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---
title: Rockwell AIM 65
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Home Computer
origins:
- U.S.A.
years:
- '1976'
cpus:
- Rockwell 6502
params:
name: AIM 65
image: /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_r-side_s.jpg
company: /companies/rockwell
company_name: Rockwell
specs:
- label: NAME
value: AIM 65
- label: MANUFACTURER
value: Rockwell
- label: TYPE
value: Home Computer
- label: ORIGIN
value: U.S.A.
- label: YEAR
value: '1976'
- label: END OF PRODUCTION
value: Unknown
- label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE
value: Optional Basic ROM
- label: KEYBOARD
value: Full-stroke keyboard
- label: CPU
value: Rockwell 6502
- label: SPEED
value: 1 MHz
- label: RAM
value: 4 KB (up to 32 KB of static RAM)
- label: ROM
value: 12 KB
- label: TEXT MODES
value: 1 line of 20 chracters (LED screen)
- label: SOUND
value: None
- label: SIZE / WEIGHT
value: Unknown
- label: I/O PORTS
value: Application bus, expansion bus, ROM connector
- label: POWER SUPPLY
value: 'Needs four power supply voltages: +5v, +12v, -12v, and +24v for the printer'
- label: PRICE
value: $375
tabs:
- photos
- adverts
- hardware
- emulators
- links
- docs
photos:
- title: AIM 65
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_r-side.jpg
- title: SYSTEM OPENED
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_2.jpg
- title: TOP
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_1.jpg
- title: LED SCREEN CLOSE-UP
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_screen_1.jpg
- title: DISPLAY CLOSE-UP
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_display_zoom.jpg
- title: PRINTER CLOSE-UP
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_printer_zoom.jpg
- title: COMPLETE SYSTEM...
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_complete.jpg
- title: MOTHERBOARD EXPLAINED
subtitle: ''
text: |-
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.
image: /media/museum/photos/rockwell_aim65_inside_1.jpg
adverts:
- title: ADVERT (1980)
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/pubs/rockwell_aim65_pub_1.jpg
- title: FRENCH AD (JAN. 1980)
subtitle: ''
text: '"Computing is very simple with the AIM65 from Rockwell"'
image: /media/museum/pubs/rockwell_aim65_pub_system-contact.jpg
- title: ADVERT FOR THE MEMORY-MATE
subtitle: ''
text: 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.
image: /media/museum/pubs/aim65_memory-mate_pub-1979.jpg
hardware:
- title: SINGLE BOARD BUBBLE MEMORY SYSTEM
subtitle: RMS 121
text: This adds memory and more features ??
image: /media/museum/hardware/rockwell_aim65_bubble-memory-board_1.jpg
- title: PLASTIC HOUSING
subtitle: ''
text: Several plastic housings were sold for the "naked" Aim-65. This is one of them.
image: /media/museum/hardware/rockwell_aim65_plastic-housing.jpg
- title: '#A65-009'
subtitle: ''
text: This board was designed to take Rockwell's SYSTEM 65, or Motorola Exorcisor bus boards. It has 5 expansion slots.
image: /media/museum/hardware/rockwell_aim65_expansion-motherboard-a65-009.jpg
- title: WITH DISK-DRIVE CONTROLLER CAR MOUNTED
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/hardware/rockwell_aim65_dd_board.jpg
- title: UNIT
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/hardware/rockwell_aim65_dd_1.jpg
- title: DISK INSERTED
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: /media/museum/hardware/rockwell_aim65_dd-disk_1.jpg
- title: COMPLETE SETUP
subtitle: ''
text: Disk drive is connected to its controller card, itself mounted on the expansion board.
image: /media/museum/hardware/rockwell_aim65_dd-disk_complete.jpg
emulators:
- title: MESS
url: http://www.mess.org
platform: Multiplatform
text: MESS somehow emulates the AIM 65
links:
- title: DOCUMENTATION
url: http://highgate.comm.sfu.ca/~rcini/classiccmp/my_docs.htm#RWS
text: Complete AIM 65 documentation to download !
- title: Old-computers.net AIM65 page
url: http://oldcomputers.net/AIM-65.html
text: Very detailed and informative AIM-65 page
docs:
- title: INTERACTIVE NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 2
url: null
cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/rockwell_aim65_interactive-newsletter_issue2.jpg
text: |-
**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: INTERACTIVE NEWSLETTER - ISSUE 5
url: null
cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/rockwell_aim65_interactive-newsletter_issue5.jpg
text: |-
**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
comments:
- author: OldComputers ES (Spain)
date: Sunday 21st November 2021
text: 'A Spanish version of AIM, the DRAC-1 by Comelta S.A. The motherboard of this machine is a Rockwell R6500 Advanced Interactive Microcomputer, and had a 5.25 floppy drive and a professional keyboard with 54 keys. More info: https://www.oldcomputers.es/drac-1/'
- author: Ahhhhhh!!!!!!
date: Saturday 26th November 2016
text: |-
1 line of 20 chracters LED screen.\
Ahhhhhh!!!!!!
- author: Ross Milbourne (United Kingdom)
date: Friday 29th May 2015
text: |-
Hi Lutz
Thank you for your reply. I have $ped you a note via your HP so that we can discuss.
Kind regards
Ross
- author: Lutz
date: Wednesday 27th May 2015
text: |-
Hi Ross,
i still have the one from my first computer. After laying around in various drawers and moving boxes for about 30 years it''s dusty, but in good shape - no scratches or soldering iron burns. Instead of letting it gather more dust, i''d rather give it to someone who makes use of it. Contact me via my HP if you''re still interested.
Cheers!
- author: Ross Milbourne (UK)
date: Thursday 14th May 2015
text: |-
Does anyone have an AIM65 keyboard for sale please? If not, does anyone know if there are any modern replacements available?
Kind regards
Ross
- author: Dave Colglazier
date: Thursday 18th December 2014
text: |-
To previous posters, I have scanned the Forth manual and it''s available but I have no information on the Math package that I assume is the floating point mentioned here. I did install and test the entry points using the 5 and N keys so I think it''s the proper one. I have made EPROMs from these for those who want them...please see previous post for contact information about these or any other AIM parts you are needing.\
Tuesday 28th October 2008\
Harry Dodgson (USA)
Just found this page - to use the Forth Math ROM, just use "N" and it will load the words into the dictionary. VLIST will show them. I don''''t have any documenation, but looking most of the routines can be determined from the names.
Saturday 11th November 2006\
Juan Jerez (Spain)
I own an AIM-64 with the Forth ROM''s includding the floating point extenxions. Does anybody have the manual for the floating point ext. or know how to use the floating point words ?
- author: Dave Colglazier (White Bear Lake, MN USA)
date: Thursday 18th December 2014
text: |-
The voltage needed to run the main board is 5VDC. The 24 VDC is needed for the printer to function only. The 12VDC rails are not needed to run the main board but are used when running TTY or RS232 interfaces when desired.\
I still buy and repair these computers for resale. My eBay user name is orgwood. I also have some spare parts/printers. I provide documentation to owners who contact me if I have it available especially for odd add-ons from the Computerist, Seawell, and MTU. If you have documentation, please don''t discard it but contact me as I scan it and post it on my page or send it on to others who host sites that store this sort of thing. I''m particularly in need of any hardware related to keyboards like the keycaps $ switches, but I have many Display PC boards for those missing theirs.
- author: Marcelo Acuña (Argentina)
date: Wednesday 3rd December 2014
text: The $ 375 correspond to a mother with 1 KB of RAM in 1978, with 4 KB cost $ 450.
- author: Marcelo Acuña (Argentina)
date: Sunday 9th November 2014
text: The AIM 65 was released in the second half of 1978, not in 1976.
- author: Marcelo Acuña (Argentina)
date: Sunday 9th November 2014
text: The AIM 65 was released in the second half of 1978, not in 1976.
- author: Thomas Gutmeier (Austria)
date: Thursday 8th November 2012
text: |-
Hi, now you can find a digitized tapeimage of a realtimeclock-program for the AIM 65 on my website (as i found nothing, i typed it in myself ...).\
Find the program here: http://www.8bit-homecomputermuseum.at/computer/aim_65.html
- author: Thomas Gutmeier (Österreich)
date: Wednesday 3rd October 2012
text: Hi, just got an AIM-65 with a load of additional hardware (Video Plus, Memory Plus, Rom Switcher, Eprom Burner, Assembler, Basic and PL/65) and i am on the search for (digitized) programs on tape, Romimages and other cool stuff! Just contact me if you have something. Greetings TOM:-)
- author: Thomas Gutmeier (Österreich)
date: Wednesday 3rd October 2012
text: Hi, just got an AIM-65 with a load of additional hardware (Video Plus, Memory Plus, Rom Switcher, Eprom Burner, Assembler, Basic and PL/65) and i am on the search for (digitized) programs on tape, Romimages and other cool stuff! Just contact me if you have something. Greetings TOM:-)
- author: angel (usa)
date: Thursday 15th December 2011
text: awesome aim65 computer complete set one owner w 25 manuals and brochures plus! lwg2011 170748927867
- author: James (Michigan, United States)
date: Friday 21st October 2011
text: |-
Umm, the +12 and -12 power lines are not required. I believe that they were used for a TTY interface from what I know about old computers like this.
I took a 24V laptop power supply and simply hooked up a 5 volt regulator. Works like a charm.
- author: DMGross (Philadelphia,PA)
date: Wednesday 24th August 2011
text: I have an AIM-65 that also came with the external interfacing card rack. You could add circuit boards for specific interfacing needs such as A/D converters but more importantly, ROMs for other languages. I used it for FORTH programming for lab automation.
- author: Henry (Sweden)
date: Wednesday 20th July 2011
text: It was the first computer I used for learning. I have just acquired an example for nostalgic reasons. Is there anyone that knows where to find suitable thermal paper? I understand that wrong type of paper may damage the printer.
- author: James (United States)
date: Tuesday 26th April 2011
text: I have one of these that I''m hoping to learn assembly on. I''d like to put BASIC on it but I can''t find a BASIC ROM for it. I could burn one but I need the contents of the ROM to burn.
- author: MarTin (Italy)
date: Sunday 10th October 2010
text: |-
Hi, I''m living in Italy and I own an AIM-65 too. I can send you binary listing of ROMs. Send me a message at mtinariCHIOCCIOLAtiscali.it.\
Bye
- author: Marco (Italy)
date: Tuesday 27th July 2010
text: I own an AIM-65 but I lose the 2 eprom containing monitor (part no. R 3222-11 R 3223-11). Anybody can make a copy ?
- author: Craig Carr (USA)
date: Monday 18th January 2010
text: This was the very first computer that I programmed on around 77-78. I remember my dad would bring it home from work for eproms. And their were different chipsets you could put in for different languages. I used the Basic and the fortran. Bein the geek kid I was , I wrote some simple video games that would appear on the screen but also on the on board thermal printer. The one I remember best was a downhill skiiing game.. where you would avoid the trees.. It used up too much paper to play too long though.. It was fun writing and playing the game in "real" time on the printer.
- author: Harry Dodgson (USA)
date: Tuesday 28th October 2008
text: Just found this page - to use the Forth Math ROM, just use "N" and it will load the words into the dictionary. VLIST will show them. I don''t have any documenation, but looking most of the routines can be determined from the names.
- author: Juan Jerez (Spain)
date: Saturday 11th November 2006
text: I own an AIM-64 with the Forth ROM's includding the floating point extenxions. Does anybody have the manual for the floating point ext. or know how to use the floating point words ?
- author: sera (greece)
date: Thursday 19th October 2006
text: |-
I need to know what is the main route from the time a enter a command till the printing function.\
Is there anyplace a can find something like this ?
- author: Rob Burton (Cleveland, OH)
date: Friday 24th February 2006
text: In roughly '78-79 we purchased one of these to develop software for KIM-1-based motion control systems used to control animation and special effects cameras - all written in assemby. I still have one complete with snazzy plastic case.
- author: Képes Gábor (Hungary)
date: Thursday 7th April 2005
text: |-
Hello!
I know a Spanish version (son) of AIM, the DRAC-1 by Comelta S.A.
The motherboard of this machine is a Rockwell R6500 Advanced Interactive Microcomputer, and had a 5.25 floppy drive and a professional keyboard with 54 keys.
More info needed!
Best wishes:\
G.
- author: Leo Hermacinski (Boston USA)
date: Sunday 2nd January 2005
text: |-
This brings back memories- I attended an AIM65 introduction course in Chicago in 1979 or so at a sales rep firm- my dad was president of the sales firm so I attended for free.
One of the guys on the course was an engineer at a local games company and was planning to use the computers to control pin ball machines- don't know if they ever put that plan into production.
- author: Vasilis Tsirigakis (Athens-Greece)
date: Wednesday 19th February 2003
text: |-
Good evening my name is Vasilis Tsirigakis and I am a student from the Technological Educational Institute of Pireas in Greece. The subject of my Thesis is to create a Visual Simulator of the Aim-65 kit using Visual C++, well I have succeded it but my simulator still has some bugs!\
I would appreciate if could someone e-mail me in order to inform me about the history of this KIT and the history of 6502 CPU. I want this information in order to attach them to the presentation of my thesis. Thank you in advance!
- author: Chris Harjo (Earth)
date: Tuesday 26th March 2002
text: personal experience with Aim 65 computer. Back in the 1984 we used these machines to learn to write assembler programs. We stored the programs by using a opto-isolator circuit hooked to the expansion port that interfaced a teletype machine to the Aim65. We then stored the programs on paper tape using the teletype machine, also used to reenter the program into the machine to run the program again.
oc_id: 58
source:
url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230224114117/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=58
date: '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.
---
**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.
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