Well it's been about 45 years since that poor college student version of me saw his first Sol-20 at that small computer store on Queen Street in Toronto. It was something that I never forgot. For me the wait is over. I now have a working Sol-20 and have been having a ball running all of the cool programs that were written for it those many years ago.
I have to thank Dave from osiweb.org who designed the complete replacement keyboard for the Sol-20 using modern Cherry key switches. He was a great help throughout the project. Without this great piece of kit to build on I may not have even attempted this project.
This was the first project I can remember where I didn't have to scour the far corners of the internet for information about the Sol-20. Jim Battle has done an amazing job of gathering a huge treasure trove of Sol-20 materials into one site, Sol20.org. A one stop shop for the would be Sol-20 replicator, or anyone with an interest in this wonderful retro computer.
Rick Downs (redjr16), who actually owns a Sol-20 (I'm totally jealous), was kind enough to take the time to answer my many questions, take pictures, and more. Thanks Rick!
When he saw my project Nyles sent me a huge pile of original manuals that he had been keeping.
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Once the hardware and emulator were done, these have been invaluable resources for helping me figure out how to run the software that's out there. Thank you Nyles.
It's been a lot fun learning about this wonderful machine. I'll leave you with a side-by-side of my Sol-20 reproduction and the original.
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