diff --git a/vxi11/vxi11.py b/vxi11/vxi11.py
index 231582d..d162ba8 100644
--- a/vxi11/vxi11.py
+++ b/vxi11/vxi11.py
@@ -662,7 +662,7 @@ def write_raw(self, data):
 
         if self.term_char is not None:
             flags = OP_FLAG_TERMCHAR_SET
-            term_char = str(self.term_char).encode('utf-8')[0]
+            term_char = str(self.term_char).encode('utf-8')[:1]
             data += term_char
 
         flags = 0