N9WIB Notebook

Kantronics KPC3 Plus TNC Reference

This is a basic quick start guide to the Kantronics KPC3 Plus Terminal Node Controller. The reference is geared towards linux systems however some parts may be helpful for other operating systems as well.

Terminology

• AX.25 the protocol used to transmit data between amateur stations.
• UNPROTO / Unconnected data frames or packets are not sent to a specific station. There will be no ack from the receiving station or stations. Used for beaconing or calling CQ.
• Connected Packets or Data Frames - message sent to a specific station that requires a reply or ack and error checking.

Ports

• DSUB-25 Female: connects to your computer serial port or using a USB cable adapter to a USB port on the computer. RS232
• DSUB-9 Feamle: connects to your radio. 1200 baud packet
• Power 2.1 mm jack. 6-25v. Center post positive and sleve is ground.

Kantronics DB-25 to USB Cable

• I purchased a DB-25 to USB cable from Kantronics for my new PC that did not have a serial port
• The cable was recognized as listed in dmesg however it was not mounted in /dev/ttyUSBx
• Take the following steps to correct the problem ....
• confirm that the ftdi_sio kernal module is installed

• /lib/modules/5.19.0-46-generic/kernel/drivers/usb/serial/ftdi_sio.ko
  /lib/modules/5.19.0-46-generic/kernel/drivers/usb/serial/usbserial.ko
  

• add a custom udev rule and save it as /etc/udev/rules.d/99-custom.rules

•  ATTR{idVendor}=="2100", RUN+="/sbin/modprobe -q ftdi_sio", RUN+="/bin/sh -c 'echo 2100 $attr{idProduct} >/sys/bus/usb-serial/drivers/ftdi_sio/new_id'"
  

• 2100 is the vendor ID for RT systems
• The rule tells udev to run the ftdi_sio driver module and then sends a signal to the driver to load it for the vendor ID and product ID.
• Unplug the USB cable and plug it back in and it should be detected.
• Check dmesg to see which device node has been assigned. It should be /dev/ttyUSB0 or 1
• Issue the command sudo dmesg -wH  or sudo dmesg |grep FTDI
• My output for dmesg ...

• [ 5212.679617] usb 7-1.1.1: new full-speed USB device number 11 using xhci_hcd
  [ 5212.857352] usb 7-1.1.1: New USB device found, idVendor=2100, idProduct=0004, bcdDevice=10.00
  [ 5212.857358] usb 7-1.1.1: New USB device strings: Mfr=1, Product=2, SerialNumber=3
  [ 5212.857360] usb 7-1.1.1: Product: USB-Kantronics Cable
  [ 5212.857361] usb 7-1.1.1: Manufacturer: RT Systems
  [ 5212.857362] usb 7-1.1.1: SerialNumber: RT752SO8
  [ 5212.864364] ftdi_sio 7-1.1.1:1.0: FTDI USB Serial Device converter detected
  [ 5212.864382] usb 7-1.1.1: Detected FT-X
  [ 5212.875434] usb 7-1.1.1: FTDI USB Serial Device converter now attached to ttyUSB0
  

   

Computer TNC Connection Linux

• add yourself to the dialout group at the command line: sudo adduser USERNAME dialout. You should do this before the above modifications.
• connect the TNC to power and to you computer.
• turn the TNC on and type sudo dmesg at the command prompt of the computer. 
• install mincom serial console: sudo apt install minicom
• execute: mincom -s
• select Serial Port Setup
• set port to /dev/USBx
• Use the following settings: 9600 bits/s, 8 data bits, no parity, 1 stop bit, and hardware flow control and save

TNC to Radio Connection

• Use the DSUB-9 female connection to your radio.
• You will need to reference the TNC manual for your type of connection to the radio
• Set the radio receive volume by initially turning the volume all the way down and opening the squelch completely. Slowly turn the volume up until the RCV led on the TNC turns on. Increase the volume a bit more then turn the squelch back down until the RCV led goes out.

TNC COMMAND MODE

• CTL-C to enter command mode
• BEACON - BEACON every X minutes - sets beacon rate
• BTEXT - BTEXT MY STRING BLAH - sets a beacon string. BTEXT % to clear text
• INTFACE NEWUSER - basic core commands
• INTFACE TERMINAL - full set of commands
• CONNECT - connect with another station
• CONVERS - enters converse mode or press K
• DISCONNE - disconnet from station you are talking to
• ECHO - when on all charecters will be echoed back
• DISPLAY - shows currect values of all parameters
• MHEARD - displays stations heard. MHEARD CLEAR clears the cache. May use LONG and SHORT
• MONITOR - display monitored packets
• MYPBBS - sets name of your personal mailbox
• CONNECT "mailbox name" - connects to your mailbox
• MYCALL - used to set your call sign
• MYALIAS - sets up your alias
• STATUS - displays status of current stream
• HELP

MAILBOX

• Get into command mode
• CONNECT YOUR CALL SIGN ie CONNECT N9WIB
• Use the mailbox commands to help you navigate
• To disconnect get back into command mode CTL+C
• Type DISCONNECT

MONITOR OR CONNECT TO NEARBY STATIONS

• 145.01 typicall 2meter packet frequency
• CMD type MONITOR ON to display traffic from stations

• To connect to nearby station type CONNECT "station callsligh"
• If you need to connect to a more distant station via other stations type the following.. CONNECT "desired station" via "station 1", "station 2"