KAYPRO PRACTICAL NOTEBOOK These notes cover the original Kaypro II, the IV, the 2X, and the 10. The model names matter when choosing a boot disk or following a manual. There are also a few CP/M commands and notes on using a Kaypro as a terminal. 1. THE NAME ON THE CASE The earlier Kaypro 4 (the IV name used here) and the 4/84 have separate entries in Kaypro's technical manual. The earlier machine has a 2.5 MHz processor; the 4/84 runs at 4 MHz. The 2X also runs at 4 MHz. All three entries specify 64K of memory. [1] There is a disk distinction too. The manual lists 191K per diskette for the single-sided Kaypro 2 drives and 390K for the double-sided drives in the 4, 2X, and 4/84. The 2X and 2/84 share a specifications page, but the 2/84 has single-sided drives. The X matters. [1] For system disks, the August 1984 compatibility table pairs the 4/83 with CP/M 2.2F and the 4/84 and 2X with 2.2G. Later revisions and upgrades complicate the picture, so record the startup message alongside the model name. [1] Keep the date and part number when saving a manual. Kaypro Journal's index separates editions, includes photographs of their covers, and notes changes between some versions. It is a useful place to untangle a folder full of files all named something like KAYPRO.PDF. [2] 2. DISKS AND A WORKING NOTEBOOK A short record for each machine helps: model, serial number, startup message, known upgrades, and which disk actually boots it. For a downloaded image, add the original filename and source address. For a physical disk, copy the handwritten label into the record as well. Keep originals separate from working disks. On the 5.25-inch diskettes described in the Kaypro 10 guide, a tab covering the write-protect notch prevents writing. Use the matching guide's copying procedure to make working copies, and label them with the machine and system version. [3] Disk tools do different jobs. UniForm handles disk-format and file interchange; the Kaypro and PC editions are different products. [6] Sydex is the publisher of TeleDisk and 22DISK. TeleDisk works with disk images, usually .TD0 files, while 22DISK exchanges files with CP/M disks under DOS. ImageDisk uses .IMD images and needs DOS and a suitable floppy controller to read or write physical disks. [7] Check each tool's hardware requirements before trying it with a modern PC or USB floppy drive. Have the original RIFA capacitors in the power supply checked and replaced as needed by someone qualified. They can fail with a loud pop and smoke, which can be quite startling. There are plenty of repair resources online, so I won't go into the details here. 3. THE KAYPRO 10 DRIVE-LETTER TRAP The Kaypro 10 guide divides its hard disk into two logical drives. When booting from the hard disk, those are A: and B:, and the floppy is C:. Boot from a diskette and the floppy becomes A:, with the hard disk at B: and C:. [3] That is worth writing beside any copying instructions. "Copy from A: to B:" can mean something different after a reboot from another device. Record the boot source before following a recipe that uses drive letters. 4. FINDING YOUR WAY AROUND CP/M At a standard CP/M 2.2 prompt, DIR lists files in the current user area. DIR *.TXT narrows the listing to names with the TXT extension. TYPE NOTES.TXT displays an ASCII text file with that name; substitute a filename that actually appears in the directory. [4] User areas are easy to overlook. USER 1 followed by DIR shows area 1; USER 0 returns to area 0. CP/M 2.2 provides areas 0 through 15, so a short directory listing may only show part of what is on the disk. The selected drive and user area are both useful notebook entries. [4] Try this as a small first session: list the files, look for a text document, display it, and note which program originally produced it. A directory full of unfamiliar extensions gives you a practical reading list for the software manuals. 5. A TERMINAL ON THE DESK SUPRTERM uses the Kaypro's RS-232C port and can emulate a Lear-Siegler ADM-3A. Its manual explains why a direct connection to another computer may need a null-modem cable: both devices may be wired as DTE. Match the cable to the documented ports. [5] Write down the baud rate, data bits, parity, stop bits, and echo settings. If text arrives as gibberish, compare the speed and character format at both ends. Start with ordinary text; leave full- screen programs until the terminal type is agreed. [5] The manual distinguishes capturing incoming text from transferring a program. Capture is handy for saving a document as it appears. A .COM program needs a binary-capable transfer; SUPRTERM's Block mode uses the Christensen protocol also used by XMODEM. [5] I use an RS-232 Wi-Fi modem with Hayes AT commands to connect to telnet BBSs. I also use Tera Term on Windows 10 and Kermit for quick transfers to and from the Kaypro. REFERENCES [1] PDF: Kaypro Technical Manual, 1484-C, August 1984. Sections 1, 3 and 4; especially printed page 4-1. https://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/kaypro/1484-C_Kaypro_Technical_Manual_Aug84.pdf [2] Web: Kaypro Journal, Kaypro Manuals. Index of original manual scans, editions and variants. https://kayprojournal.com/index.php/Kaypro_Manuals [3] PDF: Kaypro 10 User's Guide, 1983. Printed pages 20 and 22: write protection and drive assignments. https://bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/kaypro/Kaypro_10_Users_Guide_1983.pdf [4] Web: Digital Research, CP/M Operating System Manual. Section 1, Features and Facilities: DIR, TYPE and USER. https://www.cpm.z80.de/manuals/archive/cpm22htm/ch1.htm [5] PDF: SUPRTERM manual, archived by Kaypro Journal. How It Works; printed pages 18-19 and 24-25, file transfers and communications troubleshooting. https://kayprojournal.com/images/6/6e/SuprTerm_7_9_1983.pdf [6] PDF: Micro Solutions, UniForm manual for Kaypro 2, 4 and 10. https://retrocmp.de/software/microsolution/1983_uniform_k2-4-10_OCR.pdf [7] Web: Dave Dunfield, ImageDisk and system requirements. https://dunfield.themindfactory.com/sell/imdsys.htm