{"id":6755,"date":"2025-09-14T15:52:48","date_gmt":"2025-09-14T15:52:48","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/loadzx.com\/sinclairworld\/?page_id=6755"},"modified":"2025-11-02T01:14:54","modified_gmt":"2025-11-02T01:14:54","slug":"cabridge-satellite-dish","status":"publish","type":"page","link":"https:\/\/loadzx.com\/sinclairworld\/cabridge-satellite-dish\/","title":{"rendered":"Cambridge Satellite Dish"},"content":{"rendered":"\t\t
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Cambridge Satellite Dish<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t
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C.1989, Cambridge Computer<\/span><\/p>

This flat, square satellite dish was the second major product of Cambridge Computer, a spin-off from Clive Sinclair\u2019s earlier Sinclair Research. Unlike conventional bowl-shaped dishes, it was enclosed in a shallow plastic case that prevented snow or birds from blocking reception, and was promoted as a \u201ctechnological breakthrough\u201d after three years of research. The unusual form drew notice, anticipating the \u201cSquarial\u201d dish launched the following year by British Satellite Broadcasting. According to the Sinclair family, both were designed by industrial designer Iain Sinclair, Clive Sinclair\u2019s brother, and though technically different they reflected a late 1980s push to make satellite equipment more discreet and consumer-friendly.\u00a0<\/p>

Production was reported to take place at SCI in Scotland, which also manufactured Sinclair\u2019s Z88 portable computer. It was offered in two sizes\u201460 cm for general use and a more compact 45 cm version for southern parts of the UK\u2014depending on the satellite signal\u2019s coverage. They formed the basis of a range of three receiver systems, two of which were referred to as the \u201cSystem 60 Gold\u201d and \u201cSystem 60 II\u201d, marketed as cheaper than Amstrad\u2019s rival products and offered with options such as remote control and stereo sound.\u00a0<\/p>

The dish was developed for Rupert Murdoch\u2019s new Sky Television service, launched in 1989, which broadcast from Astra 1A, a satellite that had been placed in orbit just the previous year. Installed on the outside of the home and linked to a decoder box, it connected to an ordinary television and reportedly gave access to 16 channels at launch, with the promise of up to 48 in future. Although quickly eclipsed by Amstrad and a growing number of competing systems, the Cambridge dish reflects the technological optimism of the \u2018satellite wars,\u2019 when affordable equipment promised to bring multi-channel satellite television within reach of ordinary households for the first time.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Clive Sinclair at the Cable & Satellite conference, Olympia, with a Cambridge Satellite Dish, 1989. \u00a0<\/span>Photograph:<\/strong>\u00a0The Daily Telegraph, 16 March 1989.<\/span><\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Press advertisement for Cambridge Satellite Dish, Highland News<\/em>, 10 March 1990. \u00a0Image:<\/strong> Highland News<\/em> \/ British Library.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t<\/section>\n\t\t\t\t

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Satellite Receiver\nCambridge Extra RX480 S<\/h1>\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t
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C.1989-90, Cambridge Computer<\/span><\/p>

Part of Cambridge\u2019s satellite system, this receiver was designed to operate with the distinctive flat Cambridge dish, sometimes referred to as the \u201cSquish\u201d. Created to bring multi-channel satellite television within reach of ordinary households, both components were designed by industrial designer Iain Sinclair. This example, marked \u201cMADE IN THE EEC\u201d and fitted with a European plug, reflects plans for wider European distribution; the EEC, or European Economic Community, was the forerunner of today\u2019s European Union and lasted until 1993. The receiver featured a large LED display, preset to receive all available Astra channels and capable of tuning all 48 planned channels from the Astra 1A\u2013C satellites. It offered audio-mode selection, Scart and aerial outputs for external decoders and televisions, and was sold with remote control. Marketed alongside variants simply known as the Cambridge Satellite Receiver or the Cambridge Extra RD480 X, its compact form and competitive pricing made it a distinctive example of early 1990s consumer satellite technology.<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Satellite Receiver
Cambridge Extra RX480 S<\/p>\t\t\t\t\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t<\/div>\n\t\t\t\t

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Cambridge Satellite Dish C.1989, Cambridge Computer This flat, square satellite dish was the second major product of Cambridge Computer, a spin-off from Clive Sinclair\u2019s earlier Sinclair Research. Unlike conventional bowl-shaped dishes, it was enclosed in a shallow plastic case that prevented snow or birds from blocking reception, and was promoted as a \u201ctechnological breakthrough\u201d after […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"parent":0,"menu_order":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"elementor_header_footer","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"no-sidebar","site-content-layout":"page-builder","ast-site-content-layout":"","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"disabled","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"disabled","footer-sml-layout":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"default","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-4)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"wf_page_folders":[28],"class_list":["post-6755","page","type-page","status-publish","hentry"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/loadzx.com\/sinclairworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6755","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/loadzx.com\/sinclairworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/loadzx.com\/sinclairworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/page"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loadzx.com\/sinclairworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loadzx.com\/sinclairworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=6755"}],"version-history":[{"count":59,"href":"https:\/\/loadzx.com\/sinclairworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6755\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":7254,"href":"https:\/\/loadzx.com\/sinclairworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/pages\/6755\/revisions\/7254"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/loadzx.com\/sinclairworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=6755"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"wf_page_folders","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/loadzx.com\/sinclairworld\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/wf_page_folders?post=6755"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}