For the past weeks I’d been receiving a common question about IC programmer. The question was which one is the best and which programmer can be used to program my ICs? Actually there is no best programer in the market because programmers coming out to the market every now and then with better features and etc. Ok here is the answer for those who wanted to buy a programmer:

1) Make sure that programmer could support the IC part number that you want to program. Most of the programmer website will list out the IC part numbers. If the programmer could program many types of ICs( MCU, PIC, EEPROM, FLASH ROM and etc) then it will be good

2) Some programmer does not need you to remove the IC in order to program it while to some you have to solder the IC out which can be very tedious and time consuming. Obviously the one that can program ICs onboard would be much more expensive.

3) Pricing- Different programmers have different price tag. A simple programmer will cost less than a programmer that can perform many functions. So buying a programmer is depends on your budget. Ask yourself a question-do you need a simple or a powerful programmer? This can only be answered by you because you are well verse on your type of electronic equipment

4) Software update- New IC part numbers coming out to the market from time to time and your programmer software must be updated to support the latest ICs part number. Otherwise you would not be able to program the IC and need to get another programmer which will be a waste of your money. A good programmer company will usually update their product software.

5) Support- This is one of the most important thing that you need to check before you buy a programmer. Nowadays many powerful programmer are from China and some does not have English manual. This is a problem to the buyer. Not only that, it will be hard also to communicate with the supplier for support especially when they are not good in other languages beside Chinese language (Mandarin). You are practically on your own when you buy the programmer from such company.