Thinkpads Forum

I do a lot of embedded work, mainly AVR/PIC programming and talking to data collection hardware on Linux so need something with a half decent serial port in it. I've currently got an X201 but it doesn't have a proper serial port. This leaves me with crappy low quality USB serial ports which are to be honest nothing but hell to work with. I'm going to split my work into an X201 for day to day tasks and an older device with a serial port for embedded stuff which I will talk to via SSH only.

Now I've got an HP8000 desktop for this but the thing sucks tonnes of power, is noisy, hot and takes up rather a lot of space so I'd rather grab another laptop for the task and run it headless with the lid closed on the shelf of my bench.

Can anyone suggest a reasonably newish (less than 10 years if possible) ThinkPad that has a real serial port? DB9 is fine.

Doesn't need to have more than 1Gb of RAM and a built in Ethernet port. It will probably be running 32-bit Debian Linux.

It will be sourced from eBay.

T30
or R6x/T6x with this official Serial/Parallel port adapter: http://www.ebay.com/itm/281900453804

The X60 and X61 have real serial ports, but only the elecronics are on the board-- the actual DB9 connector resides on the X6 Ultrabase.

Our robot techs have same issue with crappy usb cards, they use cardbus serial adapters apparently for our ABB tralfors robots and older PLC controllers without issue. They say too many of the usb cards have counterfeit chips.

The T30 is the last ThinkPad to have one IIRC. I know you wanted something 10 years old or newer, but if you're just using it for data collection or communication with another device and nothing too intensive, a T30 should be fine. I use a T23 as a daily driver for whatever it's worth, though I'm patient and my uses are not demanding. I also have had bad luck with USB serial cables and find that the built-in serial port is a godsend when working with networking gear.

Most modern looks like a R400 with an Advanced Mini Dock
http://www.ebay.co.uk/itm/Advanced-Mini ... 0620540269

See http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/Serial_Port
and
http://www.thinkwiki.org/wiki/ThinkPad_Advanced_Dock

I've got a bare R400 (7434-AG2) which would be perfect for you, PM me if interested:
- docking port and MB in perfect condition
- no screen (vga port works)
- no lid
- bios supervisor password (regular user can change bios settings)
- keyboard with missing keys
- no wifi card
- no hdd, caddy nor dvd
- no battery

It's my spare, spare X-forwarding server.

Does it need to be Thinkpad? I beleive the HP Probooks still use com1 on some laptops as late as Ivy Bridge?

I dont know why Probooks because their Elites do not. It sounds like you got caught up in the FTDI thing.

Also do you really need such a powerful unit? For most serial work you can really get by with a Pentium M or that sort.

TonyJZX wrote:Does it need to be Thinkpad?

An excellent question indeed. If the answer is "no", Panasonic ToughBooks would be worth looking into.

Also do you really need such a powerful unit? For most serial work you can really get by with a Pentium M or that sort.

Another good question. Let's see how the OP responds.

If you do go the toughbook route, you would probably be looking at early cf-19 models. All have native serial ports built in (this goes for all fully rugged models and most semi rugged ones) and weigh 5.1 lbs. mk1 - mk3 revisions featured core 2 duo cpus, while mk4 featured i5 ones. All were low voltage cpus until the mk5 which brought full fledged 2520m processors and on. You can find decently kept early core 2 duo models in the range of $125 or less on ebay. The mk5 will be about $450. You may consider a cf-53 semi rugged laptop, but they are in a larger size category.

Having owned my cf-19 for about a year, I can tell you that it is a very robust machine. The durability and quality are very, very good. Battery life is great at around 7-8 hours, and will still easily get 5 hours on a battery with many cycles on it. However, the screen, although very bright, is limited to XGA, and the touchpad takes time getting used to. Everything in Linux will work, except for the speaker and front tablet buttons (excluding brightness control). They do not seem to be registered or detected by the linux kernel at all... Headphone port works fine.

If youre doing cisco hp type work then yeah, a Thinkpad 700 could do it.

But theres some s/w I used like car tuning s/w that requires big time graphing gfx then uploads via com1, then yeah you need power.

T61's are pretty big for a shelf.
As the OP only need to ssh to the machine, he can get something without a screen, or with a 'needs to be reballed' gpu.

I'd go with a T41, shot screen (15 GBP), and a port replicator (13 GBP).
Would either add an small ssd or install debian to a usb drive.
Cheap, plenty of power, silent and it's fit on your shelf.