Advice for EEPROM programmer

[NaxFM]

Hi everyone, i want to buy an EEPROM programmer tool that can work with many eeprom chips, mainly to be used for test equipment repairs.
Do you have any go-to programmer which is easy to use for dumping and programming memory chips?
There are so many designs i don't really know what should i be looking for...

Edit: damn, i meant to post this on the repair board, sorry

[coromonadalix]

You have or had the TL866 C or A model who could do higher eeprom voltages  than the newest TL866 plus

The TL866 has its own thread here ... 

it really depends of your needs,  be aware there is no ultimate programmer, the higher you pay,  more complex or universal they can get

The surprise sometimes come with the other ic's adapters you may need .... 

The tl866 is a good starter BUT    the limits will arise pretty fast    EX:  Microchip, STM32 devices  etc ....

Examples
Had an TNM5000, made a huge mistake to resell it (was paid 250$ usd)  now selling way lot more, but the adapters where very cheap and practicals

Bought an used Elnec Beeprog for 550$ usd,  yes it does more, but very can be pricy for the adapters

Had many adapters and programers, Pickit 2 and 3, tl866, Mcu Mall gq4x, stk 500, STM Link v2, Avr dragon   etc .....  had a drawer full of programmers


You have to know your needs before buying ... eeprom types or sizes  etc ...

my 2 cents

[m k]

Supported chips is obviously a first thing to check.

Supported programming methods may have nuances.
Old chips can have exotic needs, like voltages and programming pulses.

Future needs may also change and nowadays even simple ROMs can have many different connection methods.

TL866 is good go-to model but be noted that all models can't do 21V.
I think I've updated mine and lost some old types, regular 27-series is there but old 25-series is not.
Programming pulse seems to be 1000us max.

[AndyBeez]

FYI for your toolkit, the goto Linux module is 'flashrom'.

flashrom is a utility for detecting, reading, writing, verifying and erasing flash chips. It's often used to flash BIOS/EFI/coreboot/firmware images in-system using a supported mainboard. However, it also supports various external PCI/USB/parallel-port/serial-port based devices which can program flash chips, including some network cards (NICs), SATA/IDE controller cards, graphics cards, the Bus Pirate device, various FTDI FT2232/FT4232H based USB devices, and more. It supports a wide range of DIP32, PLCC32, DIP8, SO8/SOIC8, TSOP32, TSOP40, TSOP48, and BGA chips, which use various protocols such as LPC, FWH, parallel flash, or SPI.

https://linux.die.net/man/8/flashrom

And it is free. I use it to read and flash Winbond W25Q spi EEPROMs using a cheapo $10 altera usb bus blaster.

[DavidKo]

I have checked for the FW update for my TL866II Plus and they have new programmers which have 25V programming voltage.

[NaxFM]

Thank you everyone. I'll go with the TL866, looks like a very capable device!

[alm]

The TL866 has been superceded and is presumably no longer manufactured by the original manufacturer. If I were buying now, I'd look at the T48.

[coromonadalix]

Seems fine ....  XGecu NEW T48   they call it  TL866 g3  loll

Must be an copied an improved design  since the TL866  was reverse engineered ...  not to epensive

[DavidKo]

I have forgot to mention it. Definitely go for at least T48 + adapters.
T48 can program with 25V (18V is not enough for some devices)
adapters - it can be cheaper to buy them together with programmer (check the current prizing)
I have bought TL866II+ from XGecu official store on ali - not for sale any more. I do not know how good are the knock offs, since the original is quite cheap.
I must say that it was cheap in comparison with other devices on the market and the support seem also good. They regularly add new devices and make updates (both SW and FW).

[DavidKo]

Thread to the TL866xx programmers https://www.eevblog.com/forum/blog/eevblog-411-minipro-tl866-universal-programmer-review/2000/