The Kaypro and this Kaypro II were direct competition for the Osbourne portable computer. This was 1980-81, which was the time just before the world decided that PC/DOS and Apple II computers were going to be the big go-to personal computers. There was a lot of diversity at the time, and Osbourne was the only portable when it came out. They sold the whole computer, software and all. For $1750.00, you got the computer, 2 floppy drives, a tiny 5" screen, the CP/M operating system running a Z-80 CPU, and a bundle of software that Osbourne said was a complete package, which gave you everything you would need to get started and more. The Kaypro line of computers sold for $200 less, and gave you a larger 9-inch screen A Z-80 CPU, CP/M, and an similar "knock-off" suite of similar software. In my opinion, the Kaypro was better for those reasons, but also for it's simplicity of design, and use of many commonly available parts.
Here's the back of the box showing the serial Number and the places where the cables all connect. The coiled Phone cable is the keyboard cable, and yes -- it's just an ordinary handset cable. If you break it or lose it, you only needed to go buy a new one at any department store. A Genius Move by the designer to make it easy to maintain.
The Handle is a standard part, the exact same type of retractable suitcase handle that you find on so many toolboxes and luggage sets, even today. This was another way that the Kaypro stood out. Many of it's parts are readily available and/or universal, which is another plus, especially if something breaks.
Where the Osbourne's power cord was separate, stored inside of a compartment on the side of the computer, which had to be removed and plugged in, the kaypro used an ingenious scheme for cable wrangling and storage. The plastic cable-clips had a special design that let you insert the 3-prong power cord into them. This little socket let you simply wrap the cord around the plastic guides and snap it into place, and it stayed there, unless it got tugged hard enough to pull it out.
The Power Switch
The Brightness control knob
Some people (Probably Osbourne users) complained that the Kaypro and this Kaypro II were "ugly gray boxes". But seriously, having a 2-piece metal case like this is great for shielding and durability. The Osbourne had a metal case surrounded by plastic, which meant that it likely cost more for the case, and that parts were more breakable, and at least some were proprietary.
The bottom of the keyboard has screw-down rubber feet, and the case is made of solid aluminum. It's held on with the same plastic latches that you find on many tool boxes and luggage.
Here are the latches
Keyboard latched shut
After snapping the latches open, you just lift the keyboard off of the face of the Kaypro, and pull it off.
Like this...
The storage space for the keyboard cable was just under the keyboard. This was a pretty good move, because it meant that unlike the Osbourne, there was no special storage compartment for it.
The keyboard is actually pretty aesthetically pleasing, as well as built like a tank. It has an all-metal enclosure, and great feeling full-stroke keys.
The Phone-like Cable just clips into the keyboard keyboard with a click.
Here is the Kaypro resting on top of keyboard, as was customary at the time.
After plugging it in, attaching the keyboard cable, and powering it on, I am greeted with a nice green "Please insert your diskette into drive A:", which is a very good sign that we have a working computer!
While waiting for my Kaypro Discs to arrive, I decided to open it up and give the floppy drives a good lube and cleaning. So I removed the 6 screws holding the case together, and this is what I saw. Can you spot the Z-80? The RAM, and the ROM chips?
The Screws were all rusty, so I used a fiberglass scraper to remove the rust, and make them shiny like new again. The Motherboard sits right on top of everything in the case. This was another great idea, because it meant that your first upgrades would be easy to get to -- assuming that you were upgrading the RAM, or having your BIOS updated, or that you might need to replace a bad CPU...
Here is the power supply for the monitor. The Kaypro had to separate power supplies, one for the monitor, and one for the Computer and floppy drives.
Here's the Main Power Supply for the drives and Mainboard, screwed right into the back of the case.
The Back of floppy cage. This is a very similar arrangement to the TRS-80 -- a metal drive cage into which the floppy drives get screwed -- no rails or guides -- just screw holes where needed. The screws are Hex-type -- the only big flaw, in my opinion. I would have made all of the screws in the computer the exact same type. The drive screws are the only screws, other than the two beveled ones on top of the case, that are different from the rest. Having most of the screws be identical cuts down on any confusion about which screws go where.
Here is The Floppy Cage after removing the drives.
The view from the front.
The Drives are both Tandon drives -- The same exact ones that are used in the TRS-80 and the IBM PC. As with my TRS-80 and IBM PC, the drives, in spite of being over 30 years old, look practically like new -- all shiny and dust free. I still am amazed that this is the norm for these old drives. It's a good sign that they're likely in great working condition.
After re-assembling everything, it looks pretty nice. The things I did so far are:
- Clean the floppy drive Read/Write heads.
- Lubricated the floppy drive motor shafts, rods, and bearings.
- Removed the rust from the heads of the screws.
- Washed the case on all sides.
- Cleaned the monitor face with windex.
- Washed the plastic Bezels of the screen and floppy drives with special plastic cleaner.
