RX-8800 (Apple II+ clone)

(Note: Click on the image for a larger view. Along with the Apple II+ I also describe this machine towards the end of a YouTube video)

What is an RX-8800? Although it doesn't look like it, it's actually an Apple II+ clone.

Up until July, 2011 I had no idea who made these. It was likely the model was a Taiwanese clone but from what company? Finally, when browsing a site on Apple clones I spied it in a scanned advertisement. There it was, from Chin Hsn Industrial Co. Ltd. Taipei.

One thing that Apple II+ clones can do well, given the appropriate expansion cards, is make great CP/M machines. This machine is running that operating system. What is CP/M? It's an operating system (OS) that was common on 8-bit business computers in the early 1980s. The only other CP/M machine I had prior to acquiring this one was the Osborne 1. It's a luggable. I wanted a desktop unit that ran CP/M. This RX-8800 looked more like a generic CP/M computer than an Apple II+ so I decided to make it so.

This particular unit was part of a gifted lot of "haybarn" computers. I personally repaired and restored it to a working condition along with de-yellowing the case. I guess this has given me a certain emotional attachment to the machine. It's certainly not a classic computer and some would regard it as ugly and angular. However it goes well and I restored it myself.

I guess that's given me a soft spot for this micro, hence its place in my collection.

Update: The RX-8800 found a new owner in June 2021 so is no longer with me.

Want to know more about this micro? Google is your friend.

This page last edited 18th July, 2021