Sirius S1 / Victor 9000 (1982)

[Muirium]

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A few days ago I was given free roam in the labyrinth that is the deep storage area of the Museum of Communication, in nearby Burntisland, Scotland. They have quite the collection of computing history, and I had a couple of hours to rummage around among the keyboards. It's a volunteer organisation, and besides barcoding new arrivals, no one there knew much about the keyboard side of their collection. I pulled out the dozen most promising ones I could find and took photos in the typically dreary summer daylight. As Mr_A500 just mentioned this keyboard, it's the first for a pictures post.

Released in 1982, the Victor 9000 (American name) or Sirius S1 (as it was called in Europe) was a direct rival to the original IBM Personal Computer. Designed by industry legend Chuck Peddle (the man behind the Commodore PET and the MOS Technology 6502 processor, which was instrumental in the home computer revolution) it was a serious competitor. The Sirius had many enviable features including an advanced multi-speed floppy drive mechanism which could cram more data on a 5.25" disk than anyone else, and more, as described by old-computers.com:

The mechanical keyboard is very complete and has its own 8035 cpu. The 12'' monochrome monitor is equipped with an anti-reflection filter and can be adjusted horizontally and vertically. Contrast and luminosity are controlled directly from the keyboard. The computer can display text ranging from 80 x 25 to 132 x 50. But the best feature is the high resolution reaching 800 x 400 pixels!

Yet it failed to gain traction and is a footnote in computing history. Well, the keyboard is definitely nice. On to the pics!

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Note those tall, tall caps.

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Mr_A500 claims the function row is unsurpassed in sheer height; he may well be right. They're huge!

Left: the Victor / Sirius. Right: IBM Model M.

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The brightness, contrast and volume controls were assigned to the front of these.

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Media keys in 1982!

It was a hectic afternoon of keyboards over there, and we pulled many more out for pictures than this Sirius. (One where I couldn't even find a name.) They're forthcoming, and I'm sure to be back there again, as I didn't even see half of what they had. But when it comes to tall, tall caps, there is just one Victor.

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[matt3o]

I hate to say that... but... they don't make keyboards like they used to anymore

[7bit]

Any picture of the switch?


Also, can you please scale them down a bit, they load forever and there is not much to see when they are at 100% resolution.


sample:

[Muirium]

Any picture of the switch?

Mr_A500 might be able to oblige. I'm currently in another county from the keyboard.

Also, can you please scale them down a bit, they load forever and there is not much to see when they are at 100% resolution.

But they're capped at 1 megabyte each. You could fit each one of them on a disk with the Sirius! One per disk, so be it.

[Peter]

WOW !!!!
Please DON'T scale them pictures down, this is Gold !
Keyboards where a BIG DEAL back in those days, companies took pride in them
and used them as a selling-point in their marketing .
Also, they knew what a spacebar should look like ...

Looking forward to seeing the rest

[Muirium]

To please everyone, next time I'll up 7bit size versions for inline display, which then link to the real deal when clicked. Good for you? They'll both be hosted here because broken image links drive me a nasty kind of nuts.

[mr_a500]

Here are some photos I took a while ago. This is the original version Victor 9000 keyboard, before they added the wrist rest slope. It's a very smooth linear, Keytronic foam & foil. I'd love to convert this to modern PC use, but I haven't checked yet whether the foam has disintegrated - a common problem with these.

victor9000keyboard1.jpg

Victor9000caseless.jpg

Victor9000keyless.jpg

Victor9000switches.jpg

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Victor9000keythick2.jpg

keycaps.jpg

Here is a photo of the switch (from Home of the ACT Sirius 1)

[Elrick]

Damn you guys take the MOST sexy pictures of keyboards that I've ever seen before.

In fact it was this forum that ignited my love for all things keyboard. Especially a far greater appreciation for older keyboards. In my life (when I was young) I could of kept some unique keyboards that now, probably reside in land fill sites all across Australia.

When you're ignorant you miss out on what's truly important, the knowledge of ancient keyboards manufactured to a high standard.

Thank you for taking these photo's because as time moves on there will be less of these available for people to ogle at with desire.

[Muirium]

Thanks Elrick. It felt like crummy light at the time, but a grey and raining sky gave a nice soft subtlety to the black caps. Light is literally what photos are made of, and I think once you've got it sorted you're going to get decent pictures no matter what you try. I used a (going on a decade old) Canon EOS 350 and the ever able 60 mm prime macro. Super for close ups on the keys, but awkward for whole body shots. The funky background in some of the pictures is carpet! I had to hold the camera at head height to fit entire keyboards in frame. Next time I'll borrow a second camera and put the 30 mm prime on it to make life much easier.

Some of the most ingriguing keyboards they have are integrated into terminal computers, or whatever the terminology for all-in-ones with a swoopy body around both screen and keyboard. I didn't move them as time was short, but I played with a few keys, as you do. Some distinctive switches in there!

[Muirium]

I knew you'd have the good stuff, Mr_A500. Keytronic switches made in Spokane, Washington? America's Greenock!

How do you advise pulling off the caps: any gotchas to look out for when they are so tall? I can tell that no one's been in this one in its current home, and perhaps since original assembly.

[mr_a500]

The keycaps are on there pretty tight, but the switches seem quite sturdy so I don't think it's possible to do damage.

(...unlike something like an Amiga 1000 - never remove the keycaps from an Amiga 1000!)

[Daniel Beardsmore]

I'm not surprised that it's Keytronic foam and foil. A little surprising that Keytronic switches aren't on the wiki, considering how popular they were.

[Madderoftime]

Those keycaps.... I think I stopped breathing for a minute there. Takes me back to working on Mini's and wacking memory racks with a 2x4 and a hammer to "refresh the connection" in the the slots. Thanks for sharing.

[Muirium]

Just back from another trip to the vaults. Much better light this time. More to come!

[Mrinterface]

That's indeed a Sirius keyboard

At the upcoming keyboard party 2013 I'll be bringing this one along :

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[Muirium]

Well worth playing with for the feel of such monster caps. Yours has a fancy dual tone numberpad, I see. For a short lived company, these guys made a hell of a line of keyboards!