--- title: Epson PX 8 / HC-88 / Geneva categories: - Computers types: - Portable origins: - Japan years: - '1984' cpus: - Zilog Z80 params: name: PX 8 / HC-88 / Geneva company: /companies/epson company_name: Epson specs: - label: NAME value: PX 8 / HC-88 / Geneva - label: MANUFACTURER value: Epson - label: TYPE value: Portable - label: ORIGIN value: Japan - label: YEAR value: '1984' - label: BUILT IN LANGUAGE value: Microsoft Basic - label: KEYBOARD value: Full-stroke 72 key with function keys and cursor keys - label: CPU value: Zilog Z80 (+ Hitachi 6301 for I/O) - label: SPEED value: 2.45 MHz (Z80) / 614 KHz (6301) - label: RAM value: 64 KB (up to 184 KB) - label: VRAM value: 6 KB - label: ROM value: 32 KB - label: TEXT MODES value: 8 lines of 80 characters - label: GRAPHIC MODES value: 480 x 64 dots - label: COLORS value: LCD monochrome display - label: SOUND value: beeper - Volume control - label: SIZE / WEIGHT value: 29.7 (W) x 21.6 (D) x 4.6 (H) cm (A4 size) / 1.8 Kg - label: I/O PORTS value: RS232, bar code reader, bus, ADC, cartridge, analog in (2) - label: BUILT IN MEDIA value: small tape recorder - label: OS value: CP/M 80 - label: POWER SUPPLY value: External 6V. AC adaptor and rechargeable Ni-cad battery - label: PERIPHERALS value: 64 KB or 128 KB Memory expansion units, 3.5'' and 5.25'' FDD units - label: PRICE value: |- £798\ 1990 FF (France, january 1988) tabs: - photos - adverts - hardware - software - emulators - links - videos photos: - title: HC-88 (JAPANESE MODEL) subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: COMPLETE SYSTEM subtitle: '' text: Complete PX-8 system with 3.5" FDD unit and acoustic modem. image: null - title: PX-8 DISPLAY subtitle: '' text: CP/M RAM drive directory image: null - title: READY FOR TRAVELLING subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: RIGHT SIDE subtitle: '' text: Notice the power switch and the contrast adjustment knob. image: null - title: LEFT SIDE subtitle: '' text: The system reset switch needs a pen to be pushed. image: null - title: BOTTOM SIDE subtitle: '' text: Three trap doors allow BIOS ROM **(1)**, software and CP/M ROMs **(3)** as well as main battery **(2)**) to be replaced. image: null - title: MICROCASSETTE DRIVE subtitle: '' text: The microcassette drive can be operated manually or managed by software. A tape directory placed at the beginning of each cassette allows the tape drive to be seen like a floppy disc drive by the operating system. image: null - title: REAR CONNECTORS subtitle: '' text: |- **(1)** Speaker or headphones output jack\ **(2)** Analogue/digital converter input jack\ **(3)** Barcode reader input jack\ **(4)** Bus expansion 50 pin connector\ **(5)** First serial RS-232 mini-Din connector, mainly intended to a printer\ **(6)** Second serial connector intended to a modem\ **(7)** External AC adaptor connector image: null - title: REMOVABLE ROM SOFTWARE subtitle: '' text: 'Apart from the Microsoft Basic ROM **(1)** (adapted to the specific characteristics of the PX-8), several CP/M applications were available : wordprocessor **(2)**, spreadsheet **(3)**, electronic diary, communication software,etc.' image: null - title: MOTHERBOARD subtitle: '' text: |- The compact board, the size of an A4 paper sheet, includes CP/M operating system, a smart mini-tape recorder, software stored on interchangeable ROMs and multiple extension possibilities. **(1)** Bios ROM holding basic I/O routines (keyboard, display, etc)\ **(2)** Z-80 microprocessor. Low power C-MOS version, running at 2.45 MHz.\ **(3)** Custom Epson chip managing Z80 address and data buses\ **(4)** Cassette recorder unit\ **(5)** Main battery\ **(6)** C-MOS RAM battery backup. Saves memory content when the computer is switched off.\ **(7)** Chipsets handling external communications (printer, disk-drive, tape recorder, internal loudspeaker)\ **(8)** Removable ROM chips hold the CP/M operating system and a vast library of professional and utility software\ **(9)** Custom Epson chips managing ROM and RAM memory\ **(10)** RAM memory C-MOS chips (4 x 4265)\ **(11)** Keyboard flat cable\ **(12)** 7508 chipset, used to convert the analogue signal (received from analogue jack) into digital information\ **(13)** 8251 UART chip. Manages Barcode reader information image: null - title: MANUALS subtitle: '' text: Set of PX-8, peripherals and ROM software manuals. image: null adverts: - title: GENEVA AD, OCT. 1985 subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: GENEVA AD, NOV. 1985 subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: UK ADVERT (JULY 1984) subtitle: '' text: '' image: null hardware: - title: CX-21 ACOUSTIC COUPLER subtitle: '' text: The CX-21 could emit/receive data through a telephone handset at up to 300 baud. image: null - title: BARCODE READER subtitle: '' text: '' image: null - title: PF-10 FDD UNIT subtitle: '' text: |- 3.5", 360 KB, double side floppy disc drive unit. Can be operated with either internal Ni-Cd battery (90 mn life) or AC adaptor. Note the dual serial mini-din plug allowing either a second floppy drive unit or a serial printer to be connected using the serial daisy chain.\ Speed transfer rate is of 38.4 KB per second. image: /media/museum/hardware/epson_px8_fddunit_1.jpg - title: TF-15 FDD UNIT subtitle: Dual 5.25'' floppy-disk unit text: Each drive had 640 KB capacity (80 tracks x 16 sectors x 256 bytes). Information was transferred through a high speed serial interface, at 38,4 Kbits per second. image: /media/museum/hardware/epson_px8_tf15dualfdunit_s1.jpg - title: P-80X PRINTER subtitle: Thermal printer text: This thermal printer featured a 24-pin head. The resolution was of 7 x 8 in draft mode, or 16 x 24 in LQ mode. Speed was of 22.5 to 45 CPS. It was powered by a Nicad battery and an AC adapter-charger. image: null - title: P-40 THERMAL PRINTER subtitle: '' text: The P-40 was a 40-80 column thermal printer which used 11 cm wide thermal paper rolls. It was powered by rechargeable batteries. image: /media/museum/hardware/epson_px8_p40printer_s1.jpg - title: P-40 BOX subtitle: '' text: P-40 box with two boxes of five paper rolls. image: /media/museum/hardware/epson_px8_p40printerbox_s1.jpg screenshots: - title: ROM AND MICROCASSETTE SOFTWARE subtitle: '' text: |- ROM software:\ \- **Portable WordStar** (word processor)\ \- **Portable calc** (Spreadsheet)\ \- **Portable Cardbox** - 2 versions (Data management) Epson microcassettes hold various sample programs. image: null - title: 'ROM SOFTWARE #2' subtitle: '' text: '' image: null emulators: - title: Takeda Toshiya's homepage url: http://homepage3.nifty.com/takeda-toshiya/ platform: Windows text: one of the many emulators writtent by this awesome japanese guy links: - title: Demo "Buried By Sands Of Time" by "bEnd oF crUsH" url: http://pouet.net/prod.php?which=50186 text: -running demo running on a Epson HX-20 - scored 2nd on BreakPoint 2008 in category "Wild console" - title: Yet another computer museum url: http://www.xs4all.nl/~fjkraan/comp/px8/ text: Lots of CP/M software and documentation links videos: - title: Epson HX-20 commercial url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bUueKeoKPc0 text: 'Length: 32s' - title: Epson HX-20 demos url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=atklmnxwTNU text: 'Length: 4:04' - title: Epson HX-20 presentation url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OeMp7Cu-hGk text: 'Length: 7:08' - title: Printing on an Epson HX-20 url: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DeLYWXZ6pE8 text: 'Length: 55s' comments: - author: Ian date: Wednesday 9th March 2011 text: |- Back about the time these were coming off sale, I found a shop in London that was remaindering them very cheaply. I bought one and took it into the Government Department for which I then worked. Jealous eyes, then a very senior person had a word with the Clerk of Stationery, and a cab was dispatched to clear out the shop. They lasted in intensive Government use for quite a number of years, only finally being overtaken by much more modern laptops. They were light and the battery would last all day. And there was a very portable printer $ battery again$ that went with them.\ The later snag was that they were CPM, whereas the desktop machinery was MSDOS by then, so transferring texts across was a bit of a fag $though it could be done$.\ I later used mine to calculate race results at a dinghy sailing club, though it was a bit slow for real-time work of that kind. - author: Josef (Earth) date: Monday 27th May 2002 text: |- The Epson PX-8 was actually quite impressive. Besides running for up to three hours on it's batteries (with the battery backpack), it could also play and record minicassettes, in data or voice mode. The cartridges were actually more akin to ROM chips. You had to open the bottom of the case, and swap them out. It also featured a RAM drive with it's RAM, and you could access the data minicassette like a regular disk (albeit slower) through the on-board CP/M. All in all, pretty nice machines, and light too. I still own mine, and it runs beautifully save for the dead batteries. - author: Michael Kato (United States) date: Sunday 11th October 2020 text: In Japan two models were sold the HC-80 and the HC-88. The HC-80 was less expensive and did not have the Kanji ROMs. It looks like the keyboard was slightly different for the HC-88 whereas the HC-80 keyboard was very much like the PX-8. - author: Alien Nerd date: Wednesday 28th July 2010 text: Hi Geoquip, did you list that PX-8 and PF-10, I didn''t see them? - author: Geoquip date: Tuesday 20th July 2010 text: We are about to put a fully boxed Epson PX-8 with maual and reference book, PF-10 disk drive and English Wordstar software onto ebay.co.uk if anyone is interested? - author: Wulf (Norway) date: Friday 28th September 2007 text: |- Some years back, I bought one of these machines on ebay. Since it came without a manual I sent an email to Epson asking for information. Some days later I received a bunch of copied papers in the post. Somebody at Epson had hard copied the complete manual for me. That's some service for a machine that had been out of production for 20 years.\ The keyboard was btw the best of any machine I've ever worked with. What a shame that the wordprocessor ROM was missing in my PX 8... - author: Jos van der Geest (Holland) date: Friday 8th October 2004 text: |- Hello Communication between PX8 and a simple laptop (1990) by RS232 with program filink and filecom is ok.\ Comminication between a modern computer Pent. or 486 with the same equipment en cables do not succeed. What can be wrong??\ I use a nulmodem cable\ Can somebody give me any advise. Jos - author: Arvo (Savannah, GA) date: Saturday 7th February 2004 text: I purchased one of these (very cheap I might add) in London, England. It had a French Keyboard (HZERTY) and French Wordstar. I change the keyboard code in the BIOS back to English (QWERTY) and then the keycaps were wrong. I obtained an owner's manual for an English machine. There was a photograph of the keyboard and I blew it up on a xerox machine. I cut out all the pictures of the individual keys and then glued them onto the keyboard and sealed them with clear fingernail polish. It works (and looks) good to this day. The best thing about this machine is that it is "instant on." The CP/M and the Wordstar are in ROM chips so it boot as fast as a calculator. The worst thing about it is that it is slow as a mollasses. I think the clockspeed is 2 or something. Now we have clock speeds of 3400. related: - /museum/epson-hc-hx-20 oc_id: 198 source: url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230604034013/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=198 date: '2023-06-04' --- The PX-8 was the successor of the [PX-4](/museum/epson-px-4-hc-40/) and [HX-20](/museum/epson-hc-hx-20/). The main improvement was a twice bigger flip-up LCD screen. It was sold with four cartridges which could be added to the base of the unit: a **BASIC** Programming Language, **CardBox Plus**, a diary for 400 names and addresss, **Calc**, a spreadsheet and **WordStar** the well known word processor. A double 5.25" floppy drive was available, and an Epson developed stand alone 3.5" floppy drive. The PX-8 was designed to be compatible with CP/M programs but these may need some modifications due to the display system. Actually, 8 lines of 80 characters were shown at any one time, but the display could be scrolled through up to 48 lines.\ It may also act as a terminal for other computers. The PX-8 was sold as HC-88 in Japan and Geneva in the USA.