I could do that, but I think it will be a waste of time. Have worked with computers for a long time, set up simple networks, etc., and this really does look like a hardware issue.
Oh well, thanks for the help. I'm off to look at real estate with the wife.
Trust me, only takes a minute or two, and you'll want to eliminate the network settings on the laptops as a possible source for your problem.
I troubleshoot networks often enough, and sometimes the darndest things happen. Methodical test, change, test, change, test, change is the only way to go when all else fails.