EEVblog #411 - MiniPro TL866 Universal Programmer Review

[EEVblog]

Is a sub $50 universal programmer from ebay any good?
Dave checks out the MiniPro TL866 programmer:
http://autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/



Dave.

[ttp]

Not bad for the price. On "Select Device" (around 14:00) I could see "Logic IC" (bottom choice) - does it test and/or autodetect 7400 and 4000 series chips?

Well, just downloaded the software to check it out and can answer my own question - it does test quite a few logic chips.

[robrenz]

Am I correct that this is the Gizmo I would use to read the firmware off the eprom of my digital readout that is no longer supported so I could save the data and also write a backup chip?

[ttp]

You are correct, as long as your chip is supported by the Gizmo.

[ttp]

Dave, .chm file is a help file for the software, I suspect one on CD is english, the downloaded version of software comes with chinese help only. Not that you need help if you used programming software in the past but could be useful sometimes.

[george graves]

What about the ICSP header?  Did it work?

[stevesousa]

Hello:

It seems the only difference between the A and CS version is the ISP, could you check that the software actually allows you to do ISP on the (much cheaper) CS version?
To do that, just select one of the microchip pics that says "(ISP)" and give it a go.
And could you please go to help-about and see what the test says, apparently they have some detection for pirated adapters...

Thank you

[JoannaK]

Merely 50$ for a nice looking 'universal' programmer. Based on your review that programmer hardware seems to be real good, layout looks solid, there are plenty of voltage/IO confirurations available and with the extra add-on modules it should read a lot of old stuff. And there even is overcurrent protection?

I wonder if I should get one of these just to read back all the old 16C84:s and Eproms of the 10-20 year old projects I still have around. After that I'd just need some disassemblers and time.

(added later)

Could someone with this MiniPro Tl866 (dave, someone else?) check that it does support the old Pic16C84. I tried to check their website, but can't find any mention.

Realated to previous, is there any particular Pic14-bit Disassembler (16c84) anyone is willing to recommend?

(edit.. even later.. How many errors can I make at one post.. I need more coffee, a lot more)

[notsob]

I notice that Lynx in India (an active member on this forum) are listed as Agents for 'Autoelectric' on the Chinese website.

[firewalker]

Dave, the device creates a virtual serial port? What is the USB VID:PID ?

Alexander.

[Amarbir[Lynx-India]]

I notice that Lynx in India (an active member on this forum) are listed as Agents for 'Autoelectric' on the Chinese website.

Well,
      I Am Thier Authorised Distributor In India .I Have Many Comments Of What Dave Had In This Video Of His  .You Can Find My Name Here - >  http://www.autoelectric.cn/MiniPro/order.htm .Let Me Post All i Have Got Into This Thread .Dave i Am Stepping On Your Tail Lol 

[mikeselectricstuff]

It seems the only difference between the A and CS version is the ISP, could you check that the software actually allows you to do ISP on the (much cheaper) CS version?

Is it actually the case that the CS is cheaper ?
I'd have thought the CS stands for Chip Soccket, and the A version is a cheaper one that doesn't have the upper PCB fitted?

[Amarbir[Lynx-India]]

Hi  All ,
    i have a lot of stuff to share with you people  .

To dave

• You were talking about firmware .Well when ever there is a update of software ,Like its ver 5.80 now and you put a programmer to the new software ,it will ask you to update programmer software ,fair enough ,do you know 6 months back it supported 6750++ device only and today it does support 13071 devices .Autoelectric team needs a pat on its back for this  .
• There was no chinglish works in the older software ,i am sending a full report to them to ammend a few words.Not only this i will tell them the following .The Main Screen Should Default To Os Installation Drive and that also in program file folder .Earlier versions did that .Firmware was firmware earlier not firewire anyways
• The CD Has a Messup Of The Software i have no idea why .everyone please download Version 5.80 Here From My Websites File Manager -> http://www.lynxchandigarh.com/scripts/fmanager/index.php?dir=Electronic%20Instruments/&file=Autoelectric%20-%20MiniPRO%20EPROM%20BIOS%20Programmer%20Ver%205.80%20Dated%201-1-2013.rar And Device List Here -> http://www.lynxchandigarh.com/scripts/fmanager/index.php?dir=Electronic%20Instruments/&file=Autoelectric%20-%20USB%20Programmer%20Device%20Support%20List%20Ver%205.80%20Dated%201-1-2013.txt
• Yes its a kick ass programmer that can be used in production level environments also .I sell it to companies who make stuff and sells them to big American companies who make thousands of dollars selling that to Americans  lol  .So For you xeltek and elnec are production level stuff well sure they might be but they cannot match or beat the rate of this programmer in support Versus pricing of device support .Let Me Give You a example the Super M is the base level product right they sell it for USD 595/- IMHO .In china there stuff sells much less and they say those are pirated units .Well my foot they are 100% original and actual xeltek ,They cannot regulate thier own pricing  .elnec has done that but there is a beeprog model that was cloned and people should not buy it  .13000+ library of all stuff mostely used my repairmen and people like you me  .
• What You Missed it The Tsop Adapter Kit In This Programmer  .The Beauty is that you need a base kit like this -> http://www.lynx-india.com/index.php?productID=17016 .this has 4 Modules Dip To TSOP32 , Dip To TSOP40 [ 8 and 16 Bits ] and Dip to TSOP48 " Yes you Heard it correct ,it can easily program tsop48 ic ] .Once you have the base kit you can buy additional top kits like this TSOP32/40/48 ZIFF Adapter -> http://www.lynx-india.com/index.php?productID=17017 .For People Who Do Car Stuff [ ECU And All ] They have SOP44 And SOP56 Adapters Also  .This Function makes this programmer ultimate
• You said its a car stuff company well no it is not it focuses on car ecu tuning and also tl866a and tl866cs programmer  .if you use a translator you can dig deeper into it  .my target people is computer repair technicians who are being screwed up by selling donkey stuff like willem eprom programmer and that stupid nano bios programmer  .
• i made a small video in hindi language for my countrymen about this programmer ,Please have a look at it and if you people like i can make a english one too .BTW when some vendor gets such kind of a opportunity that he deals in something and thats being discussed he immediately wants to sell his goods to everyone .Well in my case i find it very difficult to import to india @ 35% customs and all .Hence i cannot sell at the pricing anything lower then i have online in my store .But i will sell it to any indian who likes to buy and take warranty locally and also my support i can spend hours with people on team viewer to explain the stuff and i never sweat . You Can find most details in my website and that too in english but but from me or anyone else i have no issues .Rates On My Website Are Plus 12.5% Indian Taxes And Rs :75/- Shipping All Across India By Bluedart [ DHL ] .If Someone Internationally Wants This i Can Offer the same Without 12.5% Tax And Free EMS Speedpost Shipping .For This Please Make a Order On My Website But Do Not Pay i will edit your order and then send you a paypal request .If any indian wants it try my service for this my 50% business is programmers these days  .
• Some People Are Asking About Difference Of TL866A And TL866CS .The TL866A Has ISP Programming Port and a Cable With It That You Can Use For ISP Programming .I would say use cs for repair work and a for repair + embedded designing work  .

[Amarbir[Lynx-India]]

It seems the only difference between the A and CS version is the ISP, could you check that the software actually allows you to do ISP on the (much cheaper) CS version?

Is it actually the case that the CS is cheaper ?
I'd have thought the CS stands for Chip Soccket, and the A version is a cheaper one that doesn't have the upper PCB fitted?

Mike  ,
    You Are Wrong I Have Explained This In My Above Post Please 

[UPI]

I sure wish it supported the AM27S291. 

I can't see spending the big bucks for a Xeltek SuperPro 5000E just for this one application.

[Amarbir[Lynx-India]]

I sure wish it supported the AM27S291. 

I can't see spending the big bucks for a Xeltek SuperPro 5000E just for this one application.

Well,
    Please Send Me The Datasheet of This To onlinesales@lynx-india.com Or sales@lynxdealerstore.com and i Will Forward To Them If They Can Do It Next Update Will Have it In The Support List .Well Xeltek Has Gone Nuts .I Am In Touch With them For Distribution in india .They Have So Much Lower Pricing For End User in China Market That I Shiver By Just Seeing The difference ,They Are Or Are Not Wanting to control this It sucks Big Time .As a Manufacturer its thier responsibility ,Plus No Manufacturer like to talk to a distributor who asked these kind of question ,Cos they have no answer to it .The only difference is that they say if you buy from usa you get support .Means what email support well i can give that at my end only  .

[free_electron]

Turn Off The Stupid Capitalisation Of Each And Every Word In The Sentence. It Makes My Eyes Water !
Especially if the Capitalisation algorithm flicks 'I' to 'i' when it's not supposed to !

[jnd]

• You were talking about firmware .Well when ever there is a update of software ,Like its ver 5.80 now and you put a programmer to the new software ,it will ask you to update programmer software ,fair enough ,do you know 6 months back it supported 6750++ device only and today it does support 13071 devices .Autoelectric team needs a pat on its back for this  .

I smell bullshit on this one. Often these numbers are very inflated because it counts every number or letter variation available even if it's just different package or temperature version which makes no difference to the programming. Or like the generic EPROM profiles which are listed under 10 different manufacturers. Elnec is at least honest in this counting and they describe how it's done.

Also compare their update logs, this is rather short one for the MiniPro, I don't see the thousands added there. Compare it to Elnec's extensive list.

• Yes its a kick ass programmer that can be used in production level environments also .I sell it to companies who make stuff and sells them to big American companies who make thousands of dollars selling that to Americans  lol  .So For you xeltek and elnec are production level stuff well sure they might be but they cannot match or beat the rate of this programmer in support Versus pricing of device support .Let Me Give You a example the Super M is the base level product right they sell it for USD 595/- IMHO .In china there stuff sells much less and they say those are pirated units .Well my foot they are 100% original and actual xeltek ,They cannot regulate thier own pricing  .elnec has done that but there is a beeprog model that was cloned and people should not buy it  .13000+ library of all stuff mostely used my repairmen and people like you me  .

Well as Dave showed some of the devices program rather slowly so it's not suited for high amount of ICs unless you have dedicated person sitting there all day. Even the cheaper Elnec programmer has HW button for repeated programming. For example I can program AT89C2051 under 10 seconds including actually exchanging chips in the socket and labeling each of them. You can't really compare support for $50 programmer and professional device which has 5000 new devices per year and these are real numbers, not those inflated ones. When I need support they reply to me the next day, fix errors in few days by new SW release and can implement new algorithms on demand quite quickly (haven't tested this one yet). I doubt you can really claim that for your programmer.

One thing Elnec has overpriced are those reductions for various packages. They are really expensive compared to the stuff you get bundled with MiniPro, but at least they will last for a longer time, which is again point for production level stuff.

[Amarbir[Lynx-India]]

Turn Off The Stupid Capitalisation Of Each And Every Word In The Sentence. It Makes My Eyes Water !
Especially if the Capitalisation algorithm flicks 'I' to 'i' when it's not supposed to !

Well,
       i have this very very dirty habit and the only dirty habit lol .I always try n not to do it .Will try .I would love your views ,You are the man 

[Amarbir[Lynx-India]]

I smell bullshit on this one. Often these numbers are very inflated because it counts every number or letter variation available even if it's just different package or temperature version which makes no difference to the programming. Or like the generic EPROM profiles which are listed under 10 different manufacturers. Elnec is at least honest in this counting and they describe how it's done.

Also compare their update logs, this is rather short one for the MiniPro, I don't see the thousands added there. Compare it to Elnec's extensive list.

Well,
      Which Programmer of elnec are you trying to compare with this programmer ? .Secondly not many people will know the interface of the software was like willem earlier .Then they added this interface ,you had to select the device in a pull down menu earlier  .even if you say they inflate the device count ,i really cannot find anything it does not support for computer repair tech and other budding enginners  .Its a Impressive feat when you can get a programmer at your doorstep @ USd 50 Right .Elnec cannot do this in thier dreams .Cos they keep bullshitting about chinese quality and blah blah .This programmer has one slick internal organisation of semiconductors and the guy knows what the hell he is doing . I am not one to defend autoelectric to elnec but man we are talking of 50 dollars here

Well as Dave showed some of the devices program rather slowly so it's not suited for high amount of ICs unless you have dedicated person sitting there all day. Even the cheaper Elnec programmer has HW button for repeated programming. For example I can program AT89C2051 under 10 seconds including actually exchanging chips in the socket and labeling each of them. You can't really compare support for $50 programmer and professional device which has 5000 new devices per year and these are real numbers, not those inflated ones. When I need support they reply to me the next day, fix errors in few days by new SW release and can implement new algorithms on demand quite quickly (haven't tested this one yet). I doubt you can really claim that for your programmer.

Well,
     i have no idea but generally the programmer programs everything @ fine speed . We should not be bend upon proving each other viewpoints negatively .You Come To My Country you can get a guy sitting whole day writing eproms .it depends on many specifics boss .

One thing Elnec has overpriced are those reductions for various packages. They are really expensive compared to the stuff you get bundled with MiniPro, but at least they will last for a longer time, which is again point for production level stuff.

Well,
    you meant the adapters dave is talking about ? .i could not get this to my head ,care to explain please

[Markybhoy]

I think the scratched off chip is identified in this vid

http://youtu.be/j0qJzarQxww

[jnd]

I smell bullshit on this one. Often these numbers are very inflated because it counts every number or letter variation available even if it's just different package or temperature version which makes no difference to the programming. Or like the generic EPROM profiles which are listed under 10 different manufacturers. Elnec is at least honest in this counting and they describe how it's done.

Also compare their update logs, this is rather short one for the MiniPro, I don't see the thousands added there. Compare it to Elnec's extensive list.

Well,
      Which Programmer of elnec are you trying to compare with this programmer ? .Secondly not many people will know the interface of the software was like willem earlier .Then they added this interface ,you had to select the device in a pull down menu earlier  .even if you say they inflate the device count ,i really cannot find anything it does not support for computer repair tech and other budding enginners  .Its a Impressive feat when you can get a programmer at your doorstep @ USd 50 Right .Elnec cannot do this in thier dreams .Cos they keep bullshitting about chinese quality and blah blah .This programmer has one slick internal organisation of semiconductors and the guy knows what the hell he is doing . I am not one to defend autoelectric to elnec but man we are talking of 50 dollars here

We have SmartProg2 here. I know, it's a bit more than $50 but the support (both devices and personal support) is worth the difference.

You highlighted the high count of supported devices and I don't like that some product is being marketed with hard to believe numbers. We all care about the actual supported chip types and models and not that Autoelectric team can update their device counter the fastest. For some repair shops it may be good enough, for my hobbyist needs it wouldn't be that useful. I get there is no support for 8708 memory since it needs negative voltage (even the Elnec needs special adapter for this) but there is no support for 8748 or 8742 chips. You may say that's too old. OK, looking at new families, for example AVR Xmega or Tiny are missing. These use different algoritms, PDI and TPI respectively. No PIC24s and higher.

One thing Elnec has overpriced are those reductions for various packages. They are really expensive compared to the stuff you get bundled with MiniPro, but at least they will last for a longer time, which is again point for production level stuff.

Well,
    you meant the adapters dave is talking about ? .i could not get this to my head ,care to explain please

Yes I mean those adapters. Good enough for hobbyists I guess, I just noted that professional programmer accessories is very expensive.

I'm not saying the MiniPro is bad for the price, just that each of these has its market.

[Amarbir[Lynx-India]]

I think the scratched off chip is identified in this vid

http://youtu.be/j0qJzarQxww

Well,
    few days back i tried to register on his forum and he rejected it lol .mighe be dave can comment on the find he is the expert after all

[Amarbir[Lynx-India]]

We have SmartProg2 here. I know, it's a bit more than $50 but the support (both devices and personal support) is worth the difference.You highlighted the high count of supported devices and I don't like that some product is being marketed with hard to believe numbers. We all care about the actual supported chip types and models and not that Autoelectric team can update their device counter the fastest. For some repair shops it may be good enough, for my hobbyist needs it wouldn't be that useful. I get there is no support for 8708 memory since it needs negative voltage (even the Elnec needs special adapter for this) but there is no support for 8748 or 8742 chips. You may say that's too old. OK, looking at new families, for example AVR Xmega or Tiny are missing. These use different algoritms, PDI and TPI respectively. No PIC24s and higher.

Hee Hee ,

       I Bit Expensive man its expensiveeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee .BTW as i said it depends what you you are into .Like i am into Repairing of IT products and Data Recovery .It works beautifully for Me  .

Yes I mean those adapters. Good enough for hobbyists I guess, I just noted that professional programmer accessories is very expensive.I'm not saying the MiniPro is bad for the price, just that each of these has its market.

Sure ,
      BTW Dave is wrong .Programmer comes with zero adapters .the chap who is selling to dave is bundling those and he is bundling the most hopeless once out there .If i was the one using i would never use a basic plcc adapter .I would use a ZIFF .BTW this is for anyone .Lets assume we are using a socket of ABCD company on the pcb from a chinese adapter manufacturer selling for USd 25 and the same ABCD socket is in a elnec and xeltek .they Are Selling for USD 250/- .Whats the difference Cos the ziff socket on the top pcb is same company .This is a example i am saying .what socket is being used can be checked .I would also say that a a better ziff socket in this programmer is needed .Might be something like that stupid TOP series programmer .That has a sexy Ziff dip socket man very rugged  .

[kyndal]

Dave should populate the ICSP header and just give it a shot..
but its probably disabled in firmware..

can we just flash the other firmware on it ??

/Kyndal