Differences
This shows you the differences between two versions of the page.
Both sides previous revisionPrevious revisionNext revision | Previous revision | ||
howto:ax25 [2013/03/26 10:44] – The packet-BBS service has been replaced by ax25shell.js. echicken | howto:ax25 [2015/08/20 10:04] (current) – I'll add a new article when/if AX25.Session is fixed. ecbbs | ||
---|---|---|---|
Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
- | ====== Set up Synchronet as an AX.25 Packet Radio BBS ====== | ||
- | Sysops who are also amateur radio operators may wish to offer access to their Synchronet BBS via AX.25 packet radio. | ||
- | |||
- | =====Overview===== | ||
- | |||
- | AX.25 packet radio is a digital mode of communication often used by amateur radio operators. | ||
- | |||
- | The traffic of other protocols, including TCP/IP, can be encapsulated in AX.25 frames, however what this page will focus on is so-called " | ||
- | |||
- | Many packet radio-based bulletin board systems already exist, and in fact most TNCs include a basic BBS in their firmware. | ||
- | |||
- | ===== Requirements ===== | ||
- | |||
- | Obviously you'll need a radio transceiver connected to an antenna system of some kind. You'll also need a TNC supporting the KISS protocol (more on that in a moment) and an up-to-date installation of Synchronet. | ||
- | |||
- | Before proceeding, consult your TNC's documentation and familiarize yourself with the procedures for placing it into (and getting it out of) KISS mode. Make note of the speed of communication between the TNC and the host computer, and understand the difference between this and the rate of over-the-air communications. | ||
- | |||
- | Confirm that the following files are present relative to the root directory of your Synchronet BBS installation: | ||
- | |||
- | * [[dir: | ||
- | * [[dir: | ||
- | * [[dir: | ||
- | * [[dir: | ||
- | * [[dir: | ||
- | |||
- | If any of the above files are missing, grab the latest copies from the [[http:// | ||
- | |||
- | =====KISS Mode, AX.25 and Synchronet===== | ||
- | |||
- | AX.25 is the protocol spoken between packet radio stations. | ||
- | |||
- | Most TNCs offer a terminal mode of operation, meaning that you the operator can access your TNC via a serial port, issue textual commands to it and view human-readable menus and responses. | ||
- | |||
- | KISS is a protocol that defines a standard for communication between software running on a host computer and a connected TNC. When software control and monitoring of a TNC is required, KISS is the most reliable and universal option. | ||
- | |||
- | While a TNC in Host or BBS mode will often only support one connection at a time, KISS-mode TNCs operate on a connectionless basis, passing all AX.25 frames that they receive from the channel along to the host computer. | ||
- | |||
- | KISS mode offers a lot of flexibility, | ||
- | |||
- | =====Configuring and Enabling Packet Radio Support for Synchronet===== | ||
- | |||
- | ====Edit ctrl/ | ||
- | |||
- | This is where you configure your TNC(s). | ||
- | |||
- | [TNC-Name] | ||
- | callsign = < | ||
- | ssid = <Numeric SSID from 0 to 15> | ||
- | serialPort = <Device name (Windows) or path (*nix)> | ||
- | baudRate = <Numeric baud rate, eg. 9600> | ||
- | |||
- | The TNC name isn't terribly important, but you'll need to remember which names you chose for your TNCs once we get a bit farther along. | ||
- | |||
- | In most cases, the SSID can be set to 0 unless you intend to operate multiple TNCs on the same frequency using the same callsign. | ||
- | |||
- | Example 1: | ||
- | |||
- | [KPC3] | ||
- | callsign = WD1CKS | ||
- | ssid = 0 | ||
- | serialPort = COM4 | ||
- | baudRate = 9600 | ||
- | |||
- | Example 2: | ||
- | |||
- | [AEA-PK232] | ||
- | callsign = VE3XEC | ||
- | ssid = 2 | ||
- | serialPort = / | ||
- | baudRate = 9600 | ||
- | |||
- | ====Edit ctrl/ | ||
- | |||
- | When AX.25 clients connect to your system, traffic will be tunnelled between them and a custom service running on your BBS. One piece of this puzzle is packet-bbs.js; | ||
- | |||
- | [Packet-BBS] | ||
- | Port=2000 | ||
- | Options=NO_HOST_LOOKUP | ||
- | Command=packet-bbs.js | ||
- | |||
- | Note that if port 2000 is being used by some other service on your system, you can pick any other port number that you like. | ||
- | |||
- | Once you've added this section to services.ini, | ||
- | |||
- | ====Edit text/ | ||
- | |||
- | This is the menu that's presented to the user when they connect. | ||
- | |||
- | ====Edit text/ | ||
- | |||
- | Since we're not allowed to use offensive language over the air, everything sent out to AX.25 clients by packet-bbs.js passes through a censorship filter. | ||
- | |||
- | ====Launch the AX.25 Tunnel==== | ||
- | |||
- | Okay, you're finally ready to go. Open a command prompt and navigate to your [[dir: | ||
- | |||
- | jsexec -l ax25tunnel.js < | ||
- | |||
- | Where < | ||
- | |||
- | jsexec -l ax25tunnel.js KPC3 AEA-PK232 | ||
- | |||
- | The AX.25 tunnel script ([[dir: | ||
- | |||
- | Hopefully in the near future this will be replaced by a similar script that will gate between AX.25 clients and the terminal server via Rlogin or, less preferably, Telnet. | ||
- | |||
- | |||
- | ====Libraries==== | ||
- | |||
- | Most of the support for the KISS and AX.25 protocols in Synchronet are provided by the following two files: | ||
- | |||
- | * [[dir: | ||
- | |||
- | * [[dir: | ||
- | |||
- | The latter is heavily commented, so if you wish to develop your own scripts to make use of Synchronet' | ||
- | |||
- | =====Compatibility===== | ||
- | |||
- | KISS-mode being what it is, most any KISS TNC should at the very least work on the server-side. | ||
- | |||
- | * Kantronics KPC3+ Firmware rev. 9.1 (Client & Server) | ||
- | * Kenwood TH-D7A / TASCO Radio Modem 09/15/99 2Chip version 2.00 (Client only - this KISS implementation is broken) | ||
- | * AEA PK-232 (Client & Server) | ||
- | * AEA PK-12 (Client & Server) | ||
- | * MFJ-1278 (Client & Server) | ||
- | * TAPR TNC 2 (Client & Server) | ||
- | It, uh, works with most of them, but the library is not without its problems, especially when dealing with certain clients. | ||
- | |||
- | =====Support===== | ||
- | |||
- | This is a real work in progress, so the answer to a lot of your questions might be "Yeah, I know - I'm working on it." | ||
- | |||
- | * DOVE-Net: Send a message to echicken in the Synchronet Discussion or Ham Radio sub-boards | ||
- | * IRC: Look for echicken in #synchronet or #hamradio on irc.synchro.net | ||
- | * BBS: Contact echicken on bbs.electronicchicken.com | ||
- | |||
- | ===== See Also ===== | ||
- | * [[: | ||
- | |||
- | {{tag>}} |