( Sir ) Clive Sinclair ?

[Aub]

Hi all,

In the March 1958 Practical Wireless, page 18, there's an article for a Super Sensitive Transistor Receiver, by Clive Sinclair. Presumably, this is THE Clive Sinclair?

Cheers

Aub

Sorry if this has been discussed before

[barrymagrec]

Most probably.

My former boss at a broadcast organisation worked with Clive Sinclair briefly when he was at the BBC, would have been early sixties. Said he was brilliant but never bothered to finish anything.

[chriswood1900]

It's highly likely, early on he was quite well known as a writer in magazines, technical journals (while still at school he wrote his first article for Practical Wireless) and several books before he became so well known. e.g. Transistorised Test Equipment and Servicing Manual – 1 Jan. 1961

[Richard_FM]

I've heard that he wrote articles to a few radio and other technology magazines while he was getting Sinclair Radionics up and running.

[Dave Moll]

He would have been 17 years old in March 1958.

[McMurdo]

I'm pretty certain it's him, I think I read he was selling kits and surplus components to his school friends

[Radio Wrangler]

He started as a technical author aiming at amateur publications... writing books for Babani. The well-advertised kits came later.

A boss I had told a tale that he was in Cambridge at some firm or another for an interview, and there was a lot of shouting and banging coming from the room above (a different firm) and the interviewers apologised 'That's Clive, he does a lot of that'

I have no idea of the veracity of this tale, but it's stuck with me.

David

[llama]

He's pictured on the front cover of a PW holding a tiny transistor portable with crystal earpiece plugged in. Early '60s I'd guess.
Graham

[Station X]

I first came across Clive Sinclair's name when reading this booklet which was published in 1960:-

https://worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSH...e-Sinclair.pdf

[snowman_al]

Yes, the very same Clive Sinclair.
There were several Bernard's books by him using MAT (Micro Alloy diffused Transistors) for example https://worldradiohistory.com/BOOKSH...e-Sinclair.pdf
Even valve ones on making a radiogram.

[snowman_al]

oooh and this one: https://worldradiohistory.com/UK/Ber...o-Handbook.pdf

Yes, it's him, I worked at Sinclair (Milton Hall, Cambridge) in the mid 80's and Clive would pop round have a look and ask questions etc. he knew (and probably still does) his electronics to the finest detail. A bit posh at first meeting but once talking electronics this all fell out of the window.

[Aub]

Thanks all. A fascinating man then. It always seemed to me that he was a good inventor but not a good businessman.

Cheers

Aub

[Richard_FM]

On a few of his products there were some clever ways of achieving things with limited resources. Some of his marketing spin built up some items too much, especially when there was barely a working prototype on the test bench.

[AC/HL]

I was once in the same room, but with no reason to communicate.

Originally Posted by Aub

It always seemed to me that he was a good inventor but not a good businessman.

I wouldn't mind being a few quid behind him though.

but not a good businessman.

Can't have been that bad, a few companies and a quite number of innovative products, I got paid too! He played his dreams in reality, now looking at the world all his (previous) dreams have come true.

Personal computer, ZX series, QL, Spectrum series
Clamshell Laptop (well that didn't quite get there*, I was involved in the prototype) the Pandora
PDA (nearly) the Z88
Electric vehicle, the first idea was a 50 mile range at 50MPH two person job, then the law changed allowing 250W motors unlicensed, guess what happened?
Mobile 'phone (another nearly, involved in the telepoint system)
Portable TV (now in the mobile 'phone) a few of those.

*Not my fault!

Some of his marketing spin built up some items too much

Can't argue with that, his passion often overlooked reality, I am glad it did, times where exciting then.

Sorry to rabbit on over a few posts but this has brought back so many happy memories.

[Hartley118]

Sinclair products have their own reputations, but the significance of Clive Sinclair's company in the UK's 'Silicon Fen' tech revolution is much greater than many might imagine.

Once Sinclair started to build audio hardware around 1965, he hired one Chris Curry as his marketing/ technical partner. Chris Curry subsequently in the 1970s got together with Hermann Hauser and Andy Hopper to found Acorn Computers. Cutting a very long story short, Acorn subsequently became ARM, whose technology is now in practically every smartphone worldwide.

On a personal note, my first job interview in Cambridge in 1975 was with Geoffrey King of Cambridge Recruitment Consultants, notorious for their rigorous psychological assessment regime. They were based in the old River Mill in St Ives which had been the Sinclair factory making, I understand, the original Sinclair calculators. In fact, I believe that cashflow from those burgeoning calculator sales had helped establish Geoffrey King's business.

Martin

[yesnaby]

I guess most people have seen 'Micro Men'?

[emeritus]

One of my school friends built one of those miniature FM radio kits circa 1960. No On/Off switch, you had to bend the switched contact of the skeleton earpiece jack so that it made when the earpiece plug was inserted, thereby turning the radio on. AFAIR it worked well, but we did live in a strong FM signal area. It seemed miraculous compared with the valve radios I was used to.