Chapter 7 - Commands and Messages
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CHAPTER 7
COMMANDS AND MESSAGES
GENERAL
There are many commands which affect operation of the Kantronics All Mode Communicator.
Some commands affect performance under specific conditions, some change parameters affecting
general operation and others direct a one-time action.
COMMAND STRUCTURES
The user changes parameters and issues instructions to the KAM by typing commands com-
posed of English-like word abbreviations and variables which are numbers or strings of characters
chosen by the user. You will probably never change some of these parameters.
All commands are listed alphabetically. The function of each is explained and the default values
are as shown. Default values are stored in EEPROM and are the settings used at power-on. If you
change any setting or value and PERM it, the new setting or value will be stored in EEPROM and
will be the value set at future power-on. A command is entered to the unit by typing it when you
see the Command Mode prompt:
cmd:
The command and setting, or value must be separated by a space, and the unit takes action
when a carriage return (CR) is typed. All command entries may be abbreviated to the shortest
unique string. In the command list which follows, those required entries are denoted by capital
letters.
There are several parameter types. A parameter which is denoted as "n" is a number, and can
be given either in decimal or in hexadecimal form (base 16). When the KAM shows some of these
parameters (those which set special characters), they will be given in hex. A hex number is distin-
guished from a decimal number by preceding it with a "$" prefix. The "digits" of a hex number rep-
resent powers of 16, analogous to the powers of 10 represented by a decimal number. The num-
bers 10 through 15 are denoted by the hex: digits A through F. For example:
$1B = 1 × 16 + 11 = 27
$120 = 1 × 16 × 16 + 2 × 16 + 0 = 288
Many parameters are "flags", meaning that they have two possible values, ON and OFF, or YES
and NO. All of the command descriptions show ON and OFF as the options; however Yes and No
may be typed instead. A few parameters are really flags, but rather than indicating that something
is "on" or "off", they select one of two ways of doing things. Some of these parameters have the
values EVERY or AFTER indicating operating modes for data transmission.
Several commands require call signs as parameters. While these parameters are normally Ama-
teur callsigns, they may actually be any collection of numbers and at least one letter up to six
characters; they are used to identify stations sending and receiving packets. A callsign may addi-
tionally include an "extension", which is a decimal number from 0 to 15 used to distinguish two or
more stations on the air with the same Amateur call (such as a base station and a repeater). The
callsign and extension are entered and displayed as call-ext, e.g. K0PFX-3. If the extension is not
entered, it is set to -0 , and extensions of -0 are not displayed by the KAM.
Several parameters are numerical codes for characters which perform special functions. The
code is simply the ASCII character code for the desired character. These characters have as default
values control characters. Control characters are entered by holding down a special control key on
the keyboard while typing the indicated key.
There are two commands,
BText
and
CText
, which have a parameter text string. This string can
be any combination of letters, numbers, punctuations, or spaces up to 128 characters. You can
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