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Kaypro II "Everything is Broken" Repair

glitch

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Feb 1, 2010
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Location
Central VA
Full writeup here: http://www.glitchwrks.com/2022/06/29/kaypro2-repair

I bought this Kaypro II as a local pick-up deal in either late spring or summer 2010. It came with a ton of documentation, original diskettes, a Kaypro-branded Diablo printer, and even the faux leather carry cover! Unfortunately the machine itself had been stored very poorly and seems to have been exposed to a lot of moisture. Everything had issues, except the keyboard.

Finally started repairing it in May 2021 to test some software on a plain Kaypro II and write out some KERMIT-80 diskettes for a friend. It's covered in more detail in the article but every single thing required fixing. I ran it off an AT power supply and external disk cabinet from another machine to get the job done, and shelved it. I fixed up bits over time: the floppy drives got repaired on the test bench, motherboard cleaned up and two caps replaced, monitor got a recap (dead bipolar electrolytic, did the rest since it was out), etc. The PSU was dead and not original, so I dropped a Mean-Well RT-85B in there, which is basically as perfect a fit as one could hope for:



Final issue was a bad floppy cable, probably corrosion in the IDCs. The first replacement I made, using parts bin IDC edge connectors also had problems! Third time's a charm, and now it's buttoned up and running:



In the course of repairs, I replaced every screw in the machine. They were all too rusted to reuse. The only fasteners that did get reused were the DB25 jackscrews, and I had to wire brush those!
 
Surprisingly well, the outside is in very good condition. There are of course dings and scratches here and there, but I'd have expected paint bubbling/lifting with the amount of corrosion and crust on the fasteners and floppy drives! On the B: drive, it was leaving white streaks on the bottom of the diskette due to oxidization on the little landing area to the left of the hub. It had been wire brushed, but required polishing with crocus cloth to get it to stop doing that. On several of the Philips head screws, I had to use the driver handle + ratchet combination on the Chapman driver set to get the screws out. The heads were completely chowdered on a few of them.
 
Now I feel guilty about throwing away my Kaypro II after accidentally blowing up the Z80SIO, back in 1990s.

Still got the power supply board, the keyboard and perhaps the floppy drives.
 
Now I feel guilty about throwing away my Kaypro II after accidentally blowing up the Z80SIO, back in 1990s.

Still got the power supply board, the keyboard and perhaps the floppy drives.

Can't save all of them!

Amazing job glitch.

Perhaps one day I could find one at an affordable price.

Thanks! Are they uncommon/expensive on the other side of the pond? They're something that often "just shows up" here.
 
I like the thread title and the great work you did fixing this computer up, very well done.

It reminds me of the Dylan song, "everything is broken", just some of the lyrics:

Broken bottles, broken plates,
Broken switches, broken gates,
Broken dishes, broken parts,
Streets are filled with broken hearts
Broken words never meant to be spoken,
Everything is broken
 
It reminds me of the Dylan song, "everything is broken", just some of the lyrics:

Broken bottles, broken plates,
Broken switches, broken gates,
Broken dishes, broken parts,
Streets are filled with broken hearts
Broken words never meant to be spoken,
Everything is broken

Figured someone would get it :p
 
Can't save all of them!



Thanks! Are they uncommon/expensive on the other side of the pond? They're something that often "just shows up" here.
Yep. Rare & expensive. No occasion to put my hands on one, except on eBay, where I would need to sell parts of my body to buy one ;-)
 
Really? You can get them for on average $50.00 here. I used to have a bunch but sold all but 4 of them. I see people asking lots of money for them but they are common so I dont think they are worth that.
 
Really? You can get them for on average $50.00 here. I used to have a bunch but sold all but 4 of them. I see people asking lots of money for them but they are common so I dont think they are worth that.
That's been my experience as well. You see some really complete sets with diskettes and manuals going for $250+ sometimes (actually selling that is), but for an AS-IS "unable to test/smoked a lot when I plugged it in" listing $50-100. I'd imagine a big part of expense going overseas is the shipping though, last time we shipped a terminal to Europe it was around $200 or so just for the shipping! A Kaypro would require a similar sized box and padding.
 
Really? You can get them for on average $50.00 here. I used to have a bunch but sold all but 4 of them. I see people asking lots of money for them but they are common so I dont think they are worth that.
Please, don't talk dirty to me :)

Yes, they're not easy to find on this side of the pond. There's a nice and clean one right now for 799 Pounds (966 Us$) right now -> https://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/301857067994?hash=item46481553da:g:LAoAAOSwuYVWpjiN
Probably is a very expensive one, but very far away from Us$100. Anyway, hope to be able to buy one on my next trip to the USA and bring it back as my "laptop" :)
 
Well if you ever come stateside I am a 2 hour drive out of NYC. I'd Sell you a nice 4/83 for $100 US With a Couple of CP/M disks.
 
Well if you ever come stateside I am a 2 hour drive out of NYC. I'd Sell you a nice 4/83 for $100 US With a Couple of CP/M disks.
That's very kind of you. I really don't know when I'll be back for work or the holidays. Will definitely remember this offer and give you a shout. Thanks so much, Verault :)
 
My sister in law lives in shinfield near redding but we havent been back in 8 years.. life issues thsn covid... I really want to head back and pick up a bbc micro and maybe some amstrad or sinclairs.

Heck Id be willing trade it for an amstrad cpc, zx 81,or BeeB. Working non working... as long as its complete. those ar ehard to come by here
 
Carried one on the Amtrak train once, in 2010 IIRC :p People knew what it was! Probably helped it was on the way to HOPE.
:)
It will be funny to see how security reacts at an airport. I imagine myself arguing with the X-ray security "Sorry Sir, this is my laptop !!! Not fancy or posh, but it is my laptop. Please prove me wrong." ;)
 
My sister in law lives in shinfield near redding but we havent been back in 8 years.. life issues thsn covid... I really want to head back and pick up a bbc micro and maybe some amstrad or sinclairs.

Heck Id be willing trade it for an amstrad cpc, zx 81,or BeeB. Working non working... as long as its complete. those ar ehard to come by here
I guess that you could look for good eBay offers, close the deal and send them to her house. I'm doing this with a friend in Spain when something interesting shows up. You have more reasons for visiting ;)
 
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