Processor Technology
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Personal computers, Computer hardware |
| Founded | April 1, 1975 in Berkeley, California, United States |
| Founder | Gary Ingram, Bob Marsh |
| Defunct | May 1, 1979 |
| Headquarters | Berkeley, California , United States |
| Products | Sol-20 Personal Computer, Sol-PC, Sol-10 Terminal Computer, S-100 bus boards (VDM-1, 3P+S, 4KRA, 8KRA, 16KRA, 32KRA-1, CUTS Tape I/O Interface, 2KRO, Helios II Disk Memory System, GPM), software (SOLOS, CUTER, ASSM, BASIC/5, Extended Cassette Basic, FOCAL, ALS-8, PTDOS, EDIT, 8080 Chess, TREK-80, GamePack 1 & 2) |
Processor Technology Corporation was established as a personal computer enterprise in April 1975 by founders Gary Ingram and Bob Marsh, based in Berkeley, California. Their first offering was a 4K byte RAM board designed for compatibility with the MITS Altair 8800, but with enhanced reliability, positioning the firm as a notable contender in the early microcomputer hardware sector. The company broadened its portfolio to include various memory and input/output boards, including a notable video display module that expanded their product range.
At the request of Popular Electronics magazine, Technical Editor Les Solomon enlisted Marsh and Lee Felsenstein to create an intelligent computer terminal. This partnership resulted in the Sol-20 Personal Computer, which was prominently featured on the magazine’s July 1976 cover. Officially released in December 1976, the Sol-20 became Processor Technology’s signature product, driving significant sales and market presence. Despite this success, the company ceased operations in May 1979 due to its inability to develop subsequent product innovations.
History
From April through July 1975, Bob Marsh, Lee Felsenstein, and Gordon French collaborated on designing the Sol-20, which incorporated an Intel 8080 8-bit microprocessor running at 2 MHz. Unlike many contemporaneous systems, the Sol-20 included an integrated video driver capable of outputting to composite monitors. Its design consisted of a motherboard housing the CPU, memory, video display, and I/O circuits along with a five-slot S-100 bus card cage. The system was encased in a distinctive IBM blue chassis with side panels crafted from solid walnut sourced from gun stock manufacturers.
Between 1977 and 1979, Processor Technology manufactured roughly 10,000 Sol-20 units. Their commercial approach provided customers with either fully assembled computers or electronic kits, addressing diverse segments of the early computing market. The company also distributed software on Compact Cassette using both CUTS and Kansas City standard formats. Key software tools were developed by Gary Ingram and Steven Dompier, while Lee Felsenstein contributed original user manuals under contract.
Standards
Processor Technology engineered multiple S-100 bus boards compatible with the Sol-20 system architecture.
The Video Display Module 1 (VDM-1) served as the initial video display interface for S-100 bus computers. It produced sixteen lines of sixty-four characters each in upper and lower case on standard composite video monitors or adapted televisions. Using 1K of system memory, the VDM-1 employed memory-mapped I/O for enhanced performance and incorporated hardware support for scrolling functionality. This board significantly advanced display technology beyond teletype machines and gained popularity among users of S-100 systems such as IMSAI 8080 owners.
Another significant offering was the CUTS Tape I/O Interface S-100 board, which facilitated data storage and retrieval from cassette tapes using both the Kansas City standard and a proprietary CUTS format. Lee Felsenstein played an instrumental role in creating the Kansas City standard, recognized as the first universal data transfer protocol across microcomputer platforms.
Products
- Computers
- Sol-PC — A single-board computer offered without enclosure or power supply; available either pre-assembled or as a DIY kit
- Sol-10 Terminal Computer — Entry-level version lacking the 5-slot S-100 backplane; provided assembled or as a kit
- Sol-20 Terminal Computer — Features a 5-slot S-100 backplane; sold either assembled or in kit form
- The Sol-20 was priced around $5000 CND in 1976, including an additional 16K memory card
- S-100 Bus Boards
- VDM-1 — Video Display Module board
- 3P+S — I/O board equipped with three parallel ports and one serial port
- 4KRA — 4K static RAM board
- 8KRA — 8K static RAM board
- 16KRA — 16K DRAM memory board
- 32KRA-1 — 32K DRAM memory board
- CUTS — Tape input/output interface supporting CUTS and Kansas City standards
- 2KRO — EPROM memory board
- Helios II Disk Memory System
- GPM — General Purpose ROM board containing the CUTER monitor program
- Software
- SOLOS — Operating system software
- CUTER — Machine code monitor and cassette tape loader utility
- ASSM — Assembler for the 8080 processor
- BASIC/5 — Interpreter for the BASIC programming language, sized at 5K
- Extended Cassette Basic (8K) — Enhanced BASIC interpreter version
- FOCAL programming language support
- ALS-8
- PTDOS — Operating system designed for the Helios II Disk Drive
- EDIT — Text editor for the 8080 processor
- 8080 Chess — Chess game software
- TREK-80 — Game based on the Star Trek theme
- GamePack 1 & GamePack 2 — Bundles containing multiple games
External links
- Articles with short description
- 1975 establishments in California
- 1979 disestablishments in California
- American companies established in 1975
- American companies disestablished in 1979
- Computer companies established in 1975
- Computer companies disestablished in 1979
- Defunct companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Defunct computer companies of the United States
- Defunct computer hardware companies
- Defunct computer systems companies
- Technology companies based in the San Francisco Bay Area
- Companies of the United States by year of establishment
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