EPROM Programming and Suicide Battery Help

[BloodShed]

I need some guidance on permanently fixing arcade boards with dead suicide batteries.

I own several boards with suicide batteries (at least one is dead):
Alien Syndrome (System 16B)
Jojo's Venture (CPS-3)
Marvel Super Heroes (CPS-2)
Street Fighter III: New Generation (CPS-3)
Street Fighter III: Third Strike (CPS-3)
Super Street Fighter II (CPS-2)

I would like to replace the encrypted EPROMs with decrypted ones.  Preferably, I'd like to buy new EPROMs and replace the originals rather than overwrite them.  Unfortunately, I have no experience with embedded development.  I don't know what to look for in an EPROM programmer.  They seem to vary drastically in price.

Can anyone recommend an EPROM programmer for this?  It needs to have a USB interface and I'd like the best quality that I can get for under $200.  Preferably, I'd like something with enough flexibility that I could also replace any corrupted ROMs (my 1943 board has some sprite glitches).  Is that a reasonable expectation?

Thanks.

[Malenko]

maybe not the answer you are looking for, but Steph at hobbyroms.com can reprogram your roms or send you new ones at very reasonable prices.

[BloodShed]

Steph at hobbyroms.com can reprogram your roms

Thanks for the information.

Though, I want to be able to do the work myself so that I can continue to service my collection into the future as needed.  Honestly, if I were going to pay for someone else to do it, I think I'd just go through razoola at cps2shock (for the CPS2 boards at least) since he was the one that broke the encryption.

I mean, if anyone can at least point me toward a direction to learn more about what I need, that will work.  I just don't want to waste money on a bad purchase for a programmer that I learn later will not suit my needs.

[Beley]

This is a good video about universal programmers, its actually a teardown but it also covers the basics.  Iva actually used a similar Wellon unit (dont remember the actual model) and it did seem to work fine for the few types of devices i used it with.

http://www.eevblog.com/2012/10/16/eevblog-371-universal-programmer-teardown/

Ive read that the willem unit is also a decent unit, and cheap to. (never used one my self tho)
http://www.mcumall.com/comersus/store/comersus_dynamicIndex.asp
apparently developed in canada, for whatever thats worth....

[ed12]

hi
i run 1 willem programer's
usb 2 driven..perfect little unit
mine is the gq-4x
i think my total cost shipped from b.c to ontario was $140.00 or less
but it is a gem

ed

[rCadeGaming]

I think you just need to plan what chips you'll be needing to work on, and getting a programmer that's compatible with them. 

Sounds simple enough, but of course you don't know where your hobbies are going to take you in the future; and if you just try getting something that's compatible with everything possible it gets expensive.  I just started with a cheapo Chinese burner from eBay (~$40US I think), to try things out without much investment.  It's worked fine with the Super Famicom translated carts I've done so far.

Sometimes there are also adapters sockets available to expand the capabilities of your programmer, which further complicates things.

[BloodShed]

Awesome information guys.  I really appreciate it.

Yeah, I'd like to have a universal programmer if I can.  My understanding is that you purchase a universal programmer and then you need adapter sockets to connect multiple types of chips with various pin counts.

The main reason I was having trouble deciding is because I've seen cheap programmers for $80 (or $40 like rCadeGaming said), but then there are programmers that cost $800 and up.  I was browsing Guru's equipment and he has a TopMax2.  Obviously, I don't need that.  But what features are so significant to warrant such a massive price difference?

I'll definitely watch that video and read up.  Those a great resources.  Thanks, Beley.

I'll research Willem, too.  It looks like this is their current model: http://willem.us/products.php?product=Willem-Eprom-Programmer-PCB-2012

[rCadeGaming]

The programmer usually comes with a certain size ZIF socket (number of pins).  You can plug smaller chips right into it, using only some of the pins, and you only need an adapter if you want to program something larger (more pins) than the ZIF socket accepts.

I'm not sure about all the features, but I think the main differences would be size of socket, and variety of chips it can write.  Some other things would be the quality of software (mine is horrible in terms of translation and "user-friendliness," but I got it working fine with the simple work I'm doing) and support.

[BloodShed]

Thanks, rCadeGaming.  I watched the video that Beley linked.  I can see why there's at least some price difference.  I guess not all of the pins are wired up with the same flexibility.  I guess they worked out the commonalities between the most widely available chips and limit the internal hardware to working with the variances within a limited range of products.  Still, I can't understand the massive gap between $50 and $800.    Oh well.

I noticed that the same blogger recently disassembled and reviewed another "eBay" programmer: the MiniPro TL866 which seemed pretty decent for the price.


I also found an awesome blog post detailing what I'm trying to do:
http://ad-tech-blog.blogspot.se/2010/06/phoenixing-board-planning-stage.html
This person decided on the Willem GQ-4X and picked up a 16-bit adapter (though it was a few years ago).  I'm going to research to see if there's more recent product worth buying.

Also, of the chips listed on that blog, both the Willem GQ-4X and the TL866 appear to support these:

Hitachi HN27C4096G-12
ST Electronics M27C4002-12F1
Texas Instruments TMS27C240-12

But neither of them mention these:

Mitsubishi M5M27C402K-15
NEC D27C4096D-12
Sony CXK27C4002D-12

I'm not sure if that's because an adapter is needed, if the design and pin-out is basically the same as another chip, or if they absolutely will not work.


Last, I took apart one of my CPS-3 carts.  This is definitely more trouble because everything is soldered.  I later discovered that the MAME source has all the details documented already.  I know the battery can be removed though, it's mentioned here: http://64darksoft.blogspot.com/2012/09/all-cartridges-can-be-restored-now.html

[rCadeGaming]

Mitsubishi M5M27C402K-15
NEC D27C4096D-12
Sony CXK27C4002D-12

Try looking these up to see if they're equivalent to a more common chip.