Drivetec Drives

Andrew Kay with a Drivetec Robie and a regular Kaypro 4.

Drivetec drives were used in the Kaypro 4X and early Robie.

Photos from Chris Singleton

Kaypro is now in the disk drive manufacturing business! We have signed a manufacturing agreement with Drivetec of San Jose that allows us to build drives which they designed. We are even allowed to build the parts that make up the drives, if we choose. The only thing we can't do is sell the drives outside the computer as independent components. The Eastman Kodak Company has a similar arrangement with Drivetec. We are currently using the drives in our Robie computer which has been sent to a beta test site for evaluation and will be shipped to dealers soon.

The idea for the new drive is based on a design originally patented by Dymec Corp. It has been fully developed by a team of experts at Drivetec headed by Herb Thompson. Frank D. Wallens of Drivetec wrote the software for programming the proms (programmable read only memories), the computer chips that control the drives.

According to Redacted Name, KAYPRO's technical expert on the Drivetec project, there are several features of this product that attracted us to it. "For example," says he "the mechanical simplicity of the drive is excellent and the positioning system for the heads centers them perfectly withi the center of the tracks on the diskette. Also, the 'Gumball' head system of the drive treats the diskettes delicately and thus makes them last longer."

This disk drive which is now a member of the KAYPRO family, contains the very latest in drive technology. Its most amazing technological advance is the 2.6 megabytes of formatted storage on a 5 1/4-inch diskette. It is so advanced, in fact, that much of the rest of the drive industry is scrambling to come out with something similar: Amlyne Corporation is making a drive similar to our Drivetec, and 3M Corporation is now developing a "stretched floppy" as another way of accomplishing Drivetec's perfect diskette centering. Some companies are even attempting to develop a 10 megabyte floppy diskette!

KAYPRO's choice of Drivetec is another industry first for us and should put us further ahead in sales. The returns will be in soon.
(CommuniKay, April 1984)

Sources reported that Drivetec was seeking an infusion of about $5 million. The company in October received $7 million in its third funding round, bringing total capitalization to $15 million.

That round had been delayed the previous summer when Kaypro Corp., Drivetec's largest customer, rescheduled deliveries. The third round was originally intended to bring $10 million. ...

Drivetec reportedly was shipping its 3.3-Mbyte floppy disk drive at the rate of 6000 units per month until Kaypro's action last July [1984] forced it to cut production. Although it resumed manufacturing in January, the company never again exceeded shipments of 1000 units per month, sources said.
(Computer Systems News, January 21, 1985)

Micro-Mini Systems Article written by Herb Thompson File:198307 Drivetec 3.3Mb Floppy.pdf

"In addition to the new-product announcements, Kaypro told its stockholders that it has solved its sourcing problems for both hard and floppy disk drives with the addition of new vendors and by entering into a licensing agreement with Drivetec Inc. that will result in Kaypro manufacturing high-capacity floppy disk drives for its new Robie desktop personal computer." (Computer System News, February 27, 1984)

Disks

"You should buy good-quality, high-density diskettes pre- formatted l7-sector 192 TPI. Specify Brown Disk UHR II or the Maxell equivalent. Each diskette is capable of holding 2.6 megabytes of information." (Robie Manual)

Cleaning Disks

"A drive-cleaning disk is needed to keep the drive heads clean and in proper working order. The following are approved: Scotch 7440, Head Computer Products, Perfect Data, Floppiclene." (Robie Manual)

"Responding to requests from Kaypro headquarters and from the field, Drivetec (manufacturer of the Robie disk drives) has approved four head-cleaning disks for use in their drives. Drivetec states:
The following cleaning disks have been evaluated and are recommended for usage on the Drivetec disk drive when head cleaning is deemed necessary:
1. Scotch #7440
2. Head Computer Products
3. Perfect Data
4. Floppiclene
(Kugram Vol.2 No.5 Page 22)