LF: Full Size A31p Docking Station

[MikalE]

I have the port replicator for my A31p, but I'm looking for the full size docking station. Must include the key and look new. No junk, and with no problems.

Please state price. No overseas offers please. USPS and US Customs is running at least three months behind.

[kfzhu1229]

I have exactly that with the bottom plate. I dont use it anymore because I have the Dock II (albeit gotta say the Dock II is not nearly as elegant) and I am also currently working on the Latitude C840's as opposed to the A30p that I have.
Unfortunately i am in canada so yeah...

[cadillacmike68]

You are looking for the DOCK or DOCK II. The Dock II is the better choice. I don't know if I want to get rid of mine yet.

[MikalE]

The dock II I guess then.

I didn't know there was a second version.

[kfzhu1229]

You are looking for the DOCK or DOCK II. The Dock II is the better choice. I don't know if I want to get rid of mine yet.

If you will need to use this dock with any of T4x and R5x (non-e) series in the future you will want the dock II as the dock I does not support those models physically.
That said though I have both the Dock I and the dock II and I feel the dock II is more clumsy. There is a sliding mechanism that slides down to align for T/A2x/3x series and slides up for T4x/R5x series and the 9 cell battery cutout sinks down when you have a 9 cell installed, and that the eject button is a bit more cumbersome and flimsy to use on the Dock II. The eject button on the Dock I locks itself like if you turned the key to locking position if your machine is on and not ready to eject, and then the button pushes down with a very satisfying feel when you eject the laptop, where the eject button on the Dock II pops up when you press it and the laptop is ready to eject, and then you have to push it in again to release the laptop, but the eject button plastic is also much thinner on the Dock II.
The Dock I's Ultrabay 2000 module pops out with a big slider on the back of the dock, while on the Dock II that device pops out with the ejection arm like on the T/A2x/3x devices.
Both have this fan that you might wanna disconnect if you don't plan to use any PCI device inside or load a lot of power hungry devices on the dock.
The Dock II also has 4 USB ports instead of 2 on the Dock I

[MikalE]

Thanks for the info.

[cadillacmike68]

The dock I (or Dock) is not supposed to support hot swapping. I never un-dock the machine while it is powered on, but I do like to swap out the ultrabay, so I preferred the Dock II. It is (slightly) less bulky but both are sizeable docks - bigger than the Advanced dock for the later T/R/z 50-60 series.

[kfzhu1229]

The dock I (or Dock) is not supposed to support hot swapping. I never un-dock the machine while it is powered on, but I do like to swap out the ultrabay, so I preferred the Dock II. It is (slightly) less bulky but both are sizeable docks - bigger than the Advanced dock for the later T/R/z 50-60 series.

I thought the Ultrabay devices on the A3x devices are only warm swappable anyways unlike the T2x? Like as soon as you hit the eject button on either bay of the A3x the system goes to sleep, and if you put in one without putting the computer to sleep the computer will continue beeping until you put the laptop to sleep, hibernate or shut it down.

[cadillacmike68]

I don't know about the A series, I only have T series, a 600 and had a couple 760 systems. On T21 & later you can hot swap the drive in the ultrabay.

On this 600, it does what your A31 does, if you swap it without shutting it down. it gives you a beep show until you sleep, hibernate or shut it off.

[dr_st]

I thought the Ultrabay devices on the A3x devices are only warm swappable anyways unlike the T2x? Like as soon as you hit the eject button on either bay of the A3x the system goes to sleep, and if you put in one without putting the computer to sleep the computer will continue beeping until you put the laptop to sleep, hibernate or shut it down.

Yeah, mine does the same (on Windows XP). Seems pretty stupid, since evidently many contemporary laptops do support hot-swap. I wonder if it can be changed with some BIOS/driver settings.

[JHEM]

Mike,

I've just sent you another Port Replicator II ( http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkPad_ ... licator_II ) but I'm pretty certain I have what you're looking for, I'll check the storage unit today or tomorrow and let you know.

James

[MikalE]

Thanks James!

I'll be watching the thread.

[cadillacmike68]

Hi James, Which Mike was that?

Mike,

I've just sent you another Port Replicator II ( http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkPad_ ... licator_II ) but I'm pretty certain I have what you're looking for, I'll check the storage unit today or tomorrow and let you know.

James

[MikalE]

I guess I shouldn't have assumed it was me he was addressing.

I did though, as he included the smaller port replicator with my A31p purchase from him.

[cadillacmike68]

I asked because James was going to send me a Port Rep II, which arrived today.

Unfortunately the boss lady saw the boxes, so I'm in it really deep now......

I said they had web programming & network admin books. It didn't fly too well.

[MikalE]

My mistake then. Sorry.

I hope he finds what I'm wanting.

[cadillacmike68]

The dock & ThinkPads are in the trunk of the 68 DVC, which she never looks in.

[RealBlackStuff]

Be careful what you wish for, you may have to spend a few nights in that trunk, it's big enough!

[cadillacmike68]

Be careful what you wish for, you may have to spend a few nights in that trunk, it's big enough!

I am in and out of the doghouse on a weekly basis.

[MikalE]

I'm a little confused about these docks after finding more than one model.

I am looking for the dock with four USB ports, and uses the A31p external power supply. I don't know the FRU or part number.

Is this the Dock or the Dock II?

Does this model have the internal drive bay or is that the other dock? I saw a photo of a huge dock with a built in power supply, but it only had two USB ports.

[MikalE]

OK, after further research it is the Dock II I'm after. A wiki page explained the differences with photos.

I didn't realize I could install a separate video card in this machine. Correct me if I'm wrong, but this one has the internal power supply and the Ultrabay, plus the four USB ports, correct?

If this is so, then this is what I want. The Wiki page says this is a Dock II 2877.

[cadillacmike68]

Correct.

The Dock II has 4 USBs (probably 1.1 speed though), its own power supply, an Ultrabay 2000 bay and the capacity to accept a half height (or half length, not sure which) PCI graphics card, two cardbus slots, plus just about all the legacy ports, including the funky IBM floppy drive cable connector.

It is the most full featured dock by IBM, although the Advanced dock is just as capable for the T60 series, with 5 USB ports (2.0) and an ultrabay Enhanced and PCI capability as well, but fewer legacy ports.

[dr_st]

The Dock II, Mini-Dock and Port Replicator II all feature USB 2.0 hubs, but their capability depends on the system. A31p only has USB 1.1, so the ports will only work as 1.1.

The full-size docks are good if you specifically use their extra features (mostly the external GPU, but maybe you need extra Ultrabays or CardBus slots). Otherwise - they are more trouble than they are worth, IMO.

[MikalE]

How so?

[dr_st]

Big, require extra power, frequently noisy fans, more prone to failure (due to additional complexity), not really hot-pluggable. Although if you don't use any of the extras, then maybe it's just like the smaller docks in terms of hot-plug support, dunno. Not that A31p in general is very hot-plug friendly.

[kfzhu1229]

Moreover the PCI slot on the Docks are more hit or miss than you might expect. Tried both Dock and Dock II with my A30p, and with all the graphics cards that I have lying around, including a Radeon 9250 PCI, Radeon HD 3450 PCI, as well as many PCIe cards on a PCI to PCIe adapter, I run into resource allocation issues that I simply don't have another way around it, even if I disable all of the devices that I won't use.
That said though things like a SoundBlaster compatible sound card should work just fine and can be a nice addition to your A31p for DOS gaming. An USB2.0 controller can also be helpful because the PCMCIA version might not have enough power to power a USB hard drive for instance.
As for having more Ultrabays, you can just use the port replicator with a external floppy enclosure, unless you are planning to use three optical drives or two optical drives and one Ultrabay Plus device or one of the superdisk or ZIP drives.

[MikalE]

Mike,

I've just sent you another Port Replicator II ( http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkPad_ ... licator_II ) but I'm pretty certain I have what you're looking for, I'll check the storage unit today or tomorrow and let you know.

James

You wouldn't happen to have the 2877 Dock II for sale would you James?

[RealBlackStuff]

I have a perfect Dock II 2877 with 2 keys for sale ($65 o.b.o. + shipping).
P/N: 62P4547
FRU: 13R0290
However, until Covid-19 has been subdued, Ireland does not let us mail anything to USA that weighs over 2 KG.

[MikalE]

Hang on to it if you don't have another buyer.

USPS and US Customs is taking in excess of 64 days to get a package to me from Germany.

I'M currently not importing anything that is not coming Fed-Ex or UPS and I can't afford either one of those unless it comes from a store that has good rates.

My normal train shop in Lippe, Germany charges a flat rate of $30 for anything going to the States via UPS and gets it too me in four days. An individual using overseas shipping will likely pay close to $100US for the same service. No, the package I'm waiting for didn't come from the train shop in Lippe.

Thanks for the offer. After all this CV BS blows over I might still be interested.

[cadillacmike68]

The main reason I opted for the dock and then Dock II (and later still the Advanced dock) was to have 3 HDDs or 2 HDDs and an optical drive in the system. I read about all the graphics card limitations and said to myself fugetaboutit. The extra USB ports also came in very handy.