Amongst his many early products, one which I had (and it worked really well, too) was a matchbox sized radio. I remember having a good laugh when some film director decided that its miniature size and futuristic styling made it an excellent communications device for secret agents. I can't remember the name of the film, but I think it was Patrick McGoohan that was speaking into the tuning dial of the device!
It was ingenious penny saving tricks that were a feature of many of his products and a prime example was the use of the earphone jack on this radio. On many radios the earphone jack also featured a metal contact that would break the circuit and silence the speaker when the earpiece was plugged in. This little radio did not have a loudspeaker, so it was a stroke of genius to bend the contact so it made rather than broke the circuit and use this as the on/off switch for the device.
This, together with some other component saving tricks, enabled the radio to be sold in kit form for the princely sum of thirty-nine shillings and six pence if memory serves (it often doesn't these days).
Thank you and RIP Sir Clive for this, the calculator, the 81, Speccy and QL, which provided years of pleasure.
Biting the hand that feeds IT
