I worked with getline timeout parameters for about 4 hours. Once the timeout occurs the handle is dropped. You can reestablish the handle to send the 'hello' but then you can miss output (verified) while the handle is 'bounced'. I appreciate your input but it isn't behaving the way I need it. Also you have to set errmode in order for the getline timeout not to make the whole script die. The doc on how to that is not very clear.