GrandFather: tried a loopback cable and the port keeps screaming "input/output error", so it appears it IS a linux error. ::shrug:: thanks for the advice!

graff: you're right, sloppy programming on my part, i sort of tore apart another script to make this test script. and its different boxes entirely.

zentara: yeah, was a typo, one that threw me for a loop too. although the serial ports arent ttyS0 on this machine, they're ttys0.

thanks for the suggestions!