Timeouts can be avoid by closing the port when you are not using it and only opening when you want to talk.
But if you want to monitor the port data you should either increase the frequncy at which you read the data waiting in the input buffer OR
Bump-up the recieve buffer size to hold more between your checks.
Now if you want to really disable the thime outs you could set the TO to something very large or you can check for the appropriate error code and just ignore that error. Warning: I do not recomend either of the two options since a long TO value will result in a hang if you try to abort while it is waiting or, you will get no clue as to what is happening when the cord to the widget gets kicked loose.
Ben
