Sinclair Research
Sinclair Research Ltd.. is the name of a company founded by Sir Clive Sinclair British company. Sinclair Research Ltd.. was founded in 1962 as Sinclair Radionics to radios and calculators to sell.
History
The first years were marked by the development and sale of miniaturized radio and television sets. The first pocket TV Sinclair Microvision went back to a development of Radionics, but was never produced in large numbers.
During the 1970s, Sinclair moved its manufacturing and development on low-cost calculator. 1972 Sinclair presented the first slim pocket calculator in the world, the Sinclair Executive.
After some success with the calculators and digital watches, and combinations of both, each with LED display Sinclair named his company Science of Cambridge Ltd., for his first real computer, the MK bring out in June 1978 14.
The success of the company Sinclair in the field of home computers started in 1979 with the development of Sinclair Sinclair ZX80 and the ZX81 Sinclair presented a year later.
The computers were part only of only four integrated modules. Hobbyists the first computer from parts kits were even able to self-assemble. The simple construction -related cost production and thus also a good store price, Sinclair reached the initially empty market a good spread. Quality problems and technical defects were among the downsides of the company and added a further technical peculiarities such as a multiplefunction foil or rubber keyboard and the known wear-prone ZX Microdrive cartridges.
The models of the Spectrum were reproduced in various more or less compatible molds worldwide. Especially the Timex models from the United States and the "unofficial replica models " from the USSR, East Germany and South America are known. Smaller productions were found in Asia and Portugal.
From a future computer with the project name LOKI was nothing. The project was stopped after the computer division was sold in 1986 by Sinclair Amstrad. LOKI should be a direct competitor to the Commodore Amiga. The last truly new model was the 1984 -released Sinclair QL, who was already with the modern CPU from Motorola ( 68008 ) equipped.
How Sir Clive later emphasized on one occasion, was the success of the early computer and the necessary (though not reached ) compatibility a major obstacle to development.
Sinclair Research Ltd.. still exists and develops and markets primarily locomotion devices.
Computer models
- Sinclair ZX80 (1980 ), membrane keyboard, light housing, also available as a kit
- Sinclair ZX81 (1981 ), with black housing and keypad, see also Sinclair Computer Logic
- Sinclair ZX Spectrum (1982 ), first with 16 kB, 48 kB RAM later, rubber keyboard.
- Sinclair ZX Spectrum ( 1984), still 48 kB RAM, keyboard with hard caps from the factory, which was maintained for the following machines. A reset switch has been added
- Sinclair QL (1984, QL stands for QuantumLeap, Quantum Leap ), keyboard, two integrated Microdrive drives
- Sinclair Spectrum 128 (1985), same keyboard as the Spectrum , AY- 3-8910 sound chip, optional numeric keypad, cooling radiator right of the housing, 128 KB memory, RS232/MIDI-Anschluss
- The successor models of the Spectrum 2 series, each with a real keyboard ( with caps ), built-in cassette drive, after the takeover by Amstrad: Sinclair Spectrum 2 (all models 1987, as the only primitive types with light gray housing), model 2 a / b), the A / B variants from other manufacturing locations, with other board and other names )
- Sinclair Spectrum 3 ( 1988) with built-in 3 " floppy disk drive, which was also used in Amstrads own computers such as 664 or 6128.
Further, subsequent computer
Based on the technique of Sinclair QL a kind of telephone terminal for offices has yet been developed, produced and in the UK and Canada as ICL One Per Desk or BT Merlin Tonto marketed. Specially designed as a terminal, with built-in receiver and special software, the unit was to the earlier Sinclair computers in turn incompatible. Again, two Microdrives had been re-installed.
Later on there was from the company Sinclair one more try a simple IBM - compatibles. The PC200 was a small computer in the keyboard housing outward so that an Atari ST or Amiga not dissimilar. Expansion cards could be inserted and operated only when it's open. The computer was also marketed by Amstrad, but was not very successful according to some sources.
Sir Sinclair self-produced under the name Cambridge computer later, the early Notepad Z88, on the Amstrad NC100 models followed ff and other replica models from other manufacturers.
Friends of Retro Computing can run games and programs for ZX81, ZX Spectrum, and QL with emulators.
Sinclair Microdrives
The ZX Microdrive storage were miniaturized tape drives with plug-in modules, which offered about 80-100 kB capacity. They faced the then in the home still available datasettes represents a significant advantage because they like quickly and easily transferred the data, such as a floppy disk drive, disk drives, however, were significantly cheaper. The plug-in modules, however, were susceptible to wear and expensive. The triumph of floppy drives repressed but soon the Microdrive.
Computer accessories and more Sinclair inventions
In addition to the computers, there were other interesting projects and (often unsuccessful ) products for the hobbyist Sinclair. This is a small incomplete list:
- A small printer for ZX81 and the Spectrum series. Two circumferential contact springs eroded away an aluminum coating on special silver paper. That was easy and cheap, but not very stable. The printed paper often had to be photocopied as, for example, fingerprints einfärbten quickly.
- An early memory computer memory ( the Z88 )
- Pocket TVs in different versions
- An early pocket radio
- Black Watch, an early digital watch
- An ear plug radio, multiple executions
- Two calculators with RPN entry, including a programmable
- A first wristwatch calculator
- Sinclair C5, a futuristic electric tricycle wedge with plastic lining
- Another kind of small underwater torpedo divers together with an Asian company
- Electric bicycle assist motors
- Electric folding wheelchair auxiliary engines
- Folding bicycles (A -bike ) or electric folding bicycles
- Sinclair X -1, a fully enclosed pedelec (announced November 2010 for July 2011, but not yet published )