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Index:
1. Initialization and Shutdown of TNC
Initialization and Shutdown of TNC:
I really do not know where to start in a way. It seems that so many people are trying to get various programs to work with their TNC and can not figure out why the two will not "talk".
I have found over time that most who have problems just plain do not understand either their TNC and it's capability or the programs they are trying to use. As a result I have helped many in the past to understand their problem when it comes to the PK232/PK232MBX and the KAM/KAM+. I have explained to them that so many programs which are designed to work with these two TNC's have the capability to operate them in "HOST MODE" and leave them in that state when they are closed down unless the program specifically tells the TNC to do otherwise. When this occurs programs which do not use "HOST MODE" will not properly communicate with the TNC's. Program examples which operate in "HOST MODE" are as follows:
Hostmaster II Plus KAM only
Pacterm98 KAM only
XPWIN KAM's or PK232's
All of the above programs are designed to operate with the TNC's
in HOST MODE during normal operation. One nice thing about each program
is their capability to be setup to take the TNC's out of HOST MODE when
exiting the programs. This feature is so often overlooked by their
users. This will allow other programs that function in normal terminal/command
mode with the TNC's to talk to them properly. I will take each program
in turn and identify how to use this setup function.
Hostmaster II Plus: This program has the capability to use an initialization file which will be read during startup and condition the TNC for proper operation while the program is in use. The name of this file should be "HOSTBEG.TXT"(without the " marks) and it should be placed in the same directory as the program files for Hostmaster. The content of this file can be any of the command lines which you want to send to the TNC at startup such as the following:
MYCALL W5BBR
DIDDLE ON
FSKINV OFF
ECHO OFF
This file can contain as many commands as you want. I highly recommend you review your TNC command set to determine those commands which will need to be set for proper operation Hostmaster program in the particular environment you are operating. If for example you do not use a packet cluster or do not work packet then you can ignore commands related to that mode. In my file I have almost all of the command set for the KAM identified with the state I want it to be after initialization.
The second file of importance is "HOSTEND.TXT" and is the one which is used to condition the TNC to be in terminal/command mode when finished running the Hostmaster program. The content of this file can be any of the command lines which you desire to send to the TNC at the end of using Hostmaster such as the following (without the comments):
MONITOR OFF ;This prevents the TNC buffer from overflowing when not being used by a program.
INTERFACE TERM ;This line takes the TNC out of HOST MODE and places it in terminal/command mode so it will work correctly
;with such programs as RTTY by WF1B, LOGGER by K4CY, and many other programs which will not operate with
;the TNC in HOST MODE.RESET ;This line will cause the TNC to reset all registers to the values just updated by these commands.
The files may be made up using any editor such NOTEPAD.EXE which
is part of the Windows95/98 operating system. Any editor used should
be a plain text editor with no control characters, etc..
PACTERM98: This program is a little easier to deal with in that it has the capability to add the commands directly in the settings windows. After bringing up the program just left mouse click on File, then Settings, then select startup and shutdown commands. In the respective windows you would place the commands as you did above for Hostmaster in the respective areas of the window. Close the windows and then restart the program.
XPWIN: XPWIN is much like PACTERM98 in respect to conditioning the TNC during startup and shutdown of the TNC. In this case you will left mouse click on TNC, then select Edit Initialization File and here you place the startup command similar to what you used in the Hostmaster HOSTBEG.TXT file. Next you will select Edit Termination File and place the commands similar to those placed in the Hostmaster HOSTEND.TXT file above.
????REMEMBER???? The above instructions are related to the KAM+ and in the case of XPWIN when used with the PK232's you must replace the INTERFACE TERM line with a line as follows:
HOST 0 ;This 0 is a zero not an alphabet character letter and this command will turn off HOST MODE when exiting.
Just remember if the program you are using uses HOST MODE for operating then you must take action such as the above if you plan to next use the TNC with a program which does not have HOST MODE capability such as RTTY, LOGGER, etc..
If you still have a problem communicating with the TNC I suggest a hard reset of the TNC and then run try communicating with the TNC again.
Can the KAM/KAM+ or the PK232 be used in HOST MODE with RTTY by WF1B for both RTTY and packet cluster modes? No, WF1B does not support HOST MODE with this TNC.
Can the KAM/KAM+ or the PK232 be used in HOST MODE with Logger program for both RTTY and packet cluster modes? No, Logger acts as a dumb terminal when in DATA mode and operating RTTY and does not support HOST MODE.
The following was taken from a post on the Logger Reflector from Ron Walters, W4LDE related to the initialization files he uses for the PK232MBX and Logger.
First let me say "thank you very much" to all that responded with advice on the PK232MBX and Logger 6.09.
I have the PK232 and Logger humming and works great. The major difficulty I ran into was from other Terminal programs leaving the TNC in the non-command state. Unfortunately some of the newer programs such as XPWIN et. do not return the PK232 to the true command mode or if the do the xon/xoff handshake is set wrong for the "DUMB Terminal mode" that Logger provides.
For what it worth, the following initialization file is what I run when I first after I open up the data port window, they are:
control_c ;places the TNC in the CMD: prompt
AAB QRA W4LDE (WLDE)
ACRDISP 0
ARQT 45
ALFDISP ON
ALFP OFF
AUDELAY 10
CBELL ON
CTEXT RON IN ORLANDO,FLORIDA
CMSG ON
CONSTAMP ON
DIDDLE ON
DAYSTAMP ON
MAIL ON
MAX 2
MCON 4
MDIGI ON
MRPT ON
MSTAMP ON
MYCALL W4LDE
MYSEL WLDE
USERS 5
USOS ON
MYMAIL W4LDE-10
MAIL ON
I then have a VHF (PACKET) file (So I can use the DX cluster window) and a HF packet file I load at the cmd: prompt which are:
VHF-------
DWAIT 16
HBAUD 1200
MAX 3
PACLEN 80
FRACK 3
HF-------
DWAIT 1
HBAUD 300
MAX 1
PACLEN 32
FRACK 5
With these settings I am able to jump between a terminal program "ACUTERM" and logger and use either for my operating system (Not at the same time, though it would be nice). Logger has some great features and I am really looking forward to using it while ACUTERM is a real easy terminal program with allot of nice features while operating in PACTOR and other data modes.
My finalized port settings are 8-none-1 xon/xoff. Both the logger and the computer port which in my case happens to be COM1 are set for this at 9600baud.
PS - I use the Yaesu FT1000mp and I see zero problems communicating with logger.
Anyone out there still using ACUTERM? Would like to hear from you. What's the latest version?
Again thanks to all for your help and suggestions. It helped a lot.
73's - Ron W4LDE in Orlando, Fl
It is recommended that an additional command be placed at the first part of the initialization files to insure that an error is not found when some of the commands are issued to the TNC and that command is as follows:
EXPERT ON ;This command insures that all commands in the TNC command set will receive updates. If not on some commands are suppressed and not available. Bill, W5BBR
There was a post on the Logger Reflector some time ago related to the PK232 when used with Logger in PACTOR Mode and the inability to have a change over by using Ctl-Z. I decided to set up my trusty old PK232 and see if I could replicate the problem and if found as a problem to find a solution.
Well I found that you could not provide the change over using Ctl-Z which is the default value for PTOver command in firmware of the PK-232. Cause of the conflict is in my opinion the use of Ctl-Z in a editing sense within the Windows Operating System. If you will bring up the Logger Data Window and type "this is a test" in the entry portion of the window and then issue the Ctl-Z command you will see the editing effect even though you are connected to a KAM or other TNC. This causes a conflict in the change over to the PK232.
Solution to this problem is easy to accomplish as you can change the PTOver character to Ctl-A by issuing the following command to the PK232:
PTOver $01
You can now use a Ctl-A for the change over command when in Pactor Mode with the PK232. What I do is to configure one of the Macro buttons to be &OVER for the button name and place CONTROL-A with a carriage return in the main body of the Macro editing window. This now gives me the ability to provide change over by using Alt-O or clicking on the Macro button.
This method is just one approach to the solution and others may have found another workaround so would be interested in any and all solutions.
I also recommend the PTOver $01 be placed in the Macro button for Pactor to insure that the PK232 is properly configured every time it is turned on and Pactor is selected.
Following is from a post by Dick Stevens, N1RCT related to abort of transmit when operating RTTY with Logger.
My "Kill" button is:
CONTROL_C R
TC
"R" returns it to receive immediately,
"TC" clears out the buffer in the PK232 so it does not transmit the remaining
characters the next time it is turned on ... 73, Dick Stevens
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