I guess we all know that the Sinclair name now means more than just computers. Originally it stood for electronic kits, digital watches & pocket calculators. Now you can add televisions to that list; specifically the Sinclair Flat Screen T.V.
Long spoken about, the FSTV is now a reality here in the U.S. Mine was brought from Curry Computer and arrived just in time to be a holiday gift for my wife. The cost is $99.95 and includes an earphone, lithium battery and soft case to protect the TV and keep the image window from being scratched.
The FSTV measures 5 1/2″x 3 1/2″x 1 1/4″ and weighs just 9 1/2 ounces. On a recently completed trip to Florida the FSTV came along in my inner coat pocket. When not in use the antenna folds flat against the body of the FSTV.
The picture is produced on a recessed 2″ screen. This is important since a major drawback of earlier portable TV’s was the difficulty the user had to see the picture in bright light due to glare. By recessing the screen Sinclair has effectively placed it into shadow and eliminated the glare. In addition, the Sinclair-designed screen is three times brighter than a conventional TV. People who have asked to see my FSTV after having expirience other portables, have all had similiar remarks: “I can see the picture!” To maintain picture quality, the picture is automatically checked fifty times a second for brightness or contrast. Therefore, there are no brightness or contrast controls on the FSTV.
As a matter of fact, there are very few controls on the FSTV. The first switch you need to know about selects one of the three bands on the TV. The first VHF band covers channels 2 thru 6; the second position is for VHF channels 7 thru 13; and the final position is the entire UHF band. Moving to the right, you next encounter the ON/OFF-VOLume dial. The last dial is used to actually tune to the desired channel. You will notice a great deal of “space” between channels. This is due to the fact that the FSTV is designed to tune in TV broadcasts in any country in the world. This means that this TV can work equally well in the United States, with its NTSC standard, or in the United Kingdom with its PAL standard. This is the only TV of any kind on the market today which can accomplish this feat. Fine tuning is accomplished by using the TUNE dial to find the strongist signal position. You will also probably have to adjust the antenna as well for the best picture. The sensitivity of the FSTV tuner depends on the placement of the TV. You may find that if you are blocked from the broadcast source by a wall, building etc., you could possibly have trouble locking onto the signal. In this case you may have to go to another location, possibly higher.
The unit is powered by a flat lithium battery produced by Polaroid. These can be obtained from Sinclair, or any FSTV dealer, for $9.95 per three pack. Each battery lasts for approximately 15 hours. That is quite a bit longer than the batteries in a convential portable TV. There are Polaroid batteries which can be brought over the counter in many locations, but they will produce a reduced play time – in the vicinity of two hours. Your best bet would be to keep a supply of the Sinclair supplied kind.
If you are the type who hates to miss a particular TV show, I can whole-heartedly reccomend the Sinclair Flat Screen TV to you. I know we love ours.
Thanks Mark for the columm. In a couple footnotes, Mark did his copy on Quill on his QL, used a Miracle Centronics IF from Curry Computer. Look for Mark’s columns in ZX Computing (England), and Computer Shopper (US). Next installment on SOUND in the March issue and QL review in April.