Packet-radio.net

FBB Port.sys

Posted on8 February 2020AuthorPD9Q3 Comments

PORT.SYS (\FBB\SYSTEM)

First, be aware of this useful feature:
If PORT.SYS does not exist, FBB looks for 
PORT_D.SYS (for DosFBB)
PORT_W.SYS (for WinFBB)
PORT_L.SYS (For LinFBB)
So it is possible to have for example DosFBB and WinFBB files in the PC
at the same time.  This is useful at sites where you want to change
from WinFBB to DosFBB from time to time..

I have divided this section in two parts:
1   :  Simple instruction (for first-time setup).

2   :  Advanced setup, with more details.
2.1 :  For BPQ.
2.2 :  For DRSI.

1: Simple instruction (for first-time setup).
This file is found in the directory called SYSTEM (if you used my default
directory-names). In this file we decide what kind of TNCs to use, how many
available channels etc. You must do several changes here, and be very careful
that you do all changes correctly. If you don`t, the BBS cannot operate
properly.  Remember that a line starting with # is a comment-line, and the
BBS ignores these lines.

 # FBB7.00
 # File for programming of channels and TNCs.
 #
 # Ports : How many ports (COM1, COM2, Etc...)
 # TNCs : How many TNCs and modems in use. With multiplexer
 # there can be up to 4 TNCs per port.
 #
 #Ports TNCs
 2      2
 #

Next you must type one complete line of parametres for each COM-port you
use. You must be careful to use the correct values here.

Here are the valid interfaces for DosFBB and WinFBB:

For WinFBB:
The mostly-used interface for WinFBB is 6.  This interface replaces ESS,
MBBIOS etc and FBBIOS.  The driver is FBBCOMM.DRV, which is installed 
during the installation-process.
In WinFBB ONLY THESE interfaces are available:
# Interface : 2 = BPQ-node (BPQ in AA4RE-mode)
#             4 = DRSI
#             5 = TFPCR/TFPCX interface.  Interrupt MUST be 0xFD or the same
#                 as stated in INIT.SRV, if any..
#             6 = Windows-driver, replaces both ESS, ESSKAM and FBBIOS.
#             7 = TCP/IP.  Needs WINSOCK.DLL.  Put port-adress as 17.
#                 TNC-emulation is T (see below) 
#             8 = TFWin.dll (only WinFBB32)
# BEWARE: The old interface 1 and 3 will NOT be used in WinFBB.  Interface 6
#         replaces both.  (FBBCOMM.DRV).  Neither ESS nor FBBIOS can be
#         used with WinFBB !

For LinFBB (Linux):
# Interface   9 = Linux.  Can work via serial port (D),via AX25 domain
#                 socket (X) or via Telnet port (T).

For DosFBB:e COMBIOS, BPQ or DRSI-card, you must be careful to 
give the correct values here. If you use COMBIOS, FBBIOS, BPQ etc, they 
must always be loaded before you start the BBS-program.
In DosFBB ONLY THESE interfaces are available:
# Interface : 1 = Use external COMBIOS-driver (MBBIOS, ESS etc)
#             2 = BPQ-node v 4.05 and up (BPQ in AA4RE-mode)
#             3 = Telephone-modem with FBBIOS
#             4 = DRSI card with driver
#             5 = TFPCR/TFPCX interface.  Interrupt MUST be 0xFD or the same
#                 as stated in INIT.SRV, if any..


Example for WinFBB:
I use 2 TNCs, one on COM1 and one on COM3, and I use the standard 
FBBCOMM.DRV loaded by Windows:

# Com       : COM-number (1,2,...8)
# Interface : 2 = BPQ-node (BPQ in AA4RE-mode)
#             4 = DRSI
#             5 = TFPCR/TFPCX interface.  Interrupt MUST be 0xFD or the same
#                 as stated in INIT.SRV, if any..
#             6 = Windows-driver, replaces both ESS, ESSKAM and FBBIOS.
#             7 = TCP/IP.  Needs WINSOCK.DLL.  Put port-address as 17.
#                 TNC-emulation is T (see below) 
#             8 = TFWin.dll (only WinFBB32)
# Address   : Address of port in hexadecimal (Needed for multiplexer).
#             In LinFBB:
#            Address is the device name (/dev/cua0).
#             Be sure you have the rights to access to the device (rw-rw-rw-).
#             When using kernel AF_AX25 socket, address is not used.
#             When using Telnet, address is the Telnet port in Hex (Hex 17 = Telnet port 23)
# Baud      : Ports baud rate. Ignored by BPQ, kernel AF_AX25 socket and Telnet.
#
# Use same number of lines as number of ports.
#
#Com Interface Address (device)   Baud
1    6         3F8                9600
3    6         338                9600
#


>Same example for DosFBB:
I use 2 TNCs, one on COM1 and one on COM3, and I use the ESS-driver 
(ESS must be properly loaded before FBB is started):

# Com       : COM-number (1,2,...8)
# Interface : 1 = Use external COMBIOS-driver (MBBIOS, ESS etc)
#             2 = BPQ-node v 4.05 and up (BPQ in AA4RE-mode)
#             3 = Telephone-modem with FBBIOS
#             4 = DRSI card with driver
#             5 = TFPCR/TFPCX interface.  Interrupt MUST be 0xFD or the same
#                 as stated in INIT.SRV, if any..
# Address   : Address of port in hexadecimal (Needed for multiplexer).
#             In LinFBB:
#             Address is the device name (/dev/cua0).
#             Be sure you have the rights to access to the device (rw-rw-rw-).
#             When using kernel AF_AX25 socket, address is not used.
#             When using Telnet, address is the Telnet port in Hex (Hex 17 = Telnet port 23)
# Baud      : Ports baud rate. Ignored by BPQ, kernel AF_AX25 socket and Telnet.
#
# Use same number of lines as number of ports.
#
#Com Interface Address (device)   Baud
1    1         3F8                9600
3    1         338                9600
#

Same example for LinFBB (Linux):

# Com       : COM-number (1,2,...8)
# Interface   9 = Linux.  Can work via serial port (D),via AX25 domain
#                 socket (X) or via Telnet port (T).
# Address   : Address of port in hexadecimal (Needed for multiplexer).
#             In LinFBB:
#             Address is the device name (/dev/cua0).
#             Be sure you have the rights to access to the device (rw-rw-rw-).
#             When using kernel AF_AX25 socket, address is not used.
#             When using Telnet, address is the Telnet port in Hex (Hex 17 = Telnet port 23)
# Baud      : Ports baud rate. Ignored by BPQ, kernel AF_AX25 socket and Telnet.
#
# Use same number of lines as number of ports.
#
#Com Interface Address (Device)   Baud
1    9         /dev/cua0          9600
3    9         /dev/cua2          9600
#

Once more, the number of lines below must be the same as number of TNCs in
use. One line for each TNC. I think most of it is self-explanatory. MultCh
will normally be 1. If you use DRSI-card, you can use a value from 0 to 7. 
If you use BPQ, the first TNC must have MultCh 0, the next must have MultCh1
and so on.  This is very important. If you have a KAM in host-mode, you must
use 1 for VHF and 2 for HF.  When using kernel AF_AX25 socket in Linux,
MultCh is the interface name (eg: ax0). 
MxBloc decides how many kb will be forwarded one way to another BBS before 
the forward is reversed. Leave this value at 10 for VHF/UHF and a little 
smaller for HF. Type host-mode depends on your TNC, and if you use BPQ :

 # TNC     : Number on TNC in use.  Use 0 for file-forward !
 # NbCh    : Number of channels I want to use in the TNC.
 #           Maximum available channels depend on firmware.
 # Com     : Number of the COM-port. Com1, Com2 etc.
 # MultCh  : Number of channel if port-multiplexer is used, otherwise 1.
 #           In DRSI use values from 0 to 7, by KAM use 1/VHF and 2/HF.
 #           With BPQ first TNC must have MultCh 0, the next 1, etc. 
 #           When using kernel AF_AX25 socket in Linux, MultCh is the
 #           interface name (eg: ax0)
 # Paclen  : PACLEN on this TNC.
 # Maxframe: The maximum nb of frames the TNC will send at a time.
 # NbFwd   : Number of channels for OUTGOING forward at same time.
 # MxBloc  : Size of forward-block in kb.
 # M/P-Fwd : Minute of the hour for start of forward, and period
 #           (how many minutes between each forward-start).
 # Port mode, one of these:
 #           B : BBS-mode.
 #           G : "Guest"-mode.
 #           U : Normal-mode.
 # Type host-mode, one of these:
 #           D : WA8DED
 #           K : KAM hostmode.  Must use ESSKAM driver.
 #           P : PK-232
 #           Q : BPQ v 4.x
 #           T : Ethernet/TCP-IP
 #           X : AX25 domain socket (for Linux)
 # Addition: One or more of these letters can be used too:
 #           L : Send unproto beacon after each arriving mail.
 #           M : Telephone-modem.
 #           Y : Yapp allowed on this QRG.
 #           W : Gateway allowed TO this QRG.
 #           R : Modem port allowed in Read-only mode.
 # Freq.   : Text to describe this port (max 9 characters, no space)
 #
 # Same number of lines as TNCs:
 #
 #TNC NbCh Com MultCh Pacln Maxfr NbFwd MxBloc M/P-Fwd Mode Freq
 1    7    1   1      230   4     1     10     30/60   UDYW 433.650
 2    1    3   1      80    2     1     5      17/30   GDW  15/20m
 #

At the end of the file, you can specify one (or more) callsigns and SSIDs
for some channels. You might use this for special callsigns on forward-
channels. If you don't need this (you probably don't, at least not the first
times..), place an # in front of the line. This only works with WA8DED
interface.

 # Special callsigns and modes for some channels.
 #
 #TNC Nbs Callsign-SSID Mode
 1    2   LA1B-1        B
 #
 # End of file.
 #



2. Advanced setup, with more details.

The BBS may use a special port-multiplexer so that you can have up to
4 TNCs per COM-port.  
For DosFBB you may also use other drivers like COMBIOS, MBBIOS, FBBIOS etc.
These drivers must be loaded BEFORE the BBS-program. You can include the
drivers in APPEL.BAT for convenience. It is possible to use telephone-modem
with the BBS. In that case the number of TNCs include the modem. The FBBIOS-
driver must be loaded before the BBS starts.
For WinFBB you do not need COMBIOS, MBBIOS, ESS or FBBIOS.  They are all
included in FBBCOMM.DRV (interface 6).


Example for WinFBB:
Standard PORT.SYS with 1 TNC (COM1) with WA8DED-hostmode,
FBBCOMM.DRV-driver, 4 channels, 1 channel for outgoing forward, 1 channel
reserved for BBSs with callsign LA1B-1 :

# FBB7.00
# File for programming of channels and TNCs.
#
# Ports : How many ports (COM1, COM2, Etc...)
# TNCs : How many TNCs and modems in use. With multiplexer
# there can be up to 4 TNCs per port.
#
#Ports TNCs
1      1
#
#In WinFBB ONLY THESE interfaces are available:
# Interface : 2 = BPQ-node (BPQ in AA4RE-mode)
#             4 = DRSI
#             5 = TFPCR/TFPCX interface.  Interrupt MUST be 0xFD or the same
#                 as stated in INIT.SRV, if any..
#             6 = Windows-driver, replaces both ESS, ESSKAM and FBBIOS.
#             7 = TCP/IP.  Needs WINSOCK.DLL.  Put port-address as 17.
#                 TNC-emulation is T (see below) 
#             8 = TFWin.dll (only WinFBB32)
# BEWARE: The old interface 1 and 3 will NOT be used in WinFBB.  Interface 6
#         replaces both.  (FBBCOMM.DRV).  Neither ESS nor FBBIOS can be
#         used with WinFBB !
#
In LinFBB ONLY this interface is available:
# Interface   9 = Linux.  Can work via serial port (D),via AX25 domain
#                 socket (X) or via Telnet port (T).
#
#In DosFBB ONLY THESE interfaces are available:
# Interface : 1 = Use external COMBIOS-driver (MBBIOS, ESS etc)
#             2 = BPQ-node v 4.05 and up (BPQ in AA4RE-mode)
#             3 = Telephone-modem with FBBIOS
#             4 = DRSI card with driver
#             5 = TFPCR/TFPCX interface.  Interrupt MUST be 0xFD or the same
#                 as stated in INIT.SRV, if any..
#
# Address   : Address of port in hexadecimal (Needed for multiplexer).
#             In LinFBB:
#             Address is the device name (/dev/cua0).
#             Be sure you have the rights to access to the device (rw-rw-rw-).
#             When using kernel AF_AX25 socket, address is not used.
#             When using Telnet, address is the Telnet port in Hex (Hex 17 = Telnet port 23)
# Baud      : Ports baud rate. Ignored by BPQ, kernel AF_AX25 socket and Telnet.
#
# Use same number of lines as number of ports.
#
#Com Interface Address (device)   Baud
1    6         3F8                9600
#
# TNC     : Number on TNC in use.  Use 0 for file-forward !
# NbCh    : Number of channels I want to use in the TNC.
#           Maximum available channels depend on firmware.
# Com     : Number of the COM-port. Com1, Com2 etc.
# MultCh  : Number of channel if port-multiplexer is used, otherwise 1.
#           In DRSI use values from 0 to 7, by KAM use 1/VHF and 2/HF.
#           With BPQ first TNC must have MultCh 0, the next 1, etc.
#           When using kernel AF_AX25 socket in Linux, MultCh is the
#           interface name (eg: ax0)
# Paclen  : PACLEN on this TNC.
# Maxframe: The maximum nb of frames the TNC will send at a time.
# NbFwd   : Number of channels for OUTGOING forward at same time.
# MxBloc  : Size of forward-block in kb.
# M/P-Fwd : Minute of the hour for start of forward, and period
#           (how many minutes between each forward-start).
# Port mode, one of these:
#           B : BBS-mode.
#           G : "Guest"-mode.
#           U : Normal-mode.
# Type host-mode, one of these:
#           D : WA8DED
#           K : KAM hostmode.  Must use ESSKAM driver.
#           P : PK-232
#           Q : BPQ v 4.x
#           T : Ethernet/TCP-IP
#           X : AX25 domain socket (for Linux)
# Addition: One or more of these letters can be used too:
#           L : Send unproto beacon after each arriving mail.
#           M : Telephone-modem.
#           Y : Yapp allowed on this QRG.
#           W : Gateway allowed TO this QRG.
#           R : Modem port allowed in Read-only mode.
# Freq.   : Text to describe this port (max 9 characters, no space)
#
# Same number of lines as TNCs:
#
#TNC NbCh Com MultCh Pacln Maxfr NbFwd MxBloc M/P-Fwd Mode Freq
1    4    1   1      230   4     1     10     30/60   UDYL   433.650
#
# Special callsigns and modes for some channels.
#
#TNC Nbs Callsign-SSID Mode
1    1   LA1B-1        B
#
# End of file.
#

Same example for LinFBB (Linux):
Standard PORT.SYS with 1 TNC (COM1) with WA8DED-hostmode,
4 channels, 1 channel for outgoing forward, 1 channel
reserved for BBSs with callsign LA1B-1 :

# FBB7.00
# File for programming of channels and TNCs.
#
# Ports : How many ports (COM1, COM2, Etc...)
# TNCs : How many TNCs and modems in use. With multiplexer
# there can be up to 4 TNCs per port.
#
#Ports TNCs
1      1
#
#n WinFBB ONLY THESE interfaces are available:
# Interface : 2 = BPQ-node (BPQ in AA4RE-mode)
#             4 = DRSI
#             5 = TFPCR/TFPCX interface.  Interrupt MUST be 0xFD or the same
#                 as stated in INIT.SRV, if any..
#             6 = Windows-driver, replaces both ESS, ESSKAM and FBBIOS.
#             7 = TCP/IP.  Needs WINSOCK.DLL.  Put port-address as 17.
#                 TNC-emulation is T (see below) 
#             8 = TFWin.dll (only WinFBB32)
# BEWARE: The old interface 1 and 3 will NOT be used in WinFBB.  Interface 6
#         replaces both.  (FBBCOMM.DRV).  Neither ESS nor FBBIOS can be
#         used with WinFBB !
#
#In LinFBB ONLY this interface is available:
# Interface   9 = Linux.  Can work via serial port (D),via AX25 domain
#                 socket (X) or via Telnet port (T).
#
#In DosFBB ONLY THESE interfaces are available:
# Interface : 1 = Use external COMBIOS-driver (MBBIOS, ESS etc)
#             2 = BPQ-node v 4.05 and up (BPQ in AA4RE-mode)
#             3 = Telephone-modem with FBBIOS
#             4 = DRSI card with driver
#             5 = TFPCR/TFPCX interface.  Interrupt MUST be 0xFD or the same
#                 as stated in INIT.SRV, if any..
#
# Address   : Address of port in hexadecimal (Needed for multiplexer).
#             In LinFBB:
#Address is the device name (/dev/cua0).
#             Be sure you have the rights to access to the device (rw-rw-rw-).
#             When using kernel AF_AX25 socket, address is not used.
#             When using Telnet, address is the Telnet port in Hex (Hex 17 = Telnet port 23)
# Baud      : Ports baud rate. Ignored by BPQ, kernel AF_AX25 socket and Telnet.
#
# Use same number of lines as number of ports.
#
#Com Interface Address (device)   Baud
1    9         /dev/cua0          9600
#
# TNC     : Number on TNC in use.  Use 0 for file-forward !
# NbCh    : Number of channels I want to use in the TNC.
#           Maximum available channels depend on firmware.
# Com     : Number of the COM-port. Com1, Com2 etc.
# MultCh  : Number of channel if port-multiplexer is used, otherwise 1.
#           In DRSI use values from 0 to 7, by KAM use 1/VHF and 2/HF.
#           With BPQ first TNC must have MultCh 0, the next 1, etc.
#           When using kernel AF_AX25 socket in Linux, MultCh is the
#           interface name (eg: ax0)
# Paclen  : PACLEN on this TNC.
# Maxframe: The maximum nb of frames the TNC will send at a time.
# NbFwd   : Number of channels for OUTGOING forward at same time.
# MxBloc  : Size of forward-block in kb.
# M/P-Fwd : Minute of the hour for start of forward, and period
#           (how many minutes between each forward-start).
# Port mode, one of these:
#           B : BBS-mode.
#           G : "Guest"-mode.
#           U : Normal-mode.
# Type host-mode, one of these:
#           D : WA8DED
#           K : KAM hostmode.  Must use ESSKAM driver.
#           P : PK-232
#           Q : BPQ v 4.x
#           T : Ethernet/TCP-IP
#           X : AX25 domain socket (for Linux)
# Addition: One or more of these letters can be used too:
#           L : Send unproto beacon after each arriving mail.
#           M : Telephone-modem.
#           Y : Yapp allowed on this QRG.
#           W : Gateway allowed TO this QRG.
#           R : Modem port allowed in Read-only mode.
# Freq.   : Text to describe this port (max 9 characters, no space)
#
# Same number of lines as TNCs:
#
#TNC NbCh Com MultCh Pacln Maxfr NbFwd MxBloc M/P-Fwd Mode Freq
1    4    1   1      230   4     1     10     30/60   UDYL   433.650
#
# Special callsigns and modes for some channels.
#
#TNC Nbs Callsign-SSID Mode
1    1   LA1B-1        B
#
# End of file.
#


Same example for DosFBB:
Standard PORT.SYS with 1 TNC (COM1) with WA8DED-hostmode,
ESS-driver, 4 channels, 1 channel for outgoing forward, 1 channel
reserved for BBSs with callsign LA1B-1 :

# FBB7.00
# File for programming of channels and TNCs.
#
# Ports : How many ports (COM1, COM2, Etc...)
# TNCs : How many TNCs and modems in use. With multiplexer
# there can be up to 4 TNCs per port.
#
#Ports TNCs
1      1
#
#In WinFBB ONLY THESE interfaces are available:
# Interface : 2 = BPQ-node (BPQ in AA4RE-mode)
#             4 = DRSI
#             5 = TFPCR/TFPCX interface.  Interrupt MUST be 0xFD or the same
#                 as stated in INIT.SRV, if any..
#             6 = Windows-driver, replaces both ESS, ESSKAM and FBBIOS.
#             7 = TCP/IP.  Needs WINSOCK.DLL.  Put port-address as 17.
#                 TNC-emulation is T (see below) 
#             8 = TFWin.dll (only WinFBB32)
# BEWARE: The old interface 1 and 3 will NOT be used in WinFBB.  Interface 6
#         replaces both.  (FBBCOMM.DRV).  Neither ESS nor FBBIOS can be
#         used with WinFBB !
#
#In LinFBB ONLY this interface is available:
# Interface   9 = Linux.  Can work via serial port (D),via AX25 domain
#                 socket (X) or via Telnet port (T).
#
#In DosFBB ONLY THESE interfaces are available:
# Interface : 1 = Use external COMBIOS-driver (MBBIOS, ESS etc)
#             2 = BPQ-node v 4.05 and up (BPQ in AA4RE-mode)
#             3 = Telephone-modem with FBBIOS
#             4 = DRSI card with driver
#             5 = TFPCR/TFPCX interface.  Interrupt MUST be 0xFD or the same
#                 as stated in INIT.SRV, if any..
# Address   : Address of port in hexadecimal (Needed for multiplexer).
#             In LinFBB:
#             Address is the device name (/dev/cua0).
#             Be sure you have the rights to access to the device (rw-rw-rw-).
#             When using kernel AF_AX25 socket, address is not used.
#             When using Telnet, address is the Telnet port in Hex (Hex 17 = Telnet port 23)
# Baud      : Ports baud rate. Ignored by BPQ, kernel AF_AX25 socket and Telnet.
#
# Use same number of lines as number of ports.
#
#Com Interface Address (device)   Baud
1    1         3F8                9600
#
# TNC     : Number on TNC in use.  Use 0 for file-forward !
# NbCh    : Number of channels I want to use in the TNC.
#           Maximum available channels depend on firmware.
# Com     : Number of the COM-port. Com1, Com2 etc.
# MultCh  : Number of channel if port-multiplexer is used, otherwise 1.
#           In DRSI use values from 0 to 7, by KAM use 1/VHF and 2/HF.
#           With BPQ first TNC must have MultCh 0, the next 1, etc.
#           When using kernel AF_AX25 socket in Linux, MultCh is the
#           interface name (eg: ax0)
# Paclen  : PACLEN on this TNC.
# Maxframe: The maximum nb of frames the TNC will send at a time.
# NbFwd   : Number of channels for OUTGOING forward at same time.
# MxBloc  : Size of forward-block in kb.
# M/P-Fwd : Minute of the hour for start of forward, and period
#           (how many minutes between each forward-start).
# Port mode, one of these:
#           B : BBS-mode.
#           G : "Guest"-mode.
#           U : Normal-mode.
# Type host-mode, one of these:
#           D : WA8DED
#           K : KAM hostmode.  Must use ESSKAM driver.
#           P : PK-232
#           Q : BPQ v 4.x
#           T : Ethernet/TCP-IP
#           X : AX25 domain socket (for Linux)
# Addition: One or more of these letters can be used too:
#           L : Send unproto beacon after each arriving mail.
#           M : Telephone-modem.
#           Y : Yapp allowed on this QRG.
#           W : Gateway allowed TO this QRG.
#           R : Modem port allowed in Read-only mode.
# Freq.   : Text to describe this port (max 9 characters, no space)
#
# Same number of lines as TNCs:
#
#TNC NbCh Com MultCh Pacln Maxfr NbFwd MxBloc M/P-Fwd Mode Freq
1    4    1   1      230   4     1     10     30/60   UDYL   433.650
#
# Special callsigns and modes for some channels.
#
#TNC Nbs Callsign-SSID Mode
1    1   LA1B-1        B
#
# End of file.
#

Note that the differences in the three PORT.SYS files above (for WinFBB, LinFBB
and DosFBB) is ONLY the Interface and (for LinFBB:) the address !


In the next examples, all comment-lines are removed, for clarity.

One example for WinFBB:
Now an example of a file with 4 ports, 13 channels, FBBCOMM.DRV, with a
port-multiplexer on COM 1. Port 1 has limited access (guest-user), port 2 and
3 allows YAPP-transfer and port 4 uses a PK-232.  Port 2 and 3 also allows
unproto-beacon-lists.

# FBB7.00
#
#Ports TNCs
1      4
#
#Com Interface Address (device)   Baud
1    6         3F8                9600
#
#TNC NbCh Com MultCh Pacln Maxfr NbFwd MxBloc M/P-Fwd Mode  Freq
1    4    1   1      230   4     0     1      00/60   GD    433.650
2    4    1   2      230   4     1     5      10/30   UDYL  144.675
3    4    1   3      230   3     4     10     20/60   UDYWL 433.650
4    1    1   4      80    1     1     5      15/30   BP    15/20m
#
#TNC Nbs Callsign-SSID Mode
#1    1   LA1B-1        B
#
# End of file.
#

Same example for LinFBB (Linux):
Now an example of a file with 4 ports, 13 channels, with a
port-multiplexer on COM 1. Port 1 has limited access (guest-user), port 2 and
3 allows YAPP-transfer.  Port 2 and 3 also allows unproto-beacon-lists.

This example is really no good for LinFBB, as port 4 uses a PK-232 which is
not supported by LinFBB (yet ?).  But if it ever will be, it will probably
look something like this:

# FBB7.00
#
#Ports TNCs
1      4
#
#Com Interface Address (device)   Baud
1    9         /dev/cua0          9600
#
#TNC NbCh Com MultCh Pacln Maxfr NbFwd MxBloc M/P-Fwd Mode  Freq
1    4    1   1      230   4     0     1      00/60   GD    433.650
2    4    1   2      230   4     1     5      10/30   UDYL  144.675
3    4    1   3      230   3     4     10     20/60   UDYWL 433.650
4    1    1   4      80    1     1     5      15/30   BP    15/20m
#
#TNC Nbs Callsign-SSID Mode
#1    1   LA1B-1        B
#
# End of file.
#


Same example for DosFBB:
Now an example of a file with 4 ports, 13 channels, ESS-driver, with a
port-multiplexer on COM 1. Port 1 has limited access (guest-user), port 2 and
3 allows YAPP-transfer and port 4 uses a PK-232.  Port 2 and 3 also allows
unproto-beacon-lists.

# FBB7.00
#
#Ports TNCs
1      4
#
#Com Interface Address (device)   Baud
1    1         3F8                9600
#
#TNC NbCh Com MultCh Pacln Maxfr NbFwd MxBloc M/P-Fwd Mode  Freq
1    4    1   1      230   4     0     1      00/60   GD    433.650
2    4    1   2      230   4     1     5      10/30   UDYL  144.675
3    4    1   3      230   3     4     10     20/60   UDYWL 433.650
4    1    1   4      80    1     1     5      15/30   BP    15/20m
#
#TNC Nbs Callsign-SSID Mode
#1    1   LA1B-1        B
#
# End of file.
#

Note that the difference in the 3 PORT.SYS files above (for WinFBB, CFBB
and DosFBB) is ONLY the Interface and /for LinFBB:) the address !


Next an example of a file with 4 ports, 13 channels.  
This one is for DosFBB, but it is identical for WinFBB, with the exception
of interface, which must be changed to 6 for WinFBB.

# FBB7.00
#
#Ports TNCs
4      4
#
#Com Interface Address (device)   Baud
1    1         3f8                9600
2    1         2f8                9600
3    1         3e8                9600
4    1         2e8                9600
#
#TNC NbCh Com MultCh Pacln Maxfr NbFwd MxBloc M/P-Fwd Mode  Freq
1    4    1   1      230  4     0     1      00/60   GD   433.650
2    4    2   1      230  4     1     5      10/30   UDY  144.675
3    4    3   1      230  3     4     10     20/60   UDYW 433.650
4    1    4   1      80   1     1     5      15/30   BP   15/20m
#
#TNC Nbs Callsign-SSID Mode
#1    1   LA1B-1        B
#
# End of file.
#

Same example for LinFBB (Linux):

# FBB7.00
#
#Ports TNCs
4      4
#
#Com Interface Address (device)   Baud
1    9         /dev/cua0          9600
2    9         /dev/cua1          9600
3    9         /dev/cua2          9600
4    9         /dev/cua3          9600
#
#TNC NbCh Com MultCh Pacln Maxfr NbFwd MxBloc M/P-Fwd Mode  Freq
1    4    1   1      230  4     0     1      00/60   GD   433.650
2    4    2   1      230  4     1     5      10/30   UDY  144.675
3    4    3   1      230  3     4     10     20/60   UDYW 433.650
4    1    4   1      80   1     1     5      15/30   BP   15/20m
#
#TNC Nbs Callsign-SSID Mode
#1    1   LA1B-1        B
#
# End of file.
#


2.1 For BPQ:>
Now an example of a file with 2 ports with BPQ-node and 4 channels on 
each port.  Note that MultCh starts with 0 on first port !
This one is 100% identical for DosFBB and WinFBB !
This one is not possible for LinFBB as BPQ cannot be run in Linux.
BPQ must be correctly installed for DOS or WINDOWS (respectively) before
it can be used with FBB.

# FBB7.00
#
#Ports TNCs
1      2
#
#Com Interface Address (device)   Baud
8    2         0                  9600
#
#TNC NbCh Com MultCh Pacln Maxfr NbFwd MxBloc M/P-Fwd Mode  Freq
1    4    8   0      230   4     1     1      00/60   UQY  433.650
2    4    8   1      230   4     1     5      10/60   UQY  144.675
#
#TNC Nbs Callsign-SSID Mode
#1    1   LA1B-1        B
#
# End of file.
#

Note that I use COM8.  This is because this is a "virtual" port, and if I use
for example COM2, I will not be able to use COM2 for other purposes.

2.2 For DRSI:
Next an example of a file with 1 DRSI-card and 8 channels, max 1 channel on
HF.  As for BPQ, this one is 100% identical for DosFBB and WinFBB !

# FBB7.00
#
#Ports TNCs
1      2
#
#Com Interface Address (device)   Baud
8    4         0                  9600
#
#TNC NbCh Com MultCh Pacln Maxfr NbFwd MxBloc M/P-Fwd Mode  Freq
 1    8    8   0      230  4     1     10     00/60   UDY  433.650
 2    1    8   1      80   2     1     10     30/60   GDW  HF
#
#TNC Nbs Callsign-SSID Mode
#1    1   LA1B-1        B
#
# End of file.
#

Same example for LinFBB (Linux):
A file with 1 DRSI-card and 8 channels, max 1 channel on HF.

This example needs z8530drv by DL1BKE properly installed!

# FBB7.00
#
#Ports TNCs
1      2
#
#Com Interface Address (device)   Baud
8    9          ****              9600
#
#TNC NbCh Com MultCh Pacln Maxfr NbFwd MxBloc M/P-Fwd Mode  Freq
 1    8    8   scc0  230   4     1     10     00/60   XUY  433.650
 2    1    8   scc1  80    2     1     10     30/60   XGW  HF
#
#TNC Nbs Callsign-SSID Mode
#1    1   LA1B-1        B
#
# End of file.
#


Last, SM6TKY's own (big) setup for Linux :

Standard kernel AF_AX25 socket, 7 interfaces, 42 channels, 1 interface for
file forward, 1 interface to a KISS TNC (ax0), 2 interfaces to a PA0HZP 
compatible SCC card (scc0  scc1), 1 interface to Pseudo-TTY loopback 
for LinuxNode (ax2), 1 interface for EtherBPQ (bpq0), and 1 interface to 
NET/ROM in kernel (nr1).

# FBB7.00
# File for programming of channels and TNCs.
#
# Ports : How many ports (COM1, COM2, Etc...)
# TNCs : How many TNCs and modems in use. With multiplexer
# there can be up to 4 TNCs per port.
#
#Ports TNCs
1      6
#
#In WinFBB ONLY THESE interfaces are available:
# Interface : 2 = BPQ-node (BPQ in AA4RE-mode)
#             4 = DRSI
#             5 = TFPCR/TFPCX interface.  Interrupt MUST be 0xFD or the same
#                 as stated in INIT.SRV, if any..
#             6 = Windows-driver, replaces both ESS, ESSKAM and FBBIOS.
#             7 = TCP/IP.  Needs WINSOCK.DLL.  Put port-address as 17.
#                 TNC-emulation is T (see below) 
#             8 = TFWin.dll (only WinFBB32)
# BEWARE: The old interface 1 and 3 will NOT be used in WinFBB.  Interface 6
#         replaces both.  (FBBCOMM.DRV).  Neither ESS nor FBBIOS can be
#         used with WinFBB !
#
#In LinFBB ONLY this interface is available:
# Interface   9 = Linux.  Can work via serial port (D),via AX25 domain
#                 socket (X) or via Telnet port (T).
#
#In DosFBB ONLY THESE interfaces are available:
# Interface : 1 = Use external COMBIOS-driver (MBBIOS, ESS etc)
#             2 = BPQ-node v 4.05 and up (BPQ in AA4RE-mode)
#             3 = Telephone-modem with FBBIOS
#             4 = DRSI card with driver
#             5 = TFPCR/TFPCX interface.  Interrupt MUST be 0xFD or the same
#                 as stated in INIT.SRV, if any..
# Address   : Address of port in hexadecimal (Needed for multiplexer).
#             In LinFBB:
#             Address is the device name (/dev/cua0).
#             Be sure you have the rights to access to the device (rw-rw-rw-).
#             When using kernel AF_AX25 socket, address is not used.
#             When using Telnet, address is the Telnet port in Hex (Hex 17 = Telnet port 23)
# Baud      : Ports baud rate. Ignored by BPQ, kernel AF_AX25 socket and Telnet.
#
# Use same number of lines as number of ports.
#
#Com Interface Address (device)   Baud
 1   9         ****            9600
#
# TNC     : Number on TNC in use.  Use 0 for file-forward !
# NbCh    : Number of channels I want to use in the TNC.
#           Maximum available channels depend on firmware.
# Com     : Number of the COM-port. Com1, Com2 etc.
# MultCh  : Number of channel if port-multiplexer is used, otherwise 1.
#           In DRSI use values from 0 to 7, by KAM use 1/VHF and 2/HF.
#           With BPQ first TNC must have MultCh 0, the next 1, etc.
#           When using kernel AF_AX25 socket in Linux, MultCh is the
#           interface name (eg: ax0)
# Paclen  : PACLEN on this TNC.
# Maxframe: The maximum nb of frames the TNC will send at a time.
# NbFwd   : Number of channels for OUTGOING forward at same time.
# MxBloc  : Size of forward-block in kb.
# M/P-Fwd : Minute of the hour for start of forward, and period
#           (how many minutes between each forward-start).
# Port mode, one of these:
#           B : BBS-mode.
#           G : "Guest"-mode.
#           U : Normal-mode.
# Type host-mode, one of these:
#           D : WA8DED
#           K : KAM hostmode.  Must use ESSKAM driver.
#           P : PK-232
#           Q : BPQ v 4.x
#           T : Ethernet/TCP-IP
#           X : AX25 domain socket (for Linux)
# Addition: One or more of these letters can be used too:
#           L : Send unproto beacon after each arriving mail.
#           M : Telephone-modem.
#           Y : Yapp allowed on this QRG.
#           W : Gateway allowed TO this QRG.
#           R : Modem port allowed in Read-only mode.
# Freq.   : Text to describe this port (max 9 characters, no space)
#
# Same number of lines as TNCs:
#
#TNC NbCh Com MultCh Pacln Maxfr NbFwd MxBloc M/P-Fwd Mode Freq
 0   0    0   0      0     0     0     0      00/01   ----  File-fwd.
 1   8    1   ax0    250   7     2     10     30/01   XUWYL  ax0
 2   8    1   scc0   250   7     2     10     30/01   XUWYL  scc0
 3   8    1   scc1   250   7     2     10     30/01   XUWYL  scc1
 4   8    1   ax2    250   7     2     10     30/01   XUY    Loopback
 5   8    1   bpq0   250   7     2     10     30/01   XUWYL  bpqether
 6   2    1   nr1    250   7     2     10     30/01   XUY    netrom
#
# Special callsigns and modes for some channels.
#
#TNC Nbs Callsign-SSID Mode
1    2   XXXXX-1        B
#
# End of file.
#

FBB-PK232 in host-mode

Posted on8 February 20208 February 2020AuthorPD9QLeave a comment

If you plan to use a PK-232 with this software, you must make some changes.
You must have a P in "Type host mode". For example:

 #
 #TNC NbCh Com MultCh Pacln Maxfr NbFwd MxBloc M/P-Fwd Mode Freq
 1    7    1   1      230   4     1     10     30/60   UPYW 433.650
 2    1    3   1      80    2     1     5      17/30   GPW  15/20m
 #

 Example of INITTNCx.SYS for PK-232:

 UNMAIL v LA7QR   means Unproto MAIL v LA7QR
 RY10               "   Retry 10
 MN6                "   Monitor 6
 MC6                "   Mcon 6

 Example of MAINTx.SYS for PK-232:

 UR1
 CTBBS ($c) was shut down for service $d $T.

 PK-232 host-mode commands (from F6AIW) :

 8B 8BITCONV AU AAB      AB ABAUD    AG ACHG     AA ACRDISP
 AK ACRPACK  AT ACRRTTY  AE ADDRESS  AD ADELAY   AI ALFDISP
 AP ALFPACK  AR ALFRTTY  AL ALIST    AM AMTOR    AC ARQ
 AO ARQTMO   AS ASCII    AY ASPECT   AW AWLEN    AV AX25L2V2
 AX AXDELAY  AH AXHANG   BA BAUDOT   BE BEACON   BI BITINV
 BK BKONDEL  BT BTEXT    CL CANLINE  CP CANPAC   CX CASEDISP
 CU CBELL    CC CCITT    CF CFROM    CB CHCALL   CD CHDOUBLE
 CH CHSWITCH CK CHECK    CQ CMDTIME  CM CMSG     CI CODE
 CN COMMAND  CE CONMODE  CO CONNECT  CY CONPERM  CG CONSTAMP
 CI CPACTIME CR CRADD    CT CTEXT    CW CWID     DS DAYSTAMP
 DA DAYTIME  DC DCDCONN  DL DELETE   DF DFROM    DI DISCONNE
 DW DWAIT    EA EAS      EC ECHO     ES ESCAPE   FA FAX
 FN FAXNEG   FE FEC      FL FLOW     FR FRACK    FS FSPEED
 FU FULLDUP  GR GRAPHICS HB HBAUD    HD HEADERLN HI HID
 HO HOST     HP HPOLL    ID ID       IL ILFPACK  IO IO
 JU JUSTIFY  KI KISS     LR LEFTRITE LO LOCK     MX MAXFRAME
 MB MBX      MC MCON     MD MDIGI    MM MEMORY   MI MFILTER
 MF MFROM    MH MHEARD   MN MONITOR  MO MORSE    MP MSPEED
 MR MRPT     MS MSTAMP   MT MTO      MA MYALIAS  ML MYCALL
 MG MYSELCAL MK MYALTCAL NE NEWMODE  NO NOMODE   NR NUCR
 NF NULF     NU NULLS    OK OK       OP OPMODE   PA PACKET
 PL PACLEN   PT PACTIME  PR PARITY   PS PASS     PX PASSALL
 PE PERSIST  PP PPERSIST PC PRCON    PF PRFAX    PO PROUT
 PY PRTYPE   RW RAWHDLC  RB RBAUD    RC RCVE     RE RECEIVE
 RX RXREV    RD REDISPLA RL RELINK   RS RESET    RP RESPTIME
 RT RESTART  RY RETRY    RF RFEC     SE SELFEC   SP SENDPAC
 SI SIGNAL   SL SLOTTIME SQ SQUELCH  SR SRXALL   ST START
 SO STOP     TB TBAUD    TC TCLEAR   TM TIME     TR TRACE
 TW TRFLOW   TI TRIES    TD TXDELAY  TF TXFLOW   TX TXREV
 UN UNPROTO  UR USERS    US USOS     VH VHF      WI WIDESHFT
 WO WORDOUT  WR WRU      XW XFLOW    XM XMIT     XO XMITOK
 XF XOFF     XN XON

Start Jnos with Systemd

Posted on8 February 2020AuthorPD9QLeave a comment

# Starting Jnos at boot, and restart when fail
# Jnos is running in the background

cd /lib/systemd/system
sudo nano jnos.service

Add to the file

[Unit]
Description=Jnos Daemon
After=network.target
After=sound.target
After=syslog.target

[Service]
Type=simple
Restart=always
RestartSec=5
ExecStart=/bin/bash /home/pd9q/jnos/startnos
WorkingDirectory=/home/pd9q/jnos

[Install]
WantedBy=multi-user.target
Alias=jnos.service

save

sudo systemctl enable jnos.service

startnos

# Jnos start file
cd /home/pd9q/jnos
sleep 2
rm -f /home/pd9q/jnos/spool/mqueue/*.lck 2> /dev/null
rm -f /home/pd9q/jnos/jnos/spool/mail/*.lck 2> /dev/null
sleep 1
TZ='Europe/Amsterdam'; export TZ
export TERM=linux
exec ./jnos2.0m.1rc -C -wf+b -u3 -fnos.cfg -i  </dev/tty2>/dev/tty2 2>&1

sudo apt-get install conspy
sudo conspy 2

And there is jnos….. Hit a couple off times [esc] to exit conspy

sudo systemctl status jnos

pd9q@packet-jnos:~/jnos/logs $ sudo systemctl status jnos
● jnos.service - Jnos Daemon
Loaded: loaded (/lib/systemd/system/jnos.service; enabled; vendor preset: enabled)
Active: active (running) since Sat 2020-02-08 07:36:44 CET; 6h ago
Main PID: 525 (jnos2.0m.1rc)
Tasks: 1 (limit: 4915)
CGroup: /system.slice/jnos.service
└─525 ./jnos2.0m.1rc -C -wf b -u3 -fnos.cfg -i

Feb 08 07:36:44 packet-jnos systemd[1]: Started Jnos Daemon.
pd9q@packet-jnos:~/jnos/logs $

Jnos2.0m.1rc

Posted on2 February 2020AuthorPD9QLeave a comment

Maiko has been busy again to make some adjustments in Jnos. A friend of mine had asked if it was possible to save a Most Heard list. A few days later it was already done. Fantastic. It is also possible to leave the file ftpusers and use hashed passwords.

Read change.2.0m.1.txt for al the new options.

Jnos Download

Jnos 2.0m Nov 27, 2019 jnos2.0m.tar.gz
Jnos2.0m.1rc Patch for 2.0m 2.0m.1.update.tar.gz
Changelog for Jnos2.0m.1rc change.2.0m.1.txt

Save and Load ax25 Heard List
 -----------------------------

 The ax25 heard list can now be saved to a file or loaded (restored) from a file.

 Decided to also revamp the 'ax heard' command at the JNOS console, since there are
 now several commands available, all of which really should be categorized as being
 subcommands of 'ax heard' - so with this update, the new syntax is as follows :

     Usage : ax heard < show | dest > [<iface>]
             ax heard < save | load >

 The 'dest' and 'hearddest' commands are gone, absorbed by the above syntax.

 The heard data is kept in a new 'AxHeardFile' in the JNOS root directory.

 There are two files to update (ax25cmd.c and axheard.c), they have been added
 to the patch file noted further down (under the Password Management section),
 so if you're not interested in the password code, just extract the 2 files.

 Add '#define BACKUP_AXHEARD' to your config.h, then :

    rm ax25cmd.o axheard.o ; make

G0LGS LinFBB Tools

Posted on1 February 202020 February 2021AuthorPD9QLeave a comment

Stewart has sent me a link with the scripts and programs he wrote for LinFBB. I copied them to my own server for historical purposes. Thanks Stewart.

This is the source link

https://www.g0lgs.co.uk/MyDownloads.php?fbclid=IwAR3nXpC0ET0mBre9tFYAX0LSoW6YYOqflsEag2XF4j_1wNvUUA89JoOjK4Q

XFBB AutoResp Server	0.11	Jan 2005	XFBB AutoResp Server
XFBB m_filter and f_filter	0.60	20/03/2005	XFBB m_filter and f_filter
XFBB Event Notification system	0.14	23/04/2005	XFBB Event Notification system
XFBB BID Tool	1.00beta	31/07/2005	XFBB Bid Tool
XFBB INF Tool	0.15	Jan 2002	XFBB INF Tool
XFBB Message Renumbering tool	0.36	16/01/2005	XFBB Message Renumbering tool
XFBB Lotto number generator	0.10	13/01/2001	XFBB Lotto number generator
XFBB Multi Server	0.55	24/12/2001	XFBB Multi Server
XFBB Ping Server	0.14	02/10/2005	XFBB Ping Server
XFBB File Servers: REQDIR / REQFIL / LOCAL	0.61	03/02/2005	XFBB File Servers: REQDIR / REQFIL / LOCAL
XFBB Statis file manager	0.12	30/01/2005	XFBB Statis file manager
XFBB TeleText Server	0.24	23/12/2001	XFBB TeleText Server
XFBB WP Tool	0.33	12/07/2002	XFBB WP Tool

FBB7.0.9 released

Posted on26 January 20208 February 2020AuthorPD9QLeave a comment

@Bug Bash

Trying BBSURO:N1URO-4… <Enter> aborts.
Virtual circuit established to BBSURO:N1URO-4
[FBB-7.0.9-AB1FHMRX$]
{PROTUS-4.1á2}

There has been quite a bit of activity on the mail list or Fbb in the last 2 weeks. Some bugs have been fixed by Dave, now the Protus C_Filter and the G0LGS M and F Filter are working properly again.

Last release

https://sourceforge.net/projects/linfbb/files/fbb-7.0.9.tar.gz/download

Brian N1URO has written some installation script for Protus and G0LGS filters and has been working on the translation of the Spanish Protus files.

The appropriate Filters can be downloaded from the links below.

https://ham.packet-radio.net/packet/f6fbb/tools/g0lgs-filters-701-0.60.tgz
https://ham.packet-radio.net/packet/f6fbb/tools/protus4-eng.tar.gz

ftp://n1uro.no-ip.org/pub/hamradio/packet/fbb/utils/g0lgs-filters-701-0.60.tgz
ftp://n1uro.no-ip.org/pub/hamradio/packet/fbb/utils/protus4-eng.tar.gz

They are currently working on getting rid of some Bugs that cause some errors with Fbb ping and the ReqDir server.

Thanks to Dave, Stewart G0LGS, Brian N1URO, Bernard F6BVP, Paul G4APL and Tom SP2L

Great work, Thank you

Changelog…..

7.0.8-beta9 (f6bvp, Dave van der Locht)
– [r176] fbblog files renamed from 0 to 52 for week number
fbb log displayed calling executable script /usr/local/bin/fbblog
– [r177] Some functions are done via system() calls. However, observed return value
is invariably -1 while it should reflect the result of called program.
It happened because the SIGCHILD signal handler was set to SIG_IGN.
Fixed at the beginning of the main function in xfbbd.c.
Dave van der Locht 2019-12-14

7.0.9 (Dave van der Locht)
– [r178] beta9 was hanging. xfbbd.c patched.
1) Return value of system() is always -1 due to SIGCHLD signal was ignored.
2) Added ‘fail-safe bypass’ in case call_nbdos() couldn’t find the command/executable to run.
3) Replaced system() with popen() in the call_nbdos() function to fix the problem with
response text from a c_filter not coming through.

Winlink gateway HB9AK (test session)

Posted on15 January 2020AuthorPD9QLeave a comment

Almost a year ago if have post something about the Winlink Gateway HB9AK.

https://packet-radio.net/winlink-gateway-hb9ak/

Today I have extensively tested the Gateway. And I have to say it works great.
So thank you Martin HB9AUR that you make all this possible.
Just running with 1.51 Watt in a HyEndFed antenna.

Fist Ardop

Second Winmor

Then Pactor 1, Unfortunately I don’t have an expensive P4Dragon. So I have to do with Pactor 1.

Now Robust Packet……

And finally Vara, I really don’t want to pay 69 dollars for a registered Vara version, since I never use Vara.

The NEW… NinoTNC form TARPN

Posted on8 January 2020AuthorPD9Q1 Comment

Tadd KA2DEW send me some great news. Thank you Tadd.

I`ve read that they were working on it, but that they were already that far …..

The sale will probably start at the end of January or the beginning of February.

TARPN is about to start selling its own TNC called NinoTNC. This is to be sold as a programmed CPU and PCB for $14 including shipping. They give you a BOM file and instructions to submit it to DigiKey for the rest of the parts. Costs about $25 including USPS shipping. Total cost is < $40. The NinoTNC is a USB KISS hardware/firmware TNC which looks like the TNC-PI, but isn’t a HAT. It is powered over USB and can connect to any USB equipped computer which supports a program to operate a KISS TNC. The NinoTNC has its own FEC mode useful for making dedicated point-to-point links.

Here some links with further information.

http://tarpn.net/d
http://tarpn.net/t/nino-tnc/n9600a/news-about-ninotnc9600A2—starting-field-tests.pdf
http://tarpn.net/t/nino-tnc/n9600a/n9600a_general_info.html

Direwolf AX.25 + FEC = FX.25

Posted on8 January 2020AuthorPD9Q1 Comment

Probably most of you will already know, Direwolf will support FX.25. This is AX25 with forward error correction. Nice.

The mail John, WB2OSZ posted on the mail list.

What can you do if your radio signal isn’t quite strong enough to get through reliably?  
Move to higher ground?  Get a better antenna?  More power?   
Send data very very slowly with narrow bandwidth?

Sometimes those are not options.  
Another way to improve communication reliability is to add redundant information 
so the message will still get through even if small parts are missing.

FX.25 has been used for more than a decade with some satellites.  
Receiving implementations were oriented toward that niche application.  
Now that FX.25 is easy to use, integrated into a general purpose TNC, 
many other AX.25 based applications can gain the benefits while retaining 
complete compatibility with older equipment.

Direwolf Kissutil

Posted on8 January 20208 January 2020AuthorPD9QLeave a comment

I was reading on a website and there they talked about kissutil from Direwolf. This appears to be a tool you use interactively for troubleshooting a kiss tnc or you can use it as an application interface. Very nice tool.

kissutil  can be used interactively for troubleshooting a KISS TNC. 
It is usable with direwolf and other generic KISS TNCs connected to a serial port. 
It can also be used as an application interface where each side places files in a directory for the other to process. 

Options
-h host
Hostname or IP address for a TCP KISS TNC.  Default is localhost.

-p port
A number may be specified for a TCP port other than the default 8001. 
If not a number, it is considered to be a serial port name such as /dev/ttyS0 or COM3.

-s speed
Speed for serial port. e.g. 9600.

-o rec-directory
For each received frame, a new file is created here. 
It is expected that some other application will process files in this directory then delete them.

-T format
Each received frame will be preceded by a timestamp in the specified format. 
See strftime documentation for a description of the format string. Example:  %H:%M:%S  for current time in hours, minutes, seconds.

-f xmit-directory
Files in this directory are transmited and deleted. Another application places a file here when it wants something to be transmitted.

-v
Verbose - Display the KISS frames going to and from the TNC.

In the User-guide-1.6-pre you can find somemore info on section 14.6