I found something else that might be useful regarding read() and sysread():

http://docs.activestate.com/activeperl/5.6/faq/Windows/ActivePerl-Winfaq8.html#How_do_I_read_from_and_write_to_

In reply to Re^3: Trying to read from serial port - not getting a response by adiuva
in thread Trying to read from serial port - not getting a response by adiuva

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