Re: Old school packet radio
I'm just looking to operate standard 2m packet and I was hoping to find software to run on Windows 10.
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Re: Old school packet radio
Putty works well as a good terminal program to talk to the TNC. ? Brian N2KGC ?
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From: [email protected] [mailto:[email protected]] On Behalf Of W2LPC
Sent: Tuesday, March 26, 2024 12:11 PM
To: [email protected]
Subject: [direwolf] Old school packet radio ? Hello all. I have two PK-232MBX units and I'd like to bring them back to life. Does anyone know if there is software out there that will support these units on Windows 10? I only wish to run 2m packet with these. Thank you all in advance. Lou, W2LPC.
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Re: Old school packet radio
Not sure you are in the right forum for this question. Direwolf is basically a sound card TNC that would replace the PK-232 hardware.
That said, what are you looking to do "on air"? ?? APRS ?? Keyboard to keyboard (Emergency comms, ...)
?? BBS type interface ?? Satellite
So many more
On Tuesday, March 26, 2024 at 07:16:06 PM EDT, W2LPC <w2lpc@...> wrote:
Hello all. I have two PK-232MBX units and I'd like to bring them back to life. Does anyone know if there is software out there that will support these units on Windows 10? I only wish to run 2m packet with these. Thank you all in advance. Lou, W2LPC.
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What do you have for PTT in the configuration file?
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Hello all. I have two PK-232MBX units and I'd like to bring them back to life. Does anyone know if there is software out there that will support these units on Windows 10? I only wish to run 2m packet with these. Thank you all in advance. Lou, W2LPC.
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Re: I-Gate when internet available, Digipeater otherwise
Hi John,
I know the basics of an APRS system, thanks for your information.
Can somebody confirm that if I enable both (IGate / Digipeater) on the same node, I'm not spamming the RF channel with the messages already gated to APRS-IS?
Would that be "A bidirectional IGate"?
Thank you,
Razvan
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OK - I think I am finally catching on.?? For the purposes of Winlink, Direwolf would only work with nodes that support AX.25 and a few others, but not PACTOR.? I guess most PACTOR is done with Winlink for MS Windows, or using a hardware PACTOR modem.? I have found some possible non-Direwolf software workarounds but they will take a bit more research.? In the mean time my computer which had a COM port that I use for digital work just died on me so it will take a few days for me to get a USB to COM adapter working with my modern computers, which means no research for a little while.
Thanks for all the help!
73 Paul KB3PUW
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Direwolf can receive AX.25, FX.25, IL2P, DTMF, AIS, and EAS SAME. It can send all but the last two. Multiple speeds are available for some of the modes.?? For example, Packet Radio / APRS usually uses 1200 bps on VHF/UHF and 300 bps on HF SSB. Direwolf does not have PACTOR capability.? If you need PACTOR, you need a different TNC/modem application. Direwolf can be used for AX.25/FX.25/IL2P on HF. Your current configuration is for 1200 bps, suitable for VHF/UHF FM.
Channel 0: 1200 baud, AFSK 1200 & 2200 Hz, E+, 44100 sample rate.
If you want to 300 bps AX.25 for HF SSB, the speed must be set to 300 like this in the configuration file, in the CHANNEL section.
MODEM 300
The default audio tones are 1600 and 1800 Hz but this can be changed. See? ? for an explanation of the relationship between the dial setting, signal center frequency, and the audio tones. 73, John WB2OSZ
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Re: I-Gate when internet available, Digipeater otherwise
direwolf, like many other APRS applications, can operate as a digipeater and IGate at the same time. Andrew P. summed it up well: "Digipeating and I-gating are two totally different station behaviors/capabilities, and one should not be altered because something happened to the other." A digipeater receives packets over RF and re transmits them on RF if they are eligible to be re-transmitted. An IGate station receives packets on RF and forwards all of them to the APR-IS network. A bidirectional IGate (highly recommended if legal in your country) also sends selected packets from APRS-IS to RF.?? The default, and most common, behavior is to send only APRS "messages" addressed to stations recently heard by the IGate over RF. A station capable of being a digipeater and IGate would normally have both features enabled at the same time. You might find these helpful:
Both are in ? 73, John WB2OSZ
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This is what I see on startup:
Dire Wolf version 1.5
Includes optional support for:? gpsd hamlib
Reading config file direwolf.conf
Audio device for both receive and transmit: default? (channel 0)
Channel 0: 1200 baud, AFSK 1200 & 2200 Hz, E+, 44100 sample rate.
Ready to accept AGW client application 0 on port 8000 ...
Ready to accept KISS TCP client application 0 on port 8001 ...
So what you are saying is that this needs to be reconfigured for 300 baud?? I am connecting PAT to tcp port 8000 which appears to be AGWPE - will that work with a PACTOR node if I get the baud rate correct?
On Friday, March 22, 2024 at 11:47:00 AM CDT, WB2OSZ <wb2osz@...> wrote:
direwolf is capable of 300 bps AFSK for HF SSB.
Did you specify 300 bps in the configuration file for HF use?
What does direwolf display when you start it up?
73,
John WB2OSZ
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Re: I-Gate when internet available, Digipeater otherwise
Hi Andrew,
Thank you for your input.
Let me clarify how I've utilized the APRS network thus far:
- In locations without internet access, I've employed TinyTrack 4 devices solely as Digipeaters.
- At sites with internet connectivity, I've utilized WX3in1 Plus 2.0 devices as I-Gates, with Digipeater functionality available as a fallback.
With Direwolf, my intention is to deploy new installations primarily as I-Gates, but with the capability to revert to Digipeater mode if necessary. This flexibility is important because there may be instances where the internet connection is unavailable for several days or weeks.
When operating in I-Gate mode, I prefer the device not to perform Digipeater functions as it serves no purpose. However, in the event that it cannot forward messages to APRS-IS, I require it to relay them to the nearest I-Gate.
I'm uncertain about how Direwolf manages RF messages if both APRS-IS and Digipeater configurations are enabled simultaneously.
Thanks,
Razvan
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Hello Paul,
No doubt, there aren't that many HF Winlink stations but they do
exist.? If you click on the "frequency List" button, you can
download the entire list.? In there, I found a count of all the HF
stations and their frequencies:
????? 1??? -? 7.045
????? 1??? -? 10.145
????? 2??? -? 14.105
????? 1??? -? 14.575
????? 1??? -? 28.132
????? 1??? -? 29.000
????? 1??? -? 50.620
????? 1??? -? 50.700
????? 1??? -? 52.590
Yes.. that's only 10 HF stations compared to 1195 VHF / UHF
stations and I also have no idea if any of those HF stations
reachable by your station.? Beyond that..? Direwolf *does* support
HF packet.? My previous email gave you ALL the details on how to
configure Direwolf for 300bps AX.25 packet.? Did you not see
that?? Instead of Winlink, consider try contacting other HF packet
stations / BBSes / etc,? Here are some lists:
?? - Seems like the Main Network 105 website is down (covers all
the stations on 14.105Mhz LSB but here is their email list:
????? /g/network105/messages
?? -
--David
KI6ZHD
On 03/22/2024 08:49 AM, KB3PUW via
groups.io wrote:
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Hi Arno,
Thank you for the advise.? I
tried it and I only see VHF stations under that selection.? I
will eventually try out VHF, but for now I am trying to get HF
working.? ? I am getting the impression, which may be
incorrect, that Direwolf only really supports VHF packet
models.
Thanks you again.
73 Paul KB3PUW
On Friday, March 22, 2024 at 02:03:00 AM CDT, Arno
Kletzander via groups.io <arno_1983@...>
wrote:
Hello Paul,
Under the link you provided, there is a row of 'Radio
buttons' right above the actual roster that selects
the page you want to have displayed. Switching that to
'Packet' will show the stations operating AX.25 (with
their supported baud rates) you're probably looking
for, instead of those PACTOR nodes.
HTH, vy 73,
Arno, DK4NAK
Am 22. M?rz 2024 04:52:48 MEZ schrieb "KB3PUW via
groups.io" <kb3puw@...>:
Thanks for the reply David.
Your comment that AX.25 and PACTOR
are different protocols is what I expected.
My confusion is that all of the
listed stations say PACTOR none say AX.25:
I have a nearby Ham club friend
N5TW, who is on this list.? He is going to try
to help me this weekend, but he is not a
software person, so he can only help determine
if he is receiving my signal.? The problem is
that the list only shows him (as well as
everyone else) running PACTOR.? If Direwolf on AGWPE
port 8000 is using AX.25 then how could this
work?? Is there some other list of HF stations
that use AX.25?? Even though the stations are
listed as PACTOR do some also support AX.25?
Paul KB3PUW
Hello kb3puw,
I am trying to use
PAT to do HF Winlink.? I got PAT to work
with telnet over the internet, so I know
I? am setup from a Winlink standpoint.?
I have successfully gotten Wirewolf to
work with Xastir for APRS, so I know
Wirewolf is basically working.
Ok.. was that via the emulated serial I/O
approach or via the AGW I/O approach.? I
would recommend the AGW approach.
I have read some
fuzzy articles on using Direwolf to
interface with my rig to do RF Winlink.?
I have not tried VHF FM Winlink yet, at
the moment I am trying to do HF.? I know
that most HF Winlink repeaters support
various versions of PACTOR.
PACTOR is not supported by Direwolf.? It's
only supported via SCS hardware TNCs.
I know that
Direwolf can work with AX.25. I was able
to get PAT to connect to AGWPE port 8000
of Direwolf and it appears to be trying
to form a link. My transceiver is
activating and sending something but so
far I have not made a connection.
Good!? It sounds like your issue is just
on audio tuning and then the rest is up to
how much RF power your radio has,? how
good your antenna system is, HF
propagation, etc.
I am having
trouble both conceptually and
practically understanding how the pieces
fit together.? The best I have been able
to make of things is that Direwolf does
PTT rig control and does the FSK
modulation through a sound card that is
fed to the transceiver.? I know that
PACTOR is a resend type fault tolerant
communications protocol used for Winlink
on HF.? I am not sure where or whether
AX.25 fits into this and how or whether
PACTOR relates to AX.25.? There must be
some FSK frequency configuration
somewhere, but I don't know how this
works.
PACTOR and AX.25 are totally different
technologies.? When PAT talks to Direwolf
via AGWPE, it will ask Direwolf to create
a connection to whatever callsign you
specify.? This then assumes you configured
Direwolf to use a 300bps AFSK modem.? Per
the Direwolf User Guide section 9.2.4, you
can enable some advanced features to
improve the link reliability with things
like:
?? - Multiple parallel decoders for off
frequency stations and maybe use different
frequency offsets if the remote station
uses them
????? - Here is an example using the
standard 1600:1800 offsets, 7 parallel
decoders, lower the CPU loading to 1/4 for
say running on a Raspberry Pi, and us the
300bps "B" style "SSB" modem with multiple
slicers:
??????? MODEM 300 1600:1800 7@30 /4 B+
?? - Consider enabling FX.25 transmit
support to add forward error correction if
the remote stations support it (some do,
most don't).? This is detailed in Section
9.3 and you can try with the setting of 32
but this depends on how much FEC you want
(but slows down the connection
throughput):
????? FX25TX 32
??
?? - Maybe try enable some bit fix repairs
(sometimes can make things better,
sometimes worse).? The "ax25" parameter
says to only use basic AX.25 heuristics
and not include any APRS specific
heuristics:
? ? ?? FIX_BITS 1 ax25
?? - Direwolf defaults to trying to make
AX.25 v2.2 connections but many HF
stations don't support this.? For the ones
that do, it can really help things be
faster and more reliable.? Direwolf will
try making initial connections with the
"SABME" packet where the "E" mean
enhanced.? After three tries w/o success,
it will step down to to the v2.0
specification with "SABM" packages.? I you
want to avoid this initial three tries,
you can either configure each remote
callsign-ssid in the direwolf conf file
like the following:
????? v20 KI6ZHD-1
??? or you can outright disable v2.2
attempts for ALL stations with:
????? maxv22 0
--David
KI6ZHD
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Re: I-Gate when internet available, Digipeater otherwise
Does that mean you do _not_ want your station to function as a digipeater when it is capable of I-gating? That seems a little odd, to have a part-time digipeater. Also, are you planning on having
your I-gate be a transmit-capable gate, or RF receive-only? If the latter, then it seems to make even less sense to transmit RF if your Internet connection goes down for any reason. And does the area around your station actually _need_ another digipeater?
And is your station (and antenna) located where it can provide adequate digipeater service?
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W2LPC
Brian Webster
Razvan YO6NAM