( Sir ) Clive Sinclair ?

[Richard_FM]

One of Sinclair’s investments was in Spitting Image.

I was too young to watch it in it’s early days but they did ma’am puppy of him & in one of books is an amusing spoof ad.

[Superscope]

And not forgetting maybe His most Famous invention.

The World's first Pocket Television.
Otherwise known as the Sinclair Microvision.

The TV1B seen here, still in perfect working order, so not all
Sinclair products were as bad as their reputation.

Just a Shame there is no Analogue Signal outside anymore.


Ian

[m0cemdave]

Originally Posted by Craig Sawyers

There is a rumour, possibly just that, that he had box loads of reject transistors sorted for ones that could be used. And the pallet loads of dead ones were used as hardcore under Sinclair's drive.
Craig

Wasn't that something to do with the batch testing process used by manufacturers? If a given proportion of a randomly selected sample is faulty, the entire batch is rejected. The manufacturer doesn't consider it cost-effective to re-test the whole lot individually. But a dealer, or a small-time manufacturer, who is willing to do so then buys it all and tests to their own (presumably lower) specification.

This is similar to how the early transistor manufacturers sold lower grade parts, usable but rejected on test as not meeting professional quality standards, to the hobby market under a different part number.

[Radio Wrangler]

Originally Posted by Richard_FM

One of Sinclair’s investments was in Spitting Image.

That does it!

There's nothing else for it.

I'm going to have to forgive him!

David

(and he still got knighted)

[Richard_FM]

Here's the Spitting Image Spoof Ad

[Radio Wrangler]

I knew they'd sent him up, but I hadn't known he was one of the investors behind Fluck and Law. I'm impressed!

David

[kalee20]

Wasn't the Sinclair C5 advert in the Radio Times, printed with slopey-upwards print? Which is what this spoof advert is apeing?

Joking apart, he did a pretty good job with his innovations, the Microvision certainly being a big achievement.

[avocollector]

As a 14 year old I had a copy of his book on radio transistor circuits for the home constructor and marvelled at the futuristic products he showed in Practical Electronics ads - everything else seemed so 50's in comparison. Luckily I never had the cash to buy anything back then. I did buy a ZX 81 when it came out (still have it up in the loft) and it worked very well - have also in the past few years bought a micromatic radio and flat screen tv for old time/style sake neither of which seem to work - another was a DVM which also does not work - but they all look so good!

[Craig Sawyers]

That was Sinclair through and through, though. Lots of effort on design styling and marketing, but questionable quality engineering in the guts leading to lack of reliability.

Craig