EMP-10

The EMP-10, at under $225, is a limited capability system designed for the experimenter, student, hobbyist and light engineering. ItÆs a small compact unit that will program most Intel 8x51 microcontrollers. In addition, it will program most memory devices and the 22v10 GAL. There is no planned upgrade. The main device programming station consists of a 40 pin ZIF that will handle wide or narrow pattern dual in-line devices. Adapters accommodate non DIP package types. Also in this area is the æFamily ModuleÆ connector. The devices that can be programmed at any given time are determined by which Family Module is installed. Family Module boards reconfigure supply voltage, ground and pin driver capabilities for different device families (i.e., architectures). The use of relays and discrete DAC controlled analog drivers provide power and grounds that are rock solid and as a result the EMP-10 can program Intel microcontroller devices at near their theoretical maximum performance.
The operating interface, EMP, is DOS based or functions as a well-behaved DOS application under Windows*. The included buffer editor allows the data to be placed exactly where you want it and provides HEX and ASCII strings as well as supporting SPLITS, SETS AND SWAPS. Included is a flexible macro facility allowing frequently used procedures to be stored, then executed with a key stroke.
The heart of the hardware design is an SRAM based dynamic FPGA. Supported devices all have a unique FPGA configuration file. ItÆs downloaded to the programmer by EMP as part of the device selection process.