27
Inside a TNC – the KPC-3 Plus
To better understand the workings of your packet radio station, it is helpful to have an
overview of the major components of the TNC device at the center of your station.
In the early days of packet radio, TNC‘s consisted primarily of a modem for
communicating with a transceiver and a special-purpose microprocessor called a PAD
(i.e., packet assembler/disassembler) used to process packets of information and
communicates with a computer or terminal.
As packet radio has developed, more and more features have been added, such as
memory and software dedicated to a ―Personal Bulletin Board System‖ within the
TNC. The following diagram shows the most important internal components of a
TNC (the KPC-3 Plus). The diagram is not to scale. For a detailed example, see the
parts list and layout diagram for the KPC-3 Plus in the appendices of this manual.
Note: Other TNC‘s may have different features than the KPC-3 Plus for example, the
ability to operate two radios at once.
To Next Page
Loading...
