The find of a lifetime!! The APF Imagination Machine 2!!

[Imagination Machine]

The imagination machine 2 is an unreleased console from the late 70s made by the company APF electronics. They started out in calculators before trying to compete in the video game market. Their first console/home computer was The Imagination Machine with an add on console, the MP-1000. These themselves are very hard to find and dont come up for sale that often.

In late 1979, a follow up release was planned, which was called The Imagination Machine 2. It contained the home computer and console inside one unit, but never released as the company went out of business before the IM2 went into mass production. The banks wanted APF to stick to calculators, APF wanted to go the gaming route, they couldn't come to a agreement, and the company shut down. Through my research I have only found two other known IM2 consoles to exist, but could not find a current location for them.

I was lucky enough to find and be able to purchase this amazing lot directly from the family of the president of APF Electronics, Steven Lipper. This also means it is highly unlikely this machine was ever used outside the company itself and may have been one of the first prototypes of the console. The lot contains the console, a bunch of games, two floppy drives, the BB-1 add on with cartridges, some demo cassette games, 4 controllers, tv box, rf cables, tons of floppys, some of which include the companys sales records and quotas, and some manuals, including whats most likely the only one still around, the IM2 Manual! I was also able to purchase what i think was one of their first calculators, the APF Mark-210. The one i got was a sample unit the company used, it was complete in the box and in basically mint condition.

I was able to test everything and it appears mostly everything is working correctly. Some small issues but nothing that i think can not be fixed.

I am a collector myself, but this is something that's a little far back then i like to collect for, so i am definitely thinking of selling this to someone who will give it a good home and appreciate it. I would prefer a private sale but will go the ebay route eventually if needed. Please feel free to PM if interested.

I have added an imgur album of pictures of everything and youtube linked 3 quick videos of it working. Please pardon the video quality as i usually don't make videos like this! In the first video i mention how the cassette wont play, ive since learned it likely just needs a load command to start working, but have not been back to test yet!


https://imgur.com/a/droRe

https://youtu.be/Mn90RRsno9s

https://youtu.be/NEWHgi8nA_A

https://youtu.be/7UlFiNOB1DE

[WelcomeToTheNextLevel]

That's an amazing find and a very interesting piece of history.

[Steve W]

That Building Block Module-1 is for the original Imagination Machine computer, which I wasn't aware even had any accessories for it. I can only imagine how much those things must have cost back in the day, all those add-ons for different computers had the tendency to be insanely expensive.

I've come across a couple APF cartridges in game stores in the past but never pulled the trigger. Partially because the titles themselves were not good, and partially because I think I have a better chance of getting hit by lightning than coming across a functional console/computer in the wild. It's a machine that was so rare I never even knew existed until reading about it on the early internet.

[Niku-Sama]

I had no idea APF went full hardon for computers, I have a few TV Fun's and an adding machine but that's it