rsolberg
Well-known member
As for the type of ROM ICs used here, they're almost certainly 27 series EPROMs. I think they would be very unlikely to be mask ROMs given limited production numbers, plus the fact the sticker says "PROM" on it. They're also very unlikely to be EEPROMs as those were fairly exotic at the time. I strongly suspect that these are a pair of 27C256 or similar EPROMs.
(EPROM = Erasable Programmable ROM, typically erased with a UV-C lamp, EEPROM = Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM, typically erased out-of-circuit with a programmer that can supply the higher erase voltage that's not seen in-circuit, along with setting an erase pin.
EPROMs and EEPROMs can be easily read with a modern programmer, such as the TL866II+. I recommend peeling back one of the labels to verify the IC's part number to select it in the programmer software. You don't have to worry about household lighting or sunlight shining through the quartz window on top of an EPROM and erasing it. It requires a specific wavelength of UV-C light that doesn't make it through the atmosphere, nor is it released by artificial lighting other than true germicidal lamps or unshielded arcs like welding. If you don't want to peek under the label, the software does offer some auto detection capability. Once the correct IC is selected, you can read the contents and dump it to file. I picked up a TL866II+ this year and dumped my original Radius SE Accelerator ROMs, successfully programmed another set of EPROMs with the latest version to fix a stability issue with the SE FDHD, and enable use of System 7.
(EPROM = Erasable Programmable ROM, typically erased with a UV-C lamp, EEPROM = Electrically Erasable Programmable ROM, typically erased out-of-circuit with a programmer that can supply the higher erase voltage that's not seen in-circuit, along with setting an erase pin.
EPROMs and EEPROMs can be easily read with a modern programmer, such as the TL866II+. I recommend peeling back one of the labels to verify the IC's part number to select it in the programmer software. You don't have to worry about household lighting or sunlight shining through the quartz window on top of an EPROM and erasing it. It requires a specific wavelength of UV-C light that doesn't make it through the atmosphere, nor is it released by artificial lighting other than true germicidal lamps or unshielded arcs like welding. If you don't want to peek under the label, the software does offer some auto detection capability. Once the correct IC is selected, you can read the contents and dump it to file. I picked up a TL866II+ this year and dumped my original Radius SE Accelerator ROMs, successfully programmed another set of EPROMs with the latest version to fix a stability issue with the SE FDHD, and enable use of System 7.