July 13, 2023, 06:02:35 pm
Hello everyone,

I've got a genuine TL866II Plus for several years, and am quite happy with it. However I noticed that Xgecu has released the T48 recently (and the high-end T56 previously). I'm wondering if anyone has tried the T48 and noticed any significant difference compared to the TL866II Plus, apart from supporting additional chips. For my perspective I don't feel like upgrading since my actual version does what I need. However, I have 2 questions for those who are familiar with those programmers!

When reading the T56 user manual, I saw that it is able to perform operations related to HDMI and VGA, using a specific adapter. As the EDID is just an eeprom directly connected to the video output I don't see the point of having a T56 to read/program this eeprom, the TL866 can indeed read and program this eeprom (I tried recently). Am I right?

My second question is about the ability for the T56 (and perhaps T48) to handle FPGAs via JTAG or SCPI. I read the specs of the T56 and it seems that it's fully reconfigurable and each pin is totally independant.

For now, I use a cheap USB Blaster dongle to program Altera FPGAs, which seems to be a basic JTAG device.
Since the XGecu programmers are already able to use SCPI to program devices, would it theorically possible for a T56 to send JTAG signal instead for selected ICs? Same question for Xilinx, I just went to the Xilinx site to check, their FPGA programmer uses JTAG and/or SCPI to communicate so I guess it should only be a software upgrade from XGecu? Am I missing something?
https://www.xilinx.com/products/boards-and-kits/hw-usb-ii-g.html (https://www.xilinx.com/products/boards-and-kits/hw-usb-ii-g.html)

This would be great and probably would convince me to upgrade to the T56, to keep the number of hardware in my lab to the minimum...
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: pedrozc on August 31, 2023, 01:15:50 pm
Hello everyone.  I want to thank you for all the information I learned on this forum, especially the radioman for his work.  I successfully managed to convert my Tl866 to version A. I'm a beginner so please excuse my stupid questions and my English. I want to ask if it is possible to make a full software backup of my tl866 using Pickit3.  I tried to read the firmware, pickit wrote "code protect".  read through .so i saved it.  I just don't know if this backup is usable or if I need to disable some protection in the Pickit3 settings.  well thank you
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on August 31, 2023, 03:29:17 pm
As best as I recall, Radioman mentioned in his documentation how to do a full flash manually. You need a copy of the original manufacturer software which includes the firmware and Radiomans flash tool. Essentially from there you can make your own device just like the clone makers have or recover it.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: pedrozc on September 01, 2023, 01:03:46 pm
thank you for your reply.  i will try to do it this way.  I know that a backup could be created during the process of converting the device, which I did not do.  I need to find out if only a backup can be created, or if I have to go through the whole process.  I would not like to risk damaging the programmer.  thank you again
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Shock on September 01, 2023, 02:58:48 pm
Without your device connected try generating a .hex file. I don't think there is any useful information aside from the device code and serial you need to save, and even that can be auto generated if you prefer.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: pedrozc on September 01, 2023, 05:36:38 pm
I tried to generate a hex file without connecting the device to usb.  Everything OK.  I wanted to have a backup that I can use with the Pickit programmer in case of a major failure of the programmer.. thank you very much
Title: MiniPro TL866 PIC programming error
Post by: Southerner on November 26, 2023, 07:50:37 am
Can someone help me with MiniPro (6.85 I think) on my TL866CS converted to TL866A?  I recently tried to program a Pic16F628A from a provided hex file (for a Pic timer project and also for firmware for a K150 programmer) and both said they programmed correctly but neither works.  On the one for the Pic timer I thought it might be because the PIC needed to have at least one fuse set (external clock) and I did not see an option in MiniPro to set the fuses.  If it was not because of missing or wrong fuse settings then I am concerned!  That would mean it is not working at all and yet it said it worked and programmed the target chips with no errors.

Thank you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on November 26, 2023, 08:41:43 am
There's a dedicated tab for the fuse settings, please see the attached screenshot.

Don't fall into my favorite trap in the Minipro software: Checking one of the fuse options will set that fuse bit to zero! Which makes sense, historically, since "burning the fuse" will produce a zero bit, but has confused me more than once.

EDIT: I just realize that the UI has changed. In the older MiniPro 6.85, the "Config" switch is in the upper right of the screen, below the large "Information" button.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: johnh on December 04, 2023, 06:17:09 am
Does anybody know if the TL866 can read/program the CY7C263 eprom?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: tsmith35 on December 11, 2023, 11:20:24 am
This may be helpful for your CY7C263: BPROM Read Adapter (https://team-europe.blogspot.com/2022/06/bprom-read-adapter-v02-21in1.html)
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 PROM reader/programmer
Post by: Southerner on December 14, 2023, 06:34:49 am
 tsmith35 posted a link of https://team-europe.blogspot.com/2022/06/bprom-read-adapter-v02-21in1.html for a PROM reader.  I have wanted to be able to read and program proms to finish up some very old projects.  TeamEurope says that 32 byte proms like the 82S123 can be read and he appears to be using the newer TL866 ii + to read the proms.  He said to read them using the 2716 definition but that the file had to be edited to make sure the file was the right size for the prom being read.

Since he uses the 2716 eprom definition I am curious if that would also work for programming a blank prom?  Does anyone know if the TL866A will program a prom?
Thank you
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: SergMM on December 22, 2023, 09:31:12 pm
Hello! Good news good everyone! Now Android version soft for TL866A and TL866CS is free! Full IC list is free.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wizardprog.expert

Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: jellytot on December 23, 2023, 08:38:33 pm
Hello! Good news good everyone! Now Android version soft for TL866A and TL866CS is free! Full IC list is free.
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.wizardprog.expert
Thank you Sergey! will  this work on the logic chips now?
Happy Christmas!
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Oldschool298 on January 26, 2024, 02:30:52 am
Can this handle? https://shop.tvsat.com.pl/en_GB/p/2pcs-EN29F002ANT-70JC-2MBIT-FLASH-MEMORY-SMD-PLCC32-EON/26519
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: AMR Labs on February 10, 2024, 05:57:12 pm
Where could I possibly download or check a list of the devices supported by this TL866 programmer? I am specifically looking to read a Sharp LH5268A RAM 64K (8K x 8) that is mounted on a battery that looks like a thick socket and makes the chip appear taller. I can measure 3V between Vcc and GND. Just mentioning this so its clear that the contents of the chip are still supposed to be there even tough the whole thing is unplugged from the board where it resides.

I tried to read this chip with my GQ-4X4 but its not on the list. There is a very similar ram chip the HM6264B that is included in the list, and that seems to be very similar if not identical, but the 4X4 will not read the chip. Just FF's.

Any hints appreciated. Thanks.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on February 10, 2024, 06:05:16 pm
Where could I possibly download or check a list of the devices supported by this TL866 programmer?

http://www.xgecu.com/EN/Download.html (http://www.xgecu.com/EN/Download.html)

Site is a bit slow, but the official manufacturer's site. Switch the language to English in the upper right.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 program error
Post by: Southerner on February 12, 2024, 02:06:08 am
I am getting an error every time I try to program a PIC16F628A

Error! Config 0x000001 Buf_val 0x21 IC_val 0x3F. 

They will erase but will not program and this was with multiple new chips.

Minipro version is 6.85 in Windows 7.

Thank you.
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Southerner on February 12, 2024, 10:35:24 pm
My TL866A  SAID it programmed my 16F628A PIC successfully from the hex file when I unchecked the config box but just like last time the PIC did not work in the circuit it was made for.  Same thing when I programmed one with the KitsRUs K150 firmware.  It would not program until I unchecked config but it did not work in the device.  I am told that I can not even program the config fuses for the PIC except within the hex file itself.  What am I doing wrong?  The TL866 appears to do what it is supposed to but it always fails to program the chip correctly so it works afterwards.

Thank you
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on February 13, 2024, 01:27:49 am
I have not looked at the 16F28A datasheet, hence am not sure whether the following applies to it. But for many other parts, the TL866 programmer offers a trap in the way it describes the fuse bits: If you set the checkbox for a bit, that means that the fuse will be "burned", i.e. the bit value set to zero. Which is rather counter-intuitive.

Could that be the cause of your present problem too? Maybe the config fuse settings you chose are "impossible" due to that inverted interpretation?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: Southerner on February 13, 2024, 06:07:29 am
Could that be the cause of your present problem too? Maybe the config fuse settings you chose are "impossible" due to that inverted interpretation?

If I am unchecking the config option then to me that would mean that no fuses get written.  Am I incorrect?
Title: Re: EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review
Post by: ebastler on February 13, 2024, 07:18:09 am
No, that part should be correct I assume. But what I understood from your posts was that without setting the fuses at all, the PIC does not work in the circuit (as one would expect?). And that, if you try to have the configuration fuses programmed, the programming fails with an error message.

So I was wondering whether the error message is due to the fact that the PIC does not accept the fuse settings you are trying to program. And whether that may be due to the fact that you have those settings inverted.

EDIT: Just looked at the Miniprog software. Where is the dialog field where one can set the actual configuration fuse bits?! For other PICs (and other brands of MCU) there are dedicated checkboxes which mirror the MCU-specific config bits. It looks like the PIC16F628A is not fully supported?