The Epson HX-20 Part 1

Hello everyone, and welcome to episode 94 of the Floppy Days Podcast for October, 2019, where this month we will be talking about one of the world’s first portable computers: The Epson HX-20.  Thank you, Terry Stewart, for your thoughts about the HX-20 to lead off the show. For those that want more information from Terry, check out his Website and Youtube channel where he has a terrific video on the HX-20, as well as lots of information on other vintage computers.

I’m extremely happy to announce that my good friend, and one of the godfathers of vintage computer podcast, Mr. Earl Evans, will be my co-host for this topic.  It’s always a thrill to have Earl join me on this podcast as he and his Retrobits podcast were the inspiration for Floppy Days. It turned out that Earl not only knows the gentleman I interviewed last month, Chris Rutkowski, but he also used to work for Epson and supported the HX-20 and its successor the PX-8.  He also owns a couple of machines. As a result, Earl is able to provide great insights into the HX-20 and is a perfect color commentator for this topic. I know you’ll enjoy Earl’s contributions to this show.

It turned out we have so much material to cover that I’m breaking this topic into 2 parts.  This month will be part 1, and Earl and I will cover HX-20 history, tech specs, and peripherals.  Next month will be part 2, in which Earl and I will continue coverage by discussing how to use the machine, emulators, software, ads and appearances, modern upgrades, Web sites and more.  In addition, I was able to get interviews with a couple of gentlemen who have done recent work around the HX-20 in the areas of emulation and modern upgrades.

So, we have a lot to cover and a short time to get there!

Links Mentioned in the Show:

New Acquisitions and What I’ve Been Up To

• Atari 8-bit modern power supplies and video cables from Corey Koltz - https://www.8bitclassics.com/ 
• Nu-Brick power supplies (Kevin Ottum) - Facebook
• Tandy PC-1 LCDs by Robert Baruch - https://www.tindie.com/products/halfbakedmaker/lcd-replacement-for-trs-80-pc-1-sharp-pc-1211/ 
• Commodore The Amiga Years by Brian Bagnall - https://amzn.to/2WocDrz 
• Electronic Dreams by Tom Lean - https://www.amazon.co.uk/Electronic-Dreams-Britain-Learned-Computer/dp/1472918339 
• 101 Programming Tips for the TI99 by Len Turner - https://amzn.to/2q1ylpe 
• TI’s Compute Collection Vol. I by Compute - https://amzn.to/31WpG4F 
• Micro Kids: An 80s Adventure with ZX Spectrum, Commodore 64 and more by Gary Plowman - https://amzn.to/2NnerNl 
• Atari Projects by Jason Moore - http://www.lulu.com/shop/jason-moore/atari-projects/paperback/product-24223087.html 
• SDrive Max cases (1050 and 810) from Steve Boswell - https://atari8bit.net/sdrive-max-cases/ 

Upcoming Shows (https://www.facebook.com/VintageComputerShows)

• Nov 2, 2019, Chicago TI International World’s Faire, Evanston, IL - http://chicagotiug.sdf.org/ 
• Dec 7, 2019, World of Commodore 2019, hosted by the Toronto PET Users Group (TPUG) at the Admiral Inn Mississauga - https://www.tpug.ca/2019/09/announcement-world-of-commodore-2019  
• March 21 & 22, 2020, Vintage Computer Festival Pacific Northwest, Living Computers:Museum+Labs in Seattle,Washington - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-pacific-northwest  
• April 24-26, 2020, Vintage Computer Festival East, InfoAge Science Center, Wall, NJ - http://vcfed.org/wp/festivals/vintage-computer-festival-east 
• October 30 - November 1, 2020, Tandy Assembly, Springfield, OH - http://www.tandyassembly.com