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speeds according to the ambient temperature. The LED display brightness was rather weak, making it difficult to read in well-lit environments. The case switches were unreliable, as were the clips that were intended to hold the plastic case together. The kit version was found to be very difficult for hobbyists to assemble.
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A large number of watches were returned for repair or replacement. This completely overwhelmed
Sinclair's customer service department, which still had a backlog of watches awaiting repair two years later. The watch was a commercial disaster for the company, which made a loss of £355,000 for 1975-6 on
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The watch suffered from serious inherent design flaws. These included the batteries only having a 10-day life and being difficult to replace. This was despite advertisement claims that the batteries lasted a year. The quartz crystal was temperature-sensitive, causing the watch to run at different
66:
display, which illuminated only when the watchcase's surface was pressed; pressing one part of the case displayed hours and minutes, pressing another displayed minutes and seconds. The Black Watch was later available in grey and white, with these versions also having a date function.
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car clock in
November 1977; this was simply a watch circuit in a different case and intended to be attached to the dashboard of a car. The new case resolved some of the watch's faults and the product sold reasonably well.
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If that sounds technical, think of the outcome: a watch with no moving parts, a watch with nothing to go wrong, a watch which gives accuracy never achievable by the most precise mechanical engineering.
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a turnover of £5.6m (in 2023, when adjusted for inflation equivalent to a loss of £3,230,000 on a turnover of £50,910,000). But for a government subsidy, the company would have been bankrupted.
47:. It cost £24.95 ready-built, but was also available for £17.95, as a kit. These prices are equivalent to around £230 and £160 respectively in 2023, when adjusted for
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After the failure of the watch, Sinclair
Radionics had a stockpile of unsold and faulty watches. To make use of this, the company released the
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The Black Watch was supplied with a plastic band as standard, with a black stainless steel bracelet available as an extra at £2.00.
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The product was beset by technical problems, including short battery life, variable accuracy and a very sensitive
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which could be rendered useless by static shock. In spite of this, Sinclair's advertising still claimed:
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148:"Hands-On: Exploring Familiarity And Functionality With The Black Bay Pro"
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16:1975 electronic wristwatch by Sinclair Radionics
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205:"The Black Watch, Sinclair Radionics, 1975"
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127:. Vol. 144, no. 6. p. 125.
62:The Black Watch was equipped with a red
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227:"Microquartz, Sinclair Radionics, 1977"
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119:Sinclair Radionics (December 1975).
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146:Stacey, James (April 2, 2022).
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43:launched in September 1975 by
31:A user operating a Black Watch
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255:Products introduced in 1975
175:"Black Watch advertisement"
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121:"The Black Watch Kit"
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203:Owen, Chris (2002).
64:light emitting diode
265:Sinclair Radionics
72:integrated circuit
45:Sinclair Radionics
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229:. Planet Sinclair
177:. Planet Sinclair
125:Popular Mechanics
39:is an electronic
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23:A Black Watch
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260:Watch models
231:. Retrieved
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99:Microquartz
37:Black Watch
249:Categories
157:2023-06-22
106:References
41:wristwatch
133:0032-4558
85:Reception
49:inflation
233:28 April
211:28 April
181:28 April
152:Hodinkee
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58:Design
235:2015
213:2015
183:2015
129:ISSN
35:The
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