Okay, how in the world do you get the EPROM out of the little plastic carrier thingy? I've got a tiny little jewlry sized screwdriver, but it's only helping me bend the pins.

 

I hold it with my finger tips.
Use 2 fingers on one hand to push up on the chip from the bottom, while pulling out on the sides.
If you do it right the springs on top should push the pins past the seats as you lower the chip out of the carrier.
It takes a little practice but don't force then out until all pins are clear.

To make it easier in the beginning, I would remove the 2 support bars on top with some needle nose.
You lose some tension on the side but they still work fine and makes getting the chips out a lot easier!!!

HTH

 

Pinch the sides to push the pins in a bit, then push down on the underside of the chip while pulling out on the sides of the plastic carrier. All you need to do is get one side to pop out. Then gently bend the pins back straight before reinstallation.

 

Thanks. I eventually got it out, but the pins were kind of tweaked. I did like you said and kind of bent them in to start. Doesn't make me feel great about the prospects of long life if the same chip gets used over and over.

 

Craig Moates makes an adaptor to use flash 29c256 chips. It's $30 and comes with a chip so if you price out the cost of used 2732 chips and a UV eraser it only makes sence to go with his hardware.

 

Yeah, I checked out those adapters. I didn't think that the hassle of modifying the circuit board was worth it just to avoid using a UV eraser. I didn't realize the aggravation associated with getting the chips out of the carriers though.

I also didn't like the way the adapter sticks up out of the ECM box. Do most guys eliminate the bottom socket so they can still close the door on the ECM?

 

The modifications really aren't hard. Infact I'd do it for you if you payed for shipping both ways.
I always found it to be a hassle to wait for a UV eraser. I also broke 2 or 3 chips by bending the pins too much. So I had to have a reserve of 10 chips so $, and $30 for just the uv eraser wasn't exactly "cheap."
Having the chip stick out of the ecm isn't a bid deal, in fact it's even MORE of a hassle having that cover on!
That's just my opinion and I've been runing flash adaptors, emulators, zif sockets on my ecm's for years now without a problem... so long as a friend doesn't smash it with his foot while it's sitting on the floor .