I am looking for a PC laptop with two (2) 9-pin serial ports. Adding a
9-pin serial port via a PCMCIA card will not work, as both serial
ports need to be accessible from DOS. I have never heard of DOS
drivers for PC cards and doubt they exist.

The notebook does not need to be fast or new. Even 100Mhz is fine (as
it will only be running DOS; Win95 would be nice for backup, but not
absolutely necessary).

Almost all of the notebooks I've found so far have only a single
serial port. I seem to remember some of the early laptops (perhaps
Toshiba?) having two serial ports but can't recall.

Need manufacturer and model and a link to specifications if possible.

Hey SuperGrover! My handle's short for SuperKermit hah. Anyways, here
are a couple laptops which fit your description, with prices where
applicable and links to buy. Most are older laptops so you can keep
your price down, and a couple are current eBay auctions so if you're
looking to buy, move quickly, there's not much time left in the
auctions. Please clarify if you need more help. Note on the Latitude
CPI 266 page, it lists 2 serial ports at the top but at the bottom it
says one serial port, but I checked the Dell specs (see the cached
link) and from the manufacturer website it says 2 serial ports.


Additional Links:

These Dell Models:
    Intel Mobile 440BX PCIset:
    Latitude CPi D300XT
    Latitude CPi D266XT
    Latitude CPi D233ST
Intel Mobile 430TX PCIset:
    Latitude CP M233XT
    Latitude CP M233ST
    Latitude CP M200SD
    Latitude CP M166ST
http://216.239.39.100/search?q=cache:ag9dQpF5i50C:docs.us.dell.com/docs/systems/pmojav/specs.htm+mobile+%222+serial+ports%22+pcmcia&hl=en&ie=utf-8

DELL Latitude CPI 266 (link to buy) ($579.00):
http://www.laptopcloseout.com/usa/media/Dell_Latitude_CPi_266_usa.htm

Dell Inspiron 7000 PII 266 mHz(currently at $227.50):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2026744009

HP Pavilion N5270 (currently at $355.00):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2028463849

Dell C600 PIII-700 mHz:
http://www.bustools.com/fibrechannel/lt.htm

IBM Thinkpad I Series 466 mHz:
http://216.239.37.100/search?q=cache:_yLwI0D7MuQC:www.currid.com/portable.htm+notebook+%222+serial+ports%22&hl=en&ie=utf-8


One specialty laptop is the Warrior 2100. It's a highpriced ($4,999)
military grade water/shock-proof P3-800 laptop which has two serial
ports.
http://ekmcomputer.store.yahoo.com/lapforwarlap.html

And just for fun, if an 8088 running at a whopping 4.77 mHz is what
you're looking for you might want to track down the old Amstrad
PPC-640. (heh!)
http://www.geocities.com/~compcloset/AmstradPPC640.htm


Search Strategy:

"2 serial ports" laptop on Google:
://www.google.com/search?q=%222+serial+ports%22+laptop

"two serial ports" laptop on Google:
://www.google.com/search?q=%22two+serial+ports%22+laptop

"2 serial ports" notebook on Google:
://www.google.com/search?q=%222+serial+ports%22+notebook

"two serial ports" notebook on Google:
://www.google.com/search?q=%22two+serial+ports%22+notebook

"2 serial ports" laptop on eBay:
http://search-desc.ebay.com/search/search.dll?MfcISAPICommand=GetResult&query=%222+serial+ports%22+laptop&ht=1&itemtimedisp=1&st=2&SortProperty=MetaEndSort&srchdesc=y&BasicSearch=


Good luck finding the laptop to suit your needs! Hope this information
is what you were looking for! Please clarify if not, and I await your
response/rating! Thanks!

skermit-ga

---

Request for Answer Clarification by supergrover-ga on 31 May 2002 12:43 PDT

This is an excellent start. However...

- if you start reading thoroughly the information on the links you've
provided, you'll find that there is some serious misinformation
listed. None of the Latitude models--as far as I can tell--have two
serial ports, despite what the specifications say. Looking at pictures
of these Latitudes on eBay auctions also shows only a single serial
port.

Which has started me thinking about other options. Are there any port
replicators or docking stations that would provide a laptop with two
serial ports? My research so far has found little. Or perhaps there's
a type of "serial port doubler" that can plug into the single serial
port to expand the number of ports. I know such a beast exists for the
Macintosh (Keyspan makes one) but how about for the Windows world?

---

Clarification of Answer by skermit-ga on 31 May 2002 14:45 PDT

Here's a dock that will connect an HP OmniBook 4000. The picture
follows below so there's no confusion on my part again (I'm sorry).

http://imagehost.auctionwatch.com/bin/imageserver.x/00000000/keywrap/1013B.JPG

At the bottom you'll find auction links for the laptop and dock.
Thanks again for letting me answer your question.

Additional Links:

HP OmniBook 4000 Dock Port Replicator (currently $24.99):
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2028911213

HP Omnibook 4150 Laptop 300 6.4GB 64M:
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=2028400432


Clarify if you need more info, thanks!

skermit-ga

Hi,

You might take a look again at PCMCIA cards and getting them to work
within DOS.  Quatech (http://www.quatech.com)  addresses the issue of
getting their PCMCIA to RS232 cards to work within DOS here: 
http://www.quatech.com/application_objects/FAQs/pcmciados95_faq.htm  .

Sounds like there are a couple of ways to get them to work within DOS,
but that it is definetly possible to do.  You may wish to contact them
for more info.
(I'd also think this would be an easier solution then getting a used
laptop where any tech support is long gone)

I had an old laptop with two actual serial ports.  It was some generic
brand.  I'll try finding out what it was.  I used to have my GPS unit
and my touch pad connected to it, so I definately know it had 2 serial
ports.
Fiddling with PCMCIA setups in dos is a pain, and wont even work with
some dos based programs.
Are you looking to use the laptop as a satellite emulator?