website/content/museum/apf-imagination-machine.md

---
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).

<table> <tr> <td></td> <td>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.</td> <td></td> </tr> </table>