apf m1000 ownership and appreciation thread

[masschamber]

I just found the m1000 on bought off of here a few years ago and after messing around with it, I just started wondering who else has one of these obscure odd ball and how did you find out about it/acquire one? anyone owners from back when they were new?

Anyway I got into because some guy that had a bunch of consoles pre atari consoles at a garage sale told me about a console he only ever saw once in a store and gave me a name close to the apf m1000. A little research later and bam once more oddity to look out for.

[BassGuitari]

This is one of the few noteworthy consoles from the late '70s I don't have in my collection. I've hunted for an APF off and on for years because it's the kind of system that's right up my alley, but I've kinda given up on it by now. There are really only three reasons I would want something like this--gameplay, importance, and nostalgia--and the APF checks none of those boxes. Certainly not boldly enough to warrant the prices APF stuff commands; it's way too expensive to be an "eh, why not" kind of pickup, which unfortunately is exactly the kind of system it is.

 

It's in the same category as the Arcadia 2001 for me: an interesting curiosity, but overvalued, and by no means essential.

 

Now, having said all that.....I'd definitely grab one if I stumbled across a hell of a deal on one.

Edited March 4, 2018 by BassGuitari

[zylon]

We had an APF TV Fun console, but never ran into this one. Looks like it could be interesting.

[metarog]

The only time Ive seen one of these was back in the very late 70s when one of my neighbor friends endec up with one. Most of us had 2600s, one or two had O2s but only one had this. His father traveled a lot for work and brought one of these for a birthday gift I think.

 

We did play it quite a few times including a baseball game, a vertical shooter of some sort and a couple grid maze games like PAC-Man maybe? My memory is fuzzy on that but one of the joysticks busted and I never saw it again.

[ubersaurus]

This is one of the few noteworthy consoles from the late '70s I don't have in my collection. I've hunted for an APF off and on for years because it's the kind of system that's right up my alley, but I've kinda given up on it by now. There are really only three reasons I would want something like this--gameplay, importance, and nostalgia--and the APF checks none of those boxes. Certainly not boldly enough to warrant the prices APF stuff commands; it's way too expensive to be an "eh, why not" kind of pickup, which unfortunately is exactly the kind of system it is.

 

It's in the same category as the Arcadia 2001 for me: an interesting curiosity, but overvalued, and by no means essential.

 

Now, having said all that.....I'd definitely grab one if I stumbled across a hell of a deal on one.

I dunno, importance-wise it's up there with the Channel F - the rare game console designed by an African American engineer.

 

I'd still like to get one sometime, being the last NA 2nd gen console I'm missing from my set, but its rarity sure makes it hard. I'm a sucker for 70s game machines, and this sure fits the bill, too. One day!

[Jess Ragan]

I had one back in the 1990s. It's fun on a shelf, but not so fun when connected to a television set. That's not a knock on Ed Smith, though... apparently the games were outsourced.

[mr_me]

Don't forget the expansion APF Imagination Machine. One of the reasons many of these early game systems failed is that unlike the Atari VCS and Mattel Intellivision they were designed more like home computers wasting expensive RAM on trying to bitmap the screen. Marketing dollars might also had something to do with it. Nothing innovative in the APF system.

[BassGuitari]

I dunno, importance-wise it's up there with the Channel F - the rare game console designed by an African American engineer.

 

How so?

 

It didn't really pioneer anything, and it wasn't especially innovative, with possible exception to the keypad-equipped joystick controls, which weren't commonly used but did exist prior. Even the "it will transform into a computer!" angle wasn't groundbreaking or exclusive to the APF.

 

Its market performance barely registered a blip on the radar. Its impact on pop culture, or even the relatively small, self-contained world of video/computer games at the time, was essentially zero.

 

Its games were generic and derivative (but in fairness, that describes most systems' libraries at the time), and easily forgotten.

 

If a piece of hardware that was actually released could be described as "vaporware," the Imagination Machine would be it.

 

The Channel F, by comparison, was the first cartridge-programmable system, employed a unique controller design never really replicated since (although the Sphere controller for PS1 comes to mind, and the Bally controller came close), was host to a small handful of unique game titles, contained features that wouldn't commonly be seen for several generations (such as Pause), and enjoyed a brief period of relative popularity before the Atari really took off in ~1980--it was even featured on the show TV Powww before it was superseded by the Intellivision.

 

The fact that the APF's designer was African American is important to the history of the game industry as a whole, certainly. But the console itself simply is not (IMO ).

Edited March 5, 2018 by BassGuitari

[carlsson]

If the APF M1000 was significant because it was made by an African American, the RCA Studio II was significant because some of its games were programmed by a woman. Both are rather weak arguments.

[ubersaurus]

If the APF M1000 was significant because it was made by an African American, the RCA Studio II was significant because some of its games were programmed by a woman. Both are rather weak arguments.

I mean I'd make the case that Joyce Weisbecker's Studio II contributions are significant even if the console itself is not (though man, everything about that system's development is like a missed opportunity).

[BassGuitari]

I mean I'd make the case that Joyce Weisbecker's Studio II contributions are significant even if the console itself is not (though man, everything about that system's development is like a missed opportunity).

 

Exactly.

 

I would give the Studio II an edge over the APF on the "importance scale" because it was the second-ever programmable console, and only missed the #1 mark by three or four months--had some things gone slightly differently, it could just as easily have been the first to hit the market. The APF M/P1000 was probably the sixth or seventh, give or take when it actually launched vs. the Odyssey 2. And there are no medals for sixth or seventh.

 

Otherwise, they're in the same boat: Short-lived, forgettable, also-ran systems with small, dull libraries and fascinating backstories...and best left to the John Hancocks and Gamester81s of the world.

[pacman000]

It may be a blip, but even blips must be considered if to get an accurate view of an era.

 

E. G. It's significant.

[masschamber]

I mean I'd make the case that Joyce Weisbecker's Studio II contributions are significant even if the console itself is not (though man, everything about that system's development is like a missed opportunity).

to be fair at the time rca and missed opportunities and botched technology go together rather well, The studio 2 is just like the ced

though I would justify that ever console released has significance since on the grand scale there are very few consoles

Edited March 6, 2018 by masschamber

[Blazing Lazers]

I had a semi-working unit some years ago but without any carts. I've been meaning to get another one of these in full working order for a while now. Just from a collector viewpoint this would also be a fairly easy system to get every game for, even boxed, though the Imagination Machine computer stuff is not at all common. There's also a multicart project for this system:

 

https://groups.yahoo.com/neo/groups/apf_consoles_and_computers/info

[Bill Loguidice]

Up until December, I had two M1000's, two MP1000's, and three Imagination Machines. Now, like most of the rest of my collection, they'll be up for auction in a few months.

 

It's an endlessly fascinating setup to me, but the video output was always kind of janky and the controllers never quite right (if they worked at all). I assume I would have had better luck if I had gotten any of this stuff new, but it never would have happened back in the day since I was like 6 or 7 when all this stuff was commercially available.

 

Capability-wise it's nothing special. It's kind of like a CoCo 1 in many ways, although again, the fact that this was the first commercially available full computer upgrade of a console makes it awfully fascinating.

[pacman000]

Demo cart for the computer add-on:

 

[Atari_Bill]

This is one I'd be interested in, but never came across one. Now, the collection has pretty much maxed out the room it's in so probably not in the cards at this point.

[masschamber]

Up until December, I had two M1000's, two MP1000's, and three Imagination Machines. Now, like most of the rest of my collection, they'll be up for auction in a few months.

 

It's an endlessly fascinating setup to me, but the video output was always kind of janky and the controllers never quite right (if they worked at all). I assume I would have had better luck if I had gotten any of this stuff new, but it never would have happened back in the day since I was like 6 or 7 when all this stuff was commercially available.

 

Capability-wise it's nothing special. It's kind of like a CoCo 1 in many ways, although again, the fact that this was the first commercially available full computer upgrade of a console makes it awfully fascinating.

the bright side is the controllers are easy enough to fix, they just use domes like the 2600, but attached with nothing as far as I can tell. the fire button is just an off the shelf momentary push button, like the type you can get from china for an 3 cents each

[Bill Loguidice]

 

Exactly.

 

I would give the Studio II an edge over the APF on the "importance scale" because it was the second-ever programmable console, and only missed the #1 mark by three or four months--had some things gone slightly differently, it could just as easily have been the first to hit the market. The APF M/P1000 was probably the sixth or seventh, give or take when it actually launched vs. the Odyssey 2. And there are no medals for sixth or seventh.

 

Otherwise, they're in the same boat: Short-lived, forgettable, also-ran systems with small, dull libraries and fascinating backstories...and best left to the John Hancocks and Gamester81s of the world.

 

I would give it more historical significance than the Studio II for one main reason - the computer add-on. It's the first videogame console that saw the release of a full-blown computer add-on. The Astrocade pre-dated it with keypad entry and a BASIC option with cassette storage, of course, but it was far from a "full" computing experience like the add-on for the M/MP1000.

[Bill Loguidice]

the bright side is the controllers are easy enough to fix, they just use domes like the 2600, but attached with nothing as far as I can tell. the fire button is just an off the shelf momentary push button, like the type you can get from china for an 3 cents each

 

I've never fixed one myself and no longer have the hardware to attempt a fix on, but I don't recall hearing of many successful fixes, so I'm just not sure how easy the actual process is.

[masschamber]

 

I've never fixed one myself and no longer have the hardware to attempt a fix on, but I don't recall hearing of many successful fixes, so I'm just not sure how easy the actual process is.

I"ve fixed a few controllers like this, remember to consider, how many m1000s are there to begin with

[S1500]

That APF demo is delightful. It couldn't be more late 70s if it tried.

[Lord Thag]

I had one with all but one of the games. It was interesting as a period curiosity, but it was a pretty bad game machine. I sold my set a few years back.

[Reaperman]

So we've recently gotten into a vintage calculator kick at work. This was caused by the loosening of some 'personal electronic devices' rules. But when my Unisonic became noticeably outclassed, I downgraded to the APF Mark V calculator. It wasn't until this thread that my mind finally put together 'oh, it's *that* APF,' and now I think one of these consoles has been added to my shopping list. Looks like I've got a bit of a wait to get one at a good price, though. Holy jeez.

[ubersaurus]

Count me in as a new owner - I grabbed one off eBay that had been untested, hooked it up, and hey, it works! At least as well as any mp1000 does with that rf interference. In this case the picture isn't too bad but there is audio noise. Anyone have advice on how best to minimize it? Adjusting the modulator? Replacing the power supply?