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Sir Clive Sinclair Dies — Parallax Forums

Sir Clive Sinclair Dies

Use older folks grew up with Clive's inventions. RIP Clive.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Clive_Sinclair

Comments

  • I bought his failed Black Watch kit also.

  • @Publison said:
    I bought his failed Black Watch kit also.

    ...gee Pub - what don't you have?!

  • PublisonPublison Posts: 12,366
    edited 2021-09-21 19:12

    @davejames said:

    @Publison said:
    I bought his failed Black Watch kit also.

    ...gee Pub - what don't you have?!

    LOL
    It's long gone. :(

  • Cluso99Cluso99 Posts: 18,066

    @Publison said:
    I bought his failed Black Watch kit also.

    Yes. I was impressed with mine even tho you had to be careful as it twisted and failed.

  • WhitWhit Posts: 4,191

    Timex/Sinclair Computer from a local drugstore!

  • ColeyColey Posts: 1,108
    edited 2021-09-22 21:17

    In 1980 I was in high school and at lucntimes used to frequent the electronics club.

    We did a sponsored bike ride to raise money for the kit version of the ZX80 and then assembled the it, each taking turns soldering different compenents.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/ZX80

    Electrronics club became Computer club shortly after :)

    RIP Sir Clive, you inspired a generation of engineers and software developers.

  • @Whit said:
    Timex/Sinclair Computer from a local drugstore!

    i used to have one of those too.
    neat little computer for its day
    I did a lot of work with it too.

  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244

    @davejames said:

    @Publison said:
    I bought his failed Black Watch kit also.

    ...gee Pub - what don't you have?!

    It's complicated... !!!

  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244

    I still have my Timex Sinclair and a few Commodore 64s in the attic. Good times! When I built my very first robot for the inaugural Trinity Firefighting Robot contest, I planned to use a Timex Sinclair. That was until I saw an ad in Nuts & Volts IIRC for the BASIC Stamp. And the rest is history! https://web.archive.org/web/20210707215939/https://www.courant.com/news/connecticut/hc-xpm-1994-04-18-9404180144-story.html

  • so that is how you got addicted to Parallax?

    Just joking,

    Mike

  • Hi

    Apparently-

    "The goal of the event, which the center hopes to sponsor annually, is designed to encourage the creation of a real robot that one day will be able to extinguish fires"....

    but seems to have had the opposite effect (in erco's case) of designing robots to set fire to things!!!

    Dave

  • ercoerco Posts: 20,244

    As Letterman said, "get into the forbidden to explore the boundaries"...

  • Wow, all y'all that got to play with a Sinclair way back when. Small, low cost, easy to build and move... Had to build my IMSAI "Johnny Cash" style, one board at a time. 'Course I should not feel too deprived as one of you guys had to have a garage sized space for your own "home" computer. Funny how someone can make such a difference with just the right turn down just the right path at just the right time. We forget how many wrong turns get made in the journey. Three left turns do make a right. His was an interesting read. Right up there with Kildall, Bushnel, and a bunch of others from that era.

    Just one question... Was there ever a version (text based of course) of Adventure? Something about a cave...

  • @"frank freedman" said:
    Wow, all y'all that got to play with a Sinclair way back when. Small, low cost, easy to build and move... Had to build my IMSAI "Johnny Cash" style, one board at a time. 'Course I should not feel too deprived as one of you guys had to have a garage sized space for your own "home" computer. Funny how someone can make such a difference with just the right turn down just the right path at just the right time. We forget how many wrong turns get made in the journey. Three left turns do make a right. His was an interesting read. Right up there with Kildall, Bushnel, and a bunch of others from that era.

    Just one question... Was there ever a version (text based of course) of Adventure? Something about a cave...

    Hello!
    Yes to your question there is. It is found on the majority of Linux systems. I have it on the Slackware 11 system I am running now for example. I first played it on an Apple running Gary's CP/M OS.

    Now why are there a crowd of hungry bobcats descending on the offices of Parallax?

  • I remember one Christmas taking my nylon shirt off and grounding everything before soldering in the chips of the scientific calculator kit. I still have that, but sadly no lights anymore. Later I wire wrapped together a Spectrum clone - I worked for Ferranti who made the 40 pin 'glue' chip for that computer. I wonder if that still works?

  • Hi

    I worked for Ferranti who made the 40 pin 'glue' chip for that computer.

    didn't Ferranti make a chip for the BBC Micro? Seem to recall they squeezed a board load of logic onto a gate array for the video.

    Dave

  • evanhevanh Posts: 15,126
    edited 2021-09-25 01:01

    Yes, Uncommitted Logic Array was the name. They required a factory mask change but design changes were a lot cheaper and quicker than custom layout. The tech later morphed into the FPGA.

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