Thank you Jerry,

I as a back up have purchased a 266mhz used Dell computer with a com port.
It wasn't very expensive and I will have the ability to program the radios
on the fly and most especially the controller for the repeaters.  I hope
that this some day becomes a little easier to deal with.  Unfortunately the
computer manufacturers are way ahead of the rest of the world.
The port replicators are about
$80.00 and it isn't that much more to buy an old 266mhz machine with the com
port and will run JAWS and has win-2kpro on it plus the floppy and cd rom.
It is smaller and is going to be a good portable machine plus it will work
fine as a ham radio computer.  Definitely a learning experience and I
haven't finished with this new one yet.  There has to be  a way to make it
work for me...

73 de Brian, k5in
----- Original Message -----
From: "Jerry Neufeld" <[log in to unmask]>
To: <[log in to unmask]>
Sent: Saturday, October 30, 2004 1:45 PM
Subject: laptops with u s b to com port converters


> Good afternoon folks.
>
> Some months ago, lusting after a laptop with a complete keyboard, that is,
> one with a full number pad, six-pack and all, I bought an HP7010, an
> altogether delightful machine with every conceivable bell and whistle. If
> a
> bit on the heavy side, a compromise between laptop and desktop, it does
> everything I want, everything, that is but provide me with a serial port
> for
> my braille display. Fortunately, the Jaws jfw.ini file provides for
> editing
> the number of the com port used for braille displays, I able to change it
> to
> com6.
>
> As John mentioned, you must go into the control pannel, to hardware under
> system, then to the device manager to find out what com port number your
> converter has been assigned. While, in principle, John is correct about
> being able to reset the port number, with my machine, at least, chucked
> full
> of peripherals, every port but com2 was busy, including com4. Of course,
> if
> com4 is busy, then com2 cannot be used without causing a potential
> conflict,
> hence the assignment by the xp operating system of port number from 5 to
> 8,
> depending upon which u s b connector you plug your converter into. The
> nine-pin serial side of the cable should have circuitry inside that allows
> the operating system to recognize its existence. The device, whether one
> from Radio Shack or somewhere else, should have a cd with the drivers, xp
> not likely to know much about the device.
>
> In any event, if your laptop shows com 1 to be free but come3 used, do not
> select 1. Likewise, if com2 is shown free but 4 is not, do not select
> com2.
> It is not accidental that the com port number that is likely to show up
> when
> searched for is above 4. Unfortunately, with the A R C program for the
> TS2000, you have only com ports 1 to 4 to choose from, nothing higher. I
> learned, to my dismay, that, despite my lovely new heavy laptop, I could
> not
> talk to my TS2000 with it.
>
> Good luck.
>
>
>
> Jerry, v e 3 q s o
>
> [log in to unmask]