Kantronics KAM Plus, Reference Manual

Page 1: ...KAM Plus Reference Manual Kantronics RF Data Communications Specialists o Printed on recycled paper...

Page 2: ...I...

Page 3: ...202 E 23rd Street Lawrence Kansas 66046 Order number 913 842 7745 Service Technical Support 913 842 4476 9 am noon 2 pm 5 pm Central Time Monday Friday FAX number 913 842 2021 BBS number 913 842 4678...

Page 4: ...ally correct as of the date of the current printing Production changes to the TNC may add errata or addendum sheets We solicit your comments and or suggested corrections Please send to Kantronics Co I...

Page 5: ...livered in object code only You shall not reverse compile or otherwise reverse engineer the SOFTWARE 4 Limited Warranty This product is covered by the standard Kantronics Co Inc Limited Warranty which...

Page 6: ...version 7 0 March21 1994 KAM Plus ii Copyright 1993 1994 Kantronics Co Inc All Rights Reserved Duplication of this manual or the firmware without permission of Kantronics Co Inc is prohibited...

Page 7: ...ics PB BS 52 Setting Up Other Functions of your KAM PIus 55 PBBS 55 KA N ode 55 Gateway 55 PBBS SYSOP Functions 55 Remote Access to your KAM Plus 57 Host Mode Operation 58 KISS Mode Operation 58 WEFAX...

Page 8: ...version 7 0 March 21 1994 KAM Plus iv Copyright 1993 1994 Kantronics Co Inc All Rights Reserved Duplication of this manual or the firmware without permission of Kantronics Co Inc is prohibited...

Page 9: ...ed or implied and no representative or person is authorized to assume for Kantronics any other liability in connection with the sale of its products KANTRONICS SPECIFICALLY DISCLAIMS THE IMPLIED WARRA...

Page 10: ...ility for the selection of the hardware and software program to achieve your intended results rests with you 7 REMEDY PROCEDURE Should you need to make a warranty claim first contact the dealer from w...

Page 11: ...g information available 1 The unit name and serial number the serial number is found on the rear panel 2 The firmware version number the version number is displayed when you give the Version command I...

Page 12: ...e need to contact you a correct and full address for return method of payment to be used for any charges if MasterCard or VISA include expiration date a brief description of the problem a reference to...

Page 13: ...quality shielded cable to insure compliance with FCC limits RFI Suppression In moving to the world of digital communications via computers a new dimension of RFI may be encountered In spite of the eq...

Page 14: ...mands are listed alphabetically in this manual On the first line of a command will be the command name followed by any arguments used with the command Arguments shown in square brackets are optional I...

Page 15: ...are normally set to Amateur callsigns however any combination of 6 numbers and or letters is permitted You may optionally include an extension SSID Secondary Station Identifier which is a decimal numb...

Page 16: ...at if ARQBBS is ON you will not be able to transmit FEC from the Standby modes See also arqid pbbs ARQId n n 0 31 9 This command sets the time interval in 1 minute increments for an automatic CW ID wh...

Page 17: ...and should be set to the hang time of the repeater If the KAM Plus has detected activity within this time interval it will not use the AXDELAY setting since the repeater should still be transmitting E...

Page 18: ...TWARE INTERNAUINTERNAL When set to INTERNAL the KAM Plus will detect a signal when any energy is present on the audio input to the KAM Plus When set to EXTERNAL the signal detection is supplied by an...

Page 19: ...packets originating from any station are accepted See also budcalls CONMode CONVERS ITRANS CONVERS This command sets the mode the TNC w illbe placed in AUTOMATICALLY when a connect occurs ifNOMODE is...

Page 20: ...ll allow you to enter the CW mode at the desired speed The KAM Plus will automatically adjust to copy stations within approximately 20 WPM from the speed selected See also canline cwspeed morse pmode...

Page 21: ...e replaced with data from the software clock The lower case m will be replaced with the minutes the first time it appears after a lower case h If h m y d or s is specified as a single character the co...

Page 22: ...smitted Each station included in the digipeat list relays the packet in the order specified in the address field Digipeating takes place concurrently with other KAM Plus operations and does not interf...

Page 23: ...users in the local area Most packet operators are now using the PERSIST SLOTTIME method of collision avoidance and setting DWAIT to O See also persist slottime Echo ONIOFF ON When ON characters receiv...

Page 24: ...tting See also connect resptime retry FSkinv ON IOFF OFF This command controls the polarity of the FSK output on the HF port of the KAM Plus When OFF MARK is open collector and SPACE is ground When ON...

Page 25: ...F 300 1200 This command sets the baud rate used by the RAM Plus for transmission of data over the radio link It is not related to the terminal baud rate set by ABAUD HF Packet is normally operated at...

Page 26: ...e for use with special host programs such as Host Master Note After changing the INTFACE command you may need to do a soft reset for the new mode to take effect See also pmode INVert ON IOFF OFF When...

Page 27: ...kets will not be monitored See also monitor n i V MARk n n 50 4000 1600 This command sets the mark frequency for HF packet operation and also sets the mark frequency used for non packet modes when the...

Page 28: ...L option is used all call signs contained in the received packet including digipeater paths will be displayed See also daytime mhclear MIsschar n n 00 FF 20 This command defines the character to be s...

Page 29: ...28 0 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 00 23 534BCSK 00 lso cw prosign MResp ON IOFF ION ON When ON monitored packets will include the following AX 25 response packets if MONITOR and MCOM are ON If connected...

Page 30: ...trt MYcall xxxxxx n This command tells the RAM Plus what call sign to use for packet operation When the KAM Plus is first turned on or after a hard reset or a RESTORE D it asks you for your callsign T...

Page 31: ...gn as your 4 character selcal The MYSELCAL will also accept 4 or 5 digit numbers and generate the corresponding 4 character selcal automatically from these numbers If you enter 7 characters 9 numbers...

Page 32: ...splays a list of nodes whose m packets have been heard by the RAM Plus The list includes KA Nodes NeURom nodes TheNet nodes and G8BPQ nodes An asterisk indicates that the station was heard through a d...

Page 33: ...e EVERYIAFTER n n 0 255 AFTER10 The time specified by this command is used in Transparent mode to cause packets to be transmitted periodically When set to AFTER n a packet will be transmitted when inp...

Page 34: ...displays them on the terminal PBbs n n 0 121 lOO This command sets the size of the KAM Plus Personal Mailbox in Kilobytes The maximum value will depend on the amount of RAM available for the Mailbox...

Page 35: ...dition the PBBS will only forward messages to another BBS if they are FROM your MYCALL When forwarding or reverse forwarding with PBPERSON ON the PBBS will not include its own R line PBRevers ON IOFF...

Page 36: ...n of P IT and the beginning of any audio from the KAM HF port to the radio The audio will begin n 0 83 milliseconds after the P IT line is activated See also postkey PROsign n n 00 FF 5C The PROSIGN c...

Page 37: ...tation will then repeat the frame and the KAM Plus will check again to see if the frame is completely correct If not it will attempt to assemble a good frame by combining the frames received PTTries n...

Page 38: ...lus to factory defaults The KAM Plus will return all parameters to factory values and will run the autobaud routine asking you to PRESS TO SET BAUD RATE Any messages in the mailbox will be deleted See...

Page 39: ...t be set greater than the MARK command See also mark shift STart n n 00 FF 11 Ctrl Q This command specifies the character sent by the terminal to the KAM Plus to restart input from the KAM Plus If set...

Page 40: ...mand sets the parameters used by the KAM Plus for software carrier detect The first number u is used to increment a counter when a valid mark space or space mark transition occurs in the received sign...

Page 41: ...tion call sign callI and the digipeaters ca1l2 ca1l9 used when transmitting unconnected packet data Each call sign may have an optional Secondary Station Identifier SSID specified as n where n 1 15 Wh...

Page 42: ...d between the terminal and the KAM Plus When OFF software flow control is not used and the only flow control possible is hardware flow control using the RTS and CTS lines from the KAM Plus See also st...

Page 43: ...two LEDs should light with approximately the same brilliance When operating CW the MARK LED will light when no signal is present and when a tone is received the bargraph should move quickly and comple...

Page 44: ...l appear on your screen At some point in the conversation the other station will turn it over to you so you can send data to him Normally the other station will make some kind of statement in the mess...

Page 45: ...SELFEC transmissions that include your SELCAL in the transmission Transmitting Mode B SELFEC To transmit a Mode B SELFEC broadcast type FEC followed by the SELCAL to be transmitted and press return T...

Page 46: ...I and press return This places the KAM Plus in the ASCII mode and the ASCBAUD command controls the baud rate of the transmitted data If you want to operate ASCII at a different speed enter the ASCII m...

Page 47: ...CW with your KAM Plus you must wire the KEY OUT pin from the HF port of the KAM Plus to your key jack on your transceiver The KAM Plus uses a relay to provide a ground on this pin when sending CW and...

Page 48: ...ceiving is sending at a much slower rate than you are set to transmit You can lock your transmit speed to the speed of the received station with the Ctrl C L directive This sets your transmit speed ap...

Page 49: ...end to overlap CW 14 000 14 070 MHz AMTOR G TOR Pactor 14 070 14 085 MHz RTIY 14 080 14 095 MHz Packet 14 095 14 111 MHz G TOR Operation The G TOR protocol is a linked mode where two stations are comm...

Page 50: ...at the command prompt cmd enter the GTOR command and the callsign of the station you wish to link to For instance cmd GTOR WK5M Your KAM Plus will begin transmitting a link establishment frame and if...

Page 51: ...matting your transmitted data CRADD adds a CR after every CR you send from the terminal LFADD adds a LF after every CR you send from the terminal CRSUP suppresses every OTHER consecutive CR from the T...

Page 52: ...means that typing Ctrl C E for instance will NOT cause a changeover it will simply transmit the Ctrl C character and the E to the other station To exit this data transparency mode you MUST send a mode...

Page 53: ...sage and will have values from 00 through 99 Messages with sequence number 00 are always printed When the message numbers reach 99 they wrap to 01 as the next number Currently operating NAVTEX station...

Page 54: ...d type NAVSTA A at the cmd prompt To monitor all stations simply type NAVSTA ALL You may also specify which message classes you wish to receive by using the NAVMSG command If you want the Satellite bu...

Page 55: ...alking to this station You simply type your message and press return Each time you press return you will send a packet to KA5ZTX While you are talking to KA5ZTX you decide you want to talk to KF7QZ Th...

Page 56: ...s are in conversation with each other Complete error checking occurs in this mode and the receiving station will request retransmission of any data frames containing errors The KAM Plus uses memory AR...

Page 57: ...ll only be required if the station is more than about 5500 miles away from you To connect long path on Pactor precede the call sign of the station with an exclamation point D when starting the connect...

Page 58: ...and when the data has all been transmitted returns to the receive mode Use the Ctrl C n directives listed below to change speeds while operating the RTI Y mode To leave the RITY mode and return to Com...

Page 59: ...ON AUTOCR 69 AUTOLF OFF CRSUP OFF and LFSUP OFF CRADD ON and LFADD ON causes the KAM to transmit a CR CR LF whenever you press the return key on your terminal AUTOCR 69 causes the KAM to insert a CR C...

Page 60: ...ator being present must have the capability to provide a record of the path the message has taken from its origination To accomplish this BBSs include a routing line beginning with R This R line inclu...

Page 61: ...sage to you it then looks at the BBS field N5IST Ifit doesn t have any information on how to forward to N5IST it looks at the first part of the hierarchical address WTX not knowing that it would then...

Page 62: ...to your MYCALL or your MYPBBS call In addition your PBBS will only forward messages from YOU no third party messages and will not add the R line to the routing OTHER FUNCTIONS 54 version 7 0 March 21...

Page 63: ...er users either on the same port or on the other port of your KAM Plus To activate the KA Node function set the NUMNODES command to a non zero value This value sets the number of users who may simulta...

Page 64: ...in or T traffic To change the message type enter the edit command with the message number and the new type i e E 2 P would edit message number 2 to become a private message Messages may also have a ST...

Page 65: ...is system belongs to W0ABC in Lawrence Kansas 66046 The remote RAM Plus must also have its MYREMOTE set to a unique call sign i e W0ABC 4 or XYZREM If these two parameters are not set as indicated rem...

Page 66: ...n Your KAM Plus provides a Host mode for communication with more sophisticated computer software If your software supports this mode it will place the KAM Plus in the Host mode of operation automatica...

Page 67: ...isplay graphics images and knows how to receive the data from the RAM Plus These software programs will automatically place your RAM Plus in the WEFAX mode and will exit the WEFAX mode after you are t...

Page 68: ...this manual Cable Wiring ALL Kantronics software uses a minimum offive wires between the computer and the KAM Plus The pins that must be connected from the KAM Plus to your computer for these program...

Page 69: ...M Plus and is not used by the KAM Plus for any purpose Software settings When using a standard terminal program to communicate with the KAM Plus we recommend you set the serial port configuration in y...

Page 70: ...be transmitted The HF radio connector on the RAM Plus rear panel is an 8 pin DIN style connector with a pre wired 9 conductor cable and a mini plug attached The cable wiring is Pin Pin Color Function...

Page 71: ...sly for over 2 1 2 minutes the watchdog timer will activate and release the PTT line to your radio NOTE This also applies when operating RTTY or other HF modes so you may want to disable this for your...

Page 72: ...turn the TNC to the Command Mode One station should be used to transmit the square wave while the receiving station should measure and compare the space mark square wave The transmitting station shoul...

Page 73: ...ize Weight Input Voltage Requirements Current Requirements Power plug polarity Watchdog timer External Carrier detect PTT Output FSK Output Key Output 1 3 4 x 6 x 9 4 5 cm x 15 3 cm x 23cm 2 5 lbs 1 1...

Page 74: ...F I 239 I EF P I 16 I 10 I OLE I 48 I 30 I 0 I 80 I 50 1 P 1112 I 70 I P 1144 I 90 1176 I BO I 208 I 00 I 240 1 FO Q 117111 IOC1I49 131 81 I 51 I Q 1113 I 71 I q 11451 91 11771 B1 12091 01 12411 F1 R...

Page 75: ...d inserts changeover immediately If the transmit buffer isn t empty the remaining data will remain in the buffer Page 41 G TOR Operation Replace 4th paragraph The G TORmode will followthe setting ofth...

Page 76: ...The KAM Plus is shipped with the jumper placed on only one of the posts effectively providing partial equalization Placing the jumper on both posts will set the KAM Plus for no equalization Most radio...

Page 77: ...CONOk 11 CONYers 11 18 CPactime 11 CR 12 CRAdd 12 Cross connecting 18 CRSup 12 CStamp 12 CText 12 Current Requirements 65 Customized text beacon 9 ka node 25 mailbox 28 packet 12 wru amtor 34 CW 12 C...

Page 78: ...ar 27 PHeard 27 PId 28 PMode 28 POrt 28 POStkey 28 Power requirements 65 Precautions 60 PRe key 28 PROsign 28 40 PTDown 28 PTErrs 28 PText 28 55 PTFecspd 28 PTHuff 29 PTListen 29 PTRpt 29 PTSi 29 PTSU...