ThinkPad serial problem

[DaveH]

I'm having trouble with the serial port on an old IBM ThinkPad 380C2 laptop.
Running Trunker or Treport, the slicer doesn't get +ve voltage because none of
the outputs which are supposed to be driven positive, are being so; they're sitting
around -7v to -8v. OK, strange, but maybe normal, or could be a sign of hardware
damage. I temporarily supplied +ve voltage to the slicer and got a clean signal
on the serial input pin, but no decoding.

The computer reports COM1 and COM2 set up with drivers present and no
apparent conflicts. This machine was picked up cheap and I'm not the original
owner so don't know exactly how it was set up. There is no modem installed
although a PCMCIA modem was used at one time. I wonder if there could be
something blocking the use of the external port, but most files and software
seem to have been stripped out (except Windows 98).

This machine lacks a lot of features people want in laptops (CD/DVD, sound,
network, USB) but would be perfect for portable trunking software...except
one vital part does not work. I've tried all varaints of settings in Trunker and
Treport (slicer port, inversion etc.), but there is no decoding.

Any ideas what I could look for, before either opening it up in hopes of finding
an obvious problem (bad connection or RS232 driver chip), or setting it aside?

Dave

 

[pro92b]

If you can get into the bios, maybe the serial port needs to be enabled.

 

[BANDIT]

If its Win98 I think you need to edit the registry and disable power management for the serial ports as win98 will turn them off. Also in trunker try switching from normal to invert and see if that will fix it. For the link for editing the registry do a search as I dont remember it right now.

 

[pro92b]

http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=kb;en-us;252184

 

[EricCottrell]

Hello,

I use several Thinkpad computers with Trunker and TReport. It works good but some setup needs to be done.

I find IBM has decent support for the older models. They have a pdf of withdrawn thinkpads so you can find out a summary of information. Thinkpads have a label (usually on the bottom) that gives the Type information. My 380D is a 2635-3AU and I can look it up in this pdf file.
ftp://ftp.software.ibm.com/pc/pcinstitute/psref/twbook.pdf

You can also go to the support and downloads section of www.ibm.com and use the Type infomation to get the Hardware Maintenance Manual pdf, user manual pdfs, drivers, etc.

Drivers and thinkpad configuration program are here:
http://www-307.ibm.com/pc/support/site.wss/document.do?lndocid=DSHY-3XWNVG

Thinkpads have a serial port enable/disable that is controlled through the thinkpad configuration program. I recommend you install the configuration program and use it to check the comm ports. I suspect that one of the comm ports is the IR port. It is very common for these thinkpads to have serial emulation on the IR port.

I usually set up the computer to display a boot menu (same as if you press F8 at windows bootup) so I can boot directly into dos to use trunker/treport or boot into windows. If you want to set up DOS you need the DOS version of the Thinkpad configuration program. It is a program named PS2. I found that in windows you can not change the "bootup" hardware configuration that is also used in DOS. Windows can change hardware resources like enabling the serial port, changing the serial port from COM2 to COM1, etc. The windows version of the Thinkpad Configuration Program only affects the Windows configuration.

73 Eric

 

[DaveH]

Thanks all for the quick responses. The ThinkPad is actually a 380Cs, which I
haven't found in the IBM list. I'm also not sure if the ThinkPad Configuration
program that Eric pointed to will work on this variant; I'll keep looking. The
type listed on the bottom is 2620-2YF.

The MODE COM:19200 command pointed to by pro92b returns an error
message. I went ahead and (very carefully, after backing up) modified the
Registry to turn off power mgt. on the serial ports as described; still no luck
Funny, MODE COM:9600 works although I think only on COM1.

Another problem is that the machine only has a floppy for file transfer, which
won't do for the Configuration download which is nearly 8MB. I might be able
to wing something with a flash (CF) card in the PCMCIA slot (I need to get
an adaptor). I'm not really into laptops (yet), and can't borrow it from another
machine. Eric, maybe the Config. program is on the machine but I just
haven't seen it; where would it likely be found?

The old Toshiba T5100 (which could hardly be called a laptop) which I
was lugging around to run Treport/DEMO88 (16MHz 386SX couldn't
handle Trunker/Etrunk), is giving problems with the HDD, and I may not be
able to get it going. The backup battery ran down, and possibly the HDD
config was lost, but whetever it's defaulted to seems close to what is should
be (40MB). Same story, cheap deal, no docs, much older machine. I managed
to get into BIOS setup once but have not been able to do it again (tried all
the usual key presses..) Anyone have ideas on this?

 

[pro92b]

Pkzip will span floppies and you can transfer 8 MB with 6 disks. The compression may even reduce the disk count.

I don't have any old Thinkpads but do have several old Compaq laptops of the same vintage. They have a 4 MB partition on the hard drive for configuration. Pressing F10 at boot up accesses the partition. If the partition is absent it is possible to run the configurator from a bootable floppy. I'm not sure if FDISK would detect a configuration partition, but Partition Magic definitely does.

 

[EricCottrell]

Hello,

The laptop looks like a special build for a large client. IBM did that and put special type numbers and sometimes model numbers. A type number of 2620 is used for the 360 so it looks like an upgraded 360Cs.

The configuration program is in the thinkpad subdirectory usually off the root directory. Exe is TPW.exe for windows and PS2.exe for DOS.

Keeping F1 pressed while powering up and booting will get to the bios setup. Besides listing the memory and processor you can do tests, set passwords, set boot order, set date/time, etc.

I would get an adapter for the Compactflash. That is how I transfer files from a couple of floppy-only machines I have. Early Thinkpads can also boot from the PCMCIA slot and I have booted Compactflash cards. The CompactFlash shows up as another hard drive. You need to go to the pcmcia manager in control panel to "stop" the compact flash before you remove it.

I belong to the thinkpad mailing list and find it very helpful. You can search the archive at:
http://zurich.ai.mit.edu/hypermail/thinkpad/

73 Eric

 

[DaveH]

Ok, thanks Eric et al, just haven't had much time to look at it in the past while; hope to get something going before September. Plus, it's been stinkin' hot (30-34C) and humid (up to 100%) the last while.

I'll probably get the PCMCIA adaptor, looks like it would come in useful even if worst case (serial port H/W bad). BTW Eric, any idea in that case if it's worth trying to repair? I was poking around inside looking for an RS232 driver somewhere but haven't found it yet. Probably an SSOP part.

Dave

 

[EricCottrell]

Hello,

If the serial port driver is gone then it is not worth fixing as the motherboard needs replacing.
It is likely a surface mount part.

I find my adapter very useful. They are usually 10 to 20 dollars US. I would get a CompactFlash only adapter. I have a SanDisk CompactFlash PC Card Adapter.

73 Eric

 

[DaveH]

OK, got the PCMCIA/CF adaptor ($20CDN before taxes) and a CF card installed. Problem now is which Thinkpad config program to install..there doesn't seem to be one for the 380Cs and by description of the 360Cs I'm sure it's that one either. Processor confirmed as 80486. Model confirmed as 2620. Just pondering the next step.

I also tried fooling with Hyperterminal to see if that made a difference (selecting different COM ports); none.

Dave

 

[mws72]

zip drive for larger files

OK, got the PCMCIA/CF adaptor ($20CDN before taxes) and a CF card installed. Problem now is which Thinkpad config program to install..there doesn't seem to be one for the 380Cs and by description of the 360Cs I'm sure it's that one either. Processor confirmed as 80486. Model confirmed as 2620. Just pondering the next step.

I also tried fooling with Hyperterminal to see if that made a difference (selecting different COM ports); none.

Dave

you may want to see about a parallel port zip drive off ebay or a swap meet. That is how I move larger files on/off my thinkpads (have several 755, 750 and a 355) that I use for the trunker variants. You can install the config files from a floppy.

 

[DaveH]

I got a 512M flash card PCMCIA disk working although it seems to need Windows to recognize it (not DOS). That limitation is workable. Since I have a card interface on my main machine, I'll pass on the ZIP drive.

Putting this aside until I figure out which ThinkPad config program I should run (because the model number doesn't align with any of them), I picked up an old AST laptop. No PS, guy didn't know if it worked, so I offered $20 and got it. Pretty old, runs Win3.1, but boots up in DOS and Treport runs fine! (finally!).

One minor problem, if I plug in the PCMCIA flash disk, the machine hangs (in DOS and Windows). I know some setup is needed, but on the other machine, Windows 98 detected the new hardware and allowed me to install a standard HDD driver. Not so with the new laptop. Probably needs to be pre-configured before plugging in the first time (and manually removed before taking it out, as Eric recommended). Any pointers on this?

Dave

 

[SCPD]

Just wanted to put in my 2 cents.

I was also having problems with a Thinkpad and Etrunker. I finally determined that it wasn't the laptop at all .. but rather the slicer.

I found that the slicer I was using worked fine on another Thinkpad model (755C) but on the one other model (390) it kept on dying (losing the control channel), yet the program was still running.

I changed the slicer to one I had built some time ago (after adding a 2nd db9 in it for a 2nd scanner) and it is working fine to this day. The slicer that I was having problems with is running on the 755C Thinkpad (also dual scanner R7000 as 2nd scanner and BC780XLT as discriminator). The 390 is running with a Pro 2004 (discriminator) and a BC250D as the controlled scanner.

Both setups are running fine ... and the whole time I was having problems the Thinkpads were working fine. It was the slicer that it just didnt like.

Just something to try ....

 

[DaveH]

Kevin, yeah I thought of that...some slicers may load serial ports more
than others, or some serial ports are less able to source current to slicers
that take the power from it (most I would suspect). In my case the port
lines are hanging around -7v without the slicer connected, which suggests
the port is disabled, or damaged; -7v isn't even good for a port with no
load on it. The slice I use is home-built using a TL081 and has worked OK
on a few different PCs.

I can't find the config program for my machine 380Cs (which isn't listed).
I could try the nearest one listed, but what is the risk it could screw things
royally, or would it just not run? I'd like to keep Win98 on it, and there's
no CD-ROM drive, so limits the ability to install/re-install things...

Dave