--- title: APF Imagination Machine categories: - Computers types: - Home Computer origins: - U.S.A. years: - '1979' cpus: - Motorola 6800 params: name: Imagination Machine image: /media/museum/photos/apf_imagination_system_1.jpg company: /companies/apf company_name: APF specs: - label: NAME value: Imagination Machine - label: MANUFACTURER value: APF - label: TYPE value: Home Computer - label: ORIGIN value: U.S.A. - label: YEAR value: '1979' - label: END OF PRODUCTION value: '1981' - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: APF Basic on cartridge - label: KEYBOARD value: Full-stroke keyboard - 53 keys - label: CPU value: Motorola 6800 - label: SPEED value: 3.579 Mhz - label: CO-PROCESSOR value: Motorola MC-6847P video display generator - label: RAM value: 9 KB expandable to 17 KB - label: ROM value: 14 KB - label: TEXT MODES value: 16 lines x 32 char. (8 colours) - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: 128 x 192 (8 colours) - 256 x 192 (4 colours) - label: COLORS value: '8' - label: SOUND value: Built-in music synthetiser & speaker, one channel, 5 octaves - label: SIZE / WEIGHT value: unknown - label: I/O PORTS value: TV aerial output, Microphone jack, expansion port - label: BUILT IN MEDIA value: 1500 baud, stereo cassette deck - label: POWER SUPPLY value: 13.8V AC / 1.25 Amp - label: PERIPHERALS value: 5.25'' disk drive unit, expansion box, RS-232 & 8 KB RAM cartridges - label: PRICE value: $599 tabs: - photos - adverts - hardware - software - emulators - links - videos photos: - title: IMAGINATION MACHINE subtitle: '' text: Thanks to Larry Greenfield and his [APF Imagination Machine page](http://www.tcp.com/%7Elgreenf/apfpage.htm) for this picture image: /media/museum/photos/apf_imagination-machine_explanation.jpg - title: COMPLETE SYSTEM subtitle: '' text: Complete system with "Building Block" expansion and floppy disk unit. image: /media/museum/photos/apf_imagination_completesys_s1.jpg adverts: - title: 'PROMOTIONAL PICT. #1' subtitle: '' text: Thanks to Larry Greenfield and his [APF Imagination Machine page](http://www.tcp.com/%7Elgreenf/apfpage.htm) for this picture image: /media/museum/pubs/apf_imagination-machine_prm-picture.jpg - title: 'PROMOTIONAL PICT. #2' subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/pubs/apf_imagination_prmpict_1.jpg - title: NEW ZELAND AD (1983) subtitle: '' text: Thanks to **Murray Moffatt** from New Zeland image: /media/museum/pubs/apf_imagination_pub_s1.jpg - title: US ADVERT (SEPT. 1979) subtitle: '' text: '' image: /media/museum/pubs/apf-imagination-machine_us-pub-all-that-computer_1.jpg hardware: - title: FLOPPY DISK DRIVE UNIT subtitle: '' text: This 5.25" unit could store up to 72 KB per disk. It costed $350 but needed to add $200 for a separate FD controller cartridge. image: /media/museum/hardware/apf_imagination_fddrive_s1.jpg emulators: - title: APF Imagination Machine Emulator url: http://www.tcp.com/lgreenf/apfpage.htm platform: Windows text: emulator by Enrique Collado - title: Virtual APF url: http://www.geocities.com/emucompboy/ platform: Windows text: APF Imagination Machine emulator from emucompboy - title: MESS url: http://www.mess.org/ platform: Multiplatform text: MESS now emulates the APF Imagination Machine for many platforms links: - title: APF Consoles and Computers discussion group, on Yahoo Groups url: http://tech.groups.yahoo.com/group/apf_consoles_and_computers/ text: '' - title: Home computer & videogame museum url: http://hcvgm.org/index.html text: lot of info and files to download - title: Imagination Machine page url: http://www.nausicaa.net/~lgreenf/apfpage.htm text: Lot of additional info here! - title: The APF-M1000, APF-MP1000 & Imagination Machine F.A.Q. url: http://www.digitpress.com/faq/apf.txt text: FAQ by Sylvain De Chantal. All you need to know about this system is here! - title: Wikipedia - APF Imagination Machine entry url: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/APF_Imagination_Machine text: '' videos: - title: APF Imagination Machine Demo url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ekzppKYQzcQ text: 'Length: 2 min 34 s' comments: - author: APF user date: Thursday 20th April 2017 text: |- I went through five of these that were defective in various ways before I gave up and got my money back. The version of Basic was abysmally slow, and it did not have things like trig functions. The specs looked great and it looked like the complete package, but it just didn''t deliver on its promises. - author: Lance (United States fl) date: Sunday 6th March 2016 text: cantstump22@gmail.com is my contact Email - author: Lance (United States fl) date: Sunday 6th March 2016 text: I found one and I''m holding it right now. One Imagination machine and two of the detachable consoles. I''m not sure who I should talk to or what I should even do in order to sell it. Please contact at CantStump22@gmail.com if you have any suggestions or offers - author: John (again) (Maine) date: Tuesday 13rd March 2007 text: I learned BASIC on the IM-1 in the 7th grade. Great memories. I used to program up in the spare bedroom with a b/w TV that my folks could spare. When I'd finished a significant bit of programming, I would lug the big thing downstair to view on the big family TV to check the colors I'd programmed! - author: John (Maine, USA) date: Monday 30th May 2005 text: The Imagination Machine was my first real computer. I had a C64 after but wow I still remember opening the box and the huge machine coming out of it. I really learned to program on that machine. related: - /museum/apf-m1000-mp1000 software: - /software/backgammon - /software/baseball-674 - /software/bowling-micro-match - /software/boxing - /software/casino-i-roulette-keno-slots - /software/catena - /software/hangman-tic-tac-toe-doodle - /software/pinball-dungeon-hunt-blockout - /software/rocket-patrol - /software/space-destroyers - /software/ufo-sea-monsters-break-it-down-rebuild-shoot oc_id: 584 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230610143242/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=584 date: '2023-06-10' --- This strange hybrid computer came in two parts: a videogame console and a computer. The game system, called the APF MP-1000, was released in 1978. It had two controlers, each with a joystick and a numeric keypad. It came with a built-in game called "Rocket Patrol". The computer console, the "Imagination Machine" was sold as an add-on for the MP-1000. You could also buy both at the same time (most people did). The computer has a 53-key standard typewriter keyboard, a built-in stereo cassette deck (1500 baud), a built-in sound-speaker and an internal operating system and BASIC language interpreter. The APF BASIC, delivered on cartridge, was quite poor. You had to use a lot of POKEs and CALLs to play with graphics. For example, to clear the screen, the command was CALL 17046. The video game system nestled on top of the keyboard module. This computer add-on concept would later be used by several game system manufacturers like Coleco with their [Colecovision](/museum/colecovision/) game system connected to the [Adam Computer](/museum/coleco-adam/), or [Intellivision](/museum/mattel-electronics-intellivision/) and their ECS module (and keyboard component).
We need more info about this computer ! If you designed, used, or have more info about this system, please send us pictures or anything you might find useful.