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Poor Kaypro 10

B

Bungo Pony

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I paid $25 for this thing. It may have been too expensive considering how much work it needs. Here's what I've got at a glance:

- The Z80 and hard drive (including the cage) have been removed
- The header for one of the hard drive cables has been destroyed
- One of the latches that holds the keyboard to the case is broken
- The space bar is missing
- The keyboard has a large dent in the opposite side
- The cooling fan is seized

I'm not too worried about the Z80 chip, since I can get one straight from China for $2. The hard drive shouldn't be much of a problem either since I have a couple of old spare drives kicking around. I should be able to build a cage, straighten the enclosures, solder in a new header, and replace the cooling fan.

The only things I'm concerned about are the space bar and the latches. I could probably rip a couple of the nice metal latches off an old suitcase or something and mount them, but I'm at a loss for the space bar. I do have a Kaypro II, so I could easily use that while this keyboard is under repair. Chances are all the foam pads have turned to mush anyway, so I'm not in a hurry to get it up and running.
kaypro10.jpg
 
Weirdly, I found a video of the prior user of that KayPro...

Edit: I wish I could help on the space bar, kudos to you for taking on this level of restoration project. I'd think $25 is quite fair though considering what you got. :)
 
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Considering the vandalism on the unit, it's surprising that the rest of the unit looks to be in respectable condition. I suspect that a space bar won't be hard to find or adapt--the equalizer wire looks to be pretty standard.
 
OUCH!!! :( That thing definitely looks like it was ridden hard and put away soaking wet! It's a shame the hard drive was removed, since I think these things are rather limited in the sorts of drives they can take. Plus, why the hell would someone pull the CPU?! It's not like it holds any secure data or anything. :confused: As for the keyboard, the existing one might work just fine once the space bar is replaced. The keyboard in my 10 seems to work perfectly fine, except for a snapped-off ESC key thanks to ol' butterfingers (me) dropping it while trying to latch it to the front of the case... :headslap:
-Adam
 
Bungo Pony said:
I paid $25 for this thing. It may have been too expensive considering how much work it needs. Here's what I've got at a glance:

- The Z80 and hard drive (including the cage) have been removed
- The header for one of the hard drive cables has been destroyed
- One of the latches that holds the keyboard to the case is broken
- The space bar is missing
- The keyboard has a large dent in the opposite side
- The cooling fan is seized

I'm not too worried about the Z80 chip, since I can get one straight from China for $2. The hard drive shouldn't be much of a problem either since I have a couple of old spare drives kicking around. I should be able to build a cage, straighten the enclosures, solder in a new header, and replace the cooling fan.

The only things I'm concerned about are the space bar and the latches. I could probably rip a couple of the nice metal latches off an old suitcase or something and mount them, but I'm at a loss for the space bar. I do have a Kaypro II, so I could easily use that while this keyboard is under repair. Chances are all the foam pads have turned to mush anyway, so I'm not in a hurry to get it up and running.
View attachment 32394
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The latches are standard hardware items - I've replaced them before.

The dent - if it bothers you, use a hammer and fix it.

Keys - It uses a chicony style keyboard with the switches having a + shaped mount - should be able to find a compatible space bar.

If by header you mean the .10 spaced pins - pull off the plastic that holds the pins then unsolder the pins one at a time - replacement headers are cheap.

Sounds like a good deal over all as long as two things are working - the screen and the hard disk controller.


Randy
 
Chuck(G) said:
If you're given to hammering out dents, use the appropriate tool. Something made to pound nails can and will usually leave marks.
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I've beaten a lot of dents out of old computers, had one client that was a junior college.

The dents were all bent in, any hammer on a solid wood table can straighten it (leaving marks on the inside ;-)

Be ready to re-paint whole panel.

Hammers wouldn't help the SA-850's that boots had caved in though.

BTW I was trying to look up the latches - ebay has a couple for $7.50, I used to buy them from local hardware store for less than $2.00. They are cooler latches from cheap ice coolers.




Randy
 
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Yeah, for hammering out the dents, I was going to use a couple pieces of wood. The one on the keyboard might need a ball peen. For latches, I was looking at guitar case latches, but ice cooler ones would probably work.
 
Well, if you've got an English Wheel, even better for dents.

I'd go with the guitar case latches, or drop by a luggage shop--they often have all sorts of latches for repair. Or try a music store--they often have case repair parts.
 
Chuck(G) said:
Well, if you've got an English Wheel, even better for dents.

I'd go with the guitar case latches, or drop by a luggage shop--they often have all sorts of latches for repair. Or try a music store--they often have case repair parts.
Click to expand...

The nylon cooler latches I was referring to were the original Kaypro latches - They really are cooler latches ;-)

In the 80's I was able to buy them at my local hardware store.


Randy
 
Chuck(G) said:
I did not know that--it's a wonder that they've held up. So basically a plastic draw latch?
Click to expand...

Yes the latches come with small wood screws to screw into plastic, for Kaypros you just use chamfered machine screws and nuts.

But no true biggie if you change them to something else just go with pairs so it looks right.

And yes the Southco.com draw latches without the secondary lartches look right - would have to measure a Kaypro latch.

A friend gave me a used 12v cooler with a broken latch that I used a Kaypro latch to fix - then went looking for cooler latches. That's how I found out that Kaypro was using the same latches.

I was working for a Kaypro dealer so I had bought spares from them (for more than the local hardware store was selling them for).


Randy
 
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So after bending (and hammering) the lid into a decent shape to put back onto the K10, I started looking at the spot where the missing Z80 chip is. I was surprised to see that the two spots beside the missing chip were both occupied with Z80s which I found unusual. After looking into it, there are supposed to be two I/O controllers in those spots (mk3884n). I can't help but wonder what imbecile was poking around inside. I'll have to go over the entire motherboard and double check to make sure there aren't any more surprises inside before powering it up.

But for now, the K10 is going into storage until my busy summer is over.

Randy: That's interesting to know about the cooler latches!
 
If you're looking near the center-left of the board, those aren't actually Z80As. I got confused about this as well when I was looking inside my Kaypro 10, thinking that it had two Z80s, but they were actually the SIO chips, which are marked with the Z80A name as well as their own type number (which I can't remember at the moment, unfortunately). The Z80A in my 10's main board (one row over from the SIOs) is actually a MOSTek MK3880(A?), and is mounted in a sub-board which plugs into the Z80A socket, and allows it to interface with the SWP Co-Power 88 board it has installed.
-Adam
 
Chuck(G) said:
That was my thought too. Early Z80 peripherals are marked "Z80 SIO" or "Z80 DART" or "Z80 CTC", etc. They're not Z80s, but peripheral chips.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the info. That's good to know! It looks like I'll still have to order myself a Z80 (or see if there's one kicking around in the garage) for the empty socket.
 
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