Company Profile: APF Electronics Inc. (New York, N.Y.)

Before home computers became popular, many electronics manufacturers produced processor-based game consoles that attached to a TV. APF was one of those manufacturers.

APF’s Imagination Machine II was part game console, part home computer. In fact, the original Imagination Machine was a keyboard upgrade to the company’s MP1000 game console. Much of the available software was either game-oriented or educational. The Building Block expansion unit provided a means to connect a printer, modem, or floppy disk drive. It also had a slot for an additional RAM cartridge.

The company produced an earlier computer, the PeCos (for Personal Computer) that used a proprietary programming language. It had a keyboard and two cassette recorder built into a wood-sided cabinet.

APF Imagination Machine II (1980, home computer)
Original Retail Price: $599
Base Configuration: 6800 CPU, 9K RAM, 14K ROM, integral cassette drive, RF modulator, integral keyboard, RS-232C port, two integral game controllers with joysticks, BASIC, sound synthesizer
Video: 16-line x 32-column text, 256 x 192 graphics, eight colors
Important Options: Building Block expansion unit, external 5.25-inch floppy disk drive, modem

Literature:

1980 APF imagination machine technical reference manual 1-80

About these ads