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6,654 pages: 1,289 machines, 702 software, 460 companies, 64 history, 17 articles, 59 fun.
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Co-Authored-By: Claude Opus 5.5 <noreply@anthropic.com>
Claude-Session: https://claude.ai/code/session_01YDRjtmAiNpo5mK5N3d7QwZ
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---
title: Kaypro 4
categories:
- Computers
types:
- Transportable
origins:
- U.S.A.
years:
- '1984'
cpus:
- Z80A
params:
name: Kaypro 4
company: /companies/kaypro
company_name: Kaypro
specs:
- label: NAME
value: Kaypro 4
- label: MANUFACTURER
value: Kaypro
- label: TYPE
value: Transportable
- label: ORIGIN
value: U.S.A.
- label: YEAR
value: '1984'
- label: END OF PRODUCTION
value: '1985'
- label: KEYBOARD
value: Detachable, 72 key typewriter style keyboard with 18 programmable keys.
- label: CPU
value: Z80A
- label: SPEED
value: 4 Mhz
- label: CO-PROCESSOR
value: Motorola 6845 (video controler)
- label: RAM
value: 64 KB
- label: VRAM
value: 2 KB
- label: ROM
value: 2 KB
- label: TEXT MODES
value: 80 chars x 25 lines
- label: GRAPHIC MODES
value: virtual 160 x 100 through graphical characters
- label: COLORS
value: built-in 9'' non-glare green phosphor screen
- label: SOUND
value: No sound
- label: SIZE / WEIGHT
value: 46 (W) x 41.5 (D) x 21.5 (H) cm / 15kg
- label: I/O PORTS
value: Two RS-232C serial ports, one Centronics-type parallel port, communication socket (built-in modem) RJ11C modular telephone jack
- label: BUILT IN MEDIA
value: two 5.25'' DS/DD half-height floppy drives (390 KB)
- label: OS
value: CP/M 2.2
- label: POWER SUPPLY
value: Built-in power supply unit
- label: PRICE
value: About $3500
tabs:
- photos
- links
- docs
photos:
- title: LARGE VIEW
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: null
- title: SIDE VIEWS
subtitle: ''
text: ''
image: null
- title: CLOSED
subtitle: ''
text: When closed, the Kaypro rests on its keyboard.
image: null
- title: REAR PANEL
subtitle: ''
text: |-
**(1)** Reset switch\
**(2)** Phone cord RJ11 connector\
**(3)** Parallel printer connector\
**(4)** First serial port\
**(5)** Second serial port intended for a serial printer\
**(6)** Keyboard RJ11 connector\
**(7)** Display brightness knob.
image: null
- title: OPENED
subtitle: ''
text: All the Kaypro series - from Kaypro 1 to Kaypro 16 has the same internal layout.
image: null
- title: MOTHERBOARD
subtitle: ''
text: |-
**(1)** Signetics 6545 video chipset\
**(2)** 2 x Z80 SIO chips in charge on one serial port each\
**(3)** Built-in modem circuitry\
**(4)** Real-time clock IC (MM58167) powered by the rechargeable battery that is soldered on the board\
**(5)** Zilog Z80 PIO in charge of the parallel interface\
**(6)** Western Digital floppy-disc controller chipset\
**(7)** Zilog Z80A processor\
**(8)** System ROM. Allows the system to load the OS from the diskette when switched on\
**(9)** 64 KB user RAM (8 x 4164)\
**(10)** Custom chip dedicated to the memory management\
**(11)** 4 KB Video RAM chips (2x2116)\
**(12)** Character generator ROM
image: null
- title: DISMANTLED
subtitle: ''
text: Dismantling a Kaypro computer is quite easy, provided that you carefully write down the location of each connector and the way they are connected.
image: null
- title: MANUALS
subtitle: ''
text: Kaypro shipped its computers with a large bunch of software and manuals.
image: null
links:
- title: Web Wiz CAPTCHA
url: http://www.webwizcaptcha.com
text: ''
docs:
- title: KAYPRO TECHNICAL MANUAL
url: null
cover: /media/museum/docs/couvs/kaypro_technical_manual.jpg
text: |-
**KAYPRO TECHNICAL MANUAL**\
written by Kaypro
 compiled/archived by Unknown\
 type of document : Online reader
**... READ THE ONLINE VERSION BY CLICKING BELOW :**
comments:
- author: Technoid Mutant (United States of America)
date: Wednesday 25th May 2022
text: The 8088 board shipped in the dual-processor Kaypro IV was the SWP Copower 88. The same board was also shipped in a dual-processor Xerox CP/M machine. SWP made its own CP/M computer for which they made the Copower 88. The SWP ATR8000.
- author: Technoid Mutant (United States of America)
date: Wednesday 25th May 2022
text: The 8088 board shipped in the dual-processor Kaypro IV was the SWP Copower 88. The same board was also shipped in a dual-processor Xerox CP/M machine. SWP made its own CP/M computer for which they made the Copower 88. The SWP ATR8000.
- author: Robert Pearse (United States)
date: Wednesday 11th January 2017
text: Like Andy M-S, I have a 2/84 which does not seem documented here. It had improved display and the rear looked just like the 2X, but did not have the X and had a "3" sticker just like the 4/84. Place for a fan but no fan installed. It lacked the modem or clock, but had the plug for the modem (inactive). I had 180K drives, not the 4x 360K drives. So somewhere between the 4/84 and 2X. It still runs just fine. I fire it up about every 2-3 months just for fun.
- author: Charlie (Santa Cruz, CA)
date: Wednesday 26th February 2014
text: You never forget your first! A really sweet system. Still works except maybe the Bios Battery needs replacing. Still have all the manuals and disks.
- author: Andy M-S
date: Friday 21st February 2014
text: 'In 1984, I bought a 2/84 machine. By the end of its life (c. 1993) I had upgraded it with DSDD drives, an Advent TurboROM, EZCPR (ZCPR2, for all intents and purposes) and a 256K coprocessor, which (like others) I used primarily as a RAMdisk. My boot disk loaded Perfect Writer''''s swap file, along with all of my main utilities, onto the RAM drive, and I then put a "utility" disk into drive A (which via magic was now drive B$the RAM drive was A:) and put my data disk into drive B: (which via magic was then drive C:). That machine was absolutely wonderful, and as heavy and awkward as it could be at times, I really miss it. (Oh, and it fed an Okidata ml92 and an Anderson-Jacobson TTY that I used as a daisy-wheel printer).'
- author: Arnold Franken (Netherlands)
date: Sunday 2nd September 2012
text: |-
John,
I can Use aan old telephone cable to connect THE computer with THE keyboard
- author: John J Wingenbach (Canada)
date: Saturday 14th July 2012
text: I''m looking for a chord to fit a Kaypro 4 to connect computger to keyboard
- author: Dereck Martin (Columbus, IN)
date: Monday 10th May 2004
text: |-
I have a Kaypro4, and it still works. Found it in my stepfather's attic. He told me it was originally used on his navy ship from which he served. many years ago. It has a big ol' chest with that has tons of manuals for the countless disks of software and for the computer it self. It's blue and grey. You can still by them on ebay, but who knows what software will come with it and it the boot disk will work. I wanted to by a excellent looking White one, but the price got to high for me.
Its a great nostalgic peice of equipment. Great for playing the good games like pong and atroids and and stuff. =) i'm only 21 and i appreciate this fine pc, they don't make them this durable of computer anymore. 20 years and still going!
- author: William J. Rodriguez C. (Caracas, Venezuela.)
date: Tuesday 4th March 2003
text: |-
Hello, i looking for information about Kaypro. General Information, Cost, models, applications, an so on.
Thanks in advance
William Rodriguez C.
related:
- /museum/kaypro-1
- /museum/kaypro-10
- /museum/kaypro-2x
- /museum/kaypro-ii
- /museum/kaypro-iv
- /museum/kaypro-robie
oc_id: 548
source:
url: https://web.archive.org/web/20230329011529/http://www.old-computers.com/museum/computer.asp?c=548
date: '2023-03-29'
---
This is the Kaypro 4 released in 1984, usually refered as **Kaypro 4/84**, as opposed to the [Kaypro IV](/museum/kaypro-iv/) released one year earlier, and refered as **Kaypro IV '83**.
The main differences between the Kaypro 4 '84 and the Kaypro IV '83 were :\
\- A faster CPU, Zilog Z80A running at 4Mhz,\
\- A real time clock which can be used by programs (uses National MM58167),\
\- A better built-in monitor resulting in a very sharp display. The character matrix has also evolved from 5 x 7 on the Kaypro II and IV '83 to 8 x 16 pixels on the Kaypro 4 '84,\
\- the system had rudimentary graphics through graphical characters resulting in a virtual 160 x 100 resolution,\
\- characters could be displayed using two brightness levels and reverse attribute,\
\- the new prompt was a blinking square,\
\- like on modern keyboards, J and F keys were slightly different in shape from the other keys, so it was possible to spot them while staring at the screen,\
\- there was a built-in modem (300 baud, Bell System 103 compatibility, uses Texas Instruments TMS99537/TMS99532),\
\- the system had two DS/DD half-height floppy drives (390 kb)
The system was bundled with Wordstar, dBase II, MicroPlan, Microsoft Basic, S-Basic, SuperCalc, C-Basic and CP/M 2.2 !
In 1984, in order to be compatible with IBM software, a special version was marketed with an Intel 8088 CPU in addition of the Z80A. It was called **Kaypro 4 Plus 88**!
---
**Walter J. Dickie** reports:\
The Plus 88 was a dual-processor machine. First you booted up in CP/M, then inserted an MS-DOS (not PC-DOS) disk and booted the 8088. The really slick thing about the Plus was that in CP/M you could run the 8088 and it's associated 256K of RAM as a ramdisk. My standard boot routine involved booting in CP/M, firing up the 8088 as a ramdisk, copying all the WordStar overlay files onto the ramdisk (they just fit), then running WordStar on the Z80. With WordStar calling its overlays from the ramdisk the damn thing just flew!