T41, serial port on Port Replicator II

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videonerd · #1 Post by **videonerd** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 7:59 pm

Hi, I'm looking to put a Thinkpad into the trunk of my car with the Port Replicator II (uh, the kinda look the same to me?*)

PN: 74P6734, FRU: 13R0292
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... 0176995552

PN: 62P4551, FRU; 92P3046
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... 0176996014

A hardware serial port is important to me (archaic DOS-based RS232-programmed radios so USB dongles don't work and DOS-drivered PC Cards are $$$) thus I want to know if the serial port on the Port Replicator II (above auction link) will function with a T41 that has no built-in serial port.

Otherwise, I do have a T30 available but it's only USB 1.1 and I have to use a USB 2.0 PC card. Either way, I plan on mounting the dock permanently in the car, and simply installing/removing the Thinkpad each day. Thanks for any help answering the question or just pointing me in the right direction!

*sorry for my ignorance, I've been on ThinkpadWiki, and I'm STILL confused with the IBM PN/FRUs!!!!

aaa · #2 Post by **aaa** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:18 pm

A simple DOS emulator, to let you use a USB dongle?

Then again, those docks are pretty cheap (sorry, dunno if they work).

videonerd · #3 Post by **videonerd** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 8:21 pm

Unfortunately I can't even use the DOS prompt/terminal window in XP, tried it already using a Belkin and Keyspan USB-serial dongles. This stuff is so old that the program relies on direct hardware interaction and I've been told it references some serial timing/clocks directly... whatever it means.)

aaa · #4 Post by **aaa** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 9:04 pm

I was thinking something like Dosbox, which emulates an entire machine, and lets you link up "virtual" serial ports to ones recognized by Windows.

#5 Post by **rkawakami** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 9:40 pm

videonerd wrote:PN: 62P4551, FRU; 92P3046
http://cgi.ebay.ca/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?Vie ... 0176996014

Regarding this one, I can give you a heads-up and say that it requires a special power supply that has a four pin plug. You cannot use the regular AC adapter with the yellow tip. That said, my T41 does allow the use of the serial port through this port replicator. The way that I verified it is to use PC Doctor for DOS and run the Serial Port diagnostic. I attached a loopback plug and everything passed.

videonerd · #6 Post by **videonerd** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 9:57 pm

Thanks, Ray!

#7 Post by **rkawakami** » Sat Mar 22, 2008 11:15 pm

Sorta on-topic: For my DOS serial port needs I'm using a 600X or a T23. The T23 can be used in those port replicators; the 600X requires a totally different one. But of course, those laptops already have a built-in serial port. This is for programming Yaesu and Vertex radios, in addition to the rare times that I need to talk to a Sun box that's having problems...

sjthinkpader · #8 Post by **sjthinkpader** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 12:17 am

The A30/A31 also have serial ports. I use a serial cable to connect to a GPS receiver that runs a clock program called Satellite Assisted Time Keeper.

SATK

For the T41 I had, I brought a USB/RS232 dongle for a Garmin eMap in the travel kit. Now I have the T60 and the Garmin eTrex Venture Cx uses USB.

Robbyrobot · #9 Post by **Robbyrobot** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 7:22 am

Hi, I'm looking to put a Thinkpad into the trunk of my car with the Port Replicator II (uh, the kinda look the same to me?*)

Both of the links you cite are for the port replicator II, even though the seller refers to it as a "dock". However, that is incorrect. The docking station for the T4x series differs from the port replicator only in that it has four USB connections instead of one, and costs a good deal more than the port replicator. I've never been able to figure out why people would pay so much more for a "dock" when USB hubs are so cheap, but some apparently are willing to pay for the integrated solution.

Oh yes, the real dock has an integrated power supply and requires a special plug that's impossible to find except together with the dock. The port replicator uses a standard power supply, which in my eyes is an additional plus for the port replicator.

videonerd · #10 Post by **videonerd** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 8:14 am

Ha! I was wondering what the difference between a "dock" and a "replicator" was!

sjthinkpader · #11 Post by **sjthinkpader** » Sun Mar 23, 2008 9:24 pm

The are three "docks":

Model 2877 which as an internal power supply and take an AC cord.
Model 2878 which has 4 USB and take a G Series 120W adapter with 4 pins on the DC end.
Replicator II has 1 USB and takes the normal 72W adapter.

yak · #12 Post by **yak** » Mon Mar 24, 2008 9:50 pm

All T41 (as all T4x) have a serial port support in the chipset, they just don't have the connectors on the covers, mostly due to no space for it. The signals are routed to the dock so the serial port is available there.

T41, serial port on Port Replicator II

T41, serial port on Port Replicator II

Re: T41, serial port on Port Replicator II

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