Kaypro II Serial Number 3309
This is a wierd computer! One of the very early Kaypro II Z-80 based CP/M computers made by Non Linear Systems. Notice the brightness control on the front panel, and the vertical attitude of the disk drives. There is no prop on the front, so the computer rests on the keyboard when in use. It boots up ok, but the display flickers a bit, and is off to the left.
The back is quite different from later production Kaypros. The power cord is fixed, the power switch is small, the fuse holder is vulnerable.
The insides. Chips on the board are mostly all dated from about the second quarter of 1982, the tube is from July 1982. Drive B has some 1983 chips, it was probably replaced. Lots of wasted space in these things, but at least they aren't very heavy for their size.
Kaypro II Serial Number 8253
This is a more normal Kaypro II. Brightness control on the back, horizontal drives, and the display works fine.Still no prop, the keyboard serves the purpose. This one still has it's cardboard floppy drive shipping inserts!
The power cord is still fixed, but it's ready to be removable. The power switch is big, but the fuseholder is still not flush like the later ones.
The very rare original Kaypro II introductory brochure! Here I have both sides of it shown next to each other. Larger size scans here, in four parts:
I really like the "9" MONSTER MONITOR" bit, a direct jab at Osborne's 5 inch screen. I suppose the Z-80 is powerful compared to an 8008. Portability is iffy compared to todays laptops...but in 1982 it was a true statement. The bundled software was a big selling point.
New2 pictures:
Kaypro 1 Serial Number 278922
By the mid 1980s, demand for 8 bit CP/M machines had died down considerably, as businesses moved to the evolving 16 bit MS-DOS IBM standard. The Kaypro 1 was the dying gasp of the famous series of luggable CP/M computers. Oddly, instead of the number one being the first in the series, it was the last! This One seems to have been assembled in 1986 or 1987, judging by the date codes on the parts. But there is a wide variety of dates, from 1983 on up to 1987. Apparently there was a lot of excess stock on hand at Kaypro!
This machine uses two half height DSDD drives, and the newer style of board with room for the modem and real time clock (these were stuffed on the 2X, and probably on the 4), as well as three ports on the rear. It also has the header installed for a hard drive (as used on the Kaypro 10), unlike most of these boards. This one has the 2.2G ROM, and boots on both 2.2F and 2.2G. The paint scheme is rather odd, with the early light gray and blue colors, but with a new design, and the dark gray keyboard top with light gray bottom.
Compared to the early models shown above, this one has the flush fuseholder, removeable power cord (although this particular unit is missing the original angled plug cord). The corporate name was changed to Kaypro Corporation, as a separate entity from Non Linear Systems, sometime in 1983 (my September 1983 Kaypro II Users Guide has the new name). Look also at the New2 pics above for a more readable image.