Firestarter EPROM progammer, python application

Firestarter is an application for the Relatively-Universal-ROM-Programmer

Get one here Relatively-Universal-ROM-Programmer

Arduino PlatformIO project is found here Firestarter

Firestarter in action watch the video

Anders S Nielsen creator of the Relatively-Universal-ROM-Programmer talks about Firestarter watch the video

Support and discustions forum at Discord

Installation

To install the Firestarter Python program and the firmware on the Arduino, follow the steps below:

Installing the Firestarter Python Program

Use the package manager pip to install Firestarter.

pip install firestarter 

This command installs the Firestarter application, which allows you to interact with EPROMs using the Relatively-Universal-ROM-Programmer.

Installing the Firmware on the Arduino

First, a few things to remember.

1 Don't attach the Programmer shield while power is on.

2 Don't turn on power if the controller (Arduino) isn't programmed with appropriate firmware.

3 Don't insert a ROM in the socket until you're ready to write it. Don't leave a ROM in the socket during reset or programming.

To install the firmware on the Arduino, use the fw command with the --install option. This command installs the latest firmware version on the Arduino.

Options

• -p, --avrdude-path <path>: Full path to avrdude (optional), set if avrdude is not found.
• --port <port>: Serial port name (optional), set if the Arduino is not found.

  Description

  The fw --install command installs the latest firmware on the Arduino. The process typically involves the following steps:

1. Locate avrdude: The command locates the avrdude tool, which is used to upload the firmware to the Arduino. You can specify the path to avrdude using the --avrdude-path option if it is not found automatically.
2. Identify Serial Port: The command identifies the serial port to which the Arduino is connected. You can specify the port using the --port option.
3. Upload Firmware: The command uploads the latest firmware to the Arduino using avrdude.

Example

To install the firmware on the Arduino, you can run:

firestarter fw --install

Usage

Firestarter provides several commands to interact with EPROMs using the Relatively-Universal-ROM-Programmer. Available commands: read, write, blank, erase, list, search, info, vpp, vcc, fw, config

General Usage

firestarter [options] {command}

• -h, --help: Show help message
• -v, --verbose: Enable verbose mode
• --version: Show the Firestarter version and exit.

Commands

Read

Reads the content from an EPROM.

firestarter read <eprom> [output_file]

• <eprom>: The name of the EPROM.
• [output_file]: (Optional) Output file name, defaults to <EPROM_NAME>.bin.

  Description

  The read command reads the data from the specified EPROM and optionally saves it to a file. The process typically involves the following steps:

1. Identify EPROM: The command identifies the specified EPROM.
2. Read Data: The data from the EPROM is read.
3. Save Data: If an output file is specified, the read data is saved to that file. If no output file is specified, the data is saved to a file named <EPROM_NAME>.bin.

Write

Writes a binary file to an EPROM.

firestarter write <eprom> <input_file> [options]

• <eprom>: The name of the EPROM.
• <input_file>: Input file name.

  Options

• -b, --ignore-blank-check: Ignore blank check before write (and skip erase).
• -f, --force: Force write, even if the VPP or chip ID don't match.
• -a, --address <address>: Write start address in decimal or hexadecimal.

  Description

  The write command writes the contents of a specified binary file to the EPROM. The process typically involves the following steps:

1. Blank Check: By default, the command checks if the EPROM is blank before writing. This can be skipped using the --ignore-blank-check option.
2. Erase: If the EPROM is not blank, it may need to be erased before writing. This step is also skipped if --ignore-blank-check is used.
3. Write: The binary data from the input file is written to the EPROM starting at the specified address (if provided).
4. Verification: The written data is verified to ensure it matches the input file.

Blank

Checks if an EPROM is blank.

firestarter blank <eprom>

• <eprom>: The name of the EPROM.

Erase

Erases an EPROM, if supported.

firestarter erase <eprom>

• <eprom>: The name of the EPROM.

  List

  Lists all EPROMs in the database.

  firestarter list [options]

• -v, --verified: Only shows verified EPROMs.

Search

Searches for EPROMs in the database.

firestarter search <text>

• <text>: Text to search for.

Info

Displays information about an EPROM.

firestarter info <eprom>

• <eprom>: EPROM name.

  Description

  The info command retrieves and displays detailed information about the specified EPROM. This information typically includes:

• EPROM name

• Manufacturer

• Device ID

• Memory size

• Supported voltages

• Pin configuration

• Any other relevant technical specifications

VPP

Displays the VPP voltage.

firestarter vpp

VCC

Displays the VCC voltage.

firestarter vcc

Firmware

Checks or installs the firmware version.

firestarter fw [options]

• -i, --install: Try to install the latest firmware. (Do this without a chip in the socket or without the shield attached)
• -p, --avrdude-path <path>: Full path to avrdude (optional), set if avrdude is not found.
• --port <port>: Serial port name (optional).

Configuration

Handles configuration values.

firestarter config [options]

• -v, --vcc <voltage>: Set Arduino VCC voltage.
• -r1, --r16 <resistance>: Set R16 resistance, resistor connected to VPE.
• -r2, --r14r15 <resistance>: Set R14/R15 resistance, resistors connected to GND.

Example

To read an EPROM named W27C512 and save the output to output.bin:

firestarter read W27C512 output.bin

To write a binary file input.bin to an EPROM named W27C512:

firestarter write W27C512 input.bin

To get information about an EPROM named W27C512:

firestarter info W27C512

This command will output detailed information about the W27C512 EPROM, showing package layout and the jumper configuration for the RURP shield.

Eprom Info 
Name:           W27C512
Manufacturer:   WINBOND
Number of pins: 28
Memory size:    0x10000
Type:           EPROM
Can be erased:  True
Chip ID:        0xda08
VPP:            12
Pulse delay:    100µS

       28-DIP package
        -----v-----
  A15 -|  1     28 |- VCC   
  A12 -|  2     27 |- A14   
  A7  -|  3     26 |- A13   
  A6  -|  4     25 |- A8    
  A5  -|  5     24 |- A9    
  A4  -|  6     23 |- A11   
  A3  -|  7     22 |- OE/Vpp
  A2  -|  8     21 |- A10   
  A1  -|  9     20 |- CE    
  A0  -| 10     19 |- D7    
  D0  -| 11     18 |- D6    
  D1  -| 12     17 |- D5    
  D2  -| 13     16 |- D4    
  GND -| 14     15 |- D3    
        -----------

        Jumper config
JP1    5V [ ●(● ●)] A13   : A13
JP2    5V [(● ●)● ] A17   : VCC
JP3 28pin [ ● ● ● ] 32pin : NA

Contributing

Pull requests are welcome. For major changes, please open an issue first to discuss what you would like to change.

Please make sure to update tests as appropriate.

License

MIT