PK-232 MBX – OPERATING MANUAL PACKET-RADIO
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4.6.5 Doubling Received CHSWITCH Characters
If you want to be able to tell the difference between the CHSWITCH characters you type,
and characters from other stations that happen to be the same as your CHSWITCH cha-
racter, then set CHDOUBLE ON.
4.6.6 Checking Your Connect Status with the CSTATUS Command
To check what channels your PK-232 is currently set to, as well as who is connected to
you, you may find the CSTATUS command helpful. CSTATUS is an immediate command
that shows you the status of all 10 Packet channels as well as the channel you are cur-
rently on.
4.6.7 The MULT LED
You will know you are connected to more than one packet station when the MULT LED on
the front panel of the PK-232 lights.
NOTE: The MULT LED will blink if the PK-232's receive buffer is filled. This
can happen if your computer is not connected to the PK-232, or if for
some reason, your communications program no longer can accept
any further inbound data.
4.7 HF Packet Operation
HF Packet is much trickier than operating on VHF. In this section we will assume you have as
completed section 4.2 of this chapter and at least read section 4.3 and the MONITORING
sections of 4.4. If at all possible, get some experience with VHF Packet before trying Packet
on HF. Although this is not absolutely required, the experience will help you make HF Packet
contacts.
4.7.1 Where to Operate HF Packet
Before you can operate HF Packet, you find the activity. Most HF Packet operation is on
the 20-meter amateur band starting at 14.103 MHz and every 2 kHz above that up to
14.111 MHz. Note that 14.103 MHz is the calling frequency and a good place to start. The
higher frequencies such as 14.109 and 14.111 are used mostly by HF PBBS systems and
are not good places to look for a QSO.
4.7.2 PK-232 HF Packet Settings
Make sure your PK-232 is turned ON and your PAKRATT or terminal program is up and
running. Then change the following PK-232 parameters for 300 baud HF Packet. The VHF
settings are also shown to make it easier to switch back to VHF when finished.
300 baud HF Packet 1200 baud VHF Packet
SLOTTIME 8 SLOTTIME 30
PACLEN 64 or less PACLEN 128
MAXFRAME 1 MAXFRAME 4
FRACK 15 FRACK 8
HBAUD 300 HBAUD 1200
VHF OFF VHF ON
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