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Sinclair Vectrex

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I don't know how common knowledge this is, but I've just watched a talk
from ten years ago by Jay Smith, the guy behind the Vectrex console.
Right at the end, about 48 minutes in, he mentions that around 1988,
they considered making a handheld... and it was based on Sinclair's flat
CRT.

"We called Sinclair, and they had *just* shut down the plant. We said,
'Don't lock the doors, we gotta talk to Milton Bradley about this!'
We put together one real quickly, and piped a Vectrex game into the TV.
And it was *gorgeous*, this little handheld vector scan playing on the
screen! And... nah. They didn't do it.'

I'd often heard vague rumours of a handheld Vectrex, but had no idea
that yes, a prototype was built, and it was based on Sinclair tech.
(But, as Jay himself says, of *course* it was. The flat tube with its
electrostatic deflection was perfect for it.) How cool is that? And how
frustrating that it never happened? 

Extra weird coincidence points for Jay also being behind the M-B
Microvision, which shared its name with Sinclair's first "pocket TV".

The talk is here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TUxjrO66AYM
Fascinating, even aside from the Sinclair angle.

-- 
Duncan Snowden.

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Sinclair Vectrex Duncan Snowden <duncan_s@talktalk.net> - 2017-11-24 00:41 +0000
  Re: Sinclair Vectrex "Daniel Mandic" <daniel_mandic@hotmail.com> - 2017-11-24 14:01 +0000
    Re: Sinclair Vectrex losborne74@gmail.com - 2017-11-27 08:53 -0800
      Re: Sinclair Vectrex "Daniel Mandic" <daniel_mandic@hotmail.com> - 2017-11-27 21:03 +0000
        Re: Sinclair Vectrex Johnny B Good <johnny-b-good@invalid.ntlworld.com> - 2017-11-28 17:16 +0000
          Re: Sinclair Vectrex "Daniel Mandic" <daniel_mandic@hotmail.com> - 2017-11-28 19:07 +0000
  Re: Sinclair Vectrex deKay <andyk@lofi-gaming.org.uk> - 2017-11-24 16:22 +0000

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