| KayPLUS ROMset | "Embedded systems specialists" |
KayPLUS
was the final chapter on MICROCode Consulting
monitor ROM and BIOS upgrades. A complete replacement for Kaypro 2, 4 and 10
computers, this ROM incorporated our massive experience in upgrading Xerox and
BigBoard computers and has everything one would want in a ROM and BIOS.
This was by far our most popular ROM upgrade due to its high value and
versatility. Just check out the comparison table in the next section. Written in Z-80
assembler for use under QP/M, CP/M 2.x and compatibles,
features of KayPLUS include:
- real-time clock for use with operating systems that support it such as QP/M
- handles up to two hard drives of 64Mb each or combined total of 120Mb
- partition any hard drive into multiple CP/M or QP/M drives
- handles up to four floppy drives (may require additional hardware on earlier model Kaypro 10)
- handles both 5.25" and 3.5" drives in a single package, including full motor control
- intrinsic support for 13 different single-sided and double-sided 5.25" and 3.5" disk formats
- access to over 120 disk formats via P2DSKDF utility
- built-in logical-to-physical drive mapping
- intrinsic support for Kaypro, Advent, or Emerald hard disk subsystems
- increase Kaypro 10 disk utilization from 4476k to 5176k per drive
- auto-detection of quad (96-tpi double-sided) drives
- automatic boot of operating system when disk is present
- resident monitor with eight commands including dumb terminal
- automatic screen blanking after 15 minutes of screen & keyboard inactivity (Xerox 820-I only)
- optional screen display of time
- screen dump to printer with single keystroke
- special ABORT and PAUSE keys (user-definable)
Comparison to Other Kaypro ROMs
In the table below:- Kaypro refers to the ROM that came with your Kaypro computer
- MicroC refers to the ROM available from MicroCornucopia
- Turbo refers to the ROM available from Advent
- Kplus refers to the KayPLUS ROM from us (available below)
| Feature | Kaypro | MicroC | Turbo | Kplus |
| Floppy Disk Support | ||||
| All Kaypro formats | no | yes | yes | YES! |
| 3.5" drive support | no | no | no | YES! |
| Automatic detection of quad drives w/o hardware | no | yes | no | YES! |
| Unlimited number of other drive formats through included utility | no2 | no | no2 | YES! |
| Individual adjustable step rates | no | yes3 | yes | YES! |
| FAST stepping rates (2mS-5mS) | no | no | no | YES! |
| Drive reassignment (logical-to-physical translation) | no | no | yes | YES! |
| Allows you to boot from any drive | no | no | no | YES! |
| Hard Drive Support | ||||
| Support up to two hard drives of 64Meg each | no4 | no4 | no5 | YES! |
| Boot from hard drive | n/a | n/a | yes | YES! |
| Variable partition size | n/a | n/a | no | YES! |
| NO editing or assembly to install software | n/a | n/a | no | YES! |
| FAST hard drive backup utility | n/a | n/a | no | YES! |
| Non-destructive hard drive test program | n/a | n/a | yes6 | YES! |
| ALL hard drive software included in ROM | n/a | n/a | no6 | YES! |
| Monitor Operation | ||||
| Monitor operation | no | yes | no | YES! |
| Dumb terminal mode | no | no | no | YES! |
| Printer Support | ||||
| Serial with no- or CTS-protocol; also parallel printer | yes | yes | yes | YES! |
| Serial data port printer | no | no | no | YES! |
| Serial printer using XON/XOFF or ETX/ACK protocol | no | no | no | YES! |
| Keyboard and Video | ||||
| Adjustable screen blanking | no | no | no7 | YES! |
| Support of alternate character set | no | no | yes | YES! |
| Status line indicators for pause & screen dump | no | no | no | YES! |
| 32-keystroke input type-ahead buffer | no | no | yes | YES! |
| Support for up to 8 chars per keystroke on numeric keypad and arrow keys | no | no | no8 | YES! |
| Enable/disable key click | yes9 | no | no | YES! |
| Real-Time Clock Support | ||||
| ROM clock (no hardware required) | no | no | no | YES! |
| Kaypro Hardware Clock | no10 | yes | yes | YES! |
| Other: Advent, Ztime, Legacy | no11 | no11 | no | YES! |
| Automatic disk relogging | no12 | no | no | YES! |
| Built-in time/date vector | no | no | no | YES! |
| Special Features | ||||
| Dynamic program pause | no | no | no | YES! |
| Advent and Co-Power 88 RAM card support | no | no | no | YES! |
| Extended I/O byte | no | no | no | YES! |
| Value (in 1986) | ||||
| Basic ROM package (with included software and doc) | n/a | $79 | $80 | $70 |
| Disk formatting software (like Uniform) | $65 | $60 | included | included |
| Hard drive support software (like Winchester Connection) | $60 | $60 | included | included |
| Hard drive formatter (like Turbo Formatter) | n/a | n/a | $30 | included |
| Multi-keystroke translation (like XTRA key) | $29 | $29 | $29 | included |
| Total ownership cost | $154 | $243 | $139 | $70 |
1Only Xerox single-sided/single-density resident
2Fixed number of formats; cannot add your own
3Only 2 step rates available
4Hard drives up to 64Meg supported by MICROCode's Winchester Connection
5Hard drives supported up to 56Meg
6Requires Turbo Formatter from Advent
7Screen blanking available, but not adjustable
8Only ONE keystroke supported
9Can turn off keyboard click (sometimes) with external program
10Internal real time clocks supported only with external programs
11Hardware real time clocks supported by external programs
12The original ROM will not even relog its own format correctly some of the time
Downloads
| Package | Version | Date | Size (bytes) | Download time (28.8K baud) |
Click to download |
| KayPLUS '83 ROM | 0.2a | Sep 1986 | 8192 | 2sec | kplus83.rom |
| KayPLUS '84 ROM | 0.2a | Sep 1986 | 8192 | 2sec | kplus84.rom |
| KayPLUS software | 0.2 | Sep 1986 | 170k | 1min 3sec | kayplus.lbr |
| KayPLUS documentation | 0.2 | Jan 2006 | 449k | 2min 25sec | kayplus.pdf |
| KayPLUS software and documentation | 0.2 | Jan 2006 | 413k | 2min 31sec | kayplus.zip |
Installation
- Identify your system: Kaypro 10-83, Kaypro 2-84, Kaypro 4-84 or Kaypro 10-84.
- Download the appropriate model year ROM image.
- Burn the ROM image onto one 2764 EPROM.
- Follow the Installation instructions within the KayPLUS documentation as the specific steps depend upon the Kaypro model you are upgrading.
This is restricted for personal use software that is provided without any warranty whatsoever as described in the legacy Z-80 home page.
Last update on 29-May-2010