KALEL

alright here's my deal...ive started looking for a laptop and i figure since I'm getting one for school, might as well get one that i can use to program the car. well ive done a little bit of shopping but the ones Ive looked at dont say anything about a "rs232" serial port??!! is there another name for that port or is it just so basic that no 1 even bothers to refer to it..suggestions?? thx

slow

iTrader: (7)

many new laptops do not have "serial" ports anymore. (thats the less technical name for a RS232 port)

you can get USB to Serial adapters if you can not find one with a serial port.

Ryan.

Cal

iTrader: (1)

It's much better to use a laptop with an RS232 port than using a USB with an adapter. Often times the connection is unreliable with the adapters. If I were you, I would look for a used laptop that has a real RS232 port. If you have to use an adapter, don't get the Belkin brand, that one has the most problems. Can't remember the brand of the best adapter, do a search and you will find it. Another option is to get a laptop with a PCMCIA slot and put a RS232 adapter in the slot, that will work with no problems.

JRcamaroZ28

iTrader: (41)

Keyspan is the brand you want to get. i use it w/ my autotap and never lost connection w/ it yet. For some reason my a-tap wouldnt work w/ my serial port because something was blocking it form working. tried everything to disable it but didt work. used the USB adaptor and no problems

JR

JR

Cal

iTrader: (1)

Bingo! That's it, Keyspan.

KALEL

well i found out that the laptop im getting has both a USB and PCMCIA ports. what would be the better of the two, use my USB or my PCMCIA, or does it make a difference?

JimMueller

iTrader: (9)

I've not heard of any method to connect a PCMCIA interface to a serial cable. I think it'd be easier to use one of the USB connectors with the Keyspan adapter.

RedWS6 00

I have a serial port on the Dell laptop, its resonably new so that may srill make it with the RS232 Serial port.

I dont trust USB serial ports,certainly not for timing. The USB port is a virual port, its listed at the BIOS level, windows contols it all, and relying on windows isn't a good idea, so many interrups can get in the way. If I was downloading to my PCM I dont want anything to get in the way.

A PCMCIA serial port would be more ideal than a USB, as PCMCIA is joined to the PCI bus, a more direct route to your CPU.

I would search around more for an RS232 9 way D type serial port first.

critter

iTrader: (9)

I can't remember the mfg, but I had a PCMCIA card that had a 16550A serial port on it. Wasn't cheap as I recall, but worked just as good as the on board one. I used it as a serial line sniffer or protocol checker so needed two ports and the laptop only had one. I would suspect that Google or PriceWatch would turn one up.