As mentioned in the first
article, the new programmer's hardware is built entirely on a
double-sided PC board. This board is coded 07112021 and is designed to be "free
standing" rather than mounted in a box.
Both the DB25 socket for the parallel cable (CON1) and the
socket for the plugpack cable (CON2) are mounted directly on the rear edge of
the board. The 32-pin ZIF socket which accepts the EPROMs (or adaptor sockets)
is mounted centrally near the front.
To make it freestanding, the board is fitted with six small rubber feet for support. Four of the feet attach to the corners of the board, while the remaining two are fitted just to the front and rear of the ZIF socket.
We decided on this method of construction so that the programmer would be easy to put together. However, with a "naked" PC board, there's obviously no protection for the components against physical damage.
