Processor technology wikimili, the free encyclopedia. The processor technology sol20 came into my life when darlene went out. Processor technology had planned on three forms of the machine. Pc 76 was the first big computer show ever held, and sol20 was the hit of the show. The initial specified clock rate or frequency limit was 2 mhz, and with common instructions using 4, 5, 7, 10, or 11 cycles this meant that it operated at. Designed primarily for processor technologys sol20 computer or for systems running their subsystem b, the board can also be used in other s100 machines by providing a monitor rom that provides the same console io entry points as their solos or. So after some additional attempts, a suitable emulator has been found for the sol20. Other software can be run from either the cartridge slot or the two highspeed tape drives built in to the front of the unit. Processor technology solpc an early sol20 minus the 20 i have recently acquired a homemade solpc with documentation from october 1976.
The intel 8080 eightyeighty is the second 8bit microprocessor designed and manufactured by intel. A sol20 with a heliosii drive cabinet is pictured below courtesy m. The sol20 was produced by the processor technology corporation back in 19771979. Jun 15, 2015 processor technology sol 20 computer manual table of contents.
Processor technology manufactured approximately 10,000 sol20 personal computers between 1977 and 1979. Most of this software comes courtesy of paul schaper and bob stek, who were kind enough to archive this. Processor technology, deluged with orders, took almost a year to fill them. We offer thousands of vintage microcomputer items, keyboards, motherboards, 8080, z80 6800 or 6502 systems and several 8088 80286 80386 80486 and 68000 working systems, volumes of computer literature. Processor technologys newly launched sol10 and sol20 systems also intel 8080based would account for a further 8% of the market as would southwest technical products 6800 motorola 6800based. The display subsystem of the trs80 was quite similar to that of the sol20 computer and the vdm1 s100 card that came before them.
The helios ii is a floppy disk drive unit system which uses a unique recording technique known as firm sectoring. They both have the solpc as the motherboard, but include a case, keyboard and power supply. Processor technology corporation solpc single board terminal computertm section i 1. Processor technology sold software on cassette tape. Processor technology also sold software on cassette tape. These bare board kits were clearly the first sols sold the case and power supply were not ready also note the provisional documentation. Retrocomputing is usually classed as a hobby and recreation rather than a practical application of technology. When run, it scored 1,694 seconds which placed its speed between the sinclair zx80 1631s and the processor technology sol20 1812s. The main pcb consisted of the cpu, memory, video display, io circuits. Processor technology sol20 computer ships worldwide ebay. The sol20, designed by lee felsenstein and conceptualized by bob marsh and les solomon, was a personal computer that was first to include integrated keyboard, video and rom in the same package the sol20 was an 8080 based system that incorporated the processor technology vdm1 to produce video on a television or composite monitor. While i was indeed the sole designer of most of the sol 20 circuitry and worked hard to manage.
Despite the simple hardware, the system could play three voice part music. Fellow computer hobbyists wanted to buy shrayers esp1 software. In june 1975, bob and les solomon technical editor of popular electronics dreamed up the sol20 computer, bob had a bunch of cheap walnut that he originally intended. Processor technology was started as an addin card company. The system included a monitor rom that allowed the user to boot the machine into a semiusable mode on power up. Processor technology sol 20 computer manual table of. Hybrid memory cube 1,128 words exact match in snippet view article find links to article tech award. The first consideration was trying to find on in the mess emulator. The sol20 has an important place in the history of computer for a number of reasons. The name is an acronym for sol a nachronistic c omputer e. It was a bleak, frigid day in january of 1979, and i was finishing a long article for this magazine.
In 1970 the xerox corporation, which had become very successful in the 1960s with its 914 copier and related products, established the palo alto research center parc. All processor technology products were available either assembled, or as electronic kits. History of the microprocessor and the personal computer. While the sol20 had no graphics capability, the trs80 mapped 64 high codes to 2x3 block graphics, enabling a coarse 128x48 bitmap to be intermixed with text. Processor technology also developed their own operating system for the helios, ptdos. The sol20 supports the following monitor commands ca list the files on a tape cu. The notes below are about the persci drive portion of those. It was based around the s100 bus which made it compatible with the already popular altair 8800 and imsai 8080 not to mention a host of other s100 computer manufactuers vector graphics, cromenco, northstar etc. Inside the case included power supply, fan, and keyboard. About 10,000 of them were produced, some as kits, some as prebuilt.
The package consisted of software for authoring and playing music along with a simple s100 board requiring just three components. Helios disk subsystem, additional personality modules, additional software, expansion chassis, etc. After his death, and because i lived almost 4000 miles away, i couldnt take on his collection, so it slowly diffused into the ether. The sol20 was produced by the processor technology corporation. Get premium, high resolution news photos at getty images. My first opportunity to use a personal computer arose differently. A 1 kb block of ram was mapped to a 64x16 text display. A vintage 1970s processor technology sol20 terminal computer, taken on may 21, 2009. Processor technology sol20 terminal computer old computers. Description joe felsenstein works with sol20 at processor technology emeryville plant. Early computer kits included the processor technology sol20 with two floppy disk drives and a video display. The music system was designed primarily for the sol20 computer or systems running subsystem b from processor technology.
The sol10 was intended to be a stripped down sol20, functioning as a smart terminal. One side of the tape was recorded in cuts format, and the other side was kansas. The adam computer has a builtin word processor that is the default program run when the machine is powered on. This piece of history is clean, and will display well in your vintage computer collection. A vintage 1970s processor technology sol20 terminal. In the final few seconds of its existence, processor technology software 20 technology sold copies of the source code to its programs. Sol20 terminal computer system source computer museum. The music system was distributed by software technology a division of processor technology. Of course lee felsenstein later worked on the osbourne portable computer as well.
One side of the tape was recorded in cuts format, the other side was kansas city standard format. The sol20 by processor technology is a beautifully designed and visually appealing system and. The cassette interface designed by processor technology pt for their sol20 was made to be compatible with the kansas city format 300 baud system as well as a 1200 baud system, the. The company that made them was called processor technology corporation in emeryville california and was founded by lee felsenstein, gordon french and bob marsh around mid 1975. For sale is this 1976 processor technology sol20 terminal computer. The sol20 was probably the first pc to incorprate a keyboard and video with the machine. Under optimum conditions each diskette can store 384,000 bytes of information. Firm sectoring also allows faster data access and variable block sizes. The sol20 was the first fully assembled microcomputer with a builtin keyboard and television output, what would later be known as a home computer. Processor technology also sold a wide variety of other programs, including many games, on cassette format for the sol, or on punch. Additional expansion was available via five s100 bus. Processor technology sol20 terminal computer 1 of 3 named for the wisdom of solomon, or possibly popular electronics magazine editor les. Please practice handwashing and social distancing, and check out our resources for adapting to these times.
The system included a monitor rom that allowed the user. The sol started out as the solpc, a single circuit board without a case or power supply. One side of the tape was recorded in cuts format, and the other side was kansas city. Targ was a game written in 1977 for the sol20 computer by steve dompier and supplied as part of the gamepac1 software package, by software technology inc. Again, the schematic, pcb, and software files for this project are all included with the downloads. The sol20, designed by lee felsenstein and conceptualized by bob marsh and les solomon, was a personal computer that was first to include. As noted by lee felsenstein, we processor technology started taking orders for sols at pc76 the first personal computer show in atlantic city, new jersey at the beginning of september 1976. If you wish to complete your museum or wish to revisit your past, we have what you need. The sol20 consisted of a main motherboard pcb mounted at the bottom of the case, and a five slot s100 bus card cage. The sol20 by processor technology is a beautifully designed and visually appealing system and has the proud distinction of being the first commercially mass produced packaged personal computer looking less like a boxy kit like the altair 8800 and more like a real computer, ie, a terminal. The sol20 was an 8080 based system that incorporated the processor technology vdm1 to produce video on a television or composite monitor. The machine in my collection is in exceptionally good condition and works perfectly.
Altair 8800 clone music system from processor technology. Retrocomputing is the use of older computer hardware and software in modern times. Interestingly, the adam printer a slow and noisy daisy wheel is the power source for the entire system. All processor technology products were available either fully assembled, or as electronic kits. This site is mostly a collection of documents, software, and other artifacts. The sol20, the full working computer, was introduced at the personal computing 76 show in atlantic city. Targ video game for the sol20 microcomputer youtube. It first appeared in april 1974 and is an extended and enhanced variant of the earlier 8008 design, although without binary compatibility. Thats over 34 million bytes on line with each helios dual drive.
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