Can a 44-pin programmer support a device of more than 44 pins?
A 44-pin programmer cannot support an 84-pin device, if a UNIVERSAL socket adapter is used. This is because the adapter, being universal, must have pin drivers for every pin. However, a 44-pin programmer can support devices with more than 44 pins if “family” modules or adapters are available. Since most of these devices do not need all pins to be connected for programming, a family module routes the REQUIRED pins to the 44-pin programmer, allowing these devices in the family to be programmed. Since some pins are not connected on a particular family module, devices outside the family cannot be used on that family module. For example, a 68-pin Microchip 17c756A can be programmed on a PILOT-U44-Plus (programmer with 44 pin drivers) using an AM-PIC68 family module. This module can also be used to program other 68-pin Microchip devices such as 17c752 or 16c923, but not an Altera 68-pin device. In order to provide lower-cost solutions for customers who do not program a wide range of devices,
