website/content/museum/act-apricot-f1.md

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

title	categories	types	origins	years	cpus	params
ACT Apricot F1	Computers	Professional Computer	United Kingdom	1984	Intel 8086	name company company_name specs tabs photos adverts hardware emulators links docs comments related oc_id source Apricot F1 /companies/act ACT label value NAME Apricot F1 label value MANUFACTURER ACT label value TYPE Professional Computer label value ORIGIN United Kingdom label value YEAR 1984 label value END OF PRODUCTION 1986 label value KEYBOARD Infrared membrane keyboard, 92 keys, 10 function keys label value CPU Intel 8086 label value SPEED 4,77 Mhz label value CO-PROCESSOR Z80 CTC counter timer, and a Z80 SIO (Serial I/O controller) label value RAM from 256 Kb to 758 Kb label value ROM 32 Kb, label value TEXT MODES 80 x 24 label value GRAPHIC MODES 640 x 200 and 640 x 256 with 4 colors, 320 x 256 with 16 colors label value COLORS 16 label value SOUND Beeper label value SIZE / WEIGHT 42 x 22 x 16 cm / 5,6 kg label value I/O PORTS RGB and Composite video outputs, RS232c, Centronics, Expansion bus, Internal connector for optional RF modulator label value BUILT IN MEDIA 3.5'' disk-drive, double sided, 720k\ RAM disk feature through BIOS label value OS MS DOS 2.11 (Concurrent DOS, CP/M 86 in option) label value POWER SUPPLY Internal PSU label value PERIPHERALS 10Mb hard-drive, external disk-drive, infrared trackball, RF modulator for TV output label value PRICE F1E : £795 (UK, November 1984)\ F1 : £995 (UK, November 1984) photos adverts hardware emulators links docs title subtitle text image MONOCHROME VERSION #1 null title subtitle text image MONOCHROME VERSION #2 null title subtitle text image F1 ACCESSORIES Here is an external disk-drive and the infrared trackball. null title subtitle text image MAIN UNIT The shape of the system is quite original, narrow and very deep with a tilted surface at the back. null title subtitle text image KEYBOARD CLOSE-UP Like many compatible computer manufacturers of the time, ACT offered an innovative keyboard design quite different from that of IBM. null title subtitle text image KEYBOARD #2 Four keyboard switches can be used for:\ - System reset\ - Repeat rate adjustment\ - Time setting\ - Keyboard lock null title subtitle text image BACK **(1)** Serial RS-232C DB25 connector\ **(2)** Video RGB output DB9 connector\ **(3)** Composite video output RCA jack\ **(4)** Monitor power supply plug\ **(5)** Parallel printer connector\ **(6)** Mains plug and switch null title subtitle text image INSIDE F1 The Apricot F1 is right in the tradition of other ACT models : sober, robust and well-conceived. But as soon as it came out, it was reproached for being a bit slow compared to 6 or 8 Mhz systems. The F1 is however an appealing machine which was of help to many small and medium companies which chose it as their first business computer. Note the case of the infra-red receiver, close to the FDD unit, which receives data from the cordless keyboard and mouse. null title subtitle text image INSIDE RECEIVER MODULE The infra-red receiver uses an optical lens allowing it to receive data from various angles. This module can also recognise one keyboard from many others permitting several F1s to be used in the same room. null title subtitle text image F1 MOTHERBOARD **(1)** Expansion connector. Can receive a memory expansion. Unfortunately, there is only one. Another identical expansion connector faces outward, intended for interface boards dedicated to external peripherals control.\ **(2)** Floppy disc drive connector\ **(3)** FDD power connectors\ **(4)** 256 KB RAM memory area - 32 x Nec 4164 memory chips\ **(5)** Power supply connector\ **(6)** Parallel printer connector\ **(7)** Composite video RCA plug\ **(8)** Colour RGB video out DB9 connector\ **(9)** Serial RS-232C DB25 connector null title subtitle text image PROCESSOR CLOSE-UP The 8086 processor here is a (nice) Fujitsu ceramic version. Note also: **(1)** Various motherboard tasks are handled by Zilog chips. Here a Z80 CTC counter timer, and a Z80 SIO (Serial I/O controller)\ **(2)** BIOS and self-diagnostic ROM chips (16 KB x 2)\ **(3)** Western Digital floppy disc controller chip null title subtitle text image F1 MANUALS & SOFTWARES Alongside these introduction handbooks, much professional software was provided with the Apricot : - **SuperWriter**, a word processing package less advanced than WordStar, the program it was modelled on.\ - **SuperPlanner**, an electronic agenda with address book and a light database\ - **SuperCalc**, the best spreadsheet of the time. null title subtitle text image U.K. PRICE LIST Dealer price list - August 1986 null title subtitle text image SPECIAL F1 This special version of the F1 was developed by a french company based in Bordeaux, Cirel Systèmes, a subsidiary of Télésystèmes. It's a basic F1 with an external case placed under the main unit. This box includes a Videotex graphic board, a modem and special software for Minitel emulation, data server and file transfer. The phone is linked to a contact directory which can be dialled automatically. The price of this system was 18500fr (pre-tax) (France, december 1985) null title url platform text APE Plus : Apricot Emulator http://www.ansible.demon.co.uk/ai/ape.html MS DOS Commercial emulator that emulates PC/Xi/Xen, the `F' Series, and the Apricot FP Portable title url platform text QDAE http://www.seasip.info/Unix/QDAE/ Multiplatform QDAE is a Quick and Dirty Apricot Emulator for Linux, Windows and MacOS X. This version emulates the Apricot F1; it may support other F-series Apricots as well. title url text ACT Apricot computers support page http://www.actapricot.org/home/ Useful infos. Some links might be outdated title url text ACT Apricot Computers Yahoo Group http://groups.yahoo.com/group/actapricot/ Discussion list for the ACT Apricot computers. title url cover text APRICOT F1 TECHNICAL REFERENCE MANUAL http://www.actapricot.org/support/ null [**APRICOT F1 TECHNICAL REFERENCE MANUAL**](http://www.actapricot.org/support/)written by ACT  compiled/archived by Jonathan Marsters\  type of document : PDF\  source : [www.actapricot.org](http://www.actapricot.org) title url cover text USER PROMPT APRICOT GUIDE ISSUE 1 http://www.actapricot.org/support/ null [**USER PROMPT APRICOT GUIDE ISSUE 1**](http://www.actapricot.org/support/)written by UserPrompt Guides  compiled/archived by Jonathan Marsters\  type of document : PDF\  source : [www.actapricot.org](http://www.actapricot.org) title url cover text USER PROMPT APRICOT GUIDE ISSUE 2 http://www.actapricot.org/support/ null [**USER PROMPT APRICOT GUIDE ISSUE 2**](http://www.actapricot.org/support/)written by UserPrompt Guides  compiled/archived by Jonathan Marsters\  type of document : PDF\  source : [www.actapricot.org](http://www.actapricot.org) author date text Triphazard (UK) Thursday 1st January 2009 Whoa... Are there really so few owners/fans of this great machine? My own has a single 3.5" slot, no HD, 9" green screen and I broke the fibre optic cable for the IR keyboard. I couldn''t afford the IR trackball while it was available but I added 512K to the default 256K on board. I also managed to get copies of SuperCalc 3, DBase II and Friday!, a database program created using DBII. I still giggle at the MS Windows 1.0 vouchers it came with. (This machine recalculated the most basic spreadsheet with figures scrolling along for several seconds, like those cliche ''80s movies.) However, at the time it was about a year ahead of IBM''s PCs. They still had 5.25" floppies, 64K RAM, 8088 chips and locked-in servicing. I can $ a single disk to launch MSDOS 2.0, SCalc/SWriter and all the data I have. It will all run from a RAM disk and batch save my data back to disk before shutting down. Computers today don''t seem to do anything any faster than before. Graphics look great but we still sit and wonder what to do next... author date text Boomtown 45 (United States) Friday 7th June 2019 I acquired an Apricot F1 system$monitor, computer, trackball, and infrared keyboard$today at an estate here in New Mexico. Monitor''s startup screenshot shows a system date of "18/07/1985". Does anyone know if there''s someone here in the US who''s interested in a vintage system from the UK? I''m thinking it would be cost prohibitive to ship it to England. author date text Robin England (UK) Sunday 14th October 2018 Hi Matt, I am an enthusiastic collector of the Apricot F-series machines and would be interested in any Apricot stuff you have. I don''t run a computer museum but I collect and restore vintage machines. Let me know if you want to discuss further. Cheers, Robin author date text Matter Thursday 9th August 2018 My old man helped develop apricot computers, from the 80’s until there demise. I have inherited multiple examples of most the computers they made including, hardware, software, literature, and many one of prototypes that he developed, etc\ They need a good home, that respects and understands them\ Thanks Matt author date text Matt (Birmingham) Thursday 9th August 2018 Apricot computers available for real enthusiast author date text Doekman (Groningen, The Netherlands) Wednesday 2nd May 2018 My neighbour had one of these. I remembered it had a great design, and the graphics where impressive. She got this computer via some home computer programme of her employer, Johnson Controls. That explains I never saw the computer elsewhere. author date text Dan Tuesday 21st November 2017 I took one of these F1 computers to Yemen, and wrote a multi-currency book-keeping program in Turbo Pascal. It was a great computer, complete with four colours! My kids enjoyed simple games as well. I am not sure what happened to the computer. I am sure it is gone, now that the war had destroyed most things. author date text Nosher (Bradford, UK) Saturday 22nd July 2017 I used the Apricot F1 in an educational environment. Use of the machine could survive loss or breakage of the IR pipe but it was possible to pick up your keyboard and reboot your neighbour''s machine. Other machines did not have this issue. Use of the Apricots came to an abrupt end when $ing a 3M diskette instantly decapitated the drive head rendering the machine useless. Other machines did not have this fatal flaw. There didn''t appear to be much different about 3M diskettes but the metal shutter contacted the lightly suspended disk head and ripped it out of position. author date text Jimbob (Scotland) Thursday 6th October 2016 I remember my Dad giving me a side by side demonstration of an F1 beside an IBM of the same vintage.\ The F1 wiped the floor with the IBM in loading or copying from floppy discs and the wireless keyboard was a revelation to a young kid.\ Wonder how much further forward we''d be if innovative companies like Apricot had survived rather than Apple or IBM. author date text Chris (NJ) Monday 7th September 2015 I have a line on one of these systems in the UK, but being I''m in the US, I''d like to acquire one here if at all possible, reasons are clear. Please contact me if you have one - dreyfusshudson at yahoo dot com. Many thanks. author date text Dylan Smith (United Kingdom) Tuesday 21st October 2014 We had one at our school. It was very nicely made and came with a small but good quality colour screen, and a pretty innovative design. I remember rigging up a serial cable and bodging together some code to transfer images from a friend''s Amiga 500 to the Apricot. However, it was hugely let down by being one of those "yes it runs MS-DOS but no it''s not IBM compatible" machines which made it more or less pointless. MS-DOS even back in the day was awful and the only reason for running it would be IBM compatibility author date text John Moore (New Zealand) Wednesday 1st January 2014 I purchased an F1e back in 1985 for NZ$2700 ! By today''s standards that''d get you something really flash. This had just one 315k disk drive (not 320k like the rest of the world). I could never figure out for the life of me why ACT did not make all their computers IBM compatible. They would have possibly been still in business, as (as as been pointed out) their computers were quite innovative, especially since they were one of the first to use 3.5in floppie disks. I can also remember buying my first lot of "single sided" disks .. NZ$80 for10! I still have the original activity disks that came with the computer. I did find the keyboard a bit strange as the key tops kept on wearing out, so I stuck laminated characters over the top of each key! Other than that the computer worked fine with 256k of RAM. The fact it also came with it''s own version of GWBASIC made it interesting, along with Super Writer, Super Calc and Super Planner. It also came with a communications programme to connect to an IBM compatible machine (with limited success). My son and I wrote literally hundreds of programmes in BASIC. A few I eventually (using the comms package) converted to Turbo Basic and a .exe file. Apart from the Bios problems I loved it. See also Apricot PC. author date text John Moore (New Zealand) Wednesday 1st January 2014 I purchased an F1e back in 1985 for NZ$2700 ! By today''s standards that''d get you something really flash. This had just one 315k disk drive (not 320k like the rest of the world). I could never figure out for the life of me why ACT did not make all their computers IBM compatible. They would have possibly been still in business, as (as as been pointed out) their computers were quite innovative, especially since they were one of the first to use 3.5in floppie disks. I can also remember buying my first lot of "single sided" disks .. NZ$80 for10! I still have the original activity disks that came with the computer. I did find the keyboard a bit strange as the key tops kept on wearing out, so I stuck laminated characters over the top of each key! Other than that the computer worked fine with 256k of RAM. The fact it also came with it''s own version of GWBASIC made it interesting, along with Super Writer, Super Calc and Super Planner. It also came with a communications programme to connect to an IBM compatible machine (with limited success). My son and I wrote literally hundreds of programmes in BASIC. A few I eventually (using the comms package) converted to Turbo Basic and a .exe file. Apart from the Bios problems I loved it. See also Apricot PC. author date text Chris (USA) Tuesday 19th February 2013 I want one. author date text RC Ellis (USA) Saturday 25th February 2012 I had the F1 - as a DOS compatible it was fine. The machine I bought came with an early version of Microsoft Word for DOS - which worked well. I managed to find a connector on the motherboard which allowed me to add a second 720 3.5" floppy - had to put it in a separate box, but it worked. The monitor finally failed and I was able to connect a Radio Shack CGA monitor. I was also able to run Turbo Pascal 3.0 on it. And as a CS teacher that was wonderful.\ It was very stylish overall, and I got good use out of it for several years. author date text Andrew Fison (usa) Friday 8th April 2011 I remember doing my college accounts courses on these, our computer room had about 20 of these in there, also one advantage of the infra-red keyboards was you could pull the batteries out of the one in front of the screen and stand behind your mate typing on another keyboard while he wonders where all the strange calcs came from author date text Ian Chard (Oxford, UK) Wednesday 23rd August 2006 I spend a depressing few weeks writing a small database on one of these things in the late 80s. It was a monochrome monitor, and the phosphor lag time was *huge* -- you could still read text several seconds after clearing the screen! author date text Newtony (Belgium) Tuesday 12th February 2002 Hi everyone, I began collecting old computers about three years ago, mostly IBM-compatibles. I also have five Apricot F1 computers. They were in pretty bad shape but I should be able to get at least one in complete working order. However I don't have any software for them and I can't get them to work with regular MS or PC-Dos, probably because the BIOS is not 100% IBM-compatible. Is there anyone here who can get me working copies of the F1 software such as Activity ? I really want these machines to work, so any help is greatly appreciated. Thanks in advance. /museum/act-apricot-f2-f10 /museum/act-apricot-pc /museum/act-apricot-portable /museum/act-apricot-xen /museum/act-apricot-xi 495 url date https://web.archive.org/web/20230603213917/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=495 2023-06-03

After the launch of the Apricot PC, largely inspired by the Victor S1 which sold well in the UK, ACT developed another computer, the Apricot F1. This new system was marketed equally as a business system and as a home-computer (with its TV video output for example).

The design of the F1 is quite innovative with its original shape and infrared keyboard. The main unit is much more deep than large, and the straight line of the whole system was quite stylish for the time.

There was no lead or cord between the keyboard and the main unit. All the communication was made through infrared signals. This is quite useful if you want to work from your sofa, four meters away from the main unit but you also must be sure that there is no obstacle between the keyboard and the infrared receivers located on the front of the main unit.

The Apricot F1 was however originally shipped with a plastic light-pipe that could be connected between the keyboard and CPU so that obstacles would not block the signal. Another drawback was that the keyboard had to be constantly powered with batteries!
This infrared feature is quite rare and the F1 is one of the only computers to be equiped with it, alongside the ACT Apricot Portable and Exelvision EXL-100 and a few others...

Just above the quite comprehensive membrane keyboard are four small round buttons used to set the date and time of the internal clock, to change the rate of the keys auto-repeat feature, to lock the keyboard and to reset the computer.

Even if the F1 used an 8086 it wasn’t really IBM PC compatible (though minor changes could make it BIOS compatible). The MS-DOS 2.11 used by the system is an Apricot modified version of the "real" MS-DOS.

The Apricot F1 was delivered with a nice icon-based graphical interface called "Activity" along with quality bundled sotfware for graphics, communication, wordprocessing and system tools. The same infra-red mouseball pointing device used with the Apricot Portable was available for the F1.

As the F1 was not IBM PC compatible and not particularly cheap, it didn't have great success outside its native country (UK). A slightly less expensive version was also released, labelled F1e. It was the same machine but the 720 KB floppy drive was replaced by a single sided 320 KB version. This version was about 300 Euros cheaper than the normal version.