CFOG's PIP, March 1987, Volume 5 No. 5, Whole No. 53, page 10
Kaypro Modifications
by Don Backman
[I downloaded this from the Lillipute Z- Node (649-1730). The source is indicated as Don Backman, Sysop of the Central NY PDSE MBBS RCP/M (315) 737-9970 300/1200/2400 [8N1] 24hrs. I don't have any Kaypros, so I can't evaluate Backman's advice: act at your own risk! -- bhc]
By now I'm sure most Kaypro owners have hacked their machines to death. This article is for those who need some encouragement, help, and clear instructions. This is a list of easy modifications and conversions you might want to try in your spare time.
Cooling fan: Problem
Some 84 model Kaypros (4-84, 10-84) came with 3 inch muffin fans. The problem is, these fans run on 12vdc generated by the power supply. The amount of air they produce vs. what strain they put on the power supply isn't worth it. Although they are rated at .2 amp, on startup they can draw 2 or more amps, depending on when the fan filter was last cleaned. The hotter the chips get, the slower (and more undependable) the machine. If you've had disk read/write problems, your problem simply might be too much heat
Cooling fan: Solution
Install a 110/120 volt AC fan. Solder the 2 AC leads to the middle poles of the on-off switch, making sure you leave plenty of room to reinstall the leads that go over to the power supply. Radio Shack (tremor) sells new fans for $12-$13. I scrounged up a used one at a local salvage parts store for $5. Models 2X and 1 have the holes cut for the fan, 83 owners will have some cutting to do if they want a fan. Make sure you get a 3 inch fan! Larger will do you no good whatsoever. There is plenty of room for a fatter fan, in fact these units are usually more heavy-duty.
Monitor ROM: Problem
The factory ROM is a dinosaur.
Monitor ROM: Solution(s)
Various people are marketing really excellent ROMs for the Kaypro. I will discuss 2 ROMs here, apologies to those I didn't discuss (I don't know everything). For 83 and 84 models 2, 2X, 4, 4-84, and 1-84, Micro C sells their Pro-8(84) (MAX) ROM. I own a 4-84 and a 10-84, I bought the MAX-884 for my 4-84. The ProMonitor ROMs live up to their expectations; faster video, VT52 emulation, ZCPR in ROM, 25th line clock support and many more features make this ROM a heavy favorite for your Kaypro. Installation documentation and software makes this job a breeze. As of present Micro C does not market a 10 ROM, so I bought the TurboROM as advertised by Advent Products. This ROM is as close to God on silicon as a Kaypro10 will ever get. The features are numerous, I'll skim over the highlights of this ROM: Video blanking, User-configurable TPA, the ability to partition the hard drive up to 7 partitions, faster disk writes, and the list goes on. Again, follow the supplied documentation. Addresses for Micro C and Advent are at the end of this article.
Not enough disk storage: Problem
Kaypro 2's, 4's, and even 10's fill up fast.
Not enough disk storage: Solution(s)
On floppy-based machines, add floppy drives. Of course, you will have already purchased a ROM to support the extra drives, and now you will need a decoder (also readily available from Micro C or Advent). I added 2 Mitsubishi quad drives to my 4-84 (quad drives hold almost 800k each). NOTICE! This job requires cutting your case and fabricating (if you add 2 drives; if you only add 1 you can use your existing drive cage) a new drive cage. The dimensions for a 4-drive cage are: 186mm high, 148mm wide, 185mm deep. Your local sheet metal shop will charge a nominal fee to bend you one up, if you don't have access to a sheet-metal brake. Don't do this modification unless you are VERY comfortable with hardware and electronics. Radio Shack (again, TREMOR) has the 34 pin connectors you will need to add to the floppy ribbon cable. When done correctly, this is a very impressive modification. I get more positive comments on my four drive 4-84 than anything else.
On hard drive machines (K-10), just installing the TurboROM and using the Turboformatter usually gives you 11 megs. However, if you need more, there is hope. Assuming you have a TurboROM, buy a Seagate 20 meg hard drive (ST225) which is available for under $300 via mail-order. Jumper the #1 (Not the 0 set, which is all the way to the left, might be the pins that were jumpered when it was shipped) set. These are the second set of jumpers from the left. You will need to purchase Advent's 20meg formatting program. Install the hard drive in place of the old drive (very easy job). Format. TurboGEN (SYSGEN) the hard drive. All done. I got 22,022k (22 megs) out of my ST225 Seagate. This is way I recommend K-10 owners to go (TurboROM and 20meg hard drive). NOTE: 10-83 owners, Advent will try to sell you an 'adaptor'. This is a $9.95 piece of wire which I bought and recommend that you don't. The TurboROM manual has all the information on making an adaptor. Save yourself the money.
Real-Time Clock: Problem
Only 4-84's and later 10-84's came with a real-time clock.
Real-Time Clock: Solution(s)
Buy an aftermarket RTClock or optionally, if you have a 2X, populate the motherboard with the dock pieces. Two RTC clock vendors come to mind: Kenmore and Legacy. Kenmore offers their clock based on the MM58167 clock that is built into the 4-84. They offer it as a kit or assembled. The Kenmore clock is a good clock at a good price. I bought the Legacy clock (and paid more than twice as much as I would have paid for the Kenmore) only because a BBS program I ran had a nice overlay for the Legacy clock. It's a good clock, but unless money is burning a hole in your pocket, go with the Kenmore. Advent also makes a clock, I have no information to offer on how good or bad it is other than to say it has TurboROM support (but so does the Kenmore and Kaypro factory clock). From what I read, Advent makes you buy their host adaptor if you want their clock. But, it's all priced reasonably. You have to make your own decision here.
Other small enhancements:
Longer keyboard cables are also known as telephone handset cords. Pick the length you're comfortable with.
Move the reset switch if your machine is sitting next to a wall. Don't neglect to clean your fan filter if the back of your machine is against the wall. DON'T drill a hole in the front of your machine, the bottom is better (by the foldout support).
Don't like the red LED's burning your eyes out? Radio Shack has green, blue and yellow LED's. (Wasn't red = system stop and green = system go in the old days?)
There are extra positions in the keyboard for more keys. If you want to have function keys, take your keyboard cover off and look. Roughly about a dozen spaces for keys (on 84 machines anyway). I haven't found cheap keys yet, I keep bringing home dollar keyboards in vain hope I can use the keys. The dealer gets $8 a key, thats outrageous. The keyboards NOT to bother with scarfing keys are DEC and MDS, from my experience. If you find a cheapy keyboard with usable keys, tell us the brand and where to get it, please.
Future projects (and forthcoming text description) will be the 256k RAM modification as described in Micro C issue #30, and adding a second hard disk to the Kaypro 10. I will also forward existing documentation on adding a hard drive to a 1-2X-484.
Disclaimer:
If you aren't comfortable with hardware, I recommend you seek further help before implementing any of these modifications. In no event will I be responsible for any damage caused by your decision to modify your machine. Most user groups have at least one 'Techie' that might be able to assist you, ask your Sysop for names and user group information.
Addresses:
Micro Cornucopia, P.O. Box 223, Bend, OR 97709
Advent Products, 3154 E. LaPalma Ave, Suite F, Anaheim, CA 92806
Advent Products Toll Free # (800) 821-8778 (in CA 800 521-7182)
Kenmore Computer Technologies, P.O. Box 635, Kenmore, NY 14217
PS: I say "Radio Shack (tremor)" because every time I go there, some clod trys to sell me a TRS computer system. Spare me, Lord...