What is CPEC? somebody trying to reinvent the wheel?. I send 'qwerty' on the 232 port to start ISP.

http://www.c-pec.net/index.php?l=Home

The Linux version.

I'm confused, how does sending 'qwerty' through the serial port cause the reset?

Using the DTR line of the serial port to reset the chip is described in a FlashMagic application note, is this not how you do it?

You use NoTouch, why are you mucking with PSEN

Ah, this is where I was confused. Are you saying that since we are not using external memory, we just tie !PSEN to ground (through a 2K resistor according to the datasheet) permanently?

If so, how does the board ever start with a zero status byte? When it is reset, the status byte will always be non-zero, since the conditions of:

Vpp high
PSEN low
ALE disconnected
P2.7, 2.6 high

will always be met.

I don't see how it will go into normal operation?