Kaypro PC: Difference between revisions

Latest revision as of 22:25, 10 December 2025

The KAYPRO PC makes sense now with all the I flexibility you need for future enhancements. Thanks to Kaypro's non-obsolete design, the KAYPRO PC is a snap to update. Card-based system components — including the microprocessor — simply snap into place.
Standard Specifications for the KAYPRO PC:

Processor:	8088-compatible V-20 microproccessor, 8087 socket: 4.77/10MHz
Video/Display:	Multivideo graphics adapter, EGA, CGA, MDA, and Hercules compatible on most monitors; 12-inch monochrome monitor
Memory:	768 KB standard
Drives:	Dual 360-KB disk drives
Ports:	IBM PC-compatible serial and parallel
Expansion:	Nine slots, six for user options
Keyboard:	Enhanced 101-style keyboard

Introduction

The Kaypro PC was the first mostly compatible PC from Kaypro. It had it's microprocessor on a add-on board so you could update to a new processor without changing out the entire machine.

Family Computing June 1987

It was the only sensible decision, but that didn't make it any pleasanter. Saying farewell to a faithful retainer is never easy. Still, it had to be done, and so we pulled the plug on the old Kaypro II, closed its cover, and sent it away.
The II was one of a series of machines using the older CP/M operating system that Kaypro started making in the early 1980's. That was a time when 64K (64,000 characters) of on-board memory looked as capacious as the big-mouth logo on the Morton Downey Jr. television show; two built-in disk drives stored 180K apiece, and the integral nine-inch monochrome monitor was a blessing to those with good eyesight or good eyeglasses. The whole package folded up into a nearly-30-pound lump that was billed as portable until true portables came along, and was later referred to as transportable, which it was in the sense that anything with a handle on it can be called transportable. The II, like other Kaypro products, came with a wide selection of software, some excellent, all usable, and at around $1,500 complete, was a great bargain.
Now, the truth of the matter is that an individual or small business can satisfy most computing needs with just such a machine. You can write letters, reports and memos, track income and outgo, organize lists of customers and inventory, craft your own specialized programs, and find a fairly large selection of commercial and public-domain software at rock-bottom prices. A well-maintained Beetle will still get you to the mall, too. But time does move on.
Just as 64K and CP/M gave way to 640K and MS-DOS, the operating system of the I.B.M. PC line, so will 640K and MS-DOS give way to memories measured in millions of characters and OS/2, the new I.B.M. operating system. But not just yet. In the mean-time, there are excellent values in machines that adhere to the old PC standard.
One such is the Kaypro PC. It is available in various configurations starting at not much more than $1,000, and it is as far ahead of the old Kaypro as it was ahead of a typewriter and mechanical calculator.
The version I have is a fully loaded model: one 5.25-inch drive for standard disks holding 360K, one 3.5-inch drive for the newer, compact disks holding 780K, and a 30-megabyte (that's 30 million characters) hard disk. There is the usual 640K of internal memory, plus an additional 128K that can be used for special purposes. The display adapter emulates both monochrome and color screens on an excellent amber monitor. The keyboard is in the style of that of the I.B.M. PC/AT, with extra-large shift and enter keys, and is quite comfortable for a fast, though not particularly accurate, touch typist.
The main unit is wide, a bit more than 19 inches, and deep, about 1.5 inches. The monitor sits on top, and the detachable keyboard in front, and it threatens to take more than its share of desk space. But a phone call to Kaypro brought assurances that there was no harm in turning the unit on its side, converting the 19 inches into vertical space, and the width into a mere 5.25 inches.
The machine comes with the operating system disk and Basic, not invariably included in the advertised prices of other computers. More important, it comes with WordStar 4.0, a professional-quality word processor that also includes a dictionary and thesaurus; PolyWindows, a collection of memory-resident programs such as a calculator, calendar and file-card generator, and more. There are other utilities for counting the number of words in a document, preparing new disks for use, copying files from one disk to another, and the like. Best of all, these programs are accessible through a handy menu of selections; for most purposes it is not even necessary to deal with the operating system commands.
Unlike the previous line of Kaypros, a spreadsheet and a database are not included, but the line has to be drawn somewhere, and the line for all of the above is drawn at something less than $2,000. By way of comparison, when the I.B.M. XT, the general class of machine to which the Kaypro PC belongs, was introduced less than five years ago, it was listed at a price of almost $5,000, with only 128K of memory, one floppy drive and a 10-megabyte hard drive, and with neither monitor nor any software included.
Rap your knuckles - not too hard, please — on the main unit and you'll discover it's made of metal. Its older brothers were also made of metal, and the Whole Earth Software Catalog said the II looked "like a piece of military surplus." The current machine also gives the impression of ruggedness, but it is handsome as well, sort of like a designer tank.
Will the Kaypro PC be ready for the Smithsonian five years from now? It's hard to say it, but most likely yes, Still, the computer has nine slots, three of them already occupied, into which various circuit cards can be plugged to give it new or expanded capabilities. And since the main processor is installed on a changeable circuit card, even a brain transplant is not out of the question.
(New York Times, January 19, 1988)

News

Systems are available with such features as the IBM PC-compatible Kaypro PC-30 with 30 megabyte hard drive, full page monitor and adaptor, and EGA card. The systems range in price from $3,395 to $8,745.
Two upgrades are also available through Kaypro. The first, which retails for $1,549, includes software (Ventura Publisher, version 1.1, GEM Desktop, GEM Paint, and GEM Draw+), and a mouse. The second upgrade, available for $4,544, includes the software, a mouse, and a laser printer.

(Profiles, September 1987)

Upgrades

"If you have a Kaypro PC with 4.77 Mhz clock, you can buy one of two processor boards from Kaypro Corporation that offer faster clocks. These are the 8 Mhz 8088/V-20 board, part number 5238; and the 10 Mhz 8088/V20 board, part number 5962. Many PC owners already have one of these boards — they've been standard equipment for almost two years now. If there is a toggle switch on the back panel of your computer near the reset button, then you already have either an 8 or 10 Mhz machine." (Profiles June 1988)

BIOS ROMS

81-486 H	4.77 Single Speed Board	81-512(3)	File:81-486 H.bin
81-486 L	4.77/8 Dual Speed Board	81-1184 Rev A	File:81-486 L.bin
81-486 M	4.7/8 Dual Speed Board	81-1230 Rev A	File:81-486 M.bin

Kaypro PC #335516

Overview

This is a complete (or nearly complete) Kaypro PC model 81-045-02. That has not been modified after purchase according to original owner.

Sales Receipt

Notes:

335516 Sold on 7/29/86
Machine upgraded to 768K without additional charge (Education Deal?)
Image redacted for Personal Information

Cards

CPU Card Model 81-1184 Rev A 8MHz Kaypro
	"The standard processor card is based on an 8088 microprocessor running at 4.77 MHz. A socket on the card is provided to add an 8087 math coprocessor. Other components located on the processor card are a speaker subsystem and three counter-timers. Purchasing the processor card separately will cost you $395, including software." (Profiles, December 1985) Note the card from this computer is a later model with a higher speed processor.	DIP switch settings Note: All 4 boards that I have have NO Co-processor but switch #1 is in the on position so I believe this is a typo in this chart (Profiles, August 1987)
Video Card Appears to be a Hercules Clone Card from ATI
	"The KPC multivideo card supports monochrome, RGB color, and composite video monitors. It features a crisper, more readable character set than the standard IBM color card, along with software selectable color or monochrome modes. Color and graphics support are the same as found on IBM's color/graphics card. The multivideo card is $395 if you purchase it separately." (Profiles, December 1985)
Hard Drive Card ADP 50 Appears to be an ADP50L from Silicon Valley Computer, Inc.
"Multicard" - IO, Memory and Floppy Drive Card Model 81-916 Rev B Kaypro
	"Kaypro's multifunction card has room for 640K of RAM using three banks of 256K chips. On the standard system only one bank of RAM is populated, giving you 256K of system memory. The multifunction card is also home for the floppy disk controller, a Centronics parallel port, and an IBM-compatible serial port. This card is available separately for $325." (Profiles, December 1985) The newer versions of the Kaypro PC multifunction boards have a different chip at U42: A 9239 floppy disk controller chip instead of the 9229. Upon first observation, you will note that pin 16 of this chip is sticking out of its socket. Pin 16 is left out as a test point and should not be placed in the socket. If it is inadvertently inserted, you will have no video and no drive access. (Kugram, Nov Dec 1986)

Hard Drive

Hard Drive Label

Floppy Drives

Floppy Drive Board Both Drives are Identical
Floppy Drive Label

Power Supply

Power Supply Label

Documentation and Manuals

Manuals that were with the computer
Kaypro PC Manual
Addendum to MSDOS 3.1 UG

Addendum Monitors Instructions

Using the Half-Length Multi-Video Board

Disks

Feel free to copy these for your personal use.

I would only ask that they not be posted to other websites as long as this website is functional.

Feel free to link to this page to share with others.

Install Disk 1
Install Disk 2
Install Disk 3
Install Disk 4
Install Disk 5
Install Disk 6

Monitor

Keyboard

Boxes

System Box Front
System Box Side
System Box Top
Monitor Box Front
Monitor Box Side