Editing Sirius Systems Technology

{{Short description|Personal computer manufacturer}}
{{Infobox company
| name = Sirius Systems Technology
| logo = File:Sirius logo.svg
| type = Private
| industry = Computers
| founded = {{Start date and age|1980}}
| founder = {{ubl|[[Chuck Peddle]]|Chris Fish}}
| defunct = {{End date|1984}}
| num_employees = 
| num_employees_year = <!-- Year of num_employees data (if known) -->
| parent = 
}}
'''Sirius Systems Technology''' was a [[personal computer]] manufacturer in [[Scotts Valley, California]]. It was founded in 1980 by [[Chuck Peddle]] and Chris Fish, formerly of [[MOS Technology]] and capitalized by [[Walter Kidde Inc.]] In late 1982 Sirius acquired Victor Business Systems (known for its calculators and [[cash register]]s) from [[Kidde]] and changed its name to '''[[Victor Technology|Victor Technologies]]'''. It made the Victor/Sirius series of personal computers. The company made a public stock offering in the first half of 1983, but went into [[Chapter 11]] protection from [[bankruptcy]] before the end of 1984. The company's assets were acquired by Datatronic AB, a [[Sweden|Swedish]] software/hardware distribution company headed by {{ill|Mats Gabrielsson|sv}}. Gabrielsson signed a distribution deal with [[Kyocera]], which began to supply [[Personal computer|PC]] clones to Victor.

=={{anchor|Victor 9000|Sirius 1}}Victor&nbsp;9000&nbsp;/ Sirius&nbsp;1==
{{Infobox information appliance
| name         = Victor 9000
| title        = 
| aka          = ACT Sirius 1
| logo         = 
| image        = 
| caption      = 
| developer    = 
| manufacturer = [[Applied Computer Techniques]]
| family       = 
| type         = [[Personal computer]]
| generation   = 
| releasedate  = Late {{Start date and age|1981}}
| lifespan     = 
| price        = 
| discontinued = 
| unitssold    = 
| unitsshipped = 
| media        = 
| os           = [[MS-DOS]] and [[CP/M-86]]
| power        = 
| soc          = 
| cpu          = {{nowrap|5 MHz}} @ [[Intel 8088]] CPU
| memory       = {{nowrap|128 KB}} (Max {{nowrap|896 KB}})
| storage      = Two 5 1/4-inch floppies (1.2 MB double-sided)
| memory card  =
| display      = Monochrome CRT
| graphics     = [[Motorola 6845|Hitachi 46505]]: Text mode {{nowrap|80 × 25}} or graphics {{nowrap|800 × 400 pixels}}
| sound        = 
| input        = 94 key keyboard with numpad
| controllers  = 
| camera       = 
| touchpad     = 
| connectivity = 
| platform     = 
| service      = 
| dimensions   = 
| weight       = 
| topgame      = 
| compatibility= 
| predecessor  = 
| successor    = 
| related      = 
| website      = <!--{{URL|example.org}}-->
}}

The '''Victor 9000''' (distributed in the [[United Kingdom|UK]] by British company [[Applied Computer Techniques]]<ref>[http://www.actapricot.org/history/apricot_history.html Apricot history]</ref> as the '''ACT Sirius 1''', and in [[Australia]] by Barson Computers as the '''Sirius 1''') was designed by Peddle, who had also designed the first [[Commodore PET]]. His team began work in January 1981 and showed a prototype in April.<ref name="lemmonspeddle198211">{{cite news |url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1982-11/1982_11_BYTE_07-11_Graphics#page/n281/mode/2up |title=Chuck Peddle / Chief Designer of the Victor 9000 |work=[[Byte (magazine)|BYTE]] |date=November 1982 |access-date=2013-10-19 |author-last=Lemmons |author-first=Phil |page=256}}</ref> It appeared for the first time at the {{ill|Systems (fair){{!}}Systems|de|Systems}} show in [[Munich|Munich, Germany]], in late 1981. Chuck Peddle used two of his [[Commodore International|Commodore]] contacts to set up two subsidiaries in continental Europe. David Deane ([[France]]) and Jürgen Tepper ([[Germany]]) were both ex-[[Mannesmann Tally]] whom Chuck had met while negotiating an [[Original equipment manufacturer|OEM]] deal for printers.

The Victor 9000/Sirius 1 ran [[CP/M-86]] and [[MS-DOS]] but did not claim to be [[IBM PC compatible]]. It offered a higher resolution screen and 600&nbsp;KB/1.2&nbsp;MB floppy drives.<ref name="Sargent_1988"/> Advertisements cited the graphics, multiple operating systems, 128&nbsp;KB of RAM, and high-quality audio.<ref name="byte198211">{{cite news |url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1982-11/1982_11_BYTE_07-11_Graphics#page/n125/mode/2up |title=The Victor 9000, inside out. |work=[[Byte (magazine)|BYTE]] |date=November 1982 |access-date=2013-10-19 |type=Advertisement}}</ref> One striking difference between it and other machines on the market at the time was the fact that the disc utilized a form of [[zoned constant linear velocity]] (ZCLV) (using 9 different speed-zones selected out of 15 supported by the hardware) with a variant of [[zone bit recording]] (ZBR) (11 to 19 sectors depending on zone) to spun at different speeds according to where the data was stored, running slower towards the outer edge of the disc in such a way that bit density (bits per cm passing the head), rather than rotational speed, was approximately constant.<ref name="Victor_1982_Technical_Reference"/><ref name="Victor_1983_Technical_Reference"/> This, combined with [[Sirius GCR|group-coded recording]] (GCR), allowed standard floppy disks to hold more data than others at the time, 600&nbsp;KB on single- and 1.2&nbsp;MB on double-sided floppies compared with 140–160&nbsp;KB per side of other machines such as the [[Apple II]] and early [[IBM PC]], but disks made at constant bit density were not compatible with machines with standard drives.<ref name="Victor_1982_Technical_Reference"/><ref name="Victor_1983_Technical_Reference"/><ref name="Sargent_1988"/> The Victor 9000's 800x400 resolution screen (based on a [[Hitachi 46505]] CRT controller chip - equivalent to a [[Motorola 6845]]),<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://manualzz.com/doc/10131951/victor-9000-computer--hardware-review|title = Victor 9000 computer, hardware review &#124; Manualzz}}</ref> 896&nbsp;KB of memory (RAM), programmable keyboard and character set were also far ahead of the competition.<ref name="Sargent_1988"/>

While unsuccessful in North America, Victor 9000 became the most popular 16-bit business computer in Europe, especially in Britain and Germany, while IBM delayed the release of the PC there. Its success led to the [[ACT Apricot]].<ref name="pountain198411">{{cite news |url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1984-11/1984_11_BYTE_09-12_New_Chips#page/n411/mode/2up |title=A Plethora of Portables |work=[[Byte (magazine)|BYTE]] |date=November 1984 |access-date=2013-10-23 |author-last=Pountain |author-first=Dick |page=413}}</ref> ACT outsold the Sirius/Victor subsidiaries and also led the way in proving that application software was the key to sales. Most sales across Europe went through small systems houses rather than computer shops.

The Victor 9000 was also distributed in the UK under that name by DRG Business Machines in [[Weston-super-Mare]], who dealt with Victor Technologies in the US direct. It was not a particularly successful venture as ACT had already established a brand name and a loyal dealer base.

===Reception===
''[[Byte (magazine)|BYTE]]'' called the Victor 9000 "an excellent microcomputer with an outstanding array of standard features". It praised the high-quality video and large array of software available from Victor, while criticizing the high price of peripherals compared to the many third-party options on the IBM PC.<ref name="lemmons198211">{{cite news |url=https://archive.org/stream/byte-magazine-1982-11/1982_11_BYTE_07-11_Graphics#page/n241/mode/2up |title=Victor Victorious |work=[[Byte (magazine)|BYTE]] |date=November 1982 |access-date=2013-10-19 |author-last=Lemmons |author-first=Phil |page=216}}</ref>

== References ==
{{Reflist|refs=
<ref name="Sargent_1988">{{cite book |title=Assemblersprache und Hardware des IBM PC/XT/AT |language=German  |author-first1=Murray |author-last1=Sargent III. |author-first2=Richard L. |author-last2=Shoemaker |author-first3=Ernst H. K. |author-last3=Stelzer |publisher=[[Addison-Wesley Verlag (Deutschland) GmbH]] / [[Addison-Wesley Publishing Company]] |edition=1 |date=1988 |isbn=3-89319-110-0 |id=VVA-Nr. 563-00110-4}}</ref>
<ref name="Victor_1983_Technical_Reference">{{cite web |title=Supplemental Technical Reference Material |id=Application Note: 002 |publisher=[[Victor Publications]] |location=Scotts Valley, CA, USA |date=1983-03-23 |edition=1st printing |version=Revision 0 |url=https://archive.org/stream/bitsavers_victorvict83_1876736/appNote002_Mar83#page/n0/mode/1up |quote=[…] Single-sided floppy drive offers 80&nbsp;tracks at [[96&nbsp;tpi|96 TPI]] […] Double-sided floppy drive offers 160 tracks at 96&nbsp;TPI […] Floppy drives have 512&nbsp;byte sectors; utilising a GCR, 10-bit recording technique. […] Although the Victor 9000 uses 5&nbsp;1/4-inch minifloppies of a similar type to those used in other computers, the floppy disks themselves are not readable on other machines, nor can the Victor 9000 read a disk from another manufacturers machine. The Victor 9000 uses a unique recording method to allow the data to be packed as densely as 600&nbsp;kbytes on a single-sided single-density minifloppy; this recording method involves the regulation of the speed at which the floppy rotates, explaining the fact that the noise from the drive sometimes changes frequency.}}</ref>
<ref name="Victor_1982_Technical_Reference">{{cite book |title=Victor 9000 Technical Reference Manual |chapter=Chapter 7. Disk Drive Assembly |date=June 1982 |publisher=[[Victor Business Products, Inc.]] |id=710620 |pages=7–1..7–9 |url=https://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/www.bitsavers.org/pdf/victor/victor9000/Victor9000TechRef_Jun82.pdf |access-date=2017-03-23 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323232847/https://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/www.bitsavers.org/pdf/victor/victor9000/Victor9000TechRef_Jun82.pdf |archive-date=2017-03-23 |quote=[…] Track density is 96 tracks per inch, and recording density is maintained at approximately 8000 bits per inch on all tracks. […] The VICTOR 9000 uses an encoding technique called group code recording (GCR) to convert the data from internal representation to an acceptable form. GCR converts each (4-bit) nibble into a 5-bit code that guarantees a recording pattern that never has more than two zeros together. Then data is recorded on the disk by causing a flux reversal for each "one" bit and no flux reversal for each "zero" bit. […]}}</ref>
}}

== Further reading==
* {{cite patent |title=Method and apparatus for improving disk storage capacity |country=US |number=4514771 |pubdate=1985-04-30 |fdate=1982-10-13 |pridate=1982-10-13 |inventor1-first=Glenn |inventor1-last=Stark |inventor2-first=David M. |inventor2-last=Barton |assign1=[[Victor Technologies Inc.]] |url=https://www.google.com/patents/US4514771}} (NB. US 06/434075)
* [https://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=210 Old-Computers.com - Victor 9000 / Sirius 1 page]
* <!-- <ref name="Sirius1_Specs"> -->{{cite web |title=Victor 9000/Sirius 1 Specification |url=http://www.commodore.ca/history/people/chuck_peddle/Sirius_1_Victor_9000_Specification.pdf |publisher=commodore.ca |access-date=2017-03-23 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323230447/http://www.commodore.ca/history/people/chuck_peddle/Sirius_1_Victor_9000_Specification.pdf |archive-date=2017-03-23}}<!-- </ref> -->
* <!-- <ref name="Victor_1983_Technical_Reference"> -->{{cite web |title=Supplemental Technical Reference Material |id=Application Note: 002 |publisher=[[Victor Publications]] |location=Scotts Valley, CA, USA |date=1983-03-23 |edition=1st printing |version=Revision 0 |url=https://archive.org/stream/bitsavers_victorvict83_1876736/appNote002_Mar83#page/n0/mode/1up}}<!-- </ref> -->
* <!-- <ref name="Victor_1982_Technical_Reference"> -->{{cite book |title=Victor 9000 Technical Reference Manual |date=June 1982 |publisher=[[Victor Business Products, Inc.]] |id=710620 |url=https://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/www.bitsavers.org/pdf/victor/victor9000/Victor9000TechRef_Jun82.pdf |access-date=2017-03-23 |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20170323232847/https://www.mirrorservice.org/sites/www.bitsavers.org/pdf/victor/victor9000/Victor9000TechRef_Jun82.pdf |archive-date=2017-03-23}}<!-- </ref> -->

[[Category:American companies established in 1980]]
[[Category:American companies disestablished in 1983]]
[[Category:Computer companies established in 1980]]
[[Category:Computer companies disestablished in 1983]]
[[Category:Defunct computer companies of the United States]]
[[Category:Defunct computer hardware companies]]
[[Category:Defunct computer systems companies]]