sub new {
    my $proto = shift;
    my $class = ref($proto) || $proto;
    my $device = shift;
    my $alias = $device;
    if ($device =~ /^COM\d+$/io) {
	$device = '\\\\.\\' . $device;
	# required COM10 and beyond, done for all to facilitate testing
    }
    my @new_cmd = ($device);
    my $quiet = shift;
    if ($quiet) {
        push @new_cmd, 1;
    }
    my $self  = $class->SUPER::new(@new_cmd);

    unless ($self) {
        return 0 if ($quiet);
        return;
    }