SDK-80 after full restoration

This is my SDK-80 after restoration, in fully working condition. A massive amount of work has been required to restore it, namely:

1) Removal of old junk components and wires

2) Replacement of ALL IC sockets on the board

3) Replacement of the reset switch

4) Replacement of several other damaged passive components

5) Replacement of many ICs (now mostly Intel devices)

6) Programming SDK-80 monitor and utility ROMs

7) Fitting new Spectrol switch for baud rate, and fixing other links

8) Fitting a nice Molex connector for the power lead, and making up a new power cable

 

The board is now perfectly reliable, but this is only after replacing many IC sockets. The 8224 clock generator and 8255 PIO sockets were causing particular unreliability issues, and others were also contributing to this. The old reset switch was failing, and making bad contact, so had to be replaced; it was not possible to procure an exact match, and annoyingly, the replacement C&K switch has the pins bent the wrong way (so I had to correct this).

 

I decided to use new Intel 8205 decoders instead of the gold/ceramic zebra-striped ones, which I have put into safe storage. Most other major chips are now proper Intel branded ones, in black plastic or grey ceramic; this is how a more modern version of the kit would have been supplied.

 

Done