website/content/museum/apollo-7-squale.md

---
title: Apollo 7 SQUALE
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Home Computer
origins:
- France
years:
- '1984'
cpus:
- Motorola 6809
params:
  name: SQUALE
  image: /media/museum/photos/aplollo7_squale_system_s2.jpg
  logo: /media/museum/logos/appolo7_squale_logo.gif
  company: /companies/apollo-7
  company_name: Apollo 7
  specs:
  - label: NAME
    value: SQUALE
  - label: MANUFACTURER
    value: Apollo 7
  - label: TYPE
    value: Home Computer
  - label: ORIGIN
    value: France
  - label: YEAR
    value: September 1984
  - label: END OF PRODUCTION
    value: Never produced on a large scale
  - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE
    value: S Basic in ROM cartridge
  - label: KEYBOARD
    value: |-
      AZERTY\
      55 keys, Mechanical keyboard\
      ESC, CTRL, DEL, Return, 2 SHIFT, LOCK, Reset\
      4 arrow keys
  - label: CPU
    value: Motorola 6809
  - label: SPEED
    value: 1 MHz
  - label: RAM
    value: 92 kb, up to 256kb with extension
  - label: VRAM
    value: 32 kb
  - label: ROM
    value: 4 kb
  - label: TEXT MODES
    value: 40 x 25
  - label: GRAPHIC MODES
    value: 256 x 256
  - label: COLORS
    value: '16'
  - label: SOUND
    value: 3 voices, 5 octaves
  - label: SIZE / WEIGHT
    value: 500 x 195 x 10 mm
  - label: I/O PORTS
    value: 2 joystick ports, Tape-recorder din plug, Modem, Centronics port, Light pen din plug, SS30 bus extension port, Cartridge port, Scart video output, Analog 2 Digital converter (optional)
  - label: BUILT IN MEDIA
    value: Rom Pack reader
  - label: OS
    value: Flex 09
  - label: POWER SUPPLY
    value: Built-in Power supply unit
  - label: PRICE
    value: |-
      532 with colour monitor (France, May 85)\
      475 with monochrome monitor (France, May 85)
  tabs:
  - photos
  - adverts
  - hardware
  - software
  photos:
  - title: LARGE VIEW
    subtitle: ''
    text: The metal case was to be replaced by a plastic version when the production would be sufficient, but the plastic version was apparently never built.
    image: /media/museum/photos/aplollo7_squale_system_s1.jpg
  - title: RIGHT SIDE
    subtitle: ''
    text: Some versions had a trap door at the front of the cartridge slot.
    image: /media/museum/photos/aplollo7_squale_rightside_s1.jpg
  - title: LEFT SIDE
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/photos/aplollo7_squale_leftside_s1.jpg
  - title: PROFILE VIEW
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/photos/aplollo7_squale_profile_s1.jpg
  - title: CARTRIDGE SLOT CLOSE-UP
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/photos/aplollo7_squale_cartslot_s1.jpg
  - title: KEYBOARD CLOSE-UP
    subtitle: ''
    text: Although the keyboard had a French layout, it didn't offer French accented letters.
    image: /media/museum/photos/aplollo7_squale_keyboard_s1.jpg
  - title: REAR CONNECTORS
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      Many connectors and expansion capabilities, but the manufacturer never supplied the necessary software tools to exploit them. Note that, in this model, all the connectors were fixed by rivets; it was thus impossible to open the case and get to the motherboard without drilling 14 holes!

      From left to right:\
      • Parallel Centronics printer connector\
      • SS-30 bus expansion connector\
      • Tape recorder DIN socket\
      • Modem or serial device connector\
      • Dual joystick connectors\
      • Light pen DIN socket\
      • RGB video output connector
    image: /media/museum/photos/aplollo7_squale_rearcon_s1.jpg
  - title: TOP COVER
    subtitle: ''
    text: The top cover holds the keyboard - made in Germany by Cherry - and the power supply unit.
    image: /media/museum/photos/aplollo7_squale_topcover_s1.jpg
  - title: MAINBOARD
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      **(1)** Motorola 9365, manages text and graphics display\
      **(2)** General Instruments AY-3-8910 programmable sound generator (3 voices, 8 octaves + white noise)\
      **(3)** Motorola 6850 ACIA (Asynchronous Communications Interface Adapter), used for the serial port and built-in modem\
      **(4)** Thomson EFB 7510, 1200 baud modem\
      **(5)** 4 KB monitor ROM\
      **(6)** First Motorola 6821P in charge of various Input/Outputs\
      **(7)** Motorola 6809 microprocessor\
      **(8)** Cartridge connector cable\
      **(9)** Power leads (+5V, -5V, +12V)\
      **(10)** 64 KB user RAM chips (8 x 4564)\
      **(11)** Second Motorola 6821P\
      **(12)** Keyboard cable soldered to both the mainboard and keyboard\
      **(13)** 32 KB video RAM chips (16 x 4116)\
      **(14)** 3 x R.G.B. channel amplifiers
    image: /media/museum/photos/aplollo7_squale_mainboard_s1.jpg
  - title: POWER SUPPLY UNIT
    subtitle: ''
    text: The minimalist, poor quality and even dangerous power supply unit (very bad electrical isolation).
    image: /media/museum/photos/aplollo7_squale_powersup_1.jpg
  - title: BASIC HANDBOOK
    subtitle: ''
    text: Although this small handbook (15 x 10 cm) was copyrighted by Siros France Co., the Squale Basic interpreter seems to be very close to the that of the <$91$>Tandy Color computer one
    image: /media/museum/photos/aplollo7_squale_manual_1.jpg
  adverts:
  - title: FRENCH ADVERT
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/pubs/apollo7_squale_pub1.jpg
  hardware:
  - title: DISK-DRIVE AND PLOTTER
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      Here is the double 5''1/4 disk-drive (320k ?)presented at the Micro-Expo (Paris) in 1985.\
      On top of it is a common tape-recorder and classic 4-colors plotter (MCP-40), the same used for many micro-computers of that time (Oric for example).
    image: /media/museum/hardware/apollo7_squale_diskdrive.jpg
  screenshots:
  - title: NUMBERS ET LETTERS
    subtitle: ''
    text: This is a game from the famous TV game...
    image: /media/museum/software/appolo7_squale_ss2.jpg
  - title: DEMO SCREENSHOT ?
    subtitle: ''
    text: |-
      This must be a screenshot from the demo.\
      There's shark swimming in the sea and the logo of the Squale.
    image: /media/museum/software/appolo7_squale_ss1.jpg
  - title: POKER
    subtitle: ''
    text: ''
    image: /media/museum/software/appolo7_squale_ss3.jpg
  comments:
  - author: Denis Faivre (France)
    date: Saturday 26th December 2020
    text: 'Believe it or not: one of my relatives won one of these computers by answering with my help a phone quiz on Radio Arc-En-Ciel, a local radio. I remember there were 2 questions to be answered: 1) How many bits in a byte? and 2) Which processor is powering the Squale? :-) The machine had a really sturdy riveted metal sheet case. If I recall correctly the user manual was a tiny paperback, the machine was pretty buggy and therefore useless, so it soon landed in a closet. Unfortunately, 30 years later I don''''t know what happened to it.'
  - author: Andrew Fiori (Canada)
    date: Monday 12th September 2005
    text: Does anyone have a Squale that they are willing to sell? I am interested in purchasing one, preferably with the S-BASIC manual.
  oc_id: 224
  source:
    url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230130203607/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=224
    date: '2023-01-30'
---

The Squale was a strange computer which was sold in very small quantities. The BASIC was supplied in a cartridge. Only 28 KB were free for the user (4 KB for the monitor, 28 KB for BASIC and FLEX and 32 KB for the video memory). One of its interesting characteristics was its built-in modem (Thomson EFB 7510, 1200 baud, full duplex or 1200/75 baud, half duplex). The designers of this computer apparently encountered lots of problems with the development of the Squale, which explains why it sold in such limited quantities.