LGR - Epson Apex 100 PC from 1989
Added 2019-09-03 04:30:00 +0000 UTCGreetings folks! Got a lovely retro computer to share with you today. I know, I know, uncharacteristic coming from me but I figured I'd shake things up...
All right so, sure, the Apex 100 is "just" a Turbo XT clone from thirty years ago, but I genuinely do enjoy this one. The Epson Apex line was sold right alongside the Epson Equity in the late 80s, but it were intentionally designed to be worse than the Equity series. The idea was to offer a low cost PC to sell in the wider retail marketplace, but not compete with their own higher-specced Equity machines. And that kind of business model amuses me.
Also amusing are all the thoughtful design touches here, like front-mounted DIP switches, a hideaway keyboard connection, rubber standing feet on one side, a combination CGA/Hercules/joystick card, and the optional RGB monitor that also emulates green phosphor monochrome. Among several other things too, this is just a nifty little setup despite its designed-by-committee mediocrity.
Thanks once again to Nick for donating this a while back! You all might remember seeing this in the October 2018 unboxing video and yep, took longer than anticipated but I've finally gotten around to covering it. 2019 has absolutely flown by and it is unsettling.
Enjoy the video!
Comments
Brings back memories and if that machine was used it would have needed a retrobright treatment, courtesy of the 8bit guy.
2019-09-06 12:21:01 +0000 UTC8:20 ecks dee
OzRetrocomp
2019-09-05 01:56:49 +0000 UTCAbsolutely! Beige on top of beige with more beige.
LGR
2019-09-04 22:21:27 +0000 UTCI'm still impressed by the keyboard garage, hehe. An A1000 would be a great machine to own someday.
LGR
2019-09-04 21:20:21 +0000 UTCThe good old days LGR.
2019-09-04 12:28:41 +0000 UTCAbsolutely neat looking. I was never close to IBM clones in1989 but the nice touches like front dip switches and that keyboard connector is awesome. (I was still a die-hard Amigan... well, I'll always be an Amiga fan). Of course I was impressed as heck that an A1000 had a "keyboard garage" :) So I guess I'm easily impressed. :) Great video!
James Taylor
2019-09-04 03:47:17 +0000 UTCNope! Just green.
LGR
2019-09-04 01:01:58 +0000 UTCIs the text in monochrome mode any sharper?
Steve Lovelace
2019-09-03 23:25:04 +0000 UTCI've got one of those as well! Gotta fix that up and show it sometime :)
LGR
2019-09-03 17:23:51 +0000 UTCIt certainly had to add a couple bucks to the price somewhere along the line!
LGR
2019-09-03 17:23:29 +0000 UTCWell I'll be... it does support it! Thanks for that, I will update the video to mention this in the next edit.
LGR
2019-09-03 17:18:17 +0000 UTCThat's a neat system. I don't suppose you tried the Plantronics mode on Planet X3? (unfortunately, the disk you have probably doesn't include support since it was one of the first releases) That CGA card looks like one of the type that just might have Plantronics mode. As for the green mode.. I had a Commodore 1084s monitor that had the green mode button. I seem to remember the manual saying it would be easier on the eyes for people looking at text all day. Whether there was any scientific proof to that, who knows..
The 8-Bit Guy
2019-09-03 16:44:05 +0000 UTC1989 was the year I got my first PC, an Amstrad PC1512 with a mono CGA monitor and single 360k drive, 8MHz 8086. That was a great machine!
Glen Rea
2019-09-03 16:10:07 +0000 UTCMan you're right the dual cream colored floppy drives are so boss!
John Piscopo
2019-09-03 15:13:32 +0000 UTCSexy thing.
Alyxx the Rat
2019-09-03 15:11:03 +0000 UTCAs soon as you mentioned the price point, as I already knew the year from the video title, I thought, "Wait... that's not possible... unless the specs are way out of date..." and yep, pretty much on par with 86/87 machines. Clearly blew all the budget on that keyboard connection! :P
Kris Asick
2019-09-03 10:28:55 +0000 UTCIt does prove though that just because a pc is built with older, slower parts, doesn't mean they have to be of poor quality. Epson might have designed it to be inferior to it's main lineup but they didn't scrimp on the quality of the unit.
Bryndal Dwyre
2019-09-03 07:52:40 +0000 UTCThats what always amuses me, the US was prebuild-by-large-corp land while here in Germany everywhere i looked i always saw PCs from little shops made from parts from different vendors, maybe the odd Colani and later machines from ESCOM or Vobis, but even these always looked like some computer freak assembled them in their basement and just placed a Vobis sticker on them.
BastetFurry
2019-09-03 07:10:45 +0000 UTCLGR and Coffee in the morning, me like! :) This is a good looking pc, and that keyboard connector with the door surprised me.
Uncleawesome
2019-09-03 05:54:32 +0000 UTCThank you! And seriously though, I was expecting bottom of the barrel design and cheapness. A happy surprise indeed.
LGR
2019-09-03 05:48:42 +0000 UTCGreat video! Sure is amazing how much care went into a product they intended to be inferior.
Ian Spence
2019-09-03 05:46:11 +0000 UTCYeah, screw sleep!
LGR
2019-09-03 05:29:20 +0000 UTCThank you! This really would've been a rather pleasant introduction to the world of PCs back then, considering some of the alternatives in the price range.
LGR
2019-09-03 05:29:12 +0000 UTCI actually think it looks similar to the Tandy CM-11, visually. Will be adding a line making the comparison in the next edit π
LGR
2019-09-03 05:28:24 +0000 UTCI agree - the keyboard door and plug are way cool! I am not sure how much Youtube can reproduce the weird video artifacting you're seeing, but it looks like my childhood. I grew up on Tandy monitors until I went VGA with a Packard Bell.
Jason Wellband
2019-09-03 05:07:37 +0000 UTCGreat video as always. I remeber getting one of these when I was young. Great little pc.
2019-09-03 04:55:39 +0000 UTCLate night LGR posts, Iβm down with that!
Myles MAN
2019-09-03 04:55:08 +0000 UTC
