Epson PX-8

The Epson PX-8 is a Zilog Z80 based portable computer manufactured in 1984, running CP/M-80. It is an extremely limited machine by modern standards.

During the summer of 2022 I spent a considerable amount of time attempting to make the PX-8 my daily driver as a Linux terminal, connected to a modern system over RS-232 serial.

While I was never able to get terminal emulation completely correct, most notably issues around screen clearing and cursor control, the process itself was worthwhile.

Terminal Work

At some point in the future I may attempt to reverse engineer the PX-8’s terminal behavior and build a custom Linux terminfo entry to better accommodate the machine.

A more ambitious (and more fun) idea would be to write a VT compatible terminal emulator specifically for the PX-8.

Music Use

The most successful and practical use I’ve found for the PX-8 is managing TidalCycles scripts for music orchestration.

Used in this way the PX-8 functions less as a general-purpose terminal and more as a dedicated control surface, a place to write, edit, and trigger musical structures.

Aesthetically the PX-8 fits perfectly alongside the Roland TR-909 and Akai S6000 samplers I use in the same setup. The visual language of these machines feels coherent in a way that modern hardware rarely does.

Notes

I also occasionally use the PX-8 for email and spending time on sdf.org. A kind of proto-social media built on heritage UNIX software from the 1970s. Freaking cool.

I spent an entire summer getting this configuration to work. It was worth it.