This was my first computer. I still own mine and it is in excellent condition. At 14:50 after loading Space Destroyers from tape, you need to type the RUN command and press the return key! Kinda funny how you expected it to just startup like modern computers. Great video!
I appreciate the feedback. Joe is a good friend of mine and knows more about games and the history of games than anyone I know. I appreciate you checking the video out and leaving a comment.
LOL it's funny people are bringing this up. :) If you guys must know I was looking at the audio levels for the video. My mic had been acting up and had been cutting in and out, so I wanted to make sure the audio was still recording. I've since purchased a new mic and audio setup so it shouldn't be an issue anymore.
What I think is awesome is you can tell that Joe just loves video games. When that sound started from the game he looked like a kid in a candy store. Great video Jon.
Great video, super informative and watching you guys play those games was hilarious! And as far as Joe goes, he's knowledgeable, polite, and he's willing take time out of his day to make these videos with Gamester. You really can't ask for more than that.
ahh...why not? We managed to get it to work on the modern TV and it looked fine. Probably with a standard TV would be that the camera would create lines on the TV.
That was my VERY FIRST COMPUTER!!!! My mom bought it for me back in 1981. That really brings back some memories! Thanks for having this review....was wonderful to see it. Since then I became a 3D animator and worked on a couple movies. www.AnimatorKel.com
I owned this system in 1981 as a teen. It was amazing! I would program in BASIC and save to cassette tape, play the carts, etc. How I wish it hadn’t been thrown away years ago. My first computer...
I really like these videos, very insightful and I love learning the history of gaming. If it wasn't for this video, me and a lot of people wouldn't even have known this existed, never mind watching you play it and talk about it's features.
These day's it's really hard to think what's so imagination about this machine but in 1979, this was sooo advance and capable for it's time that it become the bomb, because of it's revolutionairy features,i bet that diehard fans of this machine really want to programm for it for a life time.
dont mind him, sure Joe's sound might be a bit bland, but he explains his stuff very enthousiastic and ya can just hear he is very knowledgable... I like these videos!
really awesome video John, great to get so much information about this old relic of gaming in such a short video. Really cool looking machine too, considering how early it is those graphics would have destroyed Atari if it could have gotten more market share. Great vid tho!
Thank you for this review. Your videos are the best and highest quality. By the way I threw this console out along with many others in the nineties. When I moved out of my parents house. There are a half dozen systems sitting in the bottom of a landfill someplace.
Hey Gamester81 can you review the MSX1 & the MSX2 Home Computers. The MSX 1 & 2 was an obscure Home Computer that was popular in Asia, Europe, and Brazil. Sadly both the MSX1 & MSX2 were never popular in North America due lack of software titles released in America.
My first computer as well. Had two of em. I learned to troubleshoot with the first one. It would only run for a minute then shut down. I took it apart and found a transistor/regulator wasn't properly tightened to the heat sink and was over heating. I tightened it down and it it was good to go.
The use of tape-loading computer games got more traction in the UK where floppy discs and drives were REALLY expensive and it was certainly way cheaper just to code a program on a tape and sell that.
Huh... The idea of having the tape drive be a stereo tape, and playing audio from one channel to the user while loading the game from the other channel -- I'm honestly surprised that no one else ever did this... That just makes total sense...
Don't worry about looking at the camera too much unless you're displaying an item & talking to the audience. The conversation sells itself & we're all geeks here. I kinda got distracted because I felt you were.
It amazing how much we take things like computers being able to display full color arrays for granted. This thing was top of the line in its day and it could only show 8 colors max.
Another great video of a specimen of computer history. I love discovering items that were ambitious in vision. That "brick" is a prehistoric USB hub LOL! The system reminds me of a comparison to modern day computer chips as when Doc Brown in Back to the Future 3 built that circut chip board strapped to the hood of the DeLorean. :]
It's amazing how if sears had put this in their catalogue as well what a difference it might of made. Because I have seen the 1980s sears Catalogs and they still have Atari ads but they are side by side with Nintendo one's no other consoles were featured to my knowledge. Maybe people still got the outdated machine because it was cheaper?
I wrote my first games on a TI 99 4a the course it was all in basic . of course the box that I got with a bunch of stuff also had the voice synthesizer. and some old magazines including one with Bill Cosby in a ad . maybe I should action that offer $0.02 and donate the money to some rape awareness foundation.
+john Francis koziol Jr (Drivin2Insanity) Alpiner, Parsec, Munch man, Car Wars, Tombstone City, TI Invaders, Chisholm Trail, Hunt the Wumpus....Somewhere my five-year-old self is smiling.
I don't know if this make sense to you but even though I know that I wouldn't benefit from having it, I find myself badly wanting to have a completed set like you do. Just to have something so rare and complete and functional!
dude, i thought it was cool until i heard the voice the machine did. then i thought it was AWESOME! seriously, this is a truly unique machine. too bad its so hard to find!
What an awesome retro console/computer! I love your channel; I've been watching since 2008, and I love learning about retro systems like this! How did you manage to hook this up to an HDTV?
They'll only work as long as TVs are produced with analogue tuners (Steve Benway already has trouble getting some of his retro stuff to work with analogue tuners on flat screen TVs) After that... composite mod! or component mod! or RGB mod! (until they stop making TVs with those inputs too)
Not surprising that the machine cost so much. It used a $179 to $300 ( at the time) 6800 CPU. The 6847 was not exactly cheap either. 1k of ram was probably a bit pricey too.
Jon always seems like he is just ready for the next question. Like he asked a question and really does not care for the response because he is already ready to move on. I like his videos but he just seems like tense in his videos. But defiantly not trying to discredit his work. Hopefully he keeps at it for a long time to come.
I had purchased one of those TV Fun systems from a garage sale around 1993, but I swear it said Odyssey somewhere on it. Could never get it to power on or react to any input.
does the analogue capture card get round the problem of different regions using different colour standards like SECAM or NTSC instead of PAL, the 525/625 line thing being less of a problem. I do have to say, the analogue to HDMI adaptors are something I didn't know about!
haha awesome review love the amount of knowledge, i wish i knew this much about a counsel like this, really really cool i Love Joe and i love you Gamester Great review man.
I got curious as to why the black on green text looked so much like a CoCo (TRS-80 Color Computer). Noticed they use a processor similar enough to be source compatible (this is a 6800, coco is 6809). I wonder if they shared some ROMs.... imagination machine specs seem unsurprisingly sparse.
WOW I think I found one of these at a thrift in 2004. sold it for 500$. on ebay.. Back then only had half a web page devoted to it. Some French company bought and sold their technology...
Great review, you cocked up the tape loading lol, would have been improved by having a look around the system rather than it just sitting in the distance on a table :o( I love the fighting game, it's like posh fighting lol
looking for a certain drawing toy. not rare or special, but i always wondered about it as a kid. it had to be around 1991 or 92. you plug it into the TV and draw. in the commercial, the kid drew a cactus, then hung it on the wall (not sure how he did that). ring a bell anyone?
I feel like im defending my comment to everyone. Long time subscriber to this and Nestalgiaholic so Im not hating. Im surprised you've never heard people playing retro consoles strictly on old tube tv's considering how much retro u play. Anyway play it however you want John it wasnt meant in that way,c ya
I'm shocked how much this is like the Tandy Color Computer. The fonts and colors on the screen are all exactly the same, as well as how each set block of graphics are isolated into 2x2 squares (These blocks allow two colors in the area, with the first color always being black). You even see a primitive version of the Tandy's Multi-pack Interface in this video. Still, I suspect this system is more interesting to watch a video of than it is to actually use. :-/
This was my first computer. I still own mine and it is in excellent condition. At 14:50 after loading Space Destroyers from tape, you need to type the RUN command and press the return key! Kinda funny how you expected it to just startup like modern computers. Great video!
Using the 2nd audio track for actual audio is a stroke of genius! Blown away by that smart idea.
I appreciate the feedback. Joe is a good friend of mine and knows more about games and the history of games than anyone I know. I appreciate you checking the video out and leaving a comment.
Ha! I have to admit, that 50s style announcer for 'Space Destroyers' was pure awesomeness!
LOL it's funny people are bringing this up. :) If you guys must know I was looking at the audio levels for the video. My mic had been acting up and had been cutting in and out, so I wanted to make sure the audio was still recording. I've since purchased a new mic and audio setup so it shouldn't be an issue anymore.
it's amazing how far video games have come since then. we would not have today's games if people didn't make yesterday's games first.
What I think is awesome is you can tell that Joe just loves video games. When that sound started from the game he looked like a kid in a candy store. Great video Jon.
After tape loads, type RUN [RETURN]
I know! Awww... wanted to see you guys play it. Cool video.
Great video, super informative and watching you guys play those games was hilarious! And as far as Joe goes, he's knowledgeable, polite, and he's willing take time out of his day to make these videos with Gamester. You really can't ask for more than that.
Thanks David! We hooked it up to an HD TV through the RF adapter under the TV. We tried on one and it didn't work, but on this one did.
I love how you respond to him in a peaceful way.
Another great review. Reviews of these type of obscure systems are what I love most. Keep up the great work!
ahh...why not? We managed to get it to work on the modern TV and it looked fine. Probably with a standard TV would be that the camera would create lines on the TV.
It's amazing that I actually saw one of these in person back when I was small thing in Tulsa.
That was my VERY FIRST COMPUTER!!!! My mom bought it for me back in 1981. That really brings back some memories! Thanks for having this review....was wonderful to see it. Since then I became a 3D animator and worked on a couple movies. www.AnimatorKel.com
I owned this system in 1981 as a teen. It was amazing! I would program in BASIC and save to cassette tape, play the carts, etc. How I wish it hadn’t been thrown away years ago. My first computer...
I had one of these because my Father was actually a Manufacture's Representative for APF . I started my software development carerr with this bad boy.
My favorite part of the video was the handwritten receipt. It just adds some history to the system, sort of telling the system's journey,
I really like these videos, very insightful and I love learning the history of gaming. If it wasn't for this video, me and a lot of people wouldn't even have known this existed, never mind watching you play it and talk about it's features.
Loving these videos and learning - nowhere else online where it's so easy to find out about these machines. Why I subbed in the first place.
I had 2 of those. They also had a machine language monitor built in. You could program it in machine code, which is a level below assembly language.
These day's it's really hard to think what's so imagination about this machine but in 1979, this was sooo advance and capable for it's time that it become the bomb, because of it's revolutionairy features,i bet that diehard fans of this machine really want to programm for it for a life time.
I like how he's got the imagination machine on the edge of that dresser drawer. Low class production
dont mind him, sure Joe's sound might be a bit bland, but he explains his stuff very enthousiastic and ya can just hear he is very knowledgable... I like these videos!
really awesome video John, great to get so much information about this old relic of gaming in such a short video. Really cool looking machine too, considering how early it is those graphics would have destroyed Atari if it could have gotten more market share.
Great vid tho!
Thank you for this review. Your videos are the best and highest quality. By the way I threw this console out along with many others in the nineties. When I moved out of my parents house. There are a half dozen systems sitting in the bottom of a landfill someplace.
Hey Gamester81 can you review the MSX1 & the MSX2 Home Computers. The MSX 1 & 2 was an obscure Home Computer that was popular in Asia, Europe, and Brazil. Sadly both the MSX1 & MSX2 were never popular in North America due lack of software titles released in America.
they look like good friends
Yep The old one likes to take it da butt
My first computer as well. Had two of em. I learned to troubleshoot with the first one. It would only run for a minute then shut down. I took it apart and found a transistor/regulator wasn't properly tightened to the heat sink and was over heating. I tightened it down and it it was good to go.
The use of tape-loading computer games got more traction in the UK where floppy discs and drives were REALLY expensive and it was certainly way cheaper just to code a program on a tape and sell that.
Wow very nice collection for it. I've seen one in atlantic Canada but my neighbor sold it when they got their Tandy computer
Love this "forgotten tech" nice to see it still working
I recently picked up an MP 1000 in the box at a flea market in Wisconsin. I guess they made it to the midwest eventually!
OMG we had one of those TV games systems when i was a kid!
Huh... The idea of having the tape drive be a stereo tape, and playing audio from one channel to the user while loading the game from the other channel -- I'm honestly surprised that no one else ever did this... That just makes total sense...
And here I thought the Aquarius was obscure. It's too bad it's so rare because it is a cool looking machine.
This guest is pretty cool. Seems to really know his stuff.
Don't worry about looking at the camera too much unless you're displaying an item & talking to the audience. The conversation sells itself & we're all geeks here. I kinda got distracted because I felt you were.
It amazing how much we take things like computers being able to display full color arrays for granted.
This thing was top of the line in its day and it could only show 8 colors max.
Love your channel been following you and the game chasers for a long time now keep up the good work :)
i think he is awesome, and owns a great website. you really have to be into this stuff to watch, ill admit that.
Another great video of a specimen of computer history. I love discovering items that were ambitious in vision. That "brick" is a prehistoric USB hub LOL! The system reminds me of a comparison to modern day computer chips as when Doc Brown in Back to the Future 3 built that circut chip board strapped to the hood of the DeLorean. :]
great video love hearing about these cool rare game/computer consoles
Didn't know Dan Aykroyd collected games!
Awesome stuff, would have loved to play around with one of these back in the day.
i learned a lot of video game history thanks to you! Greetings from Argentina!
It's amazing how if sears had put this in their catalogue as well what a difference it might of made. Because I have seen the 1980s sears Catalogs and they still have Atari ads but they are side by side with Nintendo one's no other consoles were featured to my knowledge. Maybe people still got the outdated machine because it was cheaper?
That is f'n cool! Congrats on this rare find!
Another great video, thanks to both of you!!
I had a T.I 99/4a now that was a cool old game system
I wrote my first games on a TI 99 4a the course it was all in basic . of course the box that I got with a bunch of stuff also had the voice synthesizer. and some old magazines including one with Bill Cosby in a ad . maybe I should action that offer $0.02 and donate the money to some rape awareness foundation.
+john Francis koziol Jr (Drivin2Insanity) Alpiner, Parsec, Munch man, Car Wars, Tombstone City, TI Invaders, Chisholm Trail, Hunt the Wumpus....Somewhere my five-year-old self is smiling.
I like to Sheamus an Alpiner
I did some programming and basic on one of those
Bloody hell that would have been expensive and clumsy, no wonder we bought a vic 20 :o)
Wow, those boxer sprites are COMICAL.
I don't know if this make sense to you but even though I know that I wouldn't benefit from having it, I find myself badly wanting to have a completed set like you do. Just to have something so rare and complete and functional!
My dad had one back in the day and bought it in San Diego
I think he was hinting at his guest to talk to the camera..when he kept looking at the cam.
dude, i thought it was cool until i heard the voice the machine did. then i thought it was AWESOME! seriously, this is a truly unique machine. too bad its so hard to find!
What an awesome retro console/computer! I love your channel; I've been watching since 2008, and I love learning about retro systems like this! How did you manage to hook this up to an HDTV?
Press the En (Enter) button in lieu of the red FIRE trigger
Thanks!
Now thats what I call an obscure system. Never even heard of it.
hey gamester keep up the good work still loving your vids
Thats just epic and as retro as you can get.
I love this channel.
I was going to school you but gamester81 already did it. Rookie
The advantage of cartridges over cassette tapes is the additional RAM.
Nice review as always.
They'll only work as long as TVs are produced with analogue tuners (Steve Benway already has trouble getting some of his retro stuff to work with analogue tuners on flat screen TVs)
After that... composite mod! or component mod! or RGB mod! (until they stop making TVs with those inputs too)
Not surprising that the machine cost so much. It used a $179 to $300 ( at the time) 6800 CPU. The 6847 was not exactly cheap either. 1k of ram was probably a bit pricey too.
this is really cool, make more vids like this and i will keepwatching them
Jon always seems like he is just ready for the next question. Like he asked a question and really does not care for the response because he is already ready to move on. I like his videos but he just seems like tense in his videos. But defiantly not trying to discredit his work. Hopefully he keeps at it for a long time to come.
"The APF M1000 has 1kb or RAM"
I had purchased one of those TV Fun systems from a garage sale around 1993, but I swear it said Odyssey somewhere on it. Could never get it to power on or react to any input.
Must have been one of the Magnavox Odyssey Pong machine (there were sevral models, incl. the original Pong with "cardridges" and TV overlays)
does the analogue capture card get round the problem of different regions using different colour standards like SECAM or NTSC instead of PAL, the 525/625 line thing being less of a problem.
I do have to say, the analogue to HDMI adaptors are something I didn't know about!
haha awesome review love the amount of knowledge, i wish i knew this much about a counsel like this, really really cool i Love Joe and i love you Gamester Great review man.
I have some play APF videos on my channel, using an emulator and roms.
Hey guys... duh, you loaded a basic program. After it loaded you need to type RUN.
Are you doing this interview/review in your bedroom? I see a bureau and a nightstand here...
I got curious as to why the black on green text looked so much like a CoCo (TRS-80 Color Computer). Noticed they use a processor similar enough to be source compatible (this is a 6800, coco is 6809). I wonder if they shared some ROMs.... imagination machine specs seem unsurprisingly sparse.
They share the same 6847 VDG with the CoCo I believe.
Cool! Does that guy have an actual storefront in Arizona, or just the atari2600. com website?
WOW I think I found one of these at a thrift in 2004. sold it for 500$. on ebay.. Back then only had half a web page devoted to it. Some French company bought and sold their technology...
Great video! What a nice system!
Great episode Gamester. Thanks : )
Pat the NES Punk had one of these and sold it. He regrets having done so. :)
Did you just use the RF output into a TV on channel 3?
I had an ADAM computer in the 90s (my first computer) and that pos was 10 yrs old at that point.. Caleco Vision was the only great thing about it..
Never heard of this system before, then again it's before my time haha xD
But it's very interesting and informative to watch :D
You mentioned that you got it from someone to do a review. Was he the origna
whoa....you're friends with the trinity killer?
It's great they thought to include HDMI out.
Built in tape drives were quite common in Europe.
great vids as always!!!
Great review, you cocked up the tape loading lol, would have been improved by having a look around the system rather than it just sitting in the distance on a table :o( I love the fighting game, it's like posh fighting lol
looking for a certain drawing toy. not rare or special, but i always wondered about it as a kid. it had to be around 1991 or 92. you plug it into the TV and draw. in the commercial, the kid drew a cactus, then hung it on the wall (not sure how he did that). ring a bell anyone?
may be ljn videoart?
Is that why it's doing exactly that in the video?
I feel like im defending my comment to everyone. Long time subscriber to this and Nestalgiaholic so Im not hating. Im surprised you've never heard people playing retro consoles strictly on old tube tv's considering how much retro u play. Anyway play it however you want John it wasnt meant in that way,c ya
aaaaaand there you go again...
Who needs Rock Em Sock Em Robots when you have the APF?
I'm shocked how much this is like the Tandy Color Computer. The fonts and colors on the screen are all exactly the same, as well as how each set block of graphics are isolated into 2x2 squares (These blocks allow two colors in the area, with the first color always being black). You even see a primitive version of the Tandy's Multi-pack Interface in this video. Still, I suspect this system is more interesting to watch a video of than it is to actually use. :-/
Review the Nvidia Shield handheld devise!
Or you start piping your console through an old vcr with a tuner and a composite/scarts/svideo out