2023-08-16 — updated 2024-01-31
Note: this page is a work in progress as I work to restore my machine.
I’ve long had an interest in computers outside of the mainstream, western family tree, particularly clones which present an interesting alternative history that is poorly documented on the English internet. To that end I’ve been working to document and restore some machines.
Table of Contents
Overview
Presenting the “Апогей-БК 01Ц Бытовой Компьютер”, or in English, the “Apogee-BK 01C Household Computer”.
Alternatively directly transliterated as the Apogej or Apogey and BK 01Ts, the Apogee was a late Soviet factory-built computer based on the homebrew Радио-86РК (Radio-86RK) platform.
An upgrade to the original Apogee-BK 01, the C model added color output and some memory but little else over the original Radio-86RK, still using the same c. 1979 KR580VM80A Intel 8080A clone running at 1.78MHz. You can view the full specs translated from Russian language Wikipedia.
Produced in a striking colors including red, blue, yellow, and brilliant white along with a drab grey, it was built in Kimovsky District of Tula Oblast, USSR, starting around 1988 (for the non-color model). From the manual, the machine was constructed at the “Impulse” factory in Lesnoy located at:
301730 Тульская обл., Кимовский район, пос. Лесной
301730 Tula region, Kimovsky district, Lesnoy settlement
The plant may have been associated with the Kimovsk Radioelektromehanichesky Plant (Kremz) in nearby Kimovsk city.
You can see it, abandoned, on Google Maps. As of 2021, Google Street View shows the Impulse sign remains on the main entryway.
Additionally, per the manual, repair work could be carried out at 10 Potapovskiy Lane, Moscow.
My Unit
My unit is bare, no manuals, cables, power supply, or adapters. As a result I’ve been working to restore these missing components.
A sticker on the back indicates it was completed in April 1994, with a possible date marking on the board indicating December 3, 1993.
To be completed.
Connections and Buttons
From left to right when looking from the rear of the machine:
Port 1: “ПИТАНИЕ” - Power
7-pin - DIN 45329
Power connection requiring +5v, -5v, +12v.
The pinout, from the power supply schematics. These have been verified with a real board:
- +5v
- +5v
- +12v
- -5v
- Neutral
- Neutral
- Possibly pulled to 0v to enable the power rails on the OEM power supply
Port 2: “ВИДЕО” - “Composite” Video
6-pin - DIN 45322
This is likely a luminance (black and white) 625-line (15.6kHz) video signal. It was intended to connect to an RF modulator per the manual. The pinout is unconfirmed.
So far I’ve not had luck getting modern PAL equipment to lock sync, it’s unclear why.
The original modulator provided a signal on channel 3, likely using System D frequencies.
Still researching.
Port 3: “МАГНИТОФОН” - Tape Deck
5-pin - DIN 41524
Connection to a tape deck to load and save programs.
This appears to be a standard-ish DIN tape recorder connection, popular in the Soviet Union and also used on some Western equipment.
It is possible a 4 lead RCA breakout cable might be correct to wire this to modern sound hardware.
Still researching.
Port 4: “RGB” - Sound and RGB Video
7-pin - DIN 45329
WARNING: This uses the same cable as the power conneciton. Use care not to insert the power cable into this port.
Connection to an RGB monitor. Still determining voltage levels.
The pinout (using numbers from the user’s manual – this may be mirrored) use at your own risk until confirmed:
- Composite Sync
- Blue
- Sound
- Blanking
- Green
- Red
- Ground
Still researching.
“CБPOC” - Reset Button
Button to reset the system.
“▼” - Expansion Bay
Expansion connector, possibly only ever used for ROMs. Remove the cover to expose.
Per the manual, a ГРПМШ-1-31Г02 / GRPMSh-1-31G02 socket was included, possibly as a loose part for designing your own expansion boards. This is a standardized Soviet connector, this model silver plated with 31 contacts and rear-oriented wire connections.
This mates with a ГРПМШ-1-31ШУ2–В / GRPMSh-1-31ShU2-V plug on the board which is the matching 31 contact plug, except in a through-hole form.
Note that the plug is on the device, and the socket on the peripheral.
Some example data sheets for the ГРПМШ-1 / GRPMSh-1 family:
These are quite hard to find outside of Russia (and occasionally Ukraine), but I managed to acquire a few from Lithuania.
Status Lights
On the top right of the front panel.
- “PУC.” - When lit, keyboard is in Cyrillic entry mode and when dark, in Latin entry mode.
- “ПИТАНИЕ” - Power
Fuses
The manual mentions a VPT6-5. That corresponds to a 5x20mm 250v slow-blow fuse. This is present in the power supply, the main unit has no fusing. Thus, it is vital to use a fused power supply when replacing the OEM unit.
Power Supply
As the machine requires -5v, it’s more difficult to find a power supply. There are a few reasonable options:
- Design your own DC-DC power supply to create +/-5v rails from an off-the-shelf 12v supply.
- Combine some off the shelf options, for instance, a pico PSU (ATX) with an ATX2AT which adds the -5v rail.
- Purchase a power supply with +/-5v and +12v rails.
Before heading off to spend the extra time with options 1 or 2, I surveyed the existing power supply options and found the RetroPower PSU for ColecoVision provides these voltages on a standard 7-pin DIN connector for a reasonable price.
NOTE: Despite looking similar, different RetroPower PSUs output different voltages. As of 2023, both the ColecoVision and TI-99/4A versions are suitable (and, most likely, are identical products only differing in branding). Do not purchase other versions or you will destroy your Apogee.
By crafting an adapter cable between the 7-pin DIN on the RetroPower and the 7-pin DIN on the Apogee, this power supply should work properly. Use the following pinouts at each end:
| RetroPower DIN Pin | Apogee DIN Pin |
|---|---|
| 1 (Not Connected) | Not Connected |
| 2 (Ground) | 5, 6 |
| 3 (Not Connected) | Not Connected |
| 4 (+5v) | 1 |
| 5 (+5v) | 2 |
| 6 (-5v) | 4 |
| 7 (+12v) | 3 |
| Not Connected | 7 |
This leaves pin 7 on the Apogee floating, which is fine as our power supply doesn’t need it. Theoretically the Apogee has pins 5 and 6 bridged so you don’t need to bridge them in the cable, but it’s better to preserve this redundancy.
NOTE: This cable is directional and cannot be reversed. It’s worth marking the ends to ensure it’s not plugged in backwards.
Amperage requirements are currently untested.