eeprom programing quickly ?

Zetsu

Is there a tool I can buy ( pref from parallax) that I can send my code to an eeprom fairly quickly snap it out of this tool and plop it on a board and go ?


I am getting close to where I am going to have to order a bunch of props and get them all set up running the same code, would like to assembly line this processes for my sanity sake... ( wuts left of its anywho).

Publison

You could use a PPDB, as it has a socket for a DIP EEPROM, but I would just make a tool with a Proto Board USB. Much cheaper, and in stock.

Unsolder the SMT EEPROM and install a DIP socket.

You are using DIP EEPROMs?

MacTuxLin

Hmm, not sure if I get your question but do you mean to program a bunch of prop boards using a single prop board in one instances? If so, there are ways to do that, depending on how many client prop boards you want to program in one go & whether your master prop board is reading from a SD card or flash or the EEPROM. If you are performing assembly, why not just program a bunch of EEPROMs instead, if it is possible.

Phil Pilgrim (PhiPi)

Something like this?

http://microcontrollershop.com/product_info.php?cPath=61&products_id=2512&osCsid=adn4l562qep0c7a318h5pn1151

-Phil

Mike Green

To summarize ... There isn't a tool you can buy ready-made from Parallax to do this. You can (as mentioned above) ...

1) Buy any easy-to-use USB Prop board and substitute a DIP EEPROM socket for the soldered on surface mount EEPROM, then program EEPROMs with the Propeller Tool as usual

2) Add an 8-pin DIP socket to an existing USB Prop board with an SD card. Connect the socket in parallel with the existing EEPROM, but with the address pins (A0-A2) set to a different address (I recommend all 1 bits - Vdd). You could use DongleBasic to copy a binary file from the SD card to the 2nd EEPROM. There's a COPY statement that will do this for you.

3) Add an 8-pin DIP socket as in #2 and use DongleBasic as follows:
a) Download your program to be copied to the EEPROM on the board
b) Download DongleBasic to RAM (not EEPROM)
c) Use the copy command to copy the program from the default EEPROM to the 2nd EEPROM
c') Use the copy command to copy the program from 1st 32K of default EEPROM ($0000-$7FFF) to 2nd 32K of default EEPROM ($8000-$FFFF)
d') Download DongleBasic to EEPROM using Propeller Tool.
e') Use the copy command to copy the program from 2nd 32K of default EEPROM ($8000-$FFFF) to the 2nd EEPROM ($70000-$77FFF if A0-A2 all wired to Vdd)
... (This allows you to turn off the board and keep a copy of your program and DongleBasic in the board's EEPROM.)

Note: Phil's suggestion is easiest if the programmer's software will accept the EEPROM image produced by the Propeller Tool. If I were doing this, I'd use a USB Protoboard and add a DIP socket, maybe a ZIF socket if I'm going to make a lot of copies. I'd wire it in parallel with the existing EEPROM using address pins tied to Vdd and I'd use DongleBasic to do the programming as above. If I were going to make a really lot of EEPROMs, I'd even hook up a pushbutton to one of the Prop I/O pins and a couple of LEDs to some others and write a short Basic program to make a stand-alone EEPROM programmer. It would turn on one LED to show that it's ready, then wait for the pushbutton to be pressed to start the programming and turn on the other LED when it's done. I probably would turn off the board before removing an EEPROM from the socket or inserting a new one, but, if that's an inconvenience, you could switch power to the EEPROM, probably using a Prop pin to supply 3.3V for the EEPROM.

Zetsu

Thanks guys, I liked phil's retail suggestion, but I am probably going to go the route Mike suggested, due to the fact that parallax doesn't have a tool already in place to do this.

Cluso99

You can even put multiple sockets on the prop board connected to different sets of pins and program them in parallel.

Publison

Or use this dual EEPROM socket that Robert made and Jeff is now selling. Program one, change the jumper while you pull out the other. Back and forth.