DOS Kaypros
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Change in Focus
"As a major step in achieving our goal, our product line will be significantly enhanced and diversified in 1985 by the addition of several exciting new products which mark our entry into the market for computers which can employ the software and the hardware accessories designed for I.B.M. personal computers. We are already shipping our "Kaypro 16", which has been hailed as a "superb" price/performance value by independent market analysts. We also expect to introduce a computer similar to the powerful IBM-AT computer as well as a fully-functional ten-pound notebook size computer."
(Annual Report, 1984)
Bent Vents
Notice that the "bent" vents on the various PCs that Kaypro makes are intended to represent the K in Kaypro according to David Kay.
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DOS Versions used
How to's
Installing 3.5 inch Floppy Drives in Kaypro PCs and 286i machines. Profiles Magazine Dec 1987 Page 92
Models
First true 8088 but not truly PC compatible
Early Laptops
Kaypro's first beige boxes
Kaypro PC/XL/EXP/Expansion Unit
Kaypro Monitors
Small Machine
KC line
Late Laptop?
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In progress PC BIOS
Cards
Video Cards
Full-length multi-video board
This board can provide IBM-standard monochrome (MDA) and color (CGA) video. The jumper at position J3 determines which video mode is selected upon power-up; see Diagram 1. The setting of this jumper should agree with the settings of switches 2 and 3 on the processor board (see "On The Practical Side" in the August 1987 Profiles). The jumper at position J2 determines whether software is allowed to change the video mode (using VSWITCH 1.0 or MODE). Diagram 2 has these settings.
(Profiles, October 1987)
Half-length multi-video board
This board can use IBM-compatible monochrome, CGA color, Hercules monochrome graphics, and color emulation mode. Emulation mode allows you to use color graphics software on a monochrome monitor by displaying varying shades of one color. When using color emulation mode, set up DIP switches on the processor board for 80 by 25 color video, so the computer thinks you are using a color graphics adapter.The three modes available to you on power-up are monochrome, color, and emulation. The defualt video mode is determined by the upper right corner of the board.
There are two different versions of the HLMV, each with different sets of switch settings. The early HLMVs have the words "Graphics Solution" stenciled on them (see Diagram 3 for switch settings), while later ones say "Graphics Solution Plus" (switch settings in Diagram 4).
The HLMV also offers two 132-column modes for monochrome video: 132 by 25 and 132 by 40. These modes are accessed using the program MS.COM.
Kaypro Corporation makes no promises concerning either 132-column mode. This doesn't mean they don't work, just that Kaypro hasn't tested them and won't guarentee their operation. (These modes have worked on every HLMV/monochrome monitor combination I've used.) To access these modes, your software must allow for 132-column operation.
(Profiles, October 1987)
Half-Length EGA Board
The HLEB is a specially licensed version of the EGA Wonder board by Array Technologies Incoporated. The HLEB is an IBM EGA-compatible graphics adapter. It supports all EGA video modes and comes with 256 kilobytes of memroy on the board. When the computer is powered up or reset, the HLEB displays a sign-on message that reads "ATI EGA Wonder BIOS, Version XXX." XXX is the BIOS version number for that particular card.The HLEB can provide any standard type of video on any standard monitor. It will do EGA or CGA graphics on a monochrome monitor, for example, or EGA graphics on a CGA monitor.
HLEB has eight DIP switches that designate what type of video is used on power-up (see the charts below for the complete setting). Unlike earlier ATI boards, therre is no emulation mode per so. Rather, the first four switches tell the HLEB what type of video is desired, and the next three tell it what type of monitor you have. If the video type/monitor combination requires an emulation mode, the HLEB supplies it.
The combination of a monochrome monitor and EGA video produces stunning monochrome graphics; the resolution and gray scale provided by the HLEB create sharp, clear graphs and charts.
The HLEB can also switch video modes on the fly. If you have it configured to imitate a monochrome board, for example, and your software transmits signals for CGA or EGA, the HLEB will automatically switch into a color emulation mode. You never see the switch; you just see your computer running every program you throw at it.
The eighth DIP switch toggles this auto-switch mode. If switch 8 is ON, the HLEB provides any type of video to any type of monitor at any given time; if it's OFF, the HLEB performs like an IBM EGA board and nothing more.
Provided with the HLEB is the program SMS.COM, which allows you to switch video modes after the computer boots. You can switch from CGA to monochrome, or from monochrome to EGA -- every mode the provides is available. Additionally, SMS lets you enable the HLEB's auto-switching abilities.
This comes in handy because some computers, notably the 10 Mhz 286i and the Kaypro 386, have trouble booting when auto-switch mode is enabled. With these machines it is best to set switch 8 OFF, disabling auto-switch mode. Then, once the computer boots, you can enable auto-switching by typing SMS ENAB and pressing Enter. Put this command in your AUTOEXEC.BAT file and SMS will run automatically when the computer boots.
The latest HLEBs produced by Kaypro provide a video mode for use with multiple frequency monitors such as the NEC MultiSync or the Sony Multiscan. In this mode the monitor has a resolution of 800 by 560 pixels, rather than the EGA standard 640 by 350. Check your HLEB BIOS version number; if it's 4.0 or higher, you have access to the high-resolution mode.
(Profiles, November 1987)
Notes
"The Torrington Manager Mouse distributed by Kaypro, ..."
(Profiles, November 1987)