Smoke Signal Broadcasting
| File:Smoke Signal Broadcasting logo.png | |
| Company type | Private |
|---|---|
| Industry | Computer |
| Founded | 1976 |
| Founder | Ric Hammond |
| Defunct | Template:End date and age |
| Headquarters | United States |
| Products |
|
Smoke Signal Broadcasting, Inc. (abbreviated as SSB), later known simply as Smoke Signal, was an American computer enterprise established in 1976 by Frederic Jerome "Ric" Hammond in Hollywood, California. Initially specializing in expansion modules for the SWTPC 6800 microcomputer, the firm subsequently developed its proprietary series of multi-user computers, most notably the Chieftain. Although it never achieved widespread market prominence, Smoke Signal was a pioneering manufacturer in the early multi-user computer segment.
Hammond, who combined his background as a radio hobbyist and CBS programming director, originally launched the company to provide consulting services to broadcast organizations but quickly shifted focus toward computing hardware. As reported by Byte, Smoke Signal became the first independent supplier to produce expansions for SWTPC systems, with its successful floppy disk controller and OS-68 operating system paving the way for the Chieftain computer. Despite its technical sophistication, the company’s modest investment in centralized software infrastructure limited its broader market penetration.
Facing financial setbacks during the mid-1980s, Hammond scaled down operations primarily to customer support before ultimately dissolving Smoke Signal in 1991. Following this, he briefly explored real estate ventures and later returned to radio until his passing in 2012.
1976–1980: Foundation, expansions, and microcomputers
Ric Hammond, an alumnus of Thacher School and UC Santa Barbara, founded Smoke Signal Broadcasting in 1976 with headquarters located in Hollywood. Having been an amateur radio operator since the early 1960s and serving as programming director at CBS Radio’s KNX-FM, Hammond initially intended Smoke Signal to operate as a consultancy for broadcasting clients. However, identifying a demand for memory expansion solutions compatible with the SS-50 bus of the popular SWTPC 6800 microcomputer, he engineered the M-16-A—a 16 KB static RAM expansion board—which became the company’s inaugural product.
Launched late in 1976, the M-16-A is believed to be the first third-party expansion board tailored for SWTPC hardware and swiftly attracted substantial customer interest. By 1977, Smoke Signal concentrated exclusively on producing expansions for SWTPC systems. In 1978, the company introduced the BFD-68 floppy disk subsystem—capable of housing up to three drives within a single enclosure and incorporating a controller board compatible with the SS-50 bus—as well as OS-68, a disk operating system that enabled random-access file handling akin to Technical Systems Consultants’ FLEX.
Capitalizing on this momentum, Smoke Signal unveiled its own Motorola 6800-based microcomputer in 1978 after relocating operations to Westlake Village, California. The Chieftain featured a nine-slot motherboard compatible with SS-50 standards, came equipped with 32 KB of RAM expandable up to 60 KB, included dual serial communication ports, offered options for either two 5.25-inch or two 8-inch floppy disk drives, and supported an 80x25 character display. Designed primarily for scientific engineers and business users rather than hobbyists, it was delivered fully assembled with OS-68 pre-installed—a strategic decision aimed at enhancing appeal among non-technical purchasers. Notable design elements included an integrated cooling fan and gold-plated edge connectors to improve reliability. The unit’s faux-leather casing reflected Smoke Signal’s Native American-inspired branding. Prominent commercial customers such as Hughes Aircraft and Western Electric utilized the Chieftain for industrial process control tasks. Industry authorities have acknowledged the Chieftain as one of the finest computers based on SWTPC architecture.
In 1979, Smoke Signal launched the SCB-68 single-board computer featuring a Motorola 6800 CPU alongside 1 KB of scratchpad RAM and a standard 2 KB EPROM; users could expand EPROM memory up to 20 KB and attach optional peripherals including a math co-processor and real-time clock module. This design maintained compatibility with SS-50 bus standards consistent across their product lineup.
1980–1984: Organizational Shift
During the early 1980s, Smoke Signal transitioned its core emphasis from scientific engineering toward the production of business-oriented systems. Nevertheless, founder Hammond continued to target hobbyist users, recognizing that many corporate clients were former electronics enthusiasts. Their initial business offering was the Chieftain Business System, which preserved compatibility with the SS-50 bus while upgrading to a Motorola 6809 CPU, featuring 64 KB of RAM expandable up to 1 MB. The system replaced 5.25-inch floppy drives with two 8-inch drives alongside a 20 MB Winchester hard disk. The standard package included a daisy wheel printer and a basic terminal.
By 1982, the company removed "Broadcasting" from its name and ceased development of other computer models. They introduced the Chieftain 9822, which retained the same processor and memory specifications but incorporated a nine-slot bus architecture. This model offered configurations with either two 8-inch or two 5.25-inch floppy disk drives, plus a Winchester drive varying between 4 MB and 60 MB in capacity. The system was composed of two separate units—one housing the drives and another containing the processor and memory—with customers able to select either Smoke Signal DOS (provided at no cost) or the multi-user OS-9 operating system for $195. A typical setup including terminal and printer was priced around $8,149.
Performance evaluations placed the Chieftain 9822 as the second-best option among computers costing under $25,000 for scientific computing and data processing tasks, closely rivaling higher-priced Wang Laboratories machines and more affordable Altos systems. While its speed received commendation, Smoke Signal’s dependence on third-party dealers for software distribution limited available applications, as these dealers often customized software to meet local industry needs, sometimes necessitating bespoke development.
By 1983, Smoke Signal had established an international presence through dealers and OEM partners spanning Australia, Asia, Europe, South Africa, and the United States. Approximately 60% of operations were managed by these fabricators. The Electronic Company of New Zealand rebranded the Chieftain as "Econz" in 1981, while in 1982 Smoke Signal entered a joint venture with Pakistan’s Medco Electronics to distribute products under the Pakistan Computers brand.
1984–1991: Unix-Compatible Systems and Decline
In 1984, Smoke Signal launched the VAR/68 microcomputer, its first model promoted as Unix-compatible. This system ran Regulus, a Unix-like operating system developed by Alcyon Corporation. Despite declining popularity of the SS-50 bus design, it was retained for the VAR/68, which utilized Motorola’s 16-/32-bit 68000 microprocessor and featured multiple parallel and serial interfaces. A subsequent variant, the VAR/68K, employed a 32-bit 68008 CPU.
By the mid-1980s, Smoke Signal’s business approach deteriorated significantly. In 1984, the company had a workforce of 25 employees and generated $2 million in revenue; however, by 1985 five staff members had departed and assets decreased to $1 million. By 1987 only 15 employees remained as the company relocated its final headquarters to Thousand Oaks, California. Founder Hammond diversified his interests into real estate through Amerasian Development, relegating Smoke Signal primarily to support services. This new venture failed amid a downturn in Ventura County’s property market, resulting in Hammond submitting Smoke Signal’s final corporate filing in 1991. Afterward, Hammond returned to radio broadcasting until his passing in 2012.
Software
Under the leadership of Roger Embree, the creator of OS-68, Smoke Signal's software division developed a variety of applications tailored for the OS-68 platform. Their strategy involved acquiring licenses for third-party software and marketing these products under the Smoke Signal brand, which contributed to robust sales within the SS-50 disk drive system market. By 1982, however, this division experienced a decline, prompting the company to transfer software distribution duties to its network of 120 dealers. This transition was facilitated through a dealer exchange system managed by an internally developed MicroCobol database. Although designed to alleviate development responsibilities, this approach ultimately introduced operational complexities for the dealers.
The BASIC language variant for OS-68 was derived from another company's implementation, enhanced by Embree’s modifications, and accompanied by licensed binary editing and assembly utilities—often without proper credit to the original creators. Technical Systems Consultants’ text editor and word processor were rebranded as SE-1 and TP-1 respectively, receiving favorable evaluations in Creative Computing. In contrast, their adapted disassembler was met with criticism from Kilobaud. Additional software providers included Ed Smith's Software Works, Microware Systems, and Computer Software Services; notably, the latter delivered a Random-Access Disk File BASIC that outperformed Smoke Signal’s own rebranded edition.