Just Sharing This Amstrad memoirs

aceb

aceb

Specialist Contributor
My Satellite Setup
TBS 6925
1.8m Precision + PLL Bullseye, motorised but probably siezed now.
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Sussex
A rarer than rare visit from me but this seemed like a good place to post and a quick search doesn't suggest it's been posted before.

A few days ago someone sent me a link to the Amstrad website, there's lots of archived products shown including satellite equipment and some of them have excerpts from Alan Sugars Autobiography attached.

Some really interesting insights to his style of business and how he bought sat tv to the masses.


Paul
 
They could at least get the names right! SRD310/320 -> 510/520.

There were other models not shown as well, like SRD650 and non-IRD versions of 510/520 - these were SRX310/320! Though they were all for the European market.

My ancient Sky HD box still has the Amstrad sticker on the back. Not sure who makes Sky Q ones these days.
 
Maybe contact them and let them know and let's be honest, the website has probably been written by someone who wasn't born when these were on the market :lol:

My first exploits into sat DXing were via either Salora or Amstrad receivers. I was working for UKRS, the rental/sales side of Granada TV installing BSB often in place of Sky kit. It was impossible to stock-take Amstrad dishes because there was no unique serial numbers on them so they would regularly go MIA.

I had one 60CM solid dish on loose bolts outside the window of our flat so I could armstrong it L-R and up/down. I remember the first time I caught the NTSC feeds (on 27W?) using my Thomson multistandard TV and seeing it switch down to 525 lines, very exciting back in the day!

The only trouble with the Amstrad boxes for DXing was the AFC always trying to pull them the wrong way when it found something off frequency and ending up with a screen of sparklies. It was sometimes possible to sort that by twiddling the pot. on the PCB.

/old fart reminiscing
 
Hah - I remember the Amstrad AFC. A pain in the neck. I could adjust it manually but switching back to the channel made it drift again. Silly thing...

The olden days were far more exciting.
 
My foray in satellite predates Amstrad by a few years, I did have a top loader cassette tape deck (7000) from them in the late 70's.
 
I bought an Amstrad car radio/cassette player from the man himself when he was hawking his wares around the Greater London area in the early 70's.

He had the radios displayed in some barn somewhere in Essex. I'm not sure where I found out where and when to go, but it was deserted of any customers when I arrived.

Anyway, bought one ( I think the 9000, the pre-digital frequency display version) and installed it in my Alfasud. It was actually very good, kept on station and powered my rear speakers adequately enough.

The Alfasud became a rust bucket too quickly before I had a chance to appreciate the long term quality of the Amstrad (if that's possible).
 
Llew said:
I bought an Amstrad car radio/cassette player from the man himself when he was hawking his wares around the Greater London area in the early 70's.

He had the radios displayed in some barn somewhere in Essex. I'm not sure where I found out where and when to go, but it was deserted of any customers when I arrived.

Anyway, bought one ( I think the 9000, the pre-digital frequency display version) and installed it in my Alfasud. It was actually very good, kept on station and powered my rear speakers adequately enough.

The Alfasud became a rust bucket too quickly before I had a chance to appreciate the long term quality of the Amstrad (if that's possible).
Click to expand...
My cassette deck was a stolen /recovered (by myself from a railway embankment).
It had been rained on and the veneer effect was 'appealing', I only noticed it under the leaves because of the silver top.
The dials were something to behold for a twelve year old once it was all dried out and functional and I think I had it running for some five years before going to college, with just a change of one drive belt.

The completed listings on the bay of fleas, marked 'Made in Japan' (Orion ?), so a keeper.

Amstrad 7000 Cassette for sale | eBay

Find great deals on eBay for Amstrad 7000 Cassette. Shop with confidence.
www.ebay.co.uk
 
aceb said:
My first exploits into sat DXing were via either Salora or Amstrad receivers. I was working for UKRS, the rental/sales side of Granada TV installing BSB often in place of Sky kit. It was impossible to stock-take Amstrad dishes because there was no unique serial numbers on them so they would regularly go MIA.
Click to expand...
Possibly because they were such cheap crap that no-one really cared what happened to them!

Fun times.

I remember the odd push button receiver with the matching decrypter unit with card. Even in the olden days it looked like one of those cheap plastic childrens toys where they push the button and f all happens. :-rofl2
 
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