Kantronics KPC-4 - Page 19

our
TNC
will
change
to
the
Convers
Mode
(dependent
on
the
setting
of
NOMODE
a
CONMODE).
Now
Da
you
type
will
be
interpreted
by
the
TNC
as
data
to
be
sent
to
the
other
station
and
not
commands
to
the
TNC.
The
MCON
parameter
comes
defaulted
to
OFF.
Therefore
once
you
are
connected
all
you
will
see
is
what
you
type
and
what
the
other
person
sends
you.
Any
packets
sent
by
other
people
will
not
be
monitored.
Two
things
determine
when
the
data
will
be
packetized.
One
is
the
parameter
SENDPAC.
This
is
defaulted
as
the
return
or
enter
key.
So
as
you
are
typing
your
message,
whenever
you
hit
the
return
or
enter
key
you
are
telling
the
TNC
to
make
a
new
packet.
A
second
parameter,
PACLEN,
determines
the
maximum
length
of
any
packet.
If
you
enter
data
longer
than
this
length
a
packet
will
be
made
even
though
you
have
not
pressed
the
return
or
enter
key.
When
you
have
finished
your
conversation
you
need
to
end
the
connection.
To
do
this
you
go
into
the
Command
Mode
and
type
a
"d"
for
Disconnect.
Remember
to
press
the
return
or
enter
key
after
any
command
to
the
TNC.
Once
your
station
has
received
the
acknowledgment
for
the
disconnect
packet
the
TNC
will
send
this
message
to
your
screen:
*** DISCONNECTED
Either
station
can
issue
the
disconnect
command,
no
matter
which
station
originated
the
connect.
Digipeating
Everything
we
have
done
so
far
will
only
be
heard
by
those
within
range
to
hear
your
signal.
With
packet
radio
it
is
possible
to
get
further
than
that.
The
DIGIPEAT
parameter
in
the
TNC
comes
defaulted
ON.
This
makes
you
a
possible
relay
station,
or
digital
repeater
—
digipeater,
or
just
digi
for
short.
In
many
VHF
communities
one,
or
more,
of
these
is
put
up
in
a
good,
high
location
and
referred
to
as
a
dedicated
digi.
The
TNC
and
radio
is
all
that
is
needed
for
the
digital
repeater
to
do
its
job.
Acomputer
would
be
needed
if
you
wanted
to
change
a
parameter,
but
it
would
not
need
to
stay
there
for
the
digi
to
work.
The
higher
the
antenna,
the
more
effective
a
digi
will
be,
but
remember
every
TNC
has
the
capability
of
being
a
digipeater.
If we turn the MRPT command ON we will begin to see more than just the "from" and
"to" stations of the monitored packets. We will also see the callsigns of those stations
that have been used as digipeaters. (If you turn HEADERLN ON the headers will end
with a return and be on a separate line from the packet data.) This list of stations is
often called a path. Here is an example of what you might see:
WK5M>KA5ZTX,IAH*,LAG,AUS:
Hi there
In this example WK5M is talking to KA5ZTX using the digipeaters IAH, LAG and
AUS. The asterisk beside IAH tells you that you are hearing that digipeater. You will
notice that IAH, LAG and AUS are not real callsigns. The TNC provides parameters
(MYALIAS and ALIAS) to set up an alias, which is often easier to remember than a
callsign. To make this connection WK5M would have typed the following command to
his TNC:
c ka5ztx v iah,lag,aus
vis short for via and up to 8 digis may be used. You must specify digis in the order they
will be encountered along the path from your station to the station you wish to connect
PACKET 13
© Copyright 1989, Kantronics, Inc. All Rights Reserved. M
Duplication of this manual or the firmware without Version 2.85
permission of Kantronics, Inc. is prohibited. Operations Manual