website/content/museum/rockwell-aim-65.md

title, categories, types, origins, years, cpus, params

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
Rockwell AIM 65	Computers	Home Computer	U.S.A.	1976	Rockwell 6502	name image company company_name specs tabs forum_thread photos adverts hardware emulators links docs oc_id source AIM 65 /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_r-side_s.jpg /companies/rockwell Rockwell label value NAME AIM 65 label value MANUFACTURER Rockwell label value TYPE Home Computer label value ORIGIN U.S.A. label value YEAR 1976 label value END OF PRODUCTION Unknown label value BUILT IN LANGUAGE Optional Basic ROM label value KEYBOARD Full-stroke keyboard label value CPU Rockwell 6502 label value SPEED 1 MHz label value RAM 4 KB (up to 32 KB of static RAM) label value ROM 12 KB label value TEXT MODES 1 line of 20 chracters (LED screen) label value SOUND None label value SIZE / WEIGHT Unknown label value I/O PORTS Application bus, expansion bus, ROM connector label value POWER SUPPLY Needs four power supply voltages: +5v, +12v, -12v, and +24v for the printer label value PRICE $375 photos adverts hardware emulators links docs 74 title subtitle text image AIM 65 /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_r-side.jpg title subtitle text image SYSTEM OPENED /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_2.jpg title subtitle text image TOP /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_1.jpg title subtitle text image LED SCREEN CLOSE-UP /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_screen_1.jpg title subtitle text image DISPLAY CLOSE-UP /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_display_zoom.jpg title subtitle text image PRINTER CLOSE-UP /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_printer_zoom.jpg title subtitle text image COMPLETE SYSTEM... /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_complete.jpg title subtitle text image MOTHERBOARD EXPLAINED The AIM-65 was intended to be used for external device control and management. Its two extension connectors give access to all the control signals of the board. Used for this purpose, a one line display and a small printer are sufficient. **(1)** This connector allows the AIM-65 to be connected to an external device and to manage it.\ **(2)** VIA-6522 chipset in charge of two I/O ports control.\ **(3)** Expansion connector. It can receive an expansion unit or a memory board.\ **(4)** 8 chips holding 4 Kb RAM of which 3 are available for user programs.\ **(5)** Microprocessor 6502 from MOS technology.\ **(6)** Sockets for additional ROM chips (for programming languages or specific software).\ **(7)** 2 ROM chips holding the AIM-65 monitor.\ **(8)** 20 characters LED display. An external monitor can be used with an optional interface.\ **(9)** Switch to turn the computer in step-by-step mode, where each microprocessor instruction is performed step by step.\ **(10)** Mechanical ASCII Keyboard.\ **(11)** 6532 chipset in charge of the keyboard management.\ **(12)** System init button (Reset).\ **(13)** 20 char./line thermal printer.\ **(14)** Power plug. An external power supply is needed. /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_inside_1.jpg title subtitle text image ADVERT (1980) /media/museum/pubs/rockwell_aim65_pub_1.jpg title subtitle text image FRENCH AD (JAN. 1980) "Computing is very simple with the AIM65 from Rockwell" /media/museum/pubs/rockwell_aim65_pub_system-contact.jpg title subtitle text image ADVERT FOR THE MEMORY-MATE dated september 1979. The Memory-Mate adds 16k or 48k (depending models), 4 programmable I/O ports, a tone generator, and sockets for 4K and PROM. /media/museum/pubs/aim65_memory-mate_pub-1979.jpg title subtitle text image SINGLE BOARD BUBBLE MEMORY SYSTEM RMS 121 This adds memory and more features ?? /media/museum/hardware/rockwell_aim65_bubble-memory-board_1.jpg title subtitle text image PLASTIC HOUSING Several plastic housings were sold for the "naked" Aim-65. This is one of them. /media/museum/hardware/rockwell_aim65_plastic-housing.jpg title subtitle text image #A65-009 This board was designed to take Rockwell's SYSTEM 65, or Motorola Exorcisor bus boards. It has 5 expansion slots. /media/museum/hardware/rockwell_aim65_expansion-motherboard-a65-009.jpg title subtitle text image WITH DISK-DRIVE CONTROLLER CAR MOUNTED /media/museum/hardware/rockwell_aim65_dd_board.jpg title subtitle text image UNIT /media/museum/hardware/rockwell_aim65_dd_1.jpg title subtitle text image DISK INSERTED /media/museum/hardware/rockwell_aim65_dd-disk_1.jpg title subtitle text image COMPLETE SETUP Disk drive is connected to its controller card, itself mounted on the expansion board. /media/museum/hardware/rockwell_aim65_dd-disk_complete.jpg title url platform text MESS http://www.mess.org Multiplatform MESS somehow emulates the AIM 65 title url text DOCUMENTATION http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/my_docs.htm#RWS Complete AIM 65 documentation to download ! title url text Old-computers.net AIM65 page http://oldcomputers.net/AIM-65.html Very detailed and informative AIM-65 page title url cover text INTERACTIVE NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 2 null /media/museum/docs/couvs/rockwell_aim65_interactive-newsletter_issue2.jpg **INTERACTIVE NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 2**\ written by Rockwell International  compiled/archived by David Wilson\  type of document : PDF\  size : 1 MB\  source : www.old-computers.com title url cover text INTERACTIVE NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 5 null /media/museum/docs/couvs/rockwell_aim65_interactive-newsletter_issue5.jpg **INTERACTIVE NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 5**\ written by Rockwell International  compiled/archived by David Wilson\  type of document : Unknown\  size : 1 MB\  source : www.old-computers.com 58 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230224114117/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=58 2023-02-24

This strange computer was designed to be a development system for 6502 based computers. It had no display except for a small 20 character LED screen and a very small thermal printer located directly on the motherboard which could print everything that was typed on the keyboard.

The board featured five 4 KB-ROM sockets. Two of them were dedicated to the AIM monitor program, including an instant input assembler (no labels) and a disassembler. Various programming languages (BASIC, FORTH...) or custom applications could be added in the three remaining sockets.

Several cards were developped for this machine, especially language cards and ROMs: a BASIC card (BASIC language with floating point mathematics capabilities), PL/65 (a mixture of the PL/1 and Algol languages), Instant Pascal (an interpreted version of Pascal), Assembler and the FORTH programming language.

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Jacob Hertz remembers:
It had 3 function keys, which could be programmed with a jump instruction (assembler).
A CRT-Card was also developed for this computer.
I was the happy owner of one of those machines. We were a usergroup in Denmark in the late 70' and early 80'.
It came with full documentation including as far as I remember 4 books: A complete diagram, a complete hardware manual, a full commented bios listing, users guide and another book. It was one of the first complete microcomputers around.

Mark Reardon reports:
I was on the support team for this system from June 1979 until Jan. 2004. When you mention 'Sound' it made me remember that this system supported the use of two audio cassette recorders for mass storage. It could perform motor control on both. It would read source files from one and write the output to the other.

My boss told me that they expected to sell between 400 and 600 of these systems but the number exceeded 50,000. The original target market was embedded designers. Some of these designers actually embedded the AIM into their design. We sold a version without the keyboard, printer, and display, and with only 1k or RAM for $175.

The fifth manual Mr. Hertz remembers was the programming guide. When I was hired I was given a complete set of manuals, an AIM 65, and a phone. I tried to answer all of the customer's questions from the manuals before I consulted with the engineering staff. It was a great learning experience.