The programmer sold by futurelec.com (supposedly the original pocket programmer) that I purchased, is no more... The thing connected sparatically at best to any of the 16 PC's we have at work (rangin from P1 120MHZ on up to the new 2 GIG machines)running NT, '98, or 2000, never connected to my home PC (P3 600 MHZ) running ME, or my 486 laptop on '95. I never did get a good burn off of it because I could never get the 29 series 256 chips to erase. 5-6 hours of intense trying had my temper boiling, so I sent the programmer to meet it's maker by tossing it up in the air and blasting it with a ball bat. The best 80 bucks I've ever spent. So, how many licks does it take to get to the center of a programmer? Two, if you're swinging for the fence.

Now, my question that I've been searching for and answer for this morning... Which OS is best, and for which programmer, running the 29 series 256 chips? My searches only came up with a few vague examples while burning this series of chip, so some feedback would be helpful, even if it's a link to a thread that I didn't find on search.

Also, I need to verify something. To erase the 29 series chip, you just fill the buffer with FF and program the chip with the FF in every field, correct?

 

After talking with the Pocket Programmer support peeps, I've decided to go with the programmer I should have in the beginning. The Pocket Programmer. Even before I told them I wanted to buy one, they were very helpful in answering all of my questions. Cheapest does not always equal the best deal...

 

I think you just wasted $80 by smashing that programmer. The only problem I ever had with it was the software. Once that was resolved it worked on any computer I tried it on, from a 120 mhz laptop all the way up to my 1.5 ghz desktop unit and OS's ranging from win 95-XP.

 

Since the futurelec page didn't show which polarity to use on the programmer, I tried switching to a posative tip and fried the power supply coil. It started making a ticking noise... That was the end. It was toast before the ball bat was even taken out of the closet.