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Judge Mental

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Posts posted by Judge Mental

  2. Posted

    5 hours ago, BigO said:

    If I read the schematic correctly, the controllers themselves just contain a 4x4 matrix of switches. One row is the 4 joystick directions.

     

    The 4 scanning row signals are common to the two controllers. So from a certain technical perspective the hardware really implements a 4x8 matrix. Physically, it just so happens that 16 switches are physically separate from the other 16.

     

    If I had a console, I'm 90+% confident that I could build a working controller. My first proof of concept would be to simply wire up a 4x4 matrix keypad in place of a controller.  So, if you have a spare console you're looking to let go at a reasonable price...🙂

     

     

    Sadly I don't have a spare console, but the controller is hardwired but not hardwired into the console. It is plugged into the pcb and can be detached from within. I don't know what  you call it. I can send you the dead controller and hope for the best.

     

    Thanks for replying, Mike

  3. Posted · Edited by Judge Mental

    9 hours ago, BigO said:

    Based on a brief look at the schematic, it doesn't look like it would be too terribly difficult to build a system from scratch. A controller could easily be put together from common, off-the-shelf parts. 

     

    Not sure I'd ever get so desperate as to actually build my own, but since we had one with I was a kid, I would like to have an M/MP1000. Well, at least for a week or two until I figured out how terrible it actually was. :) 

    If you build it, I may buy it, at least the controllers. 

  4. Posted

    22 hours ago, Bill Loguidice said:

    While I respect copyright, it reaches a point where you just have to say there's no reasonable chance of tracking down who owns the rights and you can do just about any hobbyist-level/semi-commercial project you wish with it following the Internet Archive approach of "do it now and ask for forgiveness later." 

     

    With that in mind, the demand for something APF-centric that's not the original console and computer or part of the original software library probably numbers in the single digits, and I'd have a hard time thinking very many people outside those of us who are into obscure and interesting hardware would care one iota about playing the generic, blocky APF games in a different way. And while Space Destroyers is the one stand-out (thanks in part to its extra RAM), it's still just another bare bones clone of Space Invaders at the end of the day (and the spoken intro on the cassette version is quite cool too, of course). For me, the best thing about the APF M/MP1000 was and always will be the historical significance of the Imagination Machine computer add-on. The actual console itself and the cartridge games are pretty awful in my opinion.

    I agree with everything, except I actually like and enjoy the console and games. I was the weird kid growing up. It's definitely an uber niche market, but I find it interesting that those few that own it and thinks it's awful, don't want to part with it. Not saying you, but others I talked to through the years, when I first wanted to get one. I have an M1000 not boxed,  but it took a while. They don't come up for sale very often. For those who collect and just want a display piece, it would be cheaper to have a 3D printed version, but not playable, then some collectors can sell me an awful MP1000 unit, with a red power light. Sorry, I was dreaming. 😴

     

  6. Posted

    6 minutes ago, masschamber said:

    one bright side is everything on the apf is off the shelf and most chips are socketed

    How about the parts inside the controller? Are they off the shelf? I broke one of the controllers trying to fix the keypad. Well broken as far as the pcb for the keypad, and all the wires broke off from the solder points, including the ribbon. 

  11. Posted

    3 hours ago, ubersaurus said:

    It wouldn't be public domain. God only knows where the ownership of APF's video game and computer stuff ended up, but after the company closed down I believe everything was auctioned or sold off by the company's creditors. It's likely whoever does own the rights is unaware of it but it's likely none of it will be public domain until like the mid-2070s in the US.

    Maybe one way to find out who owns the rights, is someone make a reissue bootleg console and games, announce it publicly, and wait if any cease and desist letters from their lawyers, start coming in.

     

     

     

  12. Posted · Edited by Judge Mental

    I have become quite a fan of this console, and not just a collector. The games are primitive, but the colors really pop, and I find them more fun than most owners do. Sure there are games and systems that are technically better and more fun, but it deserves more love. It's beautifully primitive. I wish someone out there would 3D print a reissue and have an emulator inside it, with a complete library and homebrews. Since APF doesn't exist anymore, is the console and its games, public domain?

    • Like 1

  13. Posted · Edited by Judge Mental

    On 10/30/2019 at 1:58 PM, Rick Reynolds said:

    Hey there fellow MP1000-ers.  I somehow ended up with two of these, one indicates "MP1000" on it and the other says "M1000".  Is either one more desirable and/or more rare than the other?
     

    Hello. They are probably interchangeable. I noticed that the console box has the APF MP1000 logo, but the pic of the console itself shows APF M1000. Mine is an M1000,  but sadly not boxed. I tried to repair some of the keypad buttons after successfully retaping the contact domes for the joystick, but I cracked the circuit board over the keypad, and wires connected to it, detached as well. I still have the other controller working (mostly), so I'm half bummed.

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