KeroBurn: flashing ROMs on a Mac without Windows
I flash a lot of chips. ROMs for the SE ROM-inator, GALs for the Grappler Minus, 4-chip sets for the ROM SIMMs. All of it goes through an XGecu T48, and the T48's own software, Xgpro, only runs on Windows. So every time I needed a chip, I was booting a Windows machine.
minipro, the open source driver for the XGecu programmers, does run on the Mac. But it's a command-line tool, and typing SST39SF040@PLCC32 into Terminal for the fiftieth time in a day gets old. So I wrapped it in a Mac app.
What it does
Pick a chip from your presets, drop a .bin (or a .jed for GALs) on the window, and hit Write. That's most of it.
Presets. The editor searches minipro's T48 device database as you type, and shows a green check if the name is valid. No more guessing at spellings.
Multi-chip runs. Drop a HI/LO pair or a 4-chip ROM SIMM set and KeroBurn flashes them in order. Between chips, a yellow bar asks you to swap in the next one.
Hex View. Load the file, read the chip back, and the two sit side by side with every mismatched byte in red. If the data shows up at a different address, it tells you how far it's shifted. If every error lands on even or odd addresses, it suggests you check for a HI/LO mix-up.
A log of everything you flash, with the file's SHA-256, so I can check later which image went into which order.
minipro, libusb and the device database are all bundled inside the app. You don't need Homebrew or MacPorts. It's a universal binary for macOS 12 and later.
Download
It's a beta for now. You can get it from GitHub:
It isn't notarized yet, so the first time you open it, right-click KeroBurn and choose Open.
The source is on GitHub too, under GPLv3 like minipro:
Testers wanted
I've only tested it on my Intel Mac Pro with a T48. If you have an Apple Silicon Mac, or a T56 or TL866II+, I'd really like to hear whether it works for you. Bug reports are welcome in the comments, on GitHub, or in the Tinker Different thread.
Other notes
My AT28C64Bs fail verify with the normal device name. Only the first and last byte of each 64-byte page get written. The AT28C64B(Non-Standard) preset fixes it. My chips are recycled pulls, though, so I'm not sure yet whether it's the T48 or the chips.
Hex View shows .jed files as text, so for GALs, use Verify instead.
minipro shows a firmware warning if your T48 firmware is newer or older than it expects. Mine is on 00.1.39 and works fine.
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