Let’s assume you have all your gear and cables connected. What next?
Before you try to go on the air, lets check out the TNC. You may want to leave the radio off at first. Fire up your computer and packet software first. When the hour glass goes away, power up your TNC. If you get a message back from the TNC identifying itself, you are probably good to go. If you get nothing or a bunch of nonsensical charaters you need to make some changes to your packet sotware in the comm section most likely. The normal is 8 data bits. 1 stop bit. The problem most likely however is the baud rate from your computer to TNC. I would try 4800 then 9600, then 19200. With each change power down the TNC then power back up. When you can read its comeback, you are on your way.
Next you need to get comfortable with the two modes your TNC can take.
Your TNC is always either in the Command Mode or Converse Mode. In Command Mode, you are giving commands to the electronics in the TNC. The TNC will also advise the status of its settings based on your query.
In Converse Mode, the TNC will be converting your keyboard entry to packet bursts and forwarding that date to your radio or the opposite for received date.
To get into Command Mode, hold the Ctrl key while pressing the C key.
To get into Converse Mode, hold the Ctrl key while pressing the K key.
I might add if you are working with a packet program like WinPack that has separate send and receive windows, make sure your cursor is in the send window. This is usually below the receive window. If not, you will be trying to send a command and wondering why it’s not working.
So now do Ctrl+C, if all is well you will see cmd: in your receive window. If you see cmd: on two lines, you can fix it by typing echo off then return. If you don’t see anything but the previous steps seemed to work ok, type echo on then return. If that doesn’t work we probably have problem beyond the scope of this page.
So we will assume all is well with Ctrl+C. Another useful command is Display. When you type Display then return, you will see all the commands available with your TNC and their current setting. You may want to print this our (or not ) and you will not use it much but it is pretty handy when troubleshooting a problem. For example, I purchased a use MFJ and whenever I typed a command it came back with a string of about 20 charaters. It didn’t affect operation other that it made it hard to read with this extra string. By examining the commands after a display, I found a command with the same string attached to it. I then typed the command with a space and return. That took care of it.
A very important command is MYCALL. You should know why. Type MYCALL then return. If it comes up with your call, then you are ahead of me. If not type MYCALL KQ0Q then return (if you are me). If you are not me, substitute our call for KQ0Q.
Three more commands you will want to get to know are MON, MCOM & MCON. MON is Monitor and it is the master switch for MCON and MCOM. With MON off the other two are off. With it on, you can control the other two separately. I suggest setting MON to ON, MCON to OFF and MCOM to on. MCON enables you to monitor all packet signals when you are connected. Generally, when you are connected, you are trying to type to a friend, leave a message or get a message. MCON ON will drive you crazy with bits and pieces of packets not specifically intended for you but displayed on the screen non the less as soon as received. I am sure it has a special application or two and the higher your IQ, the easier it will be keep track of the multiple strings running across you screen but for this average Joe, I keep it off.
MCOM however monitors all packets when you are not connected. I like it on. It’s kind of like having you scanner on. All packets received will be displayed on your monitor as long as you are not connected to another station.
I had a little trouble remembering the difference at first. I now use the second M in MCOM to mean Monitoring mode. I use the con in MCON to mean monitoring in Connected (Converse ) mode.
So now make sure you have MON ON and MCOM ON. Turn your radio on and tune to 145.090 FM if using a multimode radio. Turn the squelch up if it’s not up already. Actually the squelch can be off to monitor but you will probably never transmit because the TNC will detect that the radio is busy. I have found this out the hard way and you will too if using one of the popular multimode radios because you squelch will usually be off in HF mode
OK, you should now be seeing and hearing packet burst if connected to an antenna. Give it some time. I have not made a study but if you don’t see anything in about 15 minutes, I would guess there is a problem. (This is assuming there is already active packet traffic in your area). Several nodes in the area check into the BBS at least once an hour and some send out beacons anywhere from 10 to 20 minutes apart. Hopefully, you are hearing something on your radio and seeing the packets on you screen. If you don’t hear the bursts your volume is off or you silenced the speaker with your cable setup.
Lets assume all is well, its time to transmit. I suggest you connect to SGF09. First do a Ctrl+C to insure you are in Command mode. Next type
C SGF09 then return
It should come back with
Connected SGF09:
OK, now you are in the Converse Mode. You got switch automatically. If you want (not now) you can type Ctrl+C and return to Command mode. You might to this if you want to change the status of the ECHO command or maybe one of the MONITOR commands. After making your changes, type Ctrl+C K the return to get back to your connection.
Ok, now connected to SGF09 type HELP. This will give you a list of commands on the SGF09 node. Notice the BBS. The will connect you to N0KFQ PBBS. You can connect several ways as follows.
BBS then return
Or
C N0KFQ then return
Or
C KFQBBS then return
At this point, you will see some prompts and instructions. Have fun. Remember that you must wait for the command prompt before you can type back to it. When you want to leave, type B for Bye.
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